Just wanted to tell you, I totally made up some of Tokiya's family background ^^

CHAPTER 5

Neatly wearing her school attire, Harumi slowly pushed the door. The urge to meet and apologize to her father was jumping around in her mind. She wanted Masato to know she never hated him. Instead, she would support him as much as how he always supported her before.

Yet, she could not find him on his bed.

"Where is..." Harumi had her words stuck in her throat as she was served with the sight of her father, walking slowly out of the bathroom. His hands shivered as they clung desperately to all the furniture that assisted his way to his bed. The fact that he bit his dry lips showed his growing edginess in case he would lose his balance out of the blue. The other manifest feature was his face. It was so pallid and when he sighed heavily, Harumi could see that his lips were quivering.

Are Daddy's legs sick too? Why couldn't Daddy walk by himself? Her mind whispered in dismay. This sight was too heart-breaking. She was not used to seeing the weak Masato.

Harumi held herself on her spot while her small hand still holding the knob. The blue eyes started to glisten with tears when Masato finally sat up comfortably on his bed. He stroked his chest, feeling something stung the part even after him vomiting up his breakfast. His hand moved to knead his legs when Harumi jogged into the room. She paused, meeting eyes with the perplexed Masato.

"Hi, dear," Masato greeted, awkwardly. "You're... Harumi, right?"

"Yes, I am," she murmured sadly, taking one step nearer to him.

"You are my daughter, right?" He asked again, sending an inexpressible but wonderful feeling to Harumi.

Her father just acknowledged her. Her father just said that she, Hijirikawa Harumi was his daughter.

"Yes, I am your daughter, Daddy," she replied before throwing herself into his arms. The girl embraced his stiff waist tightly, bursting into tears right away.

Masato was startled with the sudden affection but when he felt his yukata stuck to his skin due to her tears, his heart sank.

"Hey, what's wrong? Why are you crying?" He awkwardly patted her back before stroking her long hair. His response just made her snuggled closer to him.

"I am sorry, Daddy. I am so sorry," she pulled away, looking straight into the blue eyes which had the same color as hers. Her father might be a famous celebrity which was the reason why she gained too much attention from her friends but she felt the proudest when they said she took after his good looks.

"Hey, what's this all of sudden? I am the one who should apologize to you. I forgot you..."

"But I screamed at you. I shouldn't say something rude like that. You're sick and that's why you forgot about me. I am sorry, Daddy," she climbed onto the bed before hugging his neck afterward. Her sobs echoed in his ears and he did not like it at all.

"Hey, really, it's okay," Masato replied, still patting her back. "Now, we know each other's mistake and we already said sorry to each other, I don't think you need to cry anymore. Let's forget about this, shall we?" Masato said, pulling away so that he could wipe her tears with his thumbs.

"I can't help it. I saw you walking just now," Harumi said, silently liking the caresses on her cheeks. "Why did you walk like that? Are your legs also hurting somewhere? Is it because of your disease as well, Daddy?"

"Yeah, my legs have become weak," he curved in a small smile, touching his knee. "It suddenly happened like that."

"Maybe if I massage you every day, it'll be fine," she remarked innocently as she rested her hands one of his legs and quickly massaged it. "Tokiya ojichan told me to help you and Mommy so I think, first of all, I should help you walk normally again."

"Tokiya ojichan?" Masato echoed as the name just rang a bell.

"Yes, he's one of your STARISH friends," the girl said as she smiled brightly at the thought of her uncle. Her eyes turned were still reddish from the crying earlier. "I was on the phone to him yesterday and he was the one who said to me that you're sick. He also suggested to me to help Mommy more."

"That uncle is the one with the blue hair, right?" Masato asked back.

"Yes, he is! Everyone called you and him twins since you guys are very similar. They even said to me that when I was small, I mistook him for you," Harumi explained, enthusiastically. Her eyes never left Masato's face since she missed too talk this long with him.

"Is he a nice uncle?" Masato was not sure why he was curious about that all of sudden.

"Yes, he is! Even he cannot visit you frequently like other uncles, he always asks me what are you doing at home. He's very close to you, Daddy."

"Oh, I see..."

But why did the other guys always avoid talking about him? Was there a fight between them?

Or... between me and Tokiya?

"Harumi, breakfast is ready!" Haruka's voice from the kitchen cut their conversation.

"Oh, Mommy is calling. Daddy, I have to go now. Let's play together after I go back home, okay?" she kissed his cheek lovingly before frenetically leaving him. "Bye, Daddy! I love you!"

"Bye, I love you too," Masato responded softly. Much to his shock, she returned to the bedside with a happy beam.

"What did you say, Daddy?"

"Huh? Do you mean 'I love you'?" He lifted his eyebrow, conveying his perplexity but it did not stop Harumi to have her cheeks dusted with a pinkish color.

"Can you say it again?" She tilted her head cutely. Her face was dazzled that nobody could guess she just cried a few minutes ago.

So cute! Masato exclaimed in his mind.

"Mommy is calling. You should hurry," Masato replied, intended to change the topic. The idea of repeating what he spontaneously and sincerely said became embarrassing to him especially when his family was openly being affectionate to him.

For the nth time, he felt he was so lucky to have a family like Haruka and his children.

"Daddy, please.... Just once," Harumi said while grabbing his arm. Her other hand lifted one finger to show 'once'.

"Okayyy... I love you."

"Yeayyy, my Daddy loves me!" She put her fists up blissfully, almost made Masato's heart jumped out of his chest due to his astonishment. "Now, I can study happily at school. Thank you, Daddy," she kissed both his cheeks.

"You're welcome but that's not fair. You should get kisses too," Masato held her arm, pulling her closer to him. The closer she was to him, the more he realized that this girl was so dear to the old him and he wanted her to continue feeling the same.

"But, Daddy... I kissed you because you said you love me despite not remembering me," she stated.

"But I want to kiss you because I really love you," he said as he cupped her face and pressed the kisses on her cheeks and forehead.

"Daddy, that's three kisses. You should get more!" She exclaimed, getting ecstatic when she got another energy booster from her father.

"Hey, it's okay. I just gave it because I want to."

"Then I want to kiss you four times," she climbed up the bed before kissing his forehead, cheeks, and nose.

"Harumi, hurry up! You're going to be late for school!" Haruka's louder voice echoed again, sending them flinched.

"Oh my... I will go first, Daddy. Bye, see you after school!" The said girl quickly climbed down before scurrying to the door.

"Bye, I will wait for you!" He continued waving until Harumi closed the door behind her.

She's so sweet and loving. Just like Haruka, he thought. Masato turned his eyes at STARISH's picture, staring at Tokiya in particular.

I don't know you yet but thanks for making my daughter understand my circumstance. I hope we'll meet soon.

Masato grabbed his diary from the small table beside the bed, writing about Harumi.

Little did he know, the meeting was going to be very soon.

It's always scary whenever these two practices together, Himura mentally commented. He was busy eyeing the anxious Eichii and the smirking Tokiya who were standing opposite each other. The manager felt the most threatened when his artist was holding a pen, improvising it as a knife since his role was the obsessive antagonist.

"Please stop all of these, Kenichii. Please, I beg you. I know you're a nice guy. You don't want to kill me, right? There is no way you will kill your friend just because..."

"Mika is not just Mika to me, Arata," Tokiya said, playing with his pen. His usually calm tone changed drastically to the breathy but chilling one. He moved closer to Eichii in order to find the opportunity to attack him. "Mika is everything to me. I know Mika more than you. I like Mika more than you and I love Mika more than you! But since she knew you, you ruined everything! You stole her from me! You made her left me!"

"But, Kenichii, now Mika is married to me. She might be your best friend but she's my wife. Please, Kenichii. Don't do this, okay? Give me the knife. I know you don't want to kill anyone. Plus, Mika will feel sad if she knows this..."

"Mika... will feel sad," Tokiya mumbled, eyes were still gazing at Eichii's. The hand which held the 'knife' tightly shivered at the name before he dropped the object to his side. As he lowered his head, drops of tears appeared, forming a small pool on the floor. "I don't want to make Mika sad... No, I don't want to see her sad..."

"Okay, cut!" Himura shouted which was the sign for their countless practice to come to the end.

"So, how was it, Himura-san?" Eichii asked with a childish smile. For a second, he did not look like the leader of HEAVENS who was well-known for his charisma.

"I think we've made him tired enough to sleep early tonight," was what Himura said, much to Tokiya's puzzlement.

"Wait, what's that supposed to mean? He's asking about our acting, right?" As Tokiya pointed out the non-corresponding answer while wiping his wet eyes, Eichii and Himura suddenly made a deafening high five.

"Mission complete!" The adults shouted childishly.

"What?"

"I just made a plan with Eichii to make you tired by practicing so many times. You won't wander aimlessly at night anymore," Himura clarified.

"You what?" Tokiya responded with his usual 'I can't believe you did this!'-esque face. No wonder Eichii insisted to come to his waiting room way too early when they still had a long time before their interview.

"I deliberately picked this scene so that you would cry a lot and feel easily tired. It's quite silly but fun anyway. Your eyes were so expressive, Tokiya! I still can't believe a stoic like you could cry that fast!" Eichii exclaimed, patting Tokiya's back.

"You don't mean they are puffy or red, right?" Tokiya said, sardonically. He turned to see his reflection in the mirror before gasping at how red they were, thanks to Eichii's ridiculous idea. "No wonder you are weirdly fired up with this scene when we haven't started the shooting yet. Should you be happy because the heroine is your fiancée? You should practice with her instead of me."

Himura and Eichii giggled at each other, sending Tokiya to roll his eyes. Deciding to ignore the clownish duo, he took a seat, eating a melon bread which he was supposed to take since just now if it was not because of the sudden practice.

"Of course I am happy because of Tomochika but it also made me happy to see you cry so sincerely like that. It's funny for some reason, right, Himura-san?" Eichii exclaimed, hugging Himura's shoulders.

"Yeah, veeery funny."

"But do you know what's funnier, Himura-san?" Tokiya asked, his mouth was still munching the bread. "You planned with him to make me tired but he was the one who asked me to hang out with him almost every night. I didn't mention him before since I promised him to not to but now, I don't see why I should hide it anymore."

"You what!?" Himura exclaimed, showing a sudden tendency to turn into a monster before pulling away from Eichii's hug. "You never said that to me, Eichii! Just like Kenichii, you're also a backstabber!"

Even the line was meant as a joke, it never crossed their minds that Himura was aiming at the right person which was Eichii.

To Tokiya, he might be a friend from the rival agency but Eichii was his backstabber since years ago.

"But, but... I thought that Tokiya would feel bored so..."

Eichii's luck was in when Himura's phone suddenly vibrated, which automatically stopped the manager from strangling him.

"I am not done with you," Himura said coldly before making his way to the sofa. "Hello?"

"Get ready to face the music, Eichii. My manager is quite scary when he gets mad," Tokiya said, flatly but layered with naughtiness. He was at his second melon bread, showing no sign of stopping his activity.

Eichii shrugged as his chuckles escaped his lips. He took a seat beside Tokiya who was flipping the script page.

"Just like his artist when he's working," Eichii commented with a smirk. "If you keep this up, I am afraid your status as the Heart-throb will overshadow my role as the protagonist."

"No, that's not going to happen," Tokiya winced in disagreement while waving lazily. "Your talent is more than enough. I can't expect more from the son of Raging Otori."

"Yeah, right."

The conversation about Otori just goaded the monster side of Eichii. He was here to get friendly with Tokiya before they started their interview for today but his father already disturbed him to steal the spotlight.

Which was a pain to him. Why could not his father leave him alone for a second? He knew his father wanted him to destroy Tokiya but sometimes, his father was too impatient and wanted the guy to completely vanish off the face of the earth as soon as possible.

He never agreed with the method. To him, it was better to start gradually but...

Detrimental which would completely wipe Tokiya out of the showbiz.

"Speaking about the parents, I am curious about yours, Tokiya."

"Huh? What about them?" Tokiya asked, still scanning the script.

"Well, are they the great performers like you too? Normally, a talented person like you would mention his parents as..."

"No, they worked as a doctor. In my family, I am the only one who is interested in performing arts," Tokiya said, nonchalantly.

Their conversation caught Himura's curiosity as well. Even though he had become the idol's manager since he was a child actor, he did not know Tokiya's family background well. All he realized was Tokiya was not close to his family. They did not even pay a visit when he was a trainee.

"Oh, really?" Eichii exclaimed, suppressing his shock from being visible. "But, I guess they still supported you..."

"No. They got divorced when I was young. When my mother knew that I passed the audition to be a child actor, she couldn't accept that and insist me to live on my own," Tokiya said, bluntly. His eyes never left the script so he did not notice how it took all for Eichii and Himura to not let their jaws dropped.

It struck Eichii's heart completely. As typical as it was, the sympathy grew in his heart when he knew he was supposed to laugh at Tokiya's misery.

His enemy's misery.

That explains why I never saw him celebrated anything with his family. He literally doesn't have one, Himura thought. Just like Eichii, he could feel a very heavy tug clung to his heart, sympathizing the idol.

"What's with the face? Are you curious more about them?" Tokiya said, finding Eichii's blank face as amusing. "How about... My mother always had high expectation on me. She wanted me to be a doctor like her but obviously, it didn't turn out that way. I disobeyed her because I was stubborn."

"That was... blunt," Eichii remarked. That was the 'smartest' comment that his brain could construct after being stuffed with Tokiya's shocking family background.

"Well, that's the truth anyway," Tokiya justified. His face did not give any slightest hint that the truth still left scars is his heart.

He simply did not see his parents as the part of his life anymore.

"Well, I am... I am sorry, Tokiya. I shouldn't have said that... Man, you shouldn't answer that if you don't feel comfortable..."

"Hey, that's okay, Really," Tokiya patted Eichii's tense back, eventually averting his attention to somewhere else other than the script. "They did what they thought was the best. Plus, I am already in my 30s. I don't think to have grudge against them will do any better."

But still, abandoning your son just because he has his own dream is never the best decision, though. Rather, it's dumb. If only you guys could see how much your strictness affected Tokiya greatly, Mr. and ex - Mrs. Ichinose, Himura thought.

"But why are you so honest all of sudden? The Tokiya that I know is very private about his personal life," Eichii asked, voicing out Himura's curiosity.

"I think it's because I believe in you," Tokiya lifted his face, smiling at the flustered Eichii. "I can see that you're a good person with the way you prioritize your group and your brother. Plus, I won't agree to hang out with someone frequently unless I am comfortable enough with that person."

Ohhohohohoho... Did you hear that, Eichii!? The one that you wanted to destroy since years ago just said that he believes in you! How easy could it be to you? You can kill him when he totally lets his guard down, Eichii! The monster side of Eichii murmured in his mind.

If only Tokiya knew that Eichii would cause the worst trauma in his life...

"Well, I think if you want to have someone who you can be more comfortable with, you should find someone to marry. People don't vote you as the Heart-throb for no reasons, you know. What do you think, Himura-san?" Eichii commented. He agreed that was out of nowhere but he would do anything so that he would not end up sympathize and be the true friend of the idol.

"That's what I always tell him," Himura said while flipping pages of a black diary to check Tokiya's schedule.

"Oh, really? Maybe it's just me but I think, the title was given to me because I have the ability to increase the number of perverts among the public. Just read those comments on my social media accounts. Plus, I don't think my children will be proud to have someone with an indecent job like me as their father."

The awkward silence lingered in the air but Tokiya did not even bother to ask why. He immersed himself back into his script reading.

As for Eichii, while locking eyes with Himura, they were positive that in their minds, they echoed the same thing.

Ouch.

For the third time, Tokiya splashed the cold water on his face but his eyes still desperately tried to fight the tiredness which started to spread over his body.

It was all thanks to the practice with Eichii and his stubbornness to sleep less than three hours last night despite Himura's long lecture.

Wake up, Tokiya. You have an interview after this, he mentally encouraged himself while he felt his eyelids were glued. To make it worse, his head started to feel dizzy and normally, it indicated a sudden catastrophe.

Should I think about anything that made me awake every night?

As soon as he asked himself, his eyes seemingly knew the answer. They were red because of previous crying scene and drowsiness but they were also wide open now.

The people that managed to distract his sleep every night were Masato and Haruka.

The Masato who he was constantly being compared to instead of the guy's hiatus. Instead of looking old-fashioned, Masato was way friendlier and fun to hang out with. Tokiya was just a scary lion who was so obsessive about his job and did not know how to give himself a break.

They were absolutely right because that was most probably why Haruka fell in love with Masato.

Haruka... How on earth was he supposed to forget about the composer? She was the only woman who he wanted to propose as soon as the 'idols are not allowed to be in relationship' rule was lifted by their president. Because of her, he did not even bother about the Heart-throb title. He could not care less when he was dubbed as the actresses' ideal types because his heart was only for Haruka.

But of course, no matter how similar could they be, between a Saint like Masato and a Stripper like him, a pure woman like Haruka would choose someone like the former.

That guy had so much good quality to offer but Tokiya...

He was just like what his haters described him; a guy who only 'sold' his body for a living.

No one actually knew that all he wanted was using his talent for his job and when the time came, he would marry Haruka.

It was that simple and innocent, something that one never thought, coming from an on-screen stripper like him.

As he was tottering out of the toilet, he felt his headache slowly swallowed his consciousness.

"Tokiya?"

Maybe it was not that innocent since now, he suddenly could hear the sweet voice of someone's wife in his head.

"Tokiya, are you okay?"

When he tried his best to not think about Haruka again, his legs lost their balances, forcing him to collapse but something or rather someone was suddenly enveloping her arms around him protectively, coming into his rescue.

"Tokiya!"

The voice turned so close in his ears and even though he knew it was wrong, he always loved it the most when the voice said his name.

The voice sounded so lovely.

I am excited about the last scene the most tbh lol. I wish I can publish the next chapter today or tomorrow. I am so fired up and seriously, those days without writing this story was quite stressful for me. As usual, if you have something to say about this chapter, feel free to let me know what do you think, okay? ^^