The café inside the office building buzzed faintly with murmurs and the steady hiss of the espresso machine.
It was a comfortable little nook, tucked away from the rush of the city outside—but lately, it has also become something else. Familiar. Intimate.
Ayaka entered quietly, her steps slow, as if the weight on her chest had lightened but not disappeared.
Another sleepless night. Another morning pretending everything was fine. She was getting better at the pretending part.
Her eyes lifted—and there he was.
Makoto stood near the counter like he always did, the morning light catching in his blonde hair, two cups in hand, his expression relaxed but attentive.
"Morning." he said with a gentle smile, extending one of the cups toward her. "Black, three sugars. Right?"
She blinked in surprise. "You remembered?"
"I'd be a terrible friend if I didn't."
Their fingers brushed as she took the cup, and for a fleeting moment, warmth seeped into her chilled bones.
The café wasn't empty. A few employees sat nearby, whispering far too obviously.
The past few days, Ayaka had begun to notice the looks—the lingering stares, the soft giggles, the hushed comments.
Ms. Midnight and Moonlight Sonata.
She'd heard the nickname twice already, coined by some overzealous intern who apparently thought their "vibe" was cinematic.
It was embarrassing.
"They're looking at us again..." she muttered, sipping slowly from her cup to hide her face.
Makoto didn't even glance. "Let them."
"You're not worried? This could end up in a gossip site."
He shrugged, stirring his coffee lazily. "You're the famous one. I'm just the guy who remembers your coffee order."
"Don't act modestly you're far more famous than me." Ayaka sighed and slid into their corner booth.
Makoto followed, his eyes always watching her—not in an intrusive way, but like he was studying her, learning the edges she tried so hard to hide.
"How was work today?" he asked as she unwrapped her breakfast.
"Hm…" Ayaka paused mid-bite, twirling a lock of hair between her fingers. "How do I put this…"
Makoto raised a brow, waiting.
"Mr. Takahashi wants me to pass a message to you. He said an entertainment company reached out… they wanted us in a live interview."
Makoto leaned in slightly, curiosity flickering in his green eyes.
"You can say no, though. If—"
"I'll go." he said before she could finish.
Ayaka blinked. "A-are you sure? I mean… you're not tied down to our company. It's really okay to refuse."
Makoto smiled, soft and unwavering. "Mr. Takahashi helped me during my first-ever book signing event. He didn't ask for anything in return. I owe him one."
"I see… Then… the interview will be held the day after tomorrow." she murmured, tapping her fingers nervously on the table.
"Got it, Ayaka."
She looked up at him, her lips twitching. "You're really using my first name more often."
"Yeah." He leaned forward just a little. "You should try using mine too."
Ayaka blushed. "M-M…"
"Just follow my lead." Makoto grinned.
"Ma…"
"Ma…"
"Ko…"
"Ko…"
"To…"
"To…"
"Makoto." he said gently, his voice laced with amusement and something else. Something warmer.
"Mako—" Before she could finish, a voice from behind rang out.
"Akihiko!"
Her heart stilled.
She turned around quickly, her breath caught in her throat.
But it wasn't him.
It was just a passerby calling for someone else entirely.
A stranger.
Her shoulders dropped.
The disappointment was written all over her face.
Makoto noticed.
He studied her profile as she slowly turned back to face him, eyes shadowed with something deeper.
That one name—just that name—still had the power to unravel her completely.
"How did you fall for him?" he asked quietly, without accusation.
Just out of curiosity.
Ayaka flinched, then gave a weak laugh. "W-well… we didn't start off good. Actually, it was pretty bad."
Her eyes softened as she looked back on it, the memories playing like a worn film reel in her mind.
"He accidentally spilled coffee on my favorite cardigan..." she smiled wistfully.
"Then I saw him again because he was my brother's colleague. At first, I just thought… he'd be the perfect model for the male lead in my novel."
Makoto watched her carefully, saying nothing.
"It took me weeks to convince him. He was so... difficult. I even made a contract with him." She chuckled under her breath.
"He tortured me. Not physically, obviously. But creatively. There was one time we couldn't finish a chapter because he made me revise it again and again… until it pleased him."
Her fingers drifted toward her chest—instinctively, she gripped the necklace tucked beneath her blouse.
The one he gave her.
"We often called him the Ice Prince." she murmured. "Cold. Unpredictable. Mysterious…"
Her voice softened even more.
"Caring. Vulnerable. Understanding. Charming…"
She looked down, her fingers curled tighter around the necklace.
Makoto exhaled slowly.
It was then that he truly saw it—the love she carried, the ache that refused to leave.
A man who wasn't here still lived inside her heart like he never left.
And that was the hardest kind of rival—one who didn't need to say a word to keep his place.
"I'll help you make new memories." Makoto said suddenly, firmly.
Ayaka looked up.
"Wonderful ones." he added, his voice quiet but full of conviction.
"Ones that won't hurt when you look back at them. Ones that might help… take away the pain you feel now."
She smiled, genuinely this time. "Thank you, Makoto."
But in her mind, a quiet thought echoed.
'Even the brightest new memories might not be enough to erase him…'
'No matter what I do, Akihiko can't be erased.'
------
The studio lights were bright, almost blinding, but Ayaka held her smile with practiced grace.
She sat beside Makoto on the velvet-lined couch, the cameras rolling as the host leaned forward with a playful glint in her eye.
Across the country, viewers tuned in, captivated by the duo that had recently caught the attention of the publishing world—and, quite unexpectedly, the public eye.
Ayaka looked flawless in her navy dress, the color deep enough to bring out the gentle warmth of her skin and the subtle glow of her eyes.
The soft curls of her hair brushed her collarbone, and the silver pin on one side sparkled every time she turned her head.
Makoto, in contrast, was all sharp lines and confidence.
His black suit fit him perfectly, the green tie bringing out the vividness of his eyes.
The two of them looked like a perfectly coordinated pair—too perfect, in fact.
The kind that made people talk.
And they were.
Social media had already exploded the moment they stepped on stage.
"Ms. Midnight is a goddess in that dress 😭💖"
"MOONLIGHT SONATA IN A SUIT??? I CAN'T BREATHE"
"They're just 'friends'?? Sure, and I'm a talking cat."
"The tension is REAL."
"Someone just tell them to kiss already omg."
The host smiled like she'd been waiting to stir the pot. "Alright, alright. Let's get to the questions people are dying to know." She turned toward them with a wink. "Ayaka, Makoto—are you two dating?"
Ayaka blinked, caught off guard for only half a second before responding, calm and composed. "No, we're not dating."
The crowd gave a collective "aww" while some still clapped playfully.
"Really?" the host said, raising her brows. "You've been seen together quite a bit lately. Fans have been… curious."
Makoto chuckled, leaning slightly toward the microphone. "We're not dating." he confirmed, his voice smooth but steady. "And as for collaboration—nothing's confirmed for now. We're just… friends."
The audience murmured. The camera panned to a group of young women with homemade banners. Their disbelieving expressions said it all.
"Just friends, huh?" the host repeated, amused.
Ayaka smiled again, folding her hands over her lap. "We've gotten close because of recent events. Makoto's been a great support during a difficult time for me. But that's all."
Even as the audience laughed and swooned over their chemistry, even as fans live-tweeted that there was no way those two weren't secretly together, Ayaka sat with her thoughts pulling her elsewhere.
'Would you believe this if you were watching, Akihiko?'
'Would you turn away the moment our names were mentioned? Or would you pause—just for a second—and think of us?'
She blinked, hiding the heaviness in her chest behind another gracious smile.
Makoto answered the next question with ease, drawing more laughter from the crowd.
Ayaka nodded along, but she wasn't really hearing the words.
'Would you be watching this? Would you be okay seeing me beside someone else—someone who isn't you?'
She clenched her fingers slightly, barely perceptible beneath the cameras' gaze.
And even though her smile never faltered, she couldn't stop the thought from piercing her heart—
'If you saw this, would you stay? Or would you take me away like you always do...?'
The segment ended with applause, and the host thanked them both as the credits began to roll.
Makoto stood, gently offering Ayaka his hand once again.
She took it, just like she had earlier, and stood with elegance as cameras flashed all around them.
The world was watching.
And somewhere out there… she still wished that he was, too.
As soon as the cameras cut and the broadcast ended, the studio lights dimmed, but the energy in the room did not.
If anything, it intensifies.
Fans gathered outside the building had been watching the livestream from their phones, and as Ayaka and Makoto made their way toward the exit, they were met with an eruption of cheers and flashing lights.
"MS. MIDNIGHT, MOONLIGHT SONATA! ONE PHOTO, PLEASE!"
"ARE YOU REALLY JUST FRIENDS?"
"DOES HE CALL YOU BY YOUR FIRST NAME IN PRIVATE TOO?"
Security tried to maintain a boundary, but the growing crowd only pressed closer.
Dozens of camera phones pointed their way, people shouting over each other, voices rising above the security team's warnings.
Ayaka's pulse quickened.
She wasn't used to this—not like this.
A few fans after a book event were one thing, but this kind of frenzy? This… this was another world entirely.
Her grip tightened around the thin strap of her clutch bag.
She heard someone yell, "MS. MIDNIGHT, BLINK TWICE IF YOU'RE SECRETLY DATING!"
And another screamed, "MOONLIGHT SONATA SWEPT MS. MIDNIGHT OFF HER FEET!"
The phrase echoed in her ears like a sharp chime—clever, ridiculous, and painfully close to the truth she wasn't ready to face.
Ayaka flinched at the sudden pop of a camera flash, too close to her face.
Before she could take another shaky breath, a warm hand slipped into hers.
She looked up—Makoto's jaw was tense, but his expression was calm.
Protective...
"Let's get out of here." he murmured close to her ear, shielding her slightly with his shoulder.
She nodded.
Without another word, Makoto laced their fingers tighter and guided her through the crowd.
Cameras clicked wildly. People screamed their names.
"THEY'RE TRENDING WORLDWIDE!" someone announced, holding their phone up to show a stream of tweets exploding across the screen:
"Moonlight Sonata x Ms. Midnight = POWER COUPLE 🔥🔥🔥"
"Forget fictional romances. This is the real deal."
"They held hands!! THEY HELD HANDS!!"
"Moonlight Sonata's hand was made to hold hers, I don't make the rules."
"If they're not dating, I'll eat my bookshelf."
Ayaka felt herself shrinking under the attention.
Not because she was ashamed or afraid of the rumors—but because every smiling face, every voice calling out to them, made her feel like she was stepping further and further away from something else.
From someone else...
From him...
They finally reached the car, and Makoto opened the door for her swiftly, his arm still around her until she was safely inside.
Once he joined her on the other side, they both sat in silence for a moment, the shouts from outside muffled now behind glass.
Ayaka stared out the window, chest rising and falling faster than she realized.
"…Are you okay?" Makoto asked gently.
She nodded. "I just… wasn't expecting that."
"You handled it well." he said, voice low.
"But if it ever gets too much, say the word. I'll protect you from all of it."
She turned her head to look at him, eyes wide with a quiet ache.
"I mean it." Makoto said. "If it helps you… if it eases the pain… I'll do anything..."
Her breath hitched.
She gave him a faint, grateful smile. "Thank you…"
But even as the words left her lips, her heart whispered a truth too stubborn to ignore.
Outside the car, the fans were still screaming.
The words "Moonlight Sonata swept Ms. Midnight off her feet" flashed across a live TV broadcast playing on a street screen nearby.
Ayaka leaned back into her seat, trying to breathe.
'Akihiko… if you saw that…'
'Would you take me away...?'