I had been blending in well at school for the first few days. It wasn't easy to hide who I was, but I thought I'd done a pretty good job. No one had asked me about Kira Nakamura, the actress, or said anything about my secret life on screen. But then, during class one day, Yuta looked over at me, a little smirk on his face.
"Hey, Rina," he said casually, leaning back in his chair like he was about to share some inside joke. "You know, I was watching TV last night, and guess what? I saw someone who looked exactly like you."
For a second, my heart stopped. Was he going to call me out in front of the whole class? My mind raced, trying to think of what to say. But I couldn't show any panic. I had to keep calm, like I always did on set.
"Lots of people look alike," I replied, hoping my voice sounded steady. I kept my eyes on my notebook, pretending to focus on class notes.
Yuta gave me a knowing look, like he wasn't buying it. "Right. Lots of people. Just saying, the girl on TV had the same face, same eyes… even the same voice."
I stifled a laugh, trying to brush him off. "You must be watching too much TV, Yuta."
But inside, I felt nervous. How did he recognize me so quickly? I had gone through all this effort—no makeup, natural hair, even wearing glasses sometimes, just to avoid being noticed. But Yuta saw right through it. Still, I wasn't about to admit anything.
Later, I found myself in the library with Emi, my best friend. We were supposed to be studying, but my mind kept wandering back to Yuta's teasing. I couldn't focus on the textbook in front of me. Emi, who was sitting beside me, noticed right away. She always knew when something was bothering me.
"Rina, you're doing it again," she said softly, nudging my arm. "You're not studying."
I sighed, closing the book. "Emi, I think someone at school knows who I am."
Emi looked at me, her eyebrows raised. "Who?"
"Yuta"
"What did he say?"
I leaned back in my chair, thinking about Yuta's smirk when he mentioned seeing me on TV. "He teased me. Said he saw someone on TV who looked like me. He knows."
Emi smiled, almost laughing. "He's teasing you, Rina. If he knew for sure, he wouldn't be so subtle about it."
I wasn't so sure, but I trusted Emi's judgment. She always had this way of making things seem less complicated than they were. "I don't know. It feels weird having someone from school figure it out."
Emi gave me a gentle push. "So what if he knows? Yuta doesn't seem like the type to tell anyone. And besides, he's probably just curious. You should add him on Line."
I blinked, surprised. "What? Why?"
Emi shrugged, looking at me like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "You two are working on a project together. It'll be easier to talk outside of school. Plus, if he knows, you might as well build a normal friendship with him. It's not like he's a crazy fan or something."
I wasn't sure. Part of me wanted to keep my distance, but the other part knew that Emi was right. Yuta wasn't acting like he was obsessed with Kira Nakamura. He was just… teasing me, like any other classmate would.
Then there was the library scene, right before Emi's suggestion. Yuta and I were supposed to meet there to work on the project, but he barely said a word the whole time. I kept waiting for him to say something about the TV comment from earlier, but he didn't. He just sat there, quietly flipping through pages, while I tried not to make it obvious that I was waiting for him to speak.
It was awkward. I wasn't used to this—silences with people. On set, there was always someone talking, giving directions, or shouting orders. But Yuta just… sat there. He didn't seem nervous or uncomfortable, just quiet.
"Rina," Emi's voice snapped me back to reality. "You should talk to him. He's probably waiting for you to break the ice. You can't always rely on other people to make the first move, you know?"
I sighed, knowing she was right. "Fine. I'll add him on Line."
Emi grinned. "Now you're thinking straight."
That night, as I sat in my room, I stared at Yuta's contact on my phone. It wasn't a big deal, right? Just adding him to Line for the project, nothing more. But why did it feel like such a big step? I tapped the screen, sending a short message.
Me:
"Hey, just checking in. You working on the project?"
Yuta:
"Yeah, working on the research part. What about you?"
Me:
"Same. Let's discuss it tomorrow after school?"
Was that nearly necessary? Almost immediately, a reply popped up.
Yuta:
"Sounds good."
I couldn't help but smile. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.