Chapter 57: Accident

Sometimes, a tiny misplaced hint can stir up towering waves within the heart of the person who receives it.

Watanabe Remu treated Kuroha Itsu with the consummate professional attitude of an idol, yet her demeanor sent ripples across his heart, reigniting a dying ember.

That little ember gradually grew into a volcano.

A volcanic eruption is a severe natural disaster, often accompanied by earthquakes, and while it brings harm to humanity, it also carries certain benefits.

For instance, it gave Kuroha Itsu the courage to forge straight ahead.

"Watanabe Remu."

Kuroha Itsu kept his head down, staring at his sneakers, which had gathered a bit of dust while their blue fabric was tainted by the exhaust fumes of the city.

"Hm?"

Watanabe Remu looked at Kuroha Itsu, her delicate, light eyebrows lifting slightly. She blinked her charming, large eyes, her thin, alluring lips parting into a captivating smile.

"Um..."

A light drizzle began to fall over the crater of the volcano.

"It's fine, take your time. Say whatever is on your mind."

Though younger than Kuroha Itsu, Watanabe Remu guided him gently at that moment, just like an understanding, compassionate older sister.

A gentle breeze swept across the crater.

Robbed of its tendency to die out, the volcano was fanned by the wind, and the flames churned once more.

"Watanabe Remu."

Kuroha Itsu called out again. His hands were still trembling, but his gaze had grown resolute.

"Yes, I'm listening," Watanabe Remu replied softly, though she turned her face to steal a quick glance at one of the cameras trained on her, unmistakably revealing a playful, mischievous streak beneath her youthful composure.

"I like you."

Kuroha Itsu said earnestly, still too afraid to raise his head and look at her expression.

"Thank you." Watanabe Remu flashed a peace sign at the camera while watching the head-lowered Kuroha Itsu, cheerfully responding to a "fan's" confession.

*Huh? Thank you? What does that mean?*

Kuroha Itsu raised his head and saw Watanabe Remu's relaxed expression. She showed no signs of hesitation or contemplation over his confession.

"I said, I like you."

Kuroha Itsu repeated earnestly. This time, he mustered his courage, fixing his gaze straight upon Watanabe Remu.

"Th—thank you."

Caught directly in his line of sight, meeting those sincere black eyes that awaited her response, Watanabe Remu felt a trace of unprecedented panic stir within her heart. Habitually, her lips uttered the standard reply reserved for every fan confession.

"Thank you."

Hearing this, Kuroha Itsu echoed, "Thank you," his voice trembling slightly, presumably with excitement.

***

After the momentary panic subsided, Watanabe Remu did not dwell on it. Her personal rule was to immerse herself completely in work mode while on the job, leaving all other thoughts to be sorted out only after the day's work was done. Consequently, she completely missed the burning intensity in Kuroha Itsu's eyes.

With a sudden lurch.

Kuroha Itsu's body rose from the sofa.

"Oh—!"

Watanabe Remu wide-eyed her charming, large eyes in shock. The bloodshot veins stemming from lack of sleep due to endless rehearsal schedules were laid bare in that instant.

With his left knee planted on the low coffee table and his right foot on tiptoe, Kuroha Itsu leaned forward. He cupped her cheeks in both hands, closed his eyes tightly, his face flushed crimson, and pressed his lips firmly against hers.

That was right—he had forcefully kissed her.

Under the recording gaze of two cameras, and protected by the two "guards" at the door.

Watanabe Remu clearly never anticipated such a turn of events. When her soft lips were breached, she froze entirely. As her first kiss was suddenly stolen, a loud buzz echoed in her brain, leaving her mind a complete blank.

Her brief moment of paralysis was misinterpreted by Kuroha Itsu as acceptance. He parted his lips, engulfing her alluring mouth entirely, and slid his tongue past her unresisting "white gates," tasting the warm, sweet, and delectable "pink jelly" that belonged to her.

The moment Kuroha Itsu's tongue brushed against hers, Watanabe Remu's body gave a violent start. She snapped back to her senses, her pretty face rapidly flushing from pale white to bright red.

*Thump.*

Immersed in the dual intoxication of sweetness, psychology, and tactile sensation, Kuroha Itsu was pushed away without warning by a pair of delicate, pale hands.

"What's wrong?"

Because he had been supporting his weight on only one leg at an angle, his balance was already precarious. Although Watanabe Remu's strength was not great, the shove sent him tumbling off the sofa. Scrambling up from the floor somewhat clumsily, he looked at her in confusion.

Watanabe Remu said nothing.

Her slender leg lifted gracefully, her skirt fluttering.

*Thud.*

His answer was a ruthless kick from Watanabe Remu.

A white leather boot made intimate contact with Kuroha Itsu's handsome face.

Two streams of nosebleeds trickled down from his nose.

A faint footprint now marred his clean complexion.

*Bang.*

The room's door was thrown open with a crash.

The first to rush in was neither Kimura Yundai nor the theater staff, but several men wielding handguns.

"Report, team leader, the item has been found. There are two suspects at the scene, and one of them is suspected of drug consumption." The leader took one look at the fluorescent sign resting on the low table, nodded to his colleagues, and immediately pinned Kuroha Itsu, who had not yet managed to stand up from the floor.

"There's some misunderstanding, officer! She is definitely not a suspect, she's an artist here, and I'm the manager, the person in charge!" Hearing the leader's report over his mic—which clearly lumped Watanabe Remu into the mix—the theater manager rushed inside to clear up the matter.

"Take them in first. We'll talk about anything else down at the station."

The leader issued orders without offering any explanation, completely ignoring the manager's pleas.

***

Two plainclothes officers walked up to Watanabe Remu and grabbed her wrists. She let out a cry of pain, terrified out of her wits by the scene unfolding before her. The events of the day had dealt her a blow too massive to process, and an unprecedented sense of grievance washed over her, bringing tears streaming down her cheeks.

The two male officers restraining her had initially paid little attention to her face, but when they caught sight of Watanabe Remu weeping like rain, a wave of pity stirred within them, and the silver handcuffs drawn from their waist belts froze in mid-air.

"What are you doing?" The leader barked angrily upon seeing his subordinates hesitate.

"No, no, no! She isn't a suspect! Don't put handcuffs on her!"

The manager was practically driven to tears. Watanabe Remu was their golden goose; who could have imagined that a private meet-and-greet organized to boost ticket sales would drag her down with it? Being hauled back to the police station for questioning would already severely damage her image, but once the media reported that she had been put in handcuffs, even an eventual acquittal might not save her. The image they had spent years cultivating for Watanabe Remu could be completely destroyed in a single day, or even a few hours. The destructive power of the media and internet trolls was not to be underestimated. The Mint group, which had struggled so long to finally gain some recognition, was now on the brink of crisis.

The cold silver handcuffs gleamed under the lights, creeping slowly toward Watanabe Remu's wrists.

"Which of you dares!"

Before Kuroha Itsu could process the situation fully, the sight of Watanabe Remu's tear-stained face sent a stabbing pain through his heart. Had he not known they were police officers, he would have taken action long ago. Knowing they were cops meant that acting rashly would bring massive trouble, but seeing those merciless silver cuffs about to lock onto such flawless wrists made it impossible for him to endure any longer.

*Bang—*

Just as Kuroha Itsu was about to channel his strength to break free from the men holding him, a gunshot rang out close by.

A bloody hole appeared in the chest of the lead officer, who had just put on white gloves to pick up the fluorescent sign. With a dull thud, his body collapsed onto the cold floor.

"Ah—!"

Watanabe Remu screamed.

The rest of the officers in the room instinctively drew their service weapons.

*Bang, bang, bang—*

The manager standing by the door was suddenly kicked to the floor, followed immediately by a flurry of deafening gunshots.

The plainclothes officers who had blocked the way to arrest Kuroha Itsu and Watanabe Remu all fell to the ground.

Three men armed with submachine guns strode into the room.

Leading them was the chubby man Kuroha Itsu had bumped into in the restroom.

"Damn it, the money's gone, but the goods can't be. That good-for-nothing Chuan Ling, getting caught by the cops this fast, truly useless. Oh? Remu, what are you doing here?"

Muttering curses, the fat man walked over to the low table, picked up the fluorescent sign, opened the hidden compartment, and smiled with satisfaction upon seeing the small blue vial inside. Just as he turned to leave, he caught sight of Watanabe Remu pinned beneath the bodies of two officers.

"Boss, let's go. The other cops heard the shots and will be here soon," his subordinate urged.

"Remu, I'm your fan, you know! Finally getting a chance to talk to you this close today is just wonderful." Ignoring his subordinate, the fat man squatted down and grinned broadly at Watanabe Remu.

With a face full of fleshy jowls, a lethal weapon that had just taken lives, and a dirty t-shirt stained with goodness-knows-what, he looked utterly repulsive, grotesque, and terrifying.

"No, no, no—!"

Watanabe Remu, whose rule was always to sort out her thoughts only after work, simply could not process the nightmare unfolding before her. Trembling violently, she shrank backward.

*Thump.*

With a dull muffled impact, the fat man's body was sent flying backward through the air.