Cultural Fest
Friends ForeverUmika POV
"Gomenasai minna!" Suzuka, Miku and I rushed up to the rest.
it's a yearly Horikoshi cultural fest which takes place in the bustling street of Harajuku. every year students of class 3A and 3B will explore the fest together, and this year it's me, Suzuka, Miku, Kento, Chinen, Yuto, Ryosuke, Mirai and Kumiko.
"You girls really take so long to doll up. you're 30 minutes late" Yuto said.
"gomene gomene" I bowed in apology.
"kawaii! you girls look so cute in your kimono. right minna?" Ryosuke asked the guys.
"yeah. and so we forgive you girls" Yuto added.
Ryosuke throw his arms over my shoulder and bend his head towards me.
"you look really cute in this. my fashion sense isn't bad right. " he's complimenting his good taste, my kimono is given to me by him during my last birthday and he insisted I wear it for cultural fest.
"yea yea..." I pushed his head away. "I really dislike wearing kimono though, my shoes are killing me and it's so difficult to walk"
"that's because you are too violent all the time... you need to be more feminine like Suzuka and Miku-san, and you'll have no problems with this"
I hit his shoulders in frustration.
"Itai~ you see you're so violent"
our nonstop bickering was what I loved, it really make me feel close with Ryosuke since it shows how comfortable we are to each other.
"sempai!!!! Konnichiwa!" our bickering was interrupted by a group of 5 girls who ran towards us.
"nande?" we all looked in confusion, while me and Ryosuke froze in the midst of tackling each other.
"gomene minna, I lost a bet with them and they insisted I bring them along for the fest" Chinen admitted.
"oh, then it's Chinen's problem. lets go without him (laughs)" Mirai said.
"Sempai~ bring us around, it's our first year here" three of the girls started pulling Ryosuke, and I got pushed to the back.
"what the heck?" I said in frustration and looked at them in disappointment.
Ryosuke gave Chinen a deadly stare, and Chinen tactfully hid behind Yuto to avoid being 'killed' by the fire coming out of his eyes.
Yuto giggled and then suggested something that brought Ryosuke's fiery to the next height "since it's so packed in front, why not we split into small groups."
"so I'm bringing the three kouhai alone?!" Ryosuke asked while trying to maintain his gentlemanliness in front of the girls.
"no you're not alone. Umika will go along" Miku pushed me towards Ryosuke upon seeing a small gap in between the crowd.
her push was so great, I lost my footing and my whole body flew in front. Ryosuke caught me just in time and I crashed right into his firm arms.
I noticed that I've just fallen right into an extremely awkward situation so I quickly released myself from his arms. my cheeks burn, but I tried frantically to hide it.
"sempai, lets go!" the three girls pulled him forward.
"umika, lets go" he smiled gently as he turned back.
I trailed behind them like a distress puppy... my legs are hurting due to my new-worn heels and the long hours of catching up with them isn't helping. I tried to call out to Ryosuke, but everytime I do so, the three kouhai will stand in between us, causing my SOS to disintegrate before reaching him.
"Itai" I decided to pause for a while... I am not going to care if they noticed I'm not catching up. how the heck the three girls do it - they can walk hours with those heels. while rubbing my foot, Ryosuke actually called out to me.
"Umika, nande? Daijoubu?" he shouted from quite some steps away.
"hai~" I wanted to give him a deadly stare but with the three kouhai there, I could only show the more feminine side of me.
"I'm tired, lets grab a drink at that restaurant" he told them and signaled me over.
he looked like he is about to come towards me but those three kouhai just grabbed his arms and pulled him to the restaurant, leaving me to limb my way there.
"I really hate this~" I cursed.
fortunately , this restaurant serves my favorite homemade ice lemon tea... it's at least something good to calm my nerves.
"please give them each a peach tea, and 2 homemade ice lemon tea for us" he pointed to me as he instructed the waitress.
"am I right, Umika?" he winked.
that's comforting. he actually remembered my favorite drink from this restaurant though we only came once quite long ago.
"yea, arigatou"
the end of the short moment of happiness as I am again excluded from the conversation. the three kouhai are just flooding Ryosuke with questions that there's no way I could join in.
I took out my phone and started randomly messaging people, but practically everyone is busy exploring the fest that no one is replying my text. they must be having fun, unlike me.
my fingers moved over to a contact that I thought of all of a sudden.
"Daichan~
did you come for Horikoshi cultural fest?"
what am I texting!!! goodness. Daiki is an ex-Horikoshi student. many alumnus like him do attend the fest as well.
he won't reply me. he won't.
beep. omg he replied!
"Umika!
I wanted to but I overslept...(laughs). how is it?"
I giggled at his laziness.
"Daichan, as usual, you always oversleep (LAUGHS).anyway I rather stay home than attend this, so I'm actually envious of you now"
"why? I thought it's fun?"
"yeah it should have been, if these kouhai didn't tag along"
"ah.. I see where this is going... Chinen's lost bet is it?"
"what?! you knew about it?"
"yeah he told me about it. some of them are Ryosuke's fans"
"exactly!!!! I'm forced to go with him and now, I'm a total lightbulb."
"Umika~you are jealous yea?"
"of course not! Daichan~"
"haha, kidding. but friends can be jealous too. Chinen is jealous when Ryosuke hangs out with me too."
"Really?!"
"yeah... all the time"
I laughed.
"what's so funny sempai?" one of the kouhai asked .
"heh? ah nothing"
"who are you texting?" Ryosuke asked.
I can't say his name in front of the kouhai so I simply replied, "my ex-boyfriend"
"is it~" he replied sarcastically. "I'm going to the washroom" he stomped off the table
what's his problem. he's the one ignoring me the whole night.
"sempai, we wanna take the Ferris wheel later"
"go ahead~" I smiled.
"it holds only four people, and there's 5 of us. we really wanna take it with Yamada sempai."
I know what they're hinting...my heart tells me to fight for myself, I should enjoy the night too ( I really wanna take that ride this year! I've not taken it before ), but how could I possibly reject them.
"hai, you girls can go ahead with him. I don't really wanna sit that anyway" I forcibly smiled. my heart sank to the core. my body is aching, I'm bored , and i cant even take my favourite ride! how worst can this day get! I had enough of the day.
"girls, I am making a move first. you girls enjoy the day with Yamada-kun. help me say bye to him, okay?"
"hai, we will" they smiled to me brightly and at the corner of my eyes, I could sense them cheering since they can now have Ryosuke all to themselves
I seriously wanna strangle Miku for pushing me to their team. if I were to choose, I rather hang out with my girlfriends!, or Chinen and Yuto and Kento! anything is better than a fan outing like this. I don't like being stuck with a bunch of fan girls and .. I don't wanna share my best friend with them on a day like this.
I thought The two of us could finally take the Ferris wheel, I stare at the ride in disappointment as I thought to myself.
forget it, I'm not gonna wait for the next year to take this. I'll take it myself! no one said Ferris wheel has to be taken by more than 1 person.
I went ahead and queue up... I queued for nearly 30 minutes and am close to rotting.
"miss, how many of you?" the operator asked.
"one"
the people behind me are all in couples or in fours, just nice to occupy a capsule. they all looked at me in frustration as I am occupying the whole capsule alone.
"erm, miss... if you don't mind, the three of us join you. that way you won't hold up the queue and have the whole capsule to yourself." three skinny, but barbaric looking guys walked towards me and surround me.
"heh?" I wanted to reject them - their face is full of and lust, but the people behind are losing their patience. it seemed like a crime to sit in a capsule alone.
"don't be shy~ lets go " they grabbed my arms and hurried me in.
"Chotto matte kudasai! she's not alone, I'm with her" someone came from the back and grabbed my arms from those guys, holding me close to him.
I looked at him in confusion and I was surprised...
"Ryo..."
"shhh." he lowered his sunglasses and winked at me.
"so can we go ahead then?" he asked the operator.
"sure" the operator stammered, obviously mesmerized by how handsome Ryosuke is.
he held my shoulders and walk me into the capsule.
"Ryosuke, why are you here? I thought you are with the kouhai"
"well, I ditched them for you~" I blushed at his statement.
"oh please~ be serious."
"it's true! haha. I want to take this with you, we promised remember. I don't wanna wait one more year for this" he smiled briefly and turned to face the night sky through the window of the capsule.
I smiled happily as I looked at his back view.
we sat beside each other, cuddling in each other's warmth, enjoying every moment in the enclosed space.
"Umika~ you know, we've been friends for almost 18years...I always feel thankful towards you.
ever since I debuted, I'm worried that you'll be tired being my friend, and I'll end up losing my most treasured and only best friend for my career..."
"why would I be tired of being your friend?~"
"my family has suffered quite abit from my limelight. being constantly stalked by my fans, it's like being surveilled 24/7. my elder sis was being blamed and hated for using me for her career success... sometimes, I could tell they lost alot of freedom and are unhappy at times because of my job. but my family can't quit being by my side, whereas you can. you're not obligated to be my friend, but you stayed by me all this while, even when my fans attacked you, harassed you for my number and gossiped about you."
"you were there for me everytime this happens, isn't it. besides, I'm not gonna give up my best friend for such weak reasons."
"I promise you I'll protect you from my fans... so don't ever quit being my friend ok? you're Yamada Ryosuke's one and only best friend outside of work. "
I held up my pinky finger and he brought his pinky close to mine and sealed our promise.
in a matter of time, the capsule returned to it's base and we exited.
"Chotto~" he suddenly stopped and squat in front of me.
"take out your shoes"
"heh?"
he lifted my feet without permission and removed my shoe, placing my feet on his lap.
"goodness, it must be the long walk just now." he eyed the numerous blisters on my feet.
"hop on my back, I'll piggyback you home since it's not too far away" he asked while he faced his back at me, ready to receive my weight.
(credit in photo)I wrapped my arms around his neck and hopped onto his back. the warmth from his back immediately radiate through my veins. I leaned my head on his shoulders and looked at him.
he looked at my shoes which he has been carrying since he removed them from my feet.
"is it really that pain wearing these heels?"
"of course, you should try it!"
"it doesn't seem like the rest are having a problem though." he said innocently, like as if he is really thinking hard.
"errr I think they are just holding it in~"
he turned and smiled "if you don't like it, just wear what you normally wear~ you don't have to follow the rest."
"I thought guys like girls to wear heals cause we look pretty in it?"
"hmm.. well, I think girls look pretty in flats too. at least I think you look pretty in flats" he smiled.
I leaned towards his neck and wrapped my arms tighter around him for warmth. under the night sky,he continued to piggyback me along the quiet streets and chat about our lives like we always do. i like this yamada ryosuke who reveals the most truthful side of himself to me.
"Umika, you need to lose some weight" he giggled.
I hit his head conveniently.
"Itai!"
but he's really mean to me ~ I thought and giggled.
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