Chapter 253. Enlisting Angela’s Aid. (2/6)
“Correct~”
She removed her hands from over my eyes and plopped herself down beside me on the couch.
“It’s been a while.”
“Two weeks, you jerk. Making a busy celebrity like me wait for you to show up, aren’t you a bit too full of yourself?”
“Technically it’s only been six days.”
“Hmph! Only six days, he says. You’re acting as if it’s not the greatest sin in the world. But anyway, I didn’t see you in the flesh so that visit didn’t count.”
“Did you delete that picture like I asked?”
“Delete it? No way. I’m using it as the wallpaper on my phone.” She took out her phone and turned it toward me to prove her words.
“Are you crazy! What will happen if someone sees that?”
“Well, that’s too bad for you. I can’t see my boyfriend often despite freeing up my schedule and making so much time to do so.”
“You make it sound like you seriously consider me your boyfriend. It’s been bugging me for a while, but after what your last boyfriend did to you, why would you be so open to getting another boyfriend so quickly? Even if you have ulterior purposes in doing so, shouldn’t you be more hesitant to?”
“Because there’s a big difference between the two of you. You’re not a big shot celebrity the way my ex was. You’re completely unknown, the exact opposite of him, someone who doesn’t want to draw any attention at all. As I’m sure you know, my ex was by no means a unique case or anything. Among celebrities, there are many that turn out like him. The fame gets to our heads, with our inflated egos we begin to think we’re above everyone else. I can’t say I’m much different. Since I view you as his exact opposite, I can’t see you ever doing the same thing he did. That’s why I’m not hesitant to make you my boyfriend.”
“Still, to seriously be treating me as your boyfriend, going so far as to get me chocolates for Valentine’s Day and waiting for me here all day, don’t you think it’s strange? Our relationship was formed on the foundation of you keeping me in check and me going along with it to avoid trouble.”
“Well, the thing is, I only realized this after the fact, but being a completely normal guy's girlfriend has a super big plus that made me reconsider things.”
“Huh? A big plus?” I was of course perplexed when I heard that.
“Well, when both parties in a relationship are celebrities, because of conflicting busy schedules, there’s basically never a chance to spend time together or meet. Even if one of us decides to take some extended time off from work, the other might not want to do the same due to prior commitments we’ve made to our fans. With a completely normal guy, I can see him much easier. It’s not nearly as complicated. I don’t need to make plans a year in advance, just a few days is enough. Before, I might have been able to see my boyfriend in person a handful of times in a year. But with you, it’s much simpler.”
“Fair enough. I can accept that reasoning, but as a celebrity, why would you be fine with seriously treating a gloomy-looking guy like me as your boyfriend? You could do a lot better.”
“Oh? Are you self-conscious about your appearance?”
“No. I just can’t imagine how a celebrity who puts so much attention into their exterior appearance would be fine being around someone who puts zero effort into their image. It makes little to no sense to me. In the world of celebrities, attractive people stick to attractive people, that’s how things work. I can’t understand your logic, which is why I’m asking.”
“Maybe I got conned, or maybe you just won the lottery. I don’t find you unattractive. When I met you, I didn’t even see your face because of the mask you wore, but somewhere in me I still felt strangely attracted and drawn to you. Not because of your appearance, but because of how you carried yourself and acted. You were a dangerous and mysterious unknown existence without morals that appeared in front of me when I was about to kill myself. I grew attracted to that side of you after our first meeting. Even now, I feel like you’re dangerous because you know the side of me that nobody else knows.”
“Then by your logic, if you no longer feel I’m dangerous or mysterious, you’ll lose that attraction toward me and leave me alone, right?”
“Maybe, maybe not. That depends on you. If by that point I’ve somehow seriously fallen in love with you, then it won’t make a difference whether you’re dangerous or mysterious anymore.”
“Love? Is that something celebrities even care for? Aren’t romantic relationships just viewed as convenient tools to further your careers in your industry?”
“It is true that there are such relationships of convenience. But, even celebrities can feel isolated and want someone they can just return to being a normal person around. You’re the one who brought it up before. Having that someone is… a lifesaver. Being able to occasionally return to normalcy is quite nice.”
“I see. Hey, by any chance would you be interested in going to watch a show at the city’s planetarium?”
“Huh? Are you about to ask me on a date?”
“No. Absolutely not. Are you crazy? I’d be asking for a death sentence if I was spotted together with you anywhere. I just received a ticket from a peer who’d bought a ticket for two weeks from now on Friday. They realized after the fact that they have another commitment that day and can’t go as a result. They weren’t able to cancel or get a refund as it was purchased during a sale where all ticket purchases were final. Personally, I don’t have much interest in going though. Would it be something you’re interested in going to?”
“If you’re not going, why would I care to go?”
“I’m sure you don’t have the chance to go out and do normal things like this on your own, right? I imagine going out in public without being noticed and swarmed by fans is pretty hard. You’d need to wear a stuffy disguise to fully hide your face and you’d have a hard time enjoying yourself there as a result.”
“Now that you mention it, that is true.”
“Exactly, so aren’t you tired of having to do that?”
“I am.”
“So wouldn’t being able to go to a public place where you don’t need to constantly have a stuffy uncomfortable disguise be a breath of fresh air?”
“Yes, it would… be quite nice.”
“Great, then the planetarium downtown is the perfect public place for you to visit. It’s not nearly as busy as the movie theatre and in a place as dark as the planetarium, you can enjoy the show without having to hide your face the entire time. You won’t need to constantly be on edge of being spotted without your disguise covering your face. You can be another normal person and enjoy the show there.”
“Oh, when you put it that way it doesn’t sound like a bad idea. That being the case… there’s just one thing that doesn’t add up in your story.”
“What?”
“The part about a peer of yours giving you that ticket. Such a thing implies you have someone close enough who’d give you that ticket. That’s something I can’t see.”
Why’d she suddenly have to be sharp and catch onto the biggest flaw in my story?
“Okay, you got me. It was a ticket I purchased for myself, but because of some things that came up, I can’t go. Do you want the ticket, or not?”
“Well, if it was for yourself I could believe it. The planetarium seems like somewhere you’d go. It’s also inside a museum after all. Why not give it to one of your other girlfriends though?”
“They’re also busy.”
“I see. What if I’m also busy? I’m a celebrity, you know. I also have lectures to attend.”
“If that’s the case, I’ll just give the ticket to some random person I pass by on the street. But, if you were going to use lectures as the reason for why you can’t make it, that Friday is during reading week.”
“Reading week? What’s that?”
“It’s basically spring break, this university just doesn’t call it that for whatever reason. There aren’t any lectures or exams scheduled, so I’m sure you should be free if you didn’t even know about reading week. It’s not surprising you aren’t aware of it though, it is your first year and you only just enrolled this semester.”
“Oh! I see. I should be free if I don’t have any lectures. Alright, I’ll go then.”
“Really? Great. I didn’t bring the ticket with me today though. Will you be coming here tomorrow as well?”
“If you are, I will.”
“Then I’ll bring it with me tomorrow.”
“Sure.”
Chapter 253. Enlisting Angela’s Aid. (2/6)
“Correct~”
She removed her hands from over my eyes and plopped herself down beside me on the couch.
“It’s been a while.”
“Two weeks, you jerk. Making a busy celebrity like me wait for you to show up, aren’t you a bit too full of yourself?”
“Technically it’s only been six days.”
“Hmph! Only six days, he says. You’re acting as if it’s not the greatest sin in the world. But anyway, I didn’t see you in the flesh so that visit didn’t count.”
“Did you delete that picture like I asked?”
“Delete it? No way. I’m using it as the wallpaper on my phone.” She took out her phone and turned it toward me to prove her words.
“Are you crazy! What will happen if someone sees that?”
“Well, that’s too bad for you. I can’t see my boyfriend often despite freeing up my schedule and making so much time to do so.”
“You make it sound like you seriously consider me your boyfriend. It’s been bugging me for a while, but after what your last boyfriend did to you, why would you be so open to getting another boyfriend so quickly? Even if you have ulterior purposes in doing so, shouldn’t you be more hesitant to?”
“Because there’s a big difference between the two of you. You’re not a big shot celebrity the way my ex was. You’re completely unknown, the exact opposite of him, someone who doesn’t want to draw any attention at all. As I’m sure you know, my ex was by no means a unique case or anything. Among celebrities, there are many that turn out like him. The fame gets to our heads, with our inflated egos we begin to think we’re above everyone else. I can’t say I’m much different. Since I view you as his exact opposite, I can’t see you ever doing the same thing he did. That’s why I’m not hesitant to make you my boyfriend.”
“Still, to seriously be treating me as your boyfriend, going so far as to get me chocolates for Valentine’s Day and waiting for me here all day, don’t you think it’s strange? Our relationship was formed on the foundation of you keeping me in check and me going along with it to avoid trouble.”
“Well, the thing is, I only realized this after the fact, but being a completely normal guy's girlfriend has a super big plus that made me reconsider things.”
“Huh? A big plus?” I was of course perplexed when I heard that.
“Well, when both parties in a relationship are celebrities, because of conflicting busy schedules, there’s basically never a chance to spend time together or meet. Even if one of us decides to take some extended time off from work, the other might not want to do the same due to prior commitments we’ve made to our fans. With a completely normal guy, I can see him much easier. It’s not nearly as complicated. I don’t need to make plans a year in advance, just a few days is enough. Before, I might have been able to see my boyfriend in person a handful of times in a year. But with you, it’s much simpler.”
“Fair enough. I can accept that reasoning, but as a celebrity, why would you be fine with seriously treating a gloomy-looking guy like me as your boyfriend? You could do a lot better.”
“Oh? Are you self-conscious about your appearance?”
“No. I just can’t imagine how a celebrity who puts so much attention into their exterior appearance would be fine being around someone who puts zero effort into their image. It makes little to no sense to me. In the world of celebrities, attractive people stick to attractive people, that’s how things work. I can’t understand your logic, which is why I’m asking.”
“Maybe I got conned, or maybe you just won the lottery. I don’t find you unattractive. When I met you, I didn’t even see your face because of the mask you wore, but somewhere in me I still felt strangely attracted and drawn to you. Not because of your appearance, but because of how you carried yourself and acted. You were a dangerous and mysterious unknown existence without morals that appeared in front of me when I was about to kill myself. I grew attracted to that side of you after our first meeting. Even now, I feel like you’re dangerous because you know the side of me that nobody else knows.”
“Then by your logic, if you no longer feel I’m dangerous or mysterious, you’ll lose that attraction toward me and leave me alone, right?”
“Maybe, maybe not. That depends on you. If by that point I’ve somehow seriously fallen in love with you, then it won’t make a difference whether you’re dangerous or mysterious anymore.”
“Love? Is that something celebrities even care for? Aren’t romantic relationships just viewed as convenient tools to further your careers in your industry?”
“It is true that there are such relationships of convenience. But, even celebrities can feel isolated and want someone they can just return to being a normal person around. You’re the one who brought it up before. Having that someone is… a lifesaver. Being able to occasionally return to normalcy is quite nice.”
“I see. Hey, by any chance would you be interested in going to watch a show at the city’s planetarium?”
“Huh? Are you about to ask me on a date?”
“No. Absolutely not. Are you crazy? I’d be asking for a death sentence if I was spotted together with you anywhere. I just received a ticket from a peer who’d bought a ticket for two weeks from now on Friday. They realized after the fact that they have another commitment that day and can’t go as a result. They weren’t able to cancel or get a refund as it was purchased during a sale where all ticket purchases were final. Personally, I don’t have much interest in going though. Would it be something you’re interested in going to?”
“If you’re not going, why would I care to go?”
“I’m sure you don’t have the chance to go out and do normal things like this on your own, right? I imagine going out in public without being noticed and swarmed by fans is pretty hard. You’d need to wear a stuffy disguise to fully hide your face and you’d have a hard time enjoying yourself there as a result.”
“Now that you mention it, that is true.”
“Exactly, so aren’t you tired of having to do that?”
“I am.”
“So wouldn’t being able to go to a public place where you don’t need to constantly have a stuffy uncomfortable disguise be a breath of fresh air?”
“Yes, it would… be quite nice.”
“Great, then the planetarium downtown is the perfect public place for you to visit. It’s not nearly as busy as the movie theatre and in a place as dark as the planetarium, you can enjoy the show without having to hide your face the entire time. You won’t need to constantly be on edge of being spotted without your disguise covering your face. You can be another normal person and enjoy the show there.”
“Oh, when you put it that way it doesn’t sound like a bad idea. That being the case… there’s just one thing that doesn’t add up in your story.”
“What?”
“The part about a peer of yours giving you that ticket. Such a thing implies you have someone close enough who’d give you that ticket. That’s something I can’t see.”
Why’d she suddenly have to be sharp and catch onto the biggest flaw in my story?
“Okay, you got me. It was a ticket I purchased for myself, but because of some things that came up, I can’t go. Do you want the ticket, or not?”
“Well, if it was for yourself I could believe it. The planetarium seems like somewhere you’d go. It’s also inside a museum after all. Why not give it to one of your other girlfriends though?”
“They’re also busy.”
“I see. What if I’m also busy? I’m a celebrity, you know. I also have lectures to attend.”
“If that’s the case, I’ll just give the ticket to some random person I pass by on the street. But, if you were going to use lectures as the reason for why you can’t make it, that Friday is during reading week.”
“Reading week? What’s that?”
“It’s basically spring break, this university just doesn’t call it that for whatever reason. There aren’t any lectures or exams scheduled, so I’m sure you should be free if you didn’t even know about reading week. It’s not surprising you aren’t aware of it though, it is your first year and you only just enrolled this semester.”
“Oh! I see. I should be free if I don’t have any lectures. Alright, I’ll go then.”
“Really? Great. I didn’t bring the ticket with me today though. Will you be coming here tomorrow as well?”
“If you are, I will.”
“Then I’ll bring it with me tomorrow.”
“Sure.”
