Viktor Redwood, the most infamous, most feared, most talented of all the known artists at this particular city in Japan.
This was something that would change the entire music industry in one fell swoop if it got out. His popularity, his fame, he's been known by everyone for years now, he was practically the new king of the underground rap scene. But then again there's nothing surprising when someone as talented as he was born into wealth. People like him, always wanted more, they didn't care about how hard working they had to be to reach their goal. They cared only about money and fame, and sometimes that's enough to achieve both. And he had made great strides through it, earning himself so much more than anyone else ever could before. But no matter how far ahead he goes, there were still obstacles in his way.
Viktor knew these things; he wasn't stupid. He had seen them happening since childhood. When his parents had met he had already been in the music business and his father had been an artist, but his mother had been a model, she had never stopped being a model. She was just too good. And when Viktor had told her that she would get a break, it really did take a while, she needed all the help that she could get with modeling and getting the best deals possible. So he helped his mom find jobs, found her models, even got her some endorsements. It was hard work, and the first time that his mother started getting recognized for real was during one of her fashion shows. Everyone on earth knows that models are paid to look good, but Viktor's mom, she looked incredible, and people loved her. Her reputation grew, she made her mark on the international scene, she became a household name.
But Viktor hadn't expected her to go anywhere near becoming famous until after she had gotten married. Because while Viktor's father had made a name for himself in the music industry, he wasn't quite as successful as his wife. Not with a wife, because that would bring its own complications along with the publicity, especially if her husband suddenly came across a few other models or actresses. And so he didn't get a lot of attention, especially not the kind of attention that his wife received. His wife was always surrounded by photographers and paparazzi and the press and they loved to do everything in their power to keep her image clean and presentable. Viktor's father had become well respected by a number of groups of celebrities, including his wife. But the media also seemed interested in his son, asking him for details on his life, asking him if he had a girlfriend or a boyfriend or a family or a dream career, and they loved to hear Viktor talk about all of these things. So when Viktor announced that he would be making his debut album soon, his family members were more than happy to support him and offer him any resources he might need to start the journey that would lead to his eventual success. After all, they were his family, and his success meant more to them than anything else.
That had happened about a month ago, and it was finally starting to sink in for Viktor that he actually had control over where he would end up from here. Sure, he still felt like he was running away from the future, like he didn't belong somewhere and couldn't imagine doing anything else, but he knew he belonged here. And that was what mattered the most.
It was almost six in the morning, and Viktor had finished his morning routine for the day. He took a shower, put on his clothes, put on his glasses, brushed his teeth, and then sat down on his bed. There were a million thoughts rushing through his head, mostly centered around his upcoming album release party. The idea was for him to attend a couple of parties and meet some people, get a bit of exposure. It sounded easy enough when it was talked about by his family, but when it came to actually putting the plan into action he wasn't sure whether or not he should be feeling nervous. If his album was going to hit number four, maybe his biggest fear would come true? Or maybe he should just give the whole thing up entirely, forget everything, move away to another country and never come back?
He shook his head violently, trying to rid himself of the thought. That wouldn't help anything. His mother had already called him a couple of times today, she asked if he wanted to spend Christmas with her in Tokyo, which had been exactly what he'd said before he hung up on her. The last thing he wanted was to spend any amount of time at home. He needed space and time alone. And maybe a break would do him some good. Maybe it would clear his mind.
But Viktor didn't think that was going to happen anytime soon. As long as he was stuck with his father it was impossible. Especially when Viktor realized that his dad didn't seem keen on having any kids of his own. And although Viktor wasn't sure why exactly his father wanted to stay single so badly, it didn't necessarily stop him from wanting children of his own. But Viktor was eighteen years old and he had plans for the rest of his life. He didn't intend to start dating anytime soon. And besides, he had no interest in finding a wife, he just wanted to focus on making his music and his fans. And besides, a husband would just be a burden, especially given how much he hated talking about his sexuality. He didn't want someone who would try to control him, or someone who would demand too much from him. Viktor preferred his relationships to remain purely platonic and uncomplicated.
And he figured that was probably why his parents didn't agree with his decision. They must be worried that he was going to regret everything once he'd settled down. He was young and pretty and rich – it was natural that a person like him would want to get married and settle down. He had spent so many years looking forward to his future that he could hardly believe the thought that it could just be whisked away from him like that. And that was precisely what he was scared of.
His phone buzzed and Viktor pulled out the device to check who it was. His eyes landed on the notification and he read the message from the screen without hesitation.
Unknown Number: I hope you enjoy your night ;)
His heart skipped a little, because although he had tried to ignore her all week, somehow his mind had brought her right back to him. She was so damn sexy.
Viktor: What can i say? I'm just naturally that lucky ;)
As if she understood his hidden meaning, her text arrived not long after.
Unknown Number: You can say that all you want, I know who you really mean ;)
Viktor smiled to himself and decided that it was time to go downstairs for breakfast.
After his morning routine was complete Viktor went into the bathroom and shaved in record speed. Then he ran the brush through his hair three times until it reached perfection. Then he washed his face, combed his hair out with his fingers, straightened his collar and tie, applied his makeup, and left the bedroom.
He was walking down the stairs, humming to himself, when he spotted Viktor sitting on the couch eating a piece of toast and watching TV.
"You're late." Viktor's father remarked. "We were waiting for you for fifteen minutes. Your mother was already here."
Viktor raised an eyebrow. "What time did you expect me to arrive?"
"Ten o'clock at least. Don't let us wait anymore, it's important. Now hurry up and finish your food."
Viktor swallowed his toast in a second, grabbed his coat and keys and headed towards the door. "I'll see you later! Have fun with mom! And please have some water!" he yelled behind his father before disappearing outside the door.
Once outside he leaned against the wall of the house, taking a deep breath. Everything was fine. They were expecting him to join them for dinner so he'd definitely go and eat there. Nothing bad would happen. It wasn't like she was coming to the place directly. She could have taken a different route, and she didn't know this house very well, so she wasn't going to recognize the house as his, and therefore wouldn't recognize him either. Everything would be okay, she was fine, nothing was wrong. He repeated those words to himself several times until his breathing returned to normal. It was time to go. He had no choice now. He was already here, there was no point backing out of it now. He straightened his posture and began walking down the street, making his way to the restaurant.
When Viktor arrived he saw that everyone else had already started setting up. Some had already started serving their food onto plates, and others were busy arranging themselves. There were chairs placed everywhere, people standing around chatting with each other. Most of them probably wouldn't remember him once they got drunk, but still, Viktor decided to play it safe for now, and sat down at a table at the side of the room with a view of one of the windows overlooking the main area of the restaurant. He hoped he could take advantage of the fact that most people in the restaurant were still in their pyjamas, and that he wouldn't be bothered by being seen with anyone. He didn't feel like meeting someone who didn't know him.
A waiter approached him a moment later, showing him a menu and pointing at the various dishes that he could order, and asking him which ones he liked and which ones he didn't. He ordered two of the same thing, since it had been one of the orders his mother had made for him when he first moved back to Japan. She'd told him to have lunch every day at one of the restaurants near her apartment. He liked them a lot because the chefs were very passionate and the food tasted great. Of course, he couldn't tell them what he wanted; if they gave him something that looked good he wouldn't eat it and if it looked horrible he didn't dare look at it, but he still found the taste enjoyable. Besides, it helped calm his nerves down.
He was currently drinking his tea while eating, and the waiter finally walked away with his receipt. While Viktor waited for his order to arrive he stared at some paintings that were hanging at the far end of the room. They were landscapes, but Viktor didn't notice what kind of paint they were. All he cared about was that these paintings were incredibly beautiful. And he could understand why they've become famous even though they weren't popular in Japan, but they seemed so unique in that it almost made him wish he'd gotten to see them before getting the chance. He sighed and continued to look around the place. When he noticed that someone was staring at him he turned to look at her, wondering why she wasn't speaking up. Her lips were slightly parted, like she was trying to speak up, but she hesitated and decided that whatever it was, she was going to leave it alone.
Viktor blinked a couple of times, completely confused, then quickly picked up his cup and drank all of it in one shot. Just when he was about to turn to ask her for the bill the waitress appeared and set the dishes in front of him. After she left again he looked at his plate and immediately his mouth watered, thinking of what the meal was going to be. His appetite was always quite good but it had never been quite this good. And it wasn't just the food. Something strange seemed to be happening, as if Viktor had suddenly developed feelings for the owner of the restaurant that weren't only professional but also friendly. Not romantic or sexual feelings, but rather a feeling of warmth. And maybe it wasn't totally a coincidence, because he felt that the woman beside him was acting strangely too. She hadn't spoken a word since he ordered the food, but she kept looking over at him, as if trying to communicate something. Viktor could barely believe that he was actually seeing her in a real person. It wasn't that unusual in Russia to have strangers sit next to you at a restaurant, but in America, where he'd grown up, he'd been used to the sight of a stranger sitting across from him, or a close acquaintance who often took him out for a drink. Not a total stranger though. One whose name he hadn't caught yet, and for whom he was probably imagining things.
The more he thought about it, the more convinced he became that he was seeing her in reality. And that made him even more confused because he'd known that he was gay for a while now. He knew that the way he treated girls had always bothered his family – especially Yuuri – but he had tried to control himself since the day he met the older man. However, ever since he'd met Minako at the coffee shop in Hasetsu, and learned about the fact that he could date men, his love for his best friend had become stronger, although he had tried hard to suppress it since he couldn't risk losing him. So, it was quite understandable that he should be attracted to women. But how on earth had he fallen for a girl in such a short period of time? Was it his imagination or had he been falling more for her than usual lately? Well, regardless, he was certain that he had feelings for this woman. If he could only figure out what exactly they were, he would definitely have a better understanding of what he was doing, and he knew that he would eventually come to terms with his feelings, or at least find a way to deal with them. For now he preferred to keep them bottled up inside, because they meant nothing more than that. And he had promised his parents that he would behave and behave normally, but unfortunately he couldn't stop himself from having thoughts about her and he wondered how much longer he had to wait.
"How are you enjoying your food?" Viktor's mother asked as soon as he sat down.
"I can't say I enjoyed it much." He replied. "But it was edible. Thank you for ordering it for me. And thank you for the dessert, it was delicious."
His mother smiled brightly. "Thank you, Vitya. You're welcome!" She turned to look at their neighbor, who was seated at a small table with two girls who looked like sisters and one young boy, a little younger than Viktor. "And who is your new neighbor?"
The boy looked up at her and waved excitedly. "Hi! My name's Chris! Nice to meet you! And don't call me Vitya, I hate it!" The girl beside him giggled and Viktor rolled his eyes.
"Chris, that's rude. You just said hi." Her sister scolded him, putting a hand on his arm and smiling apologetically at him. "My name's Mila."
Viktor nodded curtly. He didn't really care whether Chris hated it or not. As long as his friends were alright with it. And it was obvious that they were fond of the boy. In fact, they were quite fond of everything about him. From his cute, freckled cheeks, to his infectious laughter, his loud voice, to his personality. He looked so lively, so full of life, that he had never seen anyone smile as much as he did, and it was an unbelievable sight.
"Is it true that you are a dancer?" Viktor's mother asked Mila.
"Yes, ma'am. I do ballet." Mila replied happily. She seemed happy enough to answer the question.
"Wow! That's amazing!" Viktor's father exclaimed. "Did you come to the Utopia early today? Or did you have to stay later? We'll pay you extra for the use of the dance studio tomorrow, we'll show them our videos and you'll earn your money, I swear."
Mila shook her head smiling. "No need for that sir. It's the best class we ever had. They're amazing." She then turned to Mila's sister, "We came earlier than we normally do because we wanted to get a good seat so that we can watch everyone dancing together…"
"Yeah, and then my little sister and her friend were waiting at the gate and I couldn't bring myself to turn them away…"
"So they ended up coming anyway…"
"Yes. And after a while of talking with each other, they ended up inviting us to watch them perform."
Their conversation continued until the waiter came back and brought the dishes. Viktor thanked him politely, then started to eat. When he heard the sound of chopsticks hitting the plates, he looked up and saw that both of his friends were watching him intently, like they expected him to start talking any minute now. Which is exactly what he didn't want to do. So, he decided that silence would be the best option here. Instead of saying anything he simply smiled at his friends, hoping they'd drop the subject. They seemed to accept it and continued to eat their breakfast peacefully.
Once they'd finished eating their meals Viktor stood up and put a few bills on the table, along with one euro for tip. As he was leaving, however, Chris grabbed his shoulder and stopped him. "Vitya… wait…"
Viktor looked at him, raising an eyebrow in confusion. The boy was looking down at the floor, nervously playing with his fingers. "What's wrong?" Viktor asked him when he realized he wasn't saying anything.
"Can I talk to you for a moment? It's important."
Viktor furrowed his eyebrows a little, but nodded anyways. What else could there possibly be to discuss? After all, Chris didn't seem to be upset or angry, nor did he seem worried. Still, Viktor followed the younger boy into another room in the restaurant. Once the door closed behind them, Chris turned towards Viktor and gave him a pleading look.
"Listen…" he muttered, "You know why I came here last night, right? Why I told you how I feel? Because I wanted to explain myself to you. I mean I was scared that what I felt for you might change when I found out about you being a model. Especially since the first thing I noticed when we first talked was how beautiful you were." He paused briefly. Viktor blushed a bit at this, remembering that he still hadn't taken off his jacket, and he reached a hand towards it. Luckily for him, Chris interrupted him. "Anyway, I know that you won't understand what's going on inside of my head right now, but I still wanted to tell you. And if what I said last night was too weird for you, I completely understand that. I mean, what am I supposed to do? Let you see that my crush on you isn't just some crazy obsession and let you know that I love you, which obviously you haven't gotten by the way? I'm sorry I ruined everything yesterday. I hope you can forgive me…"
For the first time during his entire trip he had found his words failing him. Chris seemed to notice that and took a step closer to him. "Look at me, Vitya. Please. Look at me."
He hesitated before lifting his gaze.
"Please, believe me when I tell you that I love you. Nothing you say or do will ever make me feel anything less. But I needed you to know before I lose it. Before you decide that you no longer want me in your life, and leave me for another guy who doesn't appreciate you the way I do. You deserve to be happy. You deserve to have someone who treats you like you're the most precious person in the whole world, not like the competition or like some trophy, someone who can take care of you, someone who has your undivided attention, not just anyone who can be your friend. And I guess that I've already given you that, haven't I? Even though it may look like it, you have someone who truly cares about you and respects you, someone whom you love, someone who deserves to be treated the same way that I love you."
They remained silent, gazing into each other's eyes for several minutes. Finally Viktor broke their eye contact by reaching forward to grab Chris' hands and place a soft kiss on the top of his fingers. "I do love you, Chris, more than you can imagine. But… I'm afraid that I don't feel the same way. You see, I love Yura. You should have known that. I loved him as soon as I laid eyes on him. But you're right; I can't just forget him and move on, even if I tried. I can't ignore him anymore. And I really can't let go of his hand, no matter how hard I try."
"That's okay. You still don't owe it to him. I know he must have made it very clear to you when I first came here, but that's not the reason why I came. I came to ask you something."
"Something? Like what?"
Chris bit his lip hesitantly, looking down once again. "Would you maybe like to go out with me sometime? For coffee, maybe? Or dinner?"
"Oh..." Viktor stared at him in surprise. "I'd… I'd love to go on a date with you, actually. If you'll still have me. After all, I know that's not why you came here…"
Chris laughed and took Viktor's hand in his own. "Of course I want to go on a date with you. I love spending time with you. But I also love spending time with people who aren't related to me. And you're so sweet. So caring and considerate. You make me want to be better and… and I think I need that in my life right now, you know? Because it's been so hard, trying to get used to my family and to Yakov and to this city and my new home. And I can only imagine how hard it's going to be for you too, with all these strangers around you. And I'd hate for you to end up hurting yourself in some way because of all this. You deserve so much happiness.