The thing with Ibuki Sumire is, she can transform into any person. Normally she is a cold beauty with a bit of a playful personality. But there are occasions like this where she is childish.
Yuhi didn't mind that side of her; it makes her human, it makes her feel alive. He doesn't know much about the time she isolated herself because of Mamoru's death. But he could imagine what she was like that time. There were moments in the past where she became that way.
He was patiently waiting for her as she lined up to buy some crepes. Initially, he offered to buy them for her, but it somehow ended up this way.
These days she is more cheerful and outgoing. She smiles a lot more. This is what he wanted from her. But now that she has reached this stage, Yuhi knew that she would have to proceed to the next step swiftly.
The one who has been canceling her live appearances is him. He makes sure to talk to her before she goes on stage, and she usually ends up having a breakdown. If he doesn't have those talks with her, would she have sung a long time ago?
Yuhi shook the thought out of his head. He needs to stop having such negative thoughts. Sumire has repeatedly told him how much he had helped her. But sometimes, he can't help it, especially when he sees and hears how Nagawa treats her.
This is bad; he thought that he would stop feeling so awkward after those two had a proper talk,. But the situation has only turned worse. Nagawa treats her very well now. Would her feelings waver?
His thoughts broke off when Sumire reappeared with the crepes in her hands. "Yuhi-san? Sorry for taking so long and also ta-da," She pulled out some boxes of other foods. "People gave me this."
Yuhi raised his eyebrows. He turned in the direction of the crepe stand and saw a bunch of guys looking over with hearts in their eyes. He sighed deeply and lightly hits her forehead.
"Too defenseless."
"But I thought you needed more food. Besides, it was really hard to refuse."
"That I understand. Fans like that are very pushy; since you are trying to maintain your image, it is hard to refuse." He trailed off when he saw the questioning look in her eyes. "Oi, it's not like that."
It wasn't too hard to figure out what she was thinking.
"I've never slept with any of my fans before."
Right despite all those unusual rumors about him, he made a policy before never to cross the line with his fans. The fans are the soul of a person's career; without them, his status is only a display. The same goes vice versa.
He entered the entertainment industry at a young age, so this was something he knew very well. He was always very careful, even though many incidents occurred in the past where something could have happened.
Sumire tilted her head. "Are you sure about that?"
Yuhi stared at her puzzled, and Sumire sighed. "I guess your not the man I slept with in the hospital earlier. Apologies for getting in your way, mister, but I need to find my husband."
Seeing her dramatically walk away, his eyes twitched, annoyed. This girl is doing it again—this bad habit of teasing others where on earth did she get it from. Yuhi appeared behind her and hugged her from the back. He brushed his lips against her ear.
"Husband?"
Sumire laughed softly. "Mmm, my husband is so smart and handsome. He is also a beast, but I think I can take it."
She thinks, huh? Then again, he still isn't sure whether it is wise for him to do that with her. She is already eighteen, and there should be nothing wrong with doing that with her, yet it still felt strange.
Is it because he felt bad? He slept with so many women the past few years. He used many people as a substitute. Now that he finally has the woman he likes, he feels dirty. He wants to touch her all the time, but he is afraid.
Now that he has grasped happiness, he doesn't know what to do.
At some point, he had stopped giving her a back hug and turned her around, gradually decreasing the distance between them.
"What? Uh." Sumire seemed nervous.
"You're cute." Yuhi didn't beat around the bush with his words. She looks very nice today.
Sumire covered her mouth and laughed softly. "You're silly today Yuhi-san, a new strategy?"
No, he just wants to hold her. But maybe he shouldn't go overboard.
"Are you cold?"
"A little." Sumire trailed off as she finally noticed that he was getting closer.
"Yuhi?"
"Hotel."
Sumire laughed again. "Uh, right, but maybe after we go shopping? This is actually the only dress I have."
"Right, let's get you some clothes." Yuhi looked her up and down. Even though this dress is Nagawas taste, he admits that it does look good on her.
It still doesn't seem right for her to wear clothes gifted by her ex. Yuhi scanned the street they were on, and he leads her to the nearest boutique store.
Even with their disguises, some could tell who they were. Since they came here to try on clothes, Yuhi didn't see the need to keep up with the disguises, so he removed Sumires hat.
The moment he did that, the store was in an uproar; of course, there had to be fans in this store.
"No way!"
"Is that Ibuki Sumire?"
"Then that must be Terashima."
The girls in the store seemed half excited, half curious. He also heard some resentment.
"Look at her going on a date and slacking from her job."
"Tsk, tsk people like this are the lowest of the low. How shameless of her to claim that she is an idol when all she does is leech of her fans without working."
Yuhi frowned when he heard those words and was about to say something when Sumire tugged on his clothes.
"It's okay."
"Are you sure?" This must be painful for her. Yuhi wrapped his arms around her and leaned down to whisper in her ear. "You have me."
Sumire laughed softly. "So, is this a barrier?"
"I need to shield you from harm."
He can't allow her to hear such negative things. Yuhi is starting to understand why the other guys who like her behave the way they do. If they don't behave that way, then all this negativity would cause her to have another breakdown.