“…Sorry.”
Ikuto, while pressing his lips to Tokio’s fingertips, bent down to look into his eyes. “Huh?” Tokio’s dumbfounded reply was met with another apology from Ikuto.
“I’m sorry for making you feel bad because of me.”
His light brown eyes were trembling. Noticing how close their faces were, Tokio hurriedly turned his head away.
“I-I mean, yeah, it was annoying, but they canceled the firing and, uh, I even got a raise, so…”
As he stumbled through his words, his face grew hotter. It’s just because I’m not used to being approached by someone so good-looking, Tokio told himself.
“So, you’ll forgive me?”
“Yeah, it’s fine now. But don’t get so close…”
Ikuto’s face brightened, and he grasped Tokio’s hands tightly in both of his. Tokio sighed and led him to sit down on the living room sofa.
“Hey, can I talk to you for a minute?”
When Ikuto nodded enthusiastically, Tokio freed his hands and took a deep breath.
“You know, I’m a Beta.”
Ikuto nodded again.
“And, even though I’m 26, I was a NEET until recently, just working part-time at a convenience store.”
Another nod.
“I’m not a woman or an Omega.”
Ikuto tilted his head as if to say, “So what?”
“Meanwhile, you’re an actor who’s active both here and abroad, and you’re an Alpha with excellent genes. You get what I’m saying?”
Ikuto furrowed his brow. “No, I don’t.”
“We live in different worlds. You should just go back to your glamorous life on the other side of the screen and stop disturbing the peace of my small 15-meter world.”
“We live in the same world. We’re right here, and we can even touch each other.”
Ikuto grabbed Tokio’s shoulder firmly, his brows knit in frustration.
“You don’t get it. Sure, Alphas and Omegas are drawn to each other, but I’m just a Beta, like the majority of people. Your pheromones don’t affect me… at all.”
As he said this, Tokio hid his face behind his hand. He didn’t want Ikuto to see that his face was turning red again. But suddenly, Ikuto grabbed his wrist and pulled him closer, showing a sorrowful expression.
“No, Tokio, you’re the one who doesn’t understand. We’re humans before we’re animals. It’s not just about pheromones or reproductive functions. That’s not the only reason someone falls in love…”
Guilt began to creep up on Tokio. Ikuto, the person in front of him, looked deeply hurt.
“Everyone has always praised me as ‘a superior Alpha with excellent genes’ or ‘a talented actor.’ But no one ever looked at me as a person—not even my own parents. Being an Alpha, being an actor, even my appearance that I inherited from my mother—those are only parts of who I am.”
Ikuto spoke slowly, as if revealing his true feelings. He had lived his life trying to meet the expectations of others, and that’s how he became who he was today.
“But it’s all hollow. Everyone praises the empty shell of me. But you, Tokio, were different. When you found out I was an Alpha, you said you didn’t care. When I said ‘see you later,’ you flipped me off. But you still told me, ‘take care.’”
“Maybe that was just because it was a new experience for you…”
“No, that’s not it!”
Like a child throwing a tantrum, Ikuto suddenly pushed Tokio down onto the sofa and leaned over him.
“You didn’t say ‘take care’ to Yanagi Ikuto the actor, but to me! To me! It was the first time anyone ever said that to me. Of course I fell for you! Don’t tell me to go back to the screen. I’m a human being living in the same world as you.”
Tears dripped down onto Tokio’s cheeks. Ikuto, who had played detectives, company presidents, elite officers, and samurai on screen, was now crying like a child, straddling Tokio and soaking his neck and face with tears. Strangely enough, Tokio felt as if he was being cleansed by Ikuto’s tears, washing away the cynical and defeated parts of himself.
Gently, he reached out and wiped the tears from under Ikuto’s eyes.
“I said some awful things, didn’t I?”
The words spilled out of Tokio’s mouth naturally. Ikuto’s tears stopped, and he looked slightly relieved.
“I’ll give it some serious thought. I don’t know if I can give you the answer you want, though.”
“Tokio…”
“I’m sorry. So stop crying already.”
Apologising again, Tokio wiped away the remaining tears. Ikuto nodded with a smile that was almost inhumanly beautiful. And then, he said something that reaffirmed just how extraordinary he was.
“Can I kiss you, Tokio?”
“Hah, no way!”
Annoyed, Tokio pushed Ikuto off of him. Just then, they heard a familiar middle-aged woman’s voice.
“Ugh, a kiss wouldn’t hurt. You’re young, just go for it.”
Turning toward the voice, Tokio saw his mother peeking over the back of the sofa.
“…M-Mom?”
Cold sweat broke out all over Tokio’s body, and his voice came out in a croak. To think that at 26 years old, he’d be caught by his mom in the middle of being pinned down by another man—Tokio let out a scream, and his mother swatted him on the head, scolding him for being too loud.
After shoving his mother into the living room, where she was huffing and demanding to know “what the heck is going on” Tokio pushed Ikuto toward the door.
“For now, you need to go home. My mom’s about to turn into a gorilla.”
As he was being pushed out, Ikuto turned back.
“O-okay… apologise to your mom for me. Can I come see you again? Will you meet me?”
Rubbing his face with the back of his hand, Tokio replied, “Yeah, sure.” As soon as he said that, something light touched his forehead. By the time he realised it was Ikuto’s lips, Ikuto had already pulled back.
“W-what are you doing…”
“Fall in love with me, Tokio.”
Ikuto’s light brown eyes pierced straight through Tokio.
“My happiest moment in life was when we rode that scooter together. It was thrilling and exciting. I’ve dreamed about it over and over again.”
It was true. When Tokio thought back on that time they illegally rode through the city together, it was a fun memory. But he wanted to believe that fun wasn’t the same as love—especially since he had no experience in romance.
“I-I’ll contact you later.”
Still holding his forehead where Ikuto had kissed him, Tokio hurried back to the entrance.
“I’ll call too! Don’t ignore me when I do, okay? Promise!”
Ikuto waved his phone from beyond the gate, pleading.
“Y-yeah, yeah, I get it. Now go, before the neighbours start complaining!”
As soon as Tokio closed the door and locked it, he let out a long sigh and slumped to the floor. His heart was pounding loudly, but he convinced himself it was just confusion.
His face was burning hot. Even his irritation with his mom, who was silently mouthing “explain yourself” from the living room, didn’t seem to matter anymore.
A few days later.
When Tokio arrived at the convenience store for his shift, he found the glass door shattered into pieces.
“What happened here?”
He asked, and the manager handed him something wrapped in paper. It was heavy. When he opened it, he found a chunk of concrete.
“Looks like someone threw this in.”
Inside the paper, written in red letters, were the words:
—Die, Minagawa Tokio.
“Ugh.”
A chill ran down Tokio’s spine. The store manager pursed his lips and explained.
“A photo of you and that actor started circulating in the online news yesterday. I guess this is the result… Why do things have to get like this…”
Tokio hurriedly checked his phone. Sure enough, on the gossip website for the weekly magazine Bunshuu, there was a photo of Ikuto kissing a dark-haired man on the forehead. The eyes were obscured, but of course, it was Tokio. The photo had been taken during their conversation in front of Tokio’s house a few days ago.
The headline read: [Yanagi Ikuto’s Beta Romance Going Strong, Engagement Greetings at His Parents’ House?] and [Net Backlash: ‘Out of His League’ and ‘Horrible Personality.’] Because of the recent chaos, Tokio had stayed away from online news and social media, so he hadn’t realised the new story had come out. Then his eyes stopped on a comment from someone in the industry.
“To be blunt, look at who he’s dating. This scandal is going to cause Yanagi Ikuto’s reputation to plummet. He’s still got work lined up for now, but in Japan at least, he’s likely to lose new gigs and sponsorships.”
The tips of Tokio’s fingers, still gripping his phone, went cold.
“I’m not a NEET anymore… I’m a part-timer…”
Tokio couldn’t remember how he spent the rest of the day. All that stuck in his mind was the screen of his phone, filled with multiple missed calls from Ikuto.
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