Food and Torture

[MENG SOUMA]

Souma couldn't say he knew a whole lot about celebrities in general, let alone idols. Every now and then, there seemed to be a 'scandal' goiing on, which normally was about a fan stalking a celebrity all the way to their home or them getting mad the people they idolize dared have a private life they were not allowed in when others were. It all felt like too much trouble for what it was worth in Souma's eyes, and a big reasons why he avoided public interviews for his books. His publisher might have wished for it, especially given his young age, hoping it would appeal to the ladies, but one brief conversation with Souma was enough to tell it was not a good idea.

He wondered if Akihiko had received no backlash because he was cautious or his private life was just not interesting enough. He tended to believe the latter. He couldn't picture Akihiko being careful enough. He looked more like an airhead to him. "No women are putting you in a tough spot? Or they just can tell you'd rather chase men." He seemed to remember Aki telling him he liked both, which surprised Souma someone could be this open about it, especially in his situation. It also sent to him the signal the guy was saying he was interested in him in more ways than just a casual fan of his books.

His eyes narrowed at the threat of receiving a bunch of text messages from him. He would have to block him then. He didn't have his sister's number, right? Then again, he also knew his address now, so simply blocking him might not be enough. Except maybe to get the point that he shouldn't send a ton of messages. "And you're a masochist," Souma retorted as he poured him some of the nabe. He supposed whoever wanted to be with him had to be, to like the way Souma treated people around him. But that just felt like a type of torture Souma could not understand. Well, if he had to deal with the guy, Souma might as well find some use to him. See just how submissive he could get.

[YOSHIDA AKIHIKO]

Akihiko knew that the work line he chose wasn’t always easy but he was willing to get along with it if it meant that he could perform as much as he want and please people and make them happy with his art. He would often go to interviews and TV shows that invited him as a special guest. Sure, there were darker times and he couldn’t date as freely as he wanted but he thought that he could still enjoy the company of people every once in a while. Being around Souma was refreshing to him in a sense too. He didn’t idolize him or know everything he liked because he read an article about him. It would have been too awkward if he did that.

Besides, he still wanted to know how he could write such amazing stories while having the personality he showed. He had to be soft deep down, but you’d have to look real deep down to find that. Was he ready to try and dig further? Maybe. He did see his sister and seemed to care for her too so it was a good clue. He shrugged when he questioned him about women. “Some have tried but I managed to get away from that rather smoothly.” It was true that his cute face also helped him to get away from trouble most of the time, as well as his manager should he find out that someone was chasing him too much for the wrong reasons.

“I’m a guy, I’m not against a good challenge.” He reminded Souma. He was getting amused by this. He never thought he’d take the lead in a conversation.

[MENG SOUMA]

Aki avoided the part when Souma questioned his sexuality. He couldn't say he met a lot of people, or any for that matter, who were all that open about their sexuality if it deviated from the norm. There was still some stigma attached to it in their society. "I fail to see how you can be smooth. Innocent and innocently stupid, sure." That guy didn't strike him as the type who knew how to be smooth, both to get out of trouble and to get people's attention. He looked more like the cute guy with enough of a baby face to look both innocent and the most dangerous one. Except Souma also doubted he was dangerous. That was where the 'stupid' came in.

A challenge. He was a challenge to Aki? Yes, that guy truly was a masochist to want that sort of challenge. "Don't think this challenge is accepted from my part. I've yet to find a purpose for you being around," he pointed out. Seriously was this guy's life this boring outside of his work that he needed to go after this kind of 'challenge'? Souma decided to focus on his food instead.

He kind of remembered Reika, the model to took with him to France. That girl somehow thought Souma really admired her beauty and hoped it would help her fall in his mother's good graces. She also thought that there was something romantic at the thought of the two of them running away to France together, and that she could become a model there. In the end, none of this happened to her. She was just a way Souma found to hurt his mother. He didn't think one second he could have ruined the girl completely with this his mother having no interest in keeping her after that. Could he do something like that with Aki? Maybe he could then find a purpose to keeping this guy around.