It happened just as Hide, the leader of Enfants Terribles, was heading to the parking lot to pick up his lover after her fan signing event, following his own recording of 'Ametalk!'.
She had complained so much about being worried to appear in public for the first time since their dating rumors broke, but Hide had been confident she would handle it well. He was just about to mount his bike when it happened.
"Wait a second! Hide-kun!!"
An 'Ametalk!' staff member, whom he had just seen on set, grabbed him with a face that looked like it was holding back tears and began pulling him somewhere.
'What is it...? Was there a problem with the recording?'
But when he arrived at the spot the staff member led him to, he saw something unbelievable. To be precise, it was something he could never have imagined, something that should never have happened—flashing across the TV in the broadcasting station lounge as a breaking news report.
"What the hell am I looking at?"
Reading the text on the screen labeled 'Breaking News,' he felt his mind go blank. It felt as if his heart had dropped into a bottomless abyss, as if half of his body was being ripped away.
The colorful world turned to monochrome. The surrounding noise, and even the sound of his own heartbeat, faded into silence. Only then could he finally read the words on the screen.
<[Breaking News] B-Komachi's Ai in Critical Condition After Terrorist Attack.>
<[Exclusive] B-Komachi's Ai Currently Being Transported to Tokyo Tanakawa Hospital Following Excessive Blood Loss.>
<[Emergency Alert] Hoshino Ai of Strawberry Productions in Critical Condition Due to Aortic Bleeding.>
"What the hell is this bullshit... Stop joking around..."
Despite his words, the handsome blonde youth was already sprinting toward his motorcycle in the parking lot, his breath coming in ragged bursts as if all the air had been vacuumed out of his lungs.
The moment he swung onto the bike, Hide didn't even stop to steady his breathing. He kicked it into fifth gear and twisted the throttle to its limit, surging forward.
Vroom!!!
As he rode, he caught glimpses of the attack scene on city electronic billboards. It was gruesome. The sight of her opening a gift from a fan, only to be deeply cut, clutching her wrist and collapsing, forced the worst possible outcome to the forefront of his mind.
"Oh my! How could that happen?!"
"She's done for... With that much blood..."
Various voices drifted toward him as he tore through the city, but Hide didn't falter. He pushed the motorcycle to its absolute top speed, racing toward Tanakawa Hospital.
"Move!!"
Ignoring lane lines, Hide weaved through traffic at 200 km/h, heading toward the place where his beloved had been taken.
In all his life, Hide had never truly resented the world. But right now, he was pouring out all his bitterness toward existence. This godforsaken world always took the people most precious to him. The 'older brother' who had taken him in had died in a construction site accident, and the lover who had sustained him after that had died of an illness.
Screech!!
However, despite his desperate urgency, he couldn't drive all the way to the emergency room. Vehicles covered in broadcasting station logos were clogging the entrance, making it impossible to get inside.
Hide jumped off the bike and began to sprint toward the ER entrance.
"Hide-san!! How are you feeling right now?!"
"Feelings my ass. Get the fuck out of my way."
Reporters tried to block his path, but they were unceremoniously flattened onto the pavement by fists carrying Hide's full body weight.
Nothing could stop Hide's charge until he found Ai.
.
.
.
.
.
.
"Wow... You were really lucky, Ai-san. If this had gone just a bit more to the side, it would have hit the nerve. I'm glad it missed."
"Hehe... Is that so?! Then I was super lucky!☆"
The first thing I saw when I reached the emergency room was Ai, her wound already stitched up, talking to a man who appeared to be her doctor. I stared at the scene for a long moment before I began to walk toward her, as if I were under a spell.
"Oh..? Hide, how..."
"I'm so glad you're safe. Truly."
I pulled her into a hug right in front of the doctor. As she looked at me, Ai's eyes were filled more with concern for me than for herself, the victim of a terrorist attack.
"Hide, are you okay...?"
The violet-haired girl stroked her weeping lover's hair, her voice thick with worry. But for once, Hide couldn't understand his partner.
Even at a time like this, she put her lover's heart before her own well-being. To him, she was the one who needed to be looked after.
"Weren't you scared?"
"If I said I wasn't... that would be a lie, right? But I can't exactly start being afraid of my fans...."
Ai expressed her feelings as calmly as possible, but her response only made me grit my teeth tighter.
To be honest, I had been careless. I thought the massive Enfants Terribles fandom would suppress negative opinions about our relationship. I thought that by building a positive image through YouTube and major TV appearances, everything would be fine.
But that wasn't it. Like a single domino falling and triggering a chain reaction that knocks them all down, the waves caused by our dating rumor were larger and more cruel than I had ever imagined.
'There's no guarantee an incident like this won't happen again.'
We got lucky this time because of a quick response, but assuming we'd always be that lucky when a similar situation occurred would be incredibly naive.
Therefore, I decided to wield the status I possessed as the leader of Enfants Terribles—something I hadn't used for personal gain once in this life. In my memory, Japan was a country where marriage was possible at the age of sixteen.
Then there was only one answer. As soon as Ai's birthday passed in 2009, we would file a marriage registration. The weight of 'wife' was entirely different from that of a 'lover.' Once we were legally a married couple, no one would be able to touch her.
"Let's get married."
"Eh?"
The most uncool proposal in the world was thus made in Tanakawa Hospital by a mentally shattered Hide.
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