Chapter 5



As Rena’s finger reached for the hotel room bell, she retracted her hand. “Somehow I feel a little guilty selling Atsuko out like this..”

“You don’t say.. You think you’re the only one who feels this way? Maybe we should just forget about the money..” Mayu pulled Rena back a little.

“Yea.. Somehow I felt like changing my mind.. It’s really unfair for her..”

*BEEEP*

Minami pressed the bell while they were still busy discussing. All they could do is blink their eyes at Minami’s action. It was already too late to stop her. Minami was smart enough to hide herself at the side after she pressed on the bell. Atsuko who heard the hotel room bell buzz, took a peek at the peephole. All she could see was Mayu and Rena standing outside her room. So, without thinking, she opened the door. As soon as Atsuko opened the door, Minami popped out from the side, shocking her.

“Atsuko! You’re really here!” Minami’s expression became brighter than the sun.

Atsuko immediately shot a glare at both Rena and Mayu. “You two sold me out!?”

“No no no no... We can explain actually..” Mayu tried to calm Atsuko down.

“It’s not their fault, Atsuko. I was the one who forced them to tell me..” Minami grabbed onto Atsuko’s shoulder. “Why did you run away, Atsuko? We talked about this..”

Acchan smacked Minami’s hand off her shoulder. “Please, Minami.. Just leave. I’m not going to repeat this twice.”

“Please come home, Atsuko. Or else, the news will soon spread and the media will report that you went missing. Things will get complicated.”

“....” Atsuko remained silent from Minami’s statement. Minami was right. Being a famous celebrity, running away from home or going missing will bring a huge impact to the music industry.

“Atsuko, please.. Think about it.. Everyone is worried about you.. All of us in the company decided to keep this news a secret so that it will not affect your job in the future.” Minami convinced nicely.

“Just give me few more days to think about it, ok?” Atsuko calmed down a little.

“Erm.. Atsuko.. Are you mad at us?” Rena guiltily asked.

“It’s not like being mad at you two will change anything now.. And I’m not the hot tempered kind of lady. I’m not mad, I’m just surprised.. Now that I think about it, I actually feel thankful that you brought Minami here.” Atsuko smiled at them. They felt completely relieved.

“I’m not going to force you to come home now. Just tell me when you’re ready to go home, ok? Just give me a call. I’ll be around.” Minami caressed Atsuko’s cheek.

Mayu and Rena did not say anything. They just looked blankly at each other as Atsuko smiled and nodded her head sweetly at Minami.

“Go get some rest now, Atsuko.. I’ll see you again soon.” Minami took a step back, allowing Atsuko to step back into her room and shot a sweet smile at Minami before closing the door.

The three ladies made their way back down to the front desk. Minami asked them. “Do you have any available rooms here? I would like to stay here till the day Atsuko decides to leave.”

“Sure. What kind of room would you like?” Rena asked.

“Any rooms will do. I don’t mind.” Minami answered.

“Just a moment.” Rena smiled back at Minami.

“What’s going on between you two?” Mayu asked Minami.

“Just some personal stuff and she’s been away for three days. I must bring her home by any means necessary.”

“By any means necessary?” Mayu shot a suspicious look at Minami before voicing out once again, “You do know that kidnapping is a criminal offense, right?”

“No! I would never do such thing to Minami. I will patently wait for her till she agrees to come home. Otherwise, I’m not going to leave.”

“Hmm... Seems like something really is going on between you two..”

“It’s personal, Mayu.”

“Well, secrets can also be shared with other people.”

“Then it’s not going to be a secret anymore, right?”

“You’ve got a point...” Mayu nodded. “But seriously, you both made me so curious about this matter. Come on, share it a little..”

“Why don’t you ask Atsuko to tell you about it? Well, that’s if she’s willing to tell you..” Minami giggled a little.

“Stop digging into other people’s personal life, Mayu. You’re no different than those aunt who gossips a lot.. And here’s your card, Minami. Enjoy your stay here.” Rena politely handed the hotel room card to Minami and smiled.

“Thank you..” As Minami was about to leave, Rena called her back.

“Ah, Minami... Before I forget, I should return this money back to you.” Rena took out the $5000 that Minami gave her.

Minami slowly reached her hand towards the pile of cash and softly pushed it back towards Rena’s chest.

“H-Huh?” Rena seemed surprised with Minami’s action.

“It’s alright. You hang on to it.” Minami smiled at Rena.

“B-But...”

“The money’s yours now as I promised. Keep it. I’ll see you two around.” Minami shot a wink at them before leaving the area and headed towards the hotel lift.

Rena gave a blank look at Mayu while still holding onto the $5000 on her hand. “Mayu, pinch me..” 

“With pleasure!” Mayu did not even ask for the reason at all as she started pinching and stretching Rena’s cheek as hard as she could.

“Ouch!!!” Rena let out a little shriek in pain and placed her palm over her cheek. She should have known that Mayu will never hold back on her strength. What more, it was Rena who urged Mayu to pinch her cheek. “That hurts like hell, Mayu!”

“Good.. Shows that you’re not dreaming. The $5000 belongs to us now.” Mayu giggled a little at the red spot on Rena’s cheek.

“I see you had some fun pinching my cheek, huh? Let me pinch your cheek once.” Rena stood up from her seat and lunged her arms onto Mayu. 

“Oi oi.. No way in hell! You’re the one who asked me to pinch your cheek yourself!” Mayu resisted with all her strength.

The table bell rang suddenly, alerting both the girls. As they looked front, they were shocked to see a pair of angry looking eyes staring right at them. “Having fun?”

“M-Miss Yokoyama..” They immediately sat back down on their respective seats.

“Playing in the hotel front desk gives a very bad impression for the hotel guests.. If I catch you both doing this one more time, you’ll receive your first warning letter. Are we clear?” Yui warned both of them.

Yuki appeared at the scene and placed her hand on Yui’s shoulder. “Now now, Yui.. Let’s give them some time to adapt, shall we? I’m quite sure they won’t play around like this again, right girls?” Yuki shifted her eyes towards them.

They nodded silently like two little girls being lectured by their mother.

“Try not to play around too much while you’re working, ok?” Yuki advised them with a smile on her face.

“We’re sorry, Miss Kashiwagi.. We’re not going to play anymore..” Rena and Mayu apologized. Both Yuki and Yui soon left the front desk leaving the two girls to continue their daily gossip.

Mayu gave it a thought. “I think something must be up between Minami and Atsuko..”

Without saying another word, Rena shot a loving expression at Mayu and caressed her cheek. She then spoke out in a loving tone. “Just tell me when you’re ready to go home, ok?”

Mayu retaliated immediately as she smacked Rena’s hand away and rubbed her face vigorously. “Eww... Stop it! What kind of demon possessed you!?”

Rena explained. “Do you get the situation now, Mayu? We’re best friends since childhood and also I’ve had enough friends to tell that Atsuko and Minami are not in a simple friend relationship. You feel disgusted from my action, right? No worries, I feel disgusted as well. You see? We have a limit for our closeness. In other words, Atsuko and Minami are definitely more than just best friends.”

“That’s just your assumption, Rena. I’m not going to jump into any conclusion based on only that..”

Rena stared at Mayu’s face blankly and playfully caressed her face once again.

Mayu smacked Rena’s hand away again. “Stop touching me, Rena! I swear to god I’ll slap you back to Mars if you touch me again.” Mayu did the slapping gesture

Rena thought Mayu’s reaction was hysterical. She laughed at Mayu’s reaction before the sight of Jurina walking past the hotel front desk caught her attention. She called her out immediately. “Miss Matsui!”

Jurina heard Rena’s call and walked over to the hotel front desk. “Yes, Rena?”

“Here.. Your $1000.” Rena stood up and placed a $1000 cash on the table.

Jurina stared at Rena for a moment before taking the $1000 cash from Rena’s hand. “Thank you.”

“O-Oh, it’s alright Miss Matsui.. You don’t have to thank me for that. It was my mistake from the very beginning. I should be the one thanking you for giving me a chance to continue working here. I’m really grateful. For that, I thank you. And I am really sorry for any accidents or mishaps caused before this.” Rena bowed her head a little in respect.

Jurina seemed a little surprised with Rena’s action. She then voiced out. “Where did you get the money from?”

Rena shook her head a little. “It doesn’t matter where I got the money from. What matters is that I was able to pay you back. And don’t worry, these are clean money. Not obtained by means of criminal activities.”

“Alright. I believe you.” Jurina kept the cash in her pocket.

“So, are you still mad at me?” Rena asked in a guilty tone.

“I used to be.. But not anymore. To tell the truth, I never really thought that you would be able to pay me.”

“You were actually waiting to fire me from this job?”

“I’ve never actually planned to fire you. Sometimes, some people just needed a little push and you’ll be surprised with the outcome they will bring to you. Your case is an example. I may seem intimidating and fierce most of the time but I am not unreasonable. When you thanked and apologized to me just now, my impression of you changed a little. You may actually be a better person than I thought you were.”

“H-Huh?”

“Have a nice day, Matsui Rena.” Jurina flashed a quick smile at Rena before leaving.

Rena’s mind went blank for a few seconds. What was that facial expression Jurina showed to Rena a couple of seconds ago? Rena had never seen that expression from Jurina’s face before. That’s right. Jurina was smiling at her. Rena touched her face and it felt warmer than usual. Rena rolled her eyes over to Mayu to notice that she was squinting her eyes at her. While still having a suspicious look carved on her face, Mayu asked, “You need to put an ice pack on your face, Rena.”

Rena looked confused. “What are you talking about?”

“What am I talking about, you ask? Take a look at your own face, Rena.” Mayu took out her pocket mirror and showed it to Rena. Rena was shocked to find that her face was blushing in red.

“My gosh. What just happened..” Rena covered her face.

“Who looks like a baboon’s now?” Mayu said in a triumphant tone.

“Just shut up, Mayu..” Rena rolled her eyes.

“That Jurina has some warmth in her after all..” Mayu let out a giggle.



The next day (AKB Mall)

“I needed some sleep, Mayu.. Can’t you just grab some nice clothing from your closet instead of coming out so early in the morning to buy a new one? You have like thousands of them..” Rena yawned.

“I have a date with Miss Kashiwagi tomorrow, Rena. I must get new clothes.”

“Yea, but at 10am?” Rena yawned once again.

“I needed more time to choose what I like. I can’t screw this up.” Mayu explained with a loud voice.

“Sure sure. Suit yourself..” Rena admited defeat.

“Hey.. Which one do you think is better? This one? Or this one?” Mayu lifted a blue dress on her right hand and a pink dress on her left.

“Hmm...” Rena gave it a little thought before answering. “Pink was never your colour. The blue one is better.”

“Cool... The pink one then..” Mayu placed the blue dress back in its rack.

“Oi, what’s the point of asking me for recommendations and yet you don’t take it into consideration?” Rena looked a little annoyed.

“It’s a free country. So I have to right to oppose you and pick what I want.”

“Jeez.. Then don’t ask for my recommendation.”

“Oooo..... Look at these shoes...” Mayu rushed towards the shoe section and held up two pairs of shoes. “Hey Rena.. Which one should I get? The high heels or the flats?”

“The high heels, of course. You’re going on a date. Dress to impress.”

“Eh..... But I feel uncomfortable wearing high heels. Meh.. I’ll just get the flats.” Mayu placed the high heels back on its rack.

Rena closed her eyes and sighed loudly. “The next time you ask me for recommendations, I’m just going to keep my mouth shut.” 

Mayu simply ignored Rena’s statement and made her way to the counter. After glancing through Mayu’s pink dress for another time, Rena voiced out. “You’re really choosing pink? Like, really?”

“I don’t see the problem with pink dress. It’s cute.” Mayu took out some cash from her purse and paid for them.

“You actually think you look cute in pink?” Rena raised both her eyebrows.

“I don’t need pink to look cute, Rena. I’m cute no matter what I wear..” Mayu shot a cute and sweet smile at Rena. For normal people, they would have fallen for her sweet smile. Somehow Rena is completely immune to it. In fact, Rena feels disgusted looking at Mayu acting cute in front of her.

“I think I’m going to puke. Ugh-” Rena acted as if she really was going to puke. Her body was bend over.

“Oh shut up, Rena. You’re just jealous because you’re not as cute as me.”

Rena held her hands up. “Oho.. Don’t you worry about that, Mayu.. I’m proud not being cute.”

Mayu didn’t seem to pay attention to Rena’s statement as she was looking outside of the store. She looked a little disturbed. Feeling a little concerned about her friend’s behaviour, Rena asked Mayu. “You don’t look well.. What’s wrong?”

“Isn’t that Miss Kashiwagi and Miss Matsui over there?” Mayu pointed at two ladies standing just opposite the store they were in.

“Huh? Where?” Rena looked at that direction as well. “Oh my gosh, it’s really them. Let’s go say hi.”

“No!” Mayu pulled Rena back.

“Why not!?” Rena asked, being confused with Mayu’s action.

“Let’s stalk them..” Mayu hid behind an aisle in the store and peeped at them.

“Stop doing that, Mayu.. You look like a creep.”

“I have to know what they’re up to..”

Rena noticed some people were looking at them. “Stop it, Mayu.. There are people looking at us. You’re embarrassing.”

“That Jurina... Trying to court Miss Kashiwagi..” Mayu glared at the couple standing by the ice cream store.

“Achoo!” Jurina sneezed out. “Somebody must be talking behind my back.”

“You’re being too superstitious, Jurina. You just got a cold, that’s all.” Yuki took out a tissue and passed it to Jurina. “Here, blow your nose.”

And Jurina did blow her nose into the tissue. “You know, Yuki.. Sometimes I just think you’re like my mom.”

Yuki didn’t seem to like Jurina’s statement as she squinted her eyes at Jurina. “You’re not trying to say that I’m old, are you?”

“Pffttt.... You? Old? Do you even age? Even if you wear a school uniform right now and go to school, people would actually believe that you’re a student. You’re not old. What I’m trying to say is that you care for me as much as my mom does.”

Yuki rolled her eyes and smiled a little. “Stop flattering me so much, Jurina..”

At this time, Jurina placed an arm over Yuki’s shoulder. “What’s wrong? You don’t like my flattering?”

“Just keep quiet and eat your ice cream, Jurina.” Yuki took Jurina’s ice cream and placed it into .

“You too, Yuki.” Jurina placed Yuki’s ice cream into as well. They seemed happy with each other’s silliness.

“What are they doing!? Why are they feeding each other!?” Mayu tightened her fists. Apparently one of Mayu’s hand was on Rena’s shoulder, causing her to crumple Rena’s shirt along.

“Emm.. You’re crumpling my shirt, Mayu.. Let go.” Rena slowly removed Mayu’s hand off her. “You wanna know why they’re feeding each other? They’re dating. The end. Now let’s go home.”

“They could be normal friends.. It’s still a possibility, ok?”

“And I’m telling you they’re not. Just like Minami and Atsuko.”

“Why would Miss Kashiwagi agree to date me if she’s already dating someone else? Hmm? Tell me.”

“I don’t know..” Rena shrugged her shoulders. “Sympathy?”

“Deal with it, Miss Kashiwagi and Miss Matsui are not dating. They are just two friends hanging out together.”

Rena rushed Mayu once again. “Whatever, alright? Let’s just leave them alone and go home. Our shift starts in an hour time.”

“But I have yet to finish stalking them..” Mayu continued peeping out of the store like a burglar.

Rena dragged Mayu away from the scene. “Forget about them, Mayu. You’’re going on a date with Miss Kashiwagi anyway. It’s time to leave.. We’re really going to be late.”



Later that evening (AKB Hotel Front Desk)

“Gosh, I just can’t wait for today to pass.. I can’t believe I really am going on a date with Miss Kashiwagi..”

“Something still bothers me a lot.. Why were they so close to each other.. They’re definitely not dating one another.. If they were, Miss Kashiwagi would never have agreed to go on a date with me..” Mayu squeezed her brain.

“Who knows? Maybe she’s a two timer?” Rena laughed out loud.

“Rena, if you say that about Miss Kashiwagi again, I will chop your head off..” Mayu warned.

“Would you like me to bring you a cleaver?” Rena sarcastically answered.

“HA HA HA! Not very funny, Rena.. Don’t be jealous because I have a date and you don’t.”

“I’m not eager to find a date after all.. So I’m all cool..” Rena shrugged.

Suddenly, a figure of a girl walking in the hotel entrance caught her attention immediately. “Holy crap, Rena.. Look who’s here.” Mayu nudged Rena’s arm.

Noticing the entrance, Rena saw a girl with a fur coat and leather pants, wearing sunglasses. She looked fabulous like a model. A man in suit was walking behind her, presumably, her bodyguard. “Yea, who’s that?”

Mayu smacked herself on her head. “Who is that!? That’s the president’s daughter, Rena...”

“Wow, she has really good fashion sense. She looks like a model.” Rena seemed impressed.

“She IS a model, Rena. Don’t you read fashion magazines? Itano Tomomi a.k.a Tomochin, modeled for a lot of cosmetic and fashion design products. Number one in fashion. Number one in being a complete spoiled brat as well.. Just look at the way she walks.” Mayu secretly pointed at the girl walking towards the reception.

“Spoiled brat? Oh come on, Mayu. Don’t be like that. I’m sure she is not that bad.” Rena didn’t want to judge the book by its cover.

“Oh yeah? If that’s what you think, good luck to you then. You better hold your anger in well. Or else, if she complains to her dad about this, things will get political.. We don’t want that, alright? Brace yourself, here she comes.” Mayu gave Rena a last nudge before the girl stood in front of the front desk.

Rena shot a sweet smile at the girl standing by the front desk. “Good evening, ma’am. How may I...”

“Itano Tomomi, daughter of the Japan’s president. Find me a suite now.” She wasn’t even looking at Rena. She was playing with her nails when she introduced herself.

“Erm.. Okay... Let me take a look.” After looking at the screen for a moment, Rena replied with a smile. “I’m sorry, Miss Itano. All the suites were occupied.”

Tomochin seemed annoyed. “What kind of hotel is this? I demanded for a suite and you dare tell me that they’re all occupied? Do you know who am I? I could sue you right here, right now.”

“Wow wow wow...” Rena was shocked from Tomochin’s last sentence. “Calm down, ma’am.. There’s no need for suing. You have to understand, there are no available suites left. How about a Duplex Room? It’s just as big as the-”

Tomochin did not allow Rena to finish her sentence and pointed at her face. “I don’t care what a Duplex Room is. I want a suite and it is your job to find me one. If you can’t then just chase someone out. Simple.”

Mayu helped out. “No offense, ma’am.. We can’t chase the other guests away just because you want it. It is unfair for the others.”

“Where’s your CEO! I want to meet your CEO now!” Tomochin slammed her fist on the table and demanded. Even her bodyguard tried to calm her down.

“Ma’am.. Let’s not make things more complicated then it already is.” Rena tried to calm Tomochin down but it didn’t seem to work.

“You’re the ones making things complicated for me. I demand to see the CEO!” Tomochin stomped her foot and insisted.

Mayu immediately made an emergency call for Yuki using the hotel front desk telephone. Moments later, Yuki arrived at the scene. “What seems to be the problem here?”

Mayu answered in a sarcastic tone, “Miss President’s daughter right here demands for a suite when they are none left.”

“Ah, Miss Itano. It’s been some time.” Even Yuki bowed her head a little in respect. “When was the last time we’ve met? Like four years ago? You’ve grown a lot since then.” Yuki smiled sweetly at her.

“There’s no need for introduction now, Yuki. I want a suite. Get me one.” Tomochin shot an annoyed glare at Rena and Mayu before voicing out. “You should fire these two incapable workers of yours, Yuki..”

Rena and Mayu merely looked at each other. Both of them were thinking of the same thing. “What the hell is wrong with her.”

Yuki replied Tomochin with a smile. “Forgive us, Miss Itano, but the suites are really fully occupied. How about a duplex room? Would you like that?”

“Duplex room again? What’s that? Is it big?”

“No worries, Miss Itano. I assure you the Duplex Room is just as big as the suite. It’s a room that has been spread on two floors, connected by an internal staircase. Think of it as a mini bungalow. How does that sound?” Yuki suggested the Duplex Room once again.

“Hmm... Ok then. I’ll take that.” Tomochin nodded her head before glancing over to Rena. “You should have suggested that to me earlier.”

Rena looked at Tomochin blankly and smiled back. “That was what I suggested earlier, ma’am.”

“Ah, whatever. Just get the room ready for me now.” Tomochin brushed Rena off immediately.

“How long would you like to stay here for?” Rena asked with a smile.

“One week.” Tomochin played with her nails again.

“Here, your hotel room card, Miss Itano. I chose the unit with the best sea view for you. Enjoy your stay.” Rena smiled and passed the card key to Tomochin.

“Antonio, take the card.” Tomochin instructed the man standing behind her.

“Yes, my lady.” The man politely took the card key from Rena’s hand and passed it to Tomochin.

She then reached for her pink fluffy purse and took out a $50 bill and slammed it on the front desk. “Here, your tip.. Antonio, lets go.” Tomochin and her bodyguard proceeded to the lift without another word.

Right after her figure was out of the picture, Rena cursed immediately. “My gosh, what a .”

Yuki voiced out. “Rena, watch your language.. She’s the President’s daughter whether you like it or not. We can’t let her hear these words about her. And you did quite a good job. You held in your anger pretty well. Keep it up.”

“Thank you for your compliments, Miss Kashiwagi.” Rena scratched her head.

Rena squinted her eyes at Rena for a moment before smiling brightly at Yuki. “What about me? Did I do well?”

“You? Hmm.. I don’t know about that yet.. I’ll have to wait for tomorrow to find out.” Yuki smiled.

Understanding Yuki’s reference, Mayu blushed a little and nodded. “I won’t forget it. Tomorrow 10am at AKB Park.”

“Don’t be late tomorrow, Mayu. I don’t like to wait..”

“You don’t have to worry about that, Miss Kashiwagi. I will not arrive late.”

“Good then. If there are no more problems then I’ll be heading back to my office now. See you guys..” Yuki made her way back to her office.

“Lucky you, Mayu.. You can finally go on a date with the woman of your dreams.” Rena nudged Mayu’s arm.

“Yea.. I know. What about you then? When are you going to start dating?” 

“So far, I have not met anyone that interest me yet. Maybe in the near future..”

“Are you sure about that?” Mayu doubted Rena’s statement. “What about Miss Matsui?”

Rena immediately pointed at Mayu’s face. “Don’t even start, Mayu. Just get out of my head, ok?”

Mayu then pulled her chair closer to Rena and looked right into her eyes. “So tell me, why did you blush when you were talking with Miss Matsui yesterday? Was it because of her smile? Or was it because you think that she’s actually nice?”

“You’re hallucinating, Mayu. I didn’t blush.”

Mayu shook her head. “Well your face sure did not agree to that, since you looked like a baboon’s that time.”

“Well... Actually I don’t even know what happened.. I just had this warm, fuzzy feeling that time when she smiled at me. That’s all.” Rena finally explained.

“You’re in love!!” Mayu clapped her hands.

“I’d say love is a pretty strong word to describe this. I rather it be called ‘change of impression’. Get it? I just don’t think that she’s as bad as I thought before.. That’s all.”

“Yea, keep telling yourself that. All relationships start with a ‘change of impression’.” Mayu did the finger quote gesture.

Rena let out a long sigh. “I have a suggestion.. How about you take care of your own dating issues and I’ll take care of my own dating issues? How’s that sound? Stop messing with my head, alright? My gosh you’re like a little devil trying to manipulate my brain.”

“Me being able to manipulate other people shows that I have a healthy brain. So I’ll take your statement as a compliment.” Mayu winked at Rena.

“Oh, sure.. Whatever you say, spawn of satan.. If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to the washroom.... And don’t follow me.”

“Why not?”

“Stomachache.” Rena shot a wink back at Mayu.

Wearing a disgusted expression, Mayu shook her head. “You’re gross...”


Chapter 5
END