Unknown Anoucement, challenge or a chance to get closer.
Chapter 4.
The Anoucement.
Dawn of the morning rise.
The sunlight shot through her eyes as she woken up.
She looked around it was morning, and this time he was gone.
Reze, A small, bitter laugh escaped me. That was the problem with control—it made letting go addictive. She said, I was used to being the one in charge, the one orchestrating everything in this club, the one everyone looked to. But the last night, I hadn't been in charge. He had been. And the truth… the truth was thrilling.
He said I will regret it, that monster ah... My body is aching, ah... pain... She'd laugh as if on herself, And thought...
What if he didn't call? What if this changed everything? No. That wasn't me. I wasn't someone who'll lost control without thinking ahead. She forced herself to sit up, wincing as the room spun. Her reflection in the window stared back—pale, tousled hair, red-rimmed eyes. Vulnerable. Human. Not the untouchable Reze, the president of a theater club, but.
She sighed, a long, low exhale, and let herself remember the last thing he whispered before… before it all blurred into darkness. "I won't disappear."
She says I wanted to believe him. I needed to believe him. But a small, sharp voice in my head reminded me: trust was a dangerous thing when it came to him, when it come to any man.
He could disappear, and I'd be left with nothing but memories and the faint, lingering heat of last night.
Yet, despite the guilt, the hangover, and the chaos of emotions twisting inside me, a small, reckless part of me smiled. That night had been dangerous, yes—but alive. Too alive. And I knew, deep down, I would chase that feeling again.
I could hear movement outside—footsteps, voices—and my stomach knotted. He opened the door Senkai he hasn't disappeared. He looked at me, as he went first thing, are you okay?
Reze didn't answer him right away.
For a second, she just watched him—really looked at him. The way the morning light caught the edge of his face, softer than last night. Real, Present. Not a ghost slipping out before dawn like she'd half-expected.
"…You stayed," she finally said, her voice rough, unused.
He frowned a little, stepping inside and closing the door behind him. "I said I wouldn't disappear." Then, quieter, almost careful, "You look like you got hit by a truck."
A short laugh escaped her before she could stop it. "That obvious, huh?" She shifted, and whose fault do you think it is? wincing, then waved it off like it didn't matter. Typical Reze—minimize, deflect. "I've survived worse. Club rehearsals before festivals are more brutal."
He didn't smile at that. Instead, he set something down on the table—water, neatly placed, like he'd thought this through. "Drink. Slowly."
That did something to her. Not the command—she was used to those—but the concern beneath it. She took the bottle, their fingers brushing for half a second, and felt that same spark from last night flicker back to life. Annoying. Dangerous.
As she drank, she glanced up at him through the rim of the bottle. So," she said lightly, "this is the part where things get awkward? Regretful silence? Avoiding eye contact?"
He met her gaze without flinching. "Only if you want it to be."
That answer lodged somewhere in her chest.
She exhaled, long and slow, then leaned back against the pillows. "I don't regret it," she admitted, softer now. "That's what scares me."
For a moment, the room was quiet except for the distant sounds of morning outside—students, life moving on like nothing monumental had happened here. He sat on the edge of the sofa, close but not crowding her, giving her space she hadn't asked for but somehow needed.
"I'm not here to mess up your world, Reze," he said. "But I won't pretend last night didn't mean something."
She studied his face, searching for cracks, for lies, but Found none. Instead, she smiled—small, sharp, unmistakably her.
"Careful," she said. "Saying things like that to me?"
She tilted her head, eyes glinting despite the exhaustion. "I might start believing you."
And that, she realized, was far more dangerous than letting go ever had been.
Reze's smile didn't last.
It faded slowly, like a curtain dropping after the applause, until only composure remained. She set the bottle down, fingers steady despite the ache in her body, and looked at him—not searching this time, not hoping. Deciding.
"…You should leave," she said, words hung between them, clean and sharp.
He stiffened. "Reze—"
She lifted a hand, stopping him before he could say her name like that. "Don't." Her voice was calm, too calm. Senior the president's voice is back he thought. one that ended arguments, that closed rehearsals, that kept everyone at a safe, workable distance.
"If you stay any longer, I'll start making excuses. And I don't want to do that." he said.
He stood up, in confusion and something like hurt flickering across his face. "Is this about that regret?"
"No," she answered immediately. Too quickly. "That's the problem. It isn't."
She turned her gaze to the window, to the morning she was supposed to return to. "Last night was… a mistake in timing, not feeling. And timing ruins everything." A small, bitter laugh slipped out. "I can't afford chaos. Not you. Not this senkai.
Silence stretched. She felt him hesitate, felt the weight of everything unsaid pressing against her spine.
Finally, he spoke, low calm. "If I walk out now… is that really what you want?"
Her fingers curled into the sheets she had on her legs. For a heartbeat, the vulnerable girl—the human one—almost turned back.
Almost.
"Yes," she said. "Leave before I forget who I'm supposed to be."
He nodded once. No arguments. No promises. Just a quiet acceptance that hurt more than anger would have. He moved to the door, paused, then spoke without turning around.
"You're not as untouchable as you pretend you know." The door closed behind him.
Only then did Reze let out the breath she'd been holding. She sank back against the bed, staring at the ceiling, her chest tight, her heart loud.
"Idiot," she whispered—to him, or to herself, she wasn't sure. Shit this has never happened before she said to herself. Shit, I totally came onto him first, She put the hand at her face ah...
Shit!
First A senior who fucked and left the drunk junior alone.
She pulled a cigarette out of her bag, as lighting it up, she thought, a total trash move by me...
I–i should call him, I should talk it out with him later...
Sigh...
———
The same night—
He sat at the bar stole, in the front of a bar counter, a bartender slipped a drink through him. Senkai caught it. What's with that face hm?
"Nothing, I just got stuck in such a, let's say weird situation.
A weird situation? What kind?.. Let's say I met a girl, had a one night with her, one second she avoid's me, act like let's forget everything, and the other she seduces me like a horney bitch.
One thing I learned for sure in these few past days, I should stop her drinking out, specially with the man's. It's always feels like she is hiding something, something behind that seductive smiling playfull, and sweet face.
When I reject her, she push's my buttons in a way, I don't even wish to comment on. he said to himself she is bitch for sure.
Bartender, says let's me think, she is a senior isn"t she, surprised he looked up at him while taking a sip drinking. How do you know?
Let's say I know cuz, no offence but I am myself like that, he leaned in that's more better than continue, he said, people's like us has a past. A past? He said, Hm, A past, a past that chase's us in the circles, in the dark, in back of our mind. a secret that lingers behind that playfull smile, and a lust that is behind that sweet face, she is dangerous if you ask me, Her beautie might be like gun.
More like a dynamite he repiled in sync than, He coughed, hm. How do you know man? I've could tell just from the description.
Senkai compliment him I mean you not less either compared to her. How did you got that body bro, he had quite a muscular build, a build that any man would be envied of, Biecpes of 36 Damn he thought. He repiled hm.. Eat your vegi's drink milk before going to bed, and go jogging at morning, hit a jym thrice a week.
Really are you kidding me? He said, he laugh joking, there was a time i was once fat when I was kid, you believe me Or not. than was it because of a complex or something, like the kids of your middle school make a fun of it or something, so in the revenge you showed them by making that build, see.. I am more handsome than you and I can steal your girls if I wanted to.
Hello, hello where is this going and why does it sounds like your middle school days weren't that great. Hm. Senkai coughed again, He continued it was in highschool, because of my father who came back from military after being discharged, he used to beat me up time to time, so in a resistance to it I learned boxing, karate, started going to gym, sigh. Bad days.
I realized we hadn't had our introduction I'm Yoshimura Senkai, a first year in Tokyo Univ, he give hand ahead for a handshake, a smile went through his face Kishamoto kenji, he held the handshake, a forth year in the architecture department of a Tokyo university.
Embarrassed senkai laughed, he smiled in response, he pulled his hand back and wrapped his fingers around the glass again, ice clinking softly. Who would have thought you will turn out to be my senior too. for a moment, neither of them spoke. bar noise filled the gap—low laughter, the hum of conversation, the scrape of a chair somewhere behind them.
"So," Kenji said at last, leaning back against the counter, arms crossed, "what are you going to do about her?"
He exhaled through his mouth. "That's the problem I don't know of. A part of me wants to walk away and pretend she never existed. The other part…" He paused, jaw tightening. "other part keeps getting dragged back in."
Kenji smirked faintly. "That's how it always starts, first confusion, Then a attachment. Then regret. "You make it sound like a manual He said,
Kenji shrugged. "Experience is a pretty cruel teacher." He tapped the bar twice. "Listen, people like her—like you described her aren't evil. They're just a pause went through his lips unfinished. And she sounds like a bad news to me. things like her tend to cut whoever handles them."
Senkai stared into his drink, watching the reflection of the golden lights of a bar ripple across the surface. "So what, I'm supposed to just accept that? "No, Kenji said calmly. "You're supposed to decide how much damage you're willing to take."
Kenji slid over to wipe the counter pretending to be working, Kenji lowered his voice and whispered to him. Listen "If she's pushing your buttons when you reject her, that means she's afraid of losing control. And when someone's afraid, they get dangerous. "Senkai chuckled dryly. "You really don't sugarcoat things, do you?"
"Military father," Kenji replied. "Teaches you that honesty hurts less than lies in the long run, They sat there for a while, drinking in silence Outside, rain had started to fall despite not being the season, streaking the window with thin silver lines.
Kenji finally checked his watch. "I've got an early class tomorrow. college waits for no one. "Yeah," Senkai said, standing up as well. "Thanks… for the talk, didn't expected a therapy with my drink."
Kenji grinned. "First one's a free." He grabbed his jacket, then paused. "One last thing, Senkai."
"Hm?"
"If she really is dynamite," he said, meeting Senkai's eyes, "make sure you're not the one holding the match."
With that, he turned and headed for the door, leaving Senkai alone with his thoughts, the half-empty glass, and the quiet realization that some situations weren't weird at all—just familiar in the worst possible way.
———
Kenji leaned at the lift, thought just which girl was he talking about? Ting. Lift door open's he walks out, he was at underground parking lot, of the hotel, he goes and sat at his bike. Pulls his phone out of pocket, and message—Oye idiot hanabi.
Hey who are you calling idiot, you gorilla muscle maniac. He thought this girl is really getting violent day, by day. Do you know about any girl in our college, who is– like a dynamite?
Why do you again want to fool around? Heyyy? I just asked forgot it. She messaged what do you need it for? Just because of a new friend, I've got interested in who is this dynamite of a woman is. "She sounded quite like me". Like you she replied, than she really might be a bastard woman than.
Hey he said, she replied I sent you a list later it might be one of them, than I am going back to sleep don't annoy me with messages anymore. Hey—
Sigh... he puts his phone back at his pocket, wears the helmet and Flip the keys as the engine roar. As he He left...
———
Next morning—
At the club...
The auditorium buzzed long before till Reze stepped onto the stage.
Freshmen, senior's filled the seats—nervous laughter, whispered excitement, scripts clutched like lifelines. Annual college festival loomed around close, and with it, the unspoken pressure, prove yourself. Backstage, Reze adjusted the microphone, her face already composed, the cracks from the past day sealed neatly behind professionalism.
When she walked into the light, the noises softened.
Not the silence— but attention.
She let it linger, just long enough, as she continued...
"Good afternoon," she said, her voice carrying effortlessly. "As you all know, the college festival is not just an event. It's a statement. It's how this college is remembered for the year."
She paced slowly, heels clicking against the stage floor, eyes sweeping across the rows. "This year, the opening play will be performed and arranged by the first-years, from the script to the actors.
A ripple moved through the hall—gasps, excitement, disbelief.
"Yes," Reze continued, a faint smile touching her lips. "Freshmens. Not because it's easy. But because you don't yet, know what the fear looks like on stage. And that will makes you dangerous—in the best way." of course the seniors will be there to lend you a hand.
She stopped center-stage.
This will not be a light comedy," she said, tone sharpening. "It will be a story about control, and desire, and the moment you will choose to step beyond that role assigned to you." A pause.
"Auditions will be open to everyone. No favoritism. No shortcuts."
Her fingers tightened briefly around the clipboard.
"theatre is not about being comfortable," she went on. "It's about being honest—even when that honesty costs you something." For just a fraction of a second, her eyes gone to him, he looking at her with a look of a mistake Or something unknown, her mind betrayed her for a sec. A closing door. A promise. I won't disappear.
She didn't let it show.
"Those that will be selected, will rehearse under the main theatre club," she concluded. "You will be pushed, You might doubt yourselves. And if you might stay—if you endure it—you will stand on this stage during the festival and will be seen."
Her gaze softened, just slightly.
"Sign-up sheets will be posted outside the club room by evening. Decide carefully."
Then, quieter but firm: "Once you step into the play, there's no walking out halfway."
She stepped back from the mic.
The applause didn't explode—it rose. Slow at first, then steady, then loud.
As she left the center stage, Reze felt the familiar rush return. Control. Order. Applause.
And yet, somewhere deep in her chest, something unsettled stirred—because she knew plays had a way of pulling truths into the light.
And this festival…
This one felt like it was going to hurt. But before it she knew, that she'd had to talk it out, Or this awkwardness will kill her inside.
———
The voice of applause was still echoing in the auditorium, when Senkai he slipped out.
He didn't wait for the crowd to thin. Didn't look back at the stage. He already knew where his eyes would go if he did—and he didn't trust himself with that.
Outside, the corridor smelled faintly of dust and old wood, sunlight slanting through tall windows. He exhaled, looking out from the window on a tree, a bird building her nest upon it.
"Senkai." The voice hit him from behind—flat, familiar, edged with a bit of irritation.
He turned.
Yui stood there with her arms crossed, eyes sharp enough to cut glass. "You disappeared," she said. No greeting. No heads-up. "Last night. You promised we'd leave together."
He blinked once. "…Ah."
So this is happening. Huh, she said.
"I got caught up," he said, choosing his words carefully.
"Caught up," she repeated, unimpressed. "In what? Because you weren't answering your phone, and looking texts, Masamune said you weren't with him either. Which is new. Usually you're glued together." I thought you left to meet him or something, So I went out of my way to get his number to confirm.
Senkai sighed. "It wasn't planned."
Yui stepped closer, lowering her voice. "It never is. That's what makes it annoying." She studied his face for a second, then frowned. "You look like a shit you know.
Just don't disappear all of a sudden like before, like old days and make people worried for you.
"Thanks." he said.
"No, I mean it." She tilted her head. "You didn't sleep either last night did you? Just what you were doin—."
Before he could answer, movement near the auditorium the voice of heals cracking against the floor, doors drew both of their attention.
Reze, she stepped out.
She was already back in her element—clipboard tucked under her arm, expression composed, posture immaculate, wearing suit. A President, Director. And Untouchable.
Except He noticed the pause. Just a fraction of a second, her eyes locking onto his.
She walked toward's them.
Yui felt it immediately—the shift in air, the quiet gravity that followed Reze wherever she went. She straightened without meaning to.
"Yoshimura kun," Reze said calmly. "A word."
Yui's eyebrows shot up. "Oh?" She glanced between them, then felt the tension.
She said faintly "Didn't know first-years got summoned this fast."
Reze didn't look at her. "It won't take long."
Senkai he hesitated.
Yui leaned in and muttered, "You owe me an
explanation you know. Don't think you're escaping that."
"I know," he muttered back.
Reze turned and walked down the hall without
waiting. No command. No insistence.
Just confidence that he'd follow, and he did.
Yui looked at both of them leaving, she mumbles, he doesn't know about Reze senpai does he.
They stopped near the practice rooms—quiet, tucked away from the main traffic. Sunlight filtered through frosted glass, dust motes
floating lazily between them.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then she broke it, professional as ever. "About earlier." she said.
The announcement? He shot back, "No she said, about us. Let's have a proper talk, like adults... Ok.
He studied her face—really studied it. calm was there. But the control too. But beneath it, something restless, like a wire pulled too tight.
"You told me to leave," he said. "So I did."
"I know." She inhaled slowly. "And I don't regret that decision."
He laughed quietly. "That makes one of us."
Her eyes flickered. "I didn't say I regretted you alright." Silence.
Maybe that one sentence cracked something open between them.
She continued, voice lower. "But I can't have unresolved things. Not with someone who's in my club. Not when I'm directing a production built on trust."
"So this is a director's concern?" he asked.
She looked at him then—really looked at him.
"This is me Reze asking Senkai, not to pretend nothing happened." His shoulders relaxed a fraction. "Good. Because I'm bad at pretending."
Another pause.
Meet me after the college at the Cafe. Before he spoke more she left, yet giving another a command...
He sighed...
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