Arashi arrived at the garage just as the first light of dawn began to paint the horizon. It was 5 A.M., and the world outside seemed still and silent, but his mind was anything but. His heart felt heavy, shattered by the memory of what he had seen. He tossed his keys onto the counter and made his way to the small bedroom tucked in the corner of the garage. Collapsing onto the old, creaking bed, he tried to find solace in sleep that wouldn’t come. His tears betrayed the composure he fought to maintain.
Meanwhile, Lana lingered in the private suite of Velvet Juice, the steam of the hot shower clinging to her skin as she scrubbed away the remnants of a night she no longer wished to remember. The hard cash—a full 10 grand—sat neatly on the counter, a grim reminder of the price she’d paid.
But it wasn’t the money that haunted her. It was Arashi. His face, calm but unmistakably heartbroken, flashed in her mind every time she closed her eyes.
When their gazes met... it was a moment Lana couldn’t forget. That look, that split-second connection—they had pierced her in ways no touch ever could.
Finally, after hours of internal torment, she pulled on a simple black outfit, her hair still damp from the shower. Her eyes were bloodshot, heavy from sleeplessness and crying. As the early morning mist wrapped around the city, she hesitated at the door.
she muttered to herself. The words felt bitter on her tongue, even as they offered a fleeting sense of escape.
But deep down, she knew it wouldn’t be that simple. Running away wouldn’t erase the regret. It wouldn’t mend what was broken.
But rather than leaving town, Lana chose a different path. She slid into the driver's seat of Arashi's EG6, gripping the steering wheel tightly, and drove it back to her cramped apartment. Every turn of the wheels felt heavier than the last, burdened by the weight of her guilt.
Inside her dimly lit room, she paced restlessly. She wanted to face him, to explain everything, but each passing minute drained her resolve. She could find no courage to justify her actions, no reason that could mend what had already been shattered. Deep down, she knew Arashi's feelings were worth far more than the 10 grand she had pocketed. His love was priceless, and her betrayal was unforgivable.
Her eyes fell on the Chinese-style calendar hanging on her wall, stuck on April 18th—the day everything began to spiral. That morning, she had walked into Arashi’s garage, asking for help with her air filter and exhaust tip. What started as a casual interaction escalated into a race through the city streets, her need for speed and validation ultimately losing to Arashi’s skill. That night, humbled and tired, she stayed over at his place.
The next day, April 19th, brought an intimacy she hadn’t anticipated. Vulnerabilities surfaced, and their walls crumbled as they shared an unforgettable moment—one she thought would bind them closer. But that night, she went back to Velvet Juice for work, and the choices she made there unraveled everything. The price she paid for that decision—both financially and emotionally—was something she could no longer ignore.
By April 20th, the fallout had begun. Arashi had waited for her after she left Velvet Juice, expecting her to return to him, but she never did. Instead, his patience turned to heartbreak when he found her still there, surrendering herself to the pleasures of others. He left, shattered, returning to the garage to seek the solitude of his bedroom.
It had been seven days since then. Seven days of silence from Arashi. Seven days of Lana wrestling with regret and shame. As she tore the calendar page to reveal April 27th, the sound echoed in the quiet room. She didn’t do it because of any habit or compulsion but because she desperately needed to occupy her mind, even if only for a fleeting moment.
The new date stared back at her, a reminder of how much time had passed since she had last seen him. And with it came the undeniable truth—she couldn’t run from this forever.
Back to one week earlier at the afternoon, Arashi was drowning in work—not out of necessity, but as a means to quiet his turbulent mind. He surrounded himself with blueprints, engine designs, and speculative searches for new concepts. But no matter how hard he tried to bury himself in the mechanical world, the memories of last night clawed their way to the surface.
As he sat in his office corner, staring blankly at a partially drawn engine schematic, the familiar ping of an incoming email jolted him from his daze. He glanced at his screen. The sender's name was unfamiliar, but the subject line intrigued him: "Internship Request".
Opening the email, he read:
---
The tone of the email struck Arashi as odd. It was both playful and oddly flirtatious, yet laced with a hint of desperation. "Master"? he mused, unsure whether it was meant as a joke or an innocent misunderstanding.
For a moment, he considered ignoring it altogether. He wasn’t in the mood to deal with someone else’s problems, especially not a stranger’s. But then he reread the lines, catching a glimpse of genuine need beneath the casual tone. Perhaps she truly was in a bind.
After a few moments of deliberation, he typed a short reply:
---
With a click of the send button, the email was off. He leaned back in his chair, running a hand through his hair.
he muttered to himself.
The thought lingered in his mind for only a moment before the weight of his own problems came rushing back, drowning out everything else.
Just then, a notification hit Arashi’s phone. He rushed to it, his heart skipping a beat, hoping it was a message from Lana—maybe some explanation, an apology, anything to soften the storm inside him. But no. Instead, it was a text from an unsaved number.
The message read:
The message from Esme left Arashi with a small, amused smile. Her excitement and the string of —a playful Japanese expression for kisses—almost felt too sincere, too innocent to be taken seriously. But it was her enthusiasm that caught his attention. She certainly had a way of making her presence felt.
Arashi giggled to himself, shaking his head. Esme... He couldn't help but find her eagerness somewhat endearing. He quickly tapped out a reply.
His thumb hovered over the screen for a moment as he waited. But then, nothing. No more replies came through, just silence. Arashi tossed the phone on the counter with a small sigh, his thoughts drifting back to Lana—her absence, her silence.
He was alone. Completely alone.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to help Esme. After all, he had agreed to take her on as an intern. But something about her message—about her arriving so soon—felt jarring. Arashi wasn’t sure what he expected, but a quiet evening without any distractions sounded better. The thought of facing anyone—especially someone as eager as Esme—made his chest tighten.
His eyes wandered around the small garage, then over to the bedroom where he'd spent the night trying to escape his thoughts. His bed felt cold, empty. His mind was a chaotic mess, and the silence around him was a brutal reminder of just how alone he was.
In that stillness, his gaze fell on Lana’s black leather dress from yesterday night. It hung on the chair, a cruel reminder of what had happened. It stared at him, taunting him, delivering him more pain as the memory of their time together flashed in his mind. How romantic, how deep the sex had been just before noon, just before the day could begin. It wasn’t just any physical connection; it was something surreal, like a dreamland, a world where time slowed down, where everything felt perfect. Their bodies had moved together, as if they were destined to be one in that moment. The feeling was so intense, so profound—it was the kind of passion that couldn't be found in real life. It was the kind of intimacy that stayed with you long after the moment was gone.
That connection, that dreamlike encounter, had left him aching, empty. And yet, it was gone now. His chest tightened painfully at the thought of it.
Arashi sighed deeply and ran a hand through his hair. He leaned back against the counter, his gaze unfocused. The walls of the garage, the ticking of the old clock, the hum of the distant engine—it was all too much. He just wanted... something. Anything. But it was just him. Just the emptiness.
The sound of his phone buzzing again pulled him back to reality, but it wasn’t a message from Esme. No. The notification was another sign of his loneliness—a message from an old friend, someone who hadn’t heard from him in months. The message was simple. A question: How are you, Arashi?
He stared at it for a long moment, feeling the weight of it. But no words came. He didn’t feel like talking. Not to anyone.
Not even to himself.
He turned on the head unit, playing Bad Liar by Imagine Dragons. As the song started, he unconsciously tried to understand the lyrics, his thoughts pulling him deeper into their meaning.
As the song's lyrics lingered in the air, Arashi couldn't help but think of the truth behind them. The world around him seemed perfect at times, like a paradise, but deep down, it was all breaking at the seams. His thoughts returned to Lana, the complexities of his emotions, and the painful reality of everything he'd tried to ignore.
As the saying went, And tonight, the lyrics hit harder than he ever thought possible.
He decided to drive to the race tracks nearby, hoping for a challenge to clear his head. The adrenaline of a good race was exactly what he needed to shake off the gnawing thoughts of Lana. He parked his car on the side of the road, the engine's growl fading as he cut the ignition. With a flick of his wrist, he lit a cigarette, the flame dancing briefly before he took a slow drag. He leaned back, waiting.
Minutes passed. Then hours. No racers came. The road remained empty, silent, save for the occasional hum of wind and distant sounds of the city. It was strange. Too strange.
It felt like the world itself had abandoned him, leaving him here, alone. Even the cars that usually sped by in the dead of night seemed to vanish. The only thing that kept him company was the steady, rhythmic pulse of his own thoughts—memories of Lana crashing over him like relentless waves.
He thought back to the way her laughter echoed in his mind, the warmth of her touch, and the way her eyes held so much unspoken emotion. But it all felt so far away now, like a dream he couldn’t wake up from.
The silence around him only deepened the emptiness inside. His mind wandered to every little moment they had shared, every look, every word. And every second, it became harder to escape the painful reality that everything had changed.
Arashi took another drag from his cigarette, staring into the darkness.
After that long last drag, Arashi flicked the cigarette butt to the ground, then lit another one, trying to chain-smoke to numb his mind, to quiet the storm of thoughts swirling inside him. He needed a distraction—anything to push away the frustration, the pain, and the suffocating silence that hung over him like a heavy cloud.
Then, his phone vibrated with a message notification. Startled, he dropped the cigarette to the ground, his heart skipping a beat. With a quick motion, he grabbed his phone, and the message on the screen made him freeze for a moment.
It was from Esme:
Arashi blinked at the text, processing it for a second. It was pure, innocent excitement—Esme was almost there. But something about the way she phrased it made him chuckle, and he couldn’t help it. He had to take a moment, almost in disbelief at how innocent she was. She had no idea how her words could be interpreted in another way, and it was both amusing and oddly endearing.
he muttered to himself, shaking his head with a half-smile. It wasn’t malicious or suggestive at all—just pure excitement from a girl who had no idea how much her words could sound… loaded, in a certain context.
Arashi smirked, a small laugh escaping him as he shook his head, still marveling at her lack of awareness. For a moment, it was the only thing that brought him a bit of relief from the weight of everything that had been plaguing his mind. He was so used to the complexities of life, the mess with Lana, but Esme… she was like a breath of fresh air in comparison.
Quickly, he got into his car, starting the engine and pulling in to the open road, driving back to his garage. His thoughts, which had been consumed by the mess with Lana, faded just slightly. He muttered to himself as he drove, "At least she’s coming... maybe it’ll give me something else to focus on."
The storm of emotions over Lana remained, but for now, he could push them aside. At least for the drive.
Arashi arrived at the garage with a slight rush in his steps. He hadn’t prepared a room for Esme yet—his mind was a whirl of confusion about how to handle the situation. Rushing to get everything ready, he heard the sound of a car pulling into the driveway. His heart skipped a beat as he realized Esme had arrived a lot earlier than he expected.
He quickly glanced at the time, then darted back into the other room, trying to tidy things up. Esme was standing at the door with a grin, her eyes sparkling with anticipation.
Arashi said, his voice a little rushed but polite.
Esme smiled brightly, and without a hint of suspicion, she nodded.
As she walked past him, Arashi couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief. At least she didn’t question him. He quickly glanced back at his room, wondering how he was going to manage this sudden change of plans.
Arashi called out as she stepped inside.
Esme turned back, a mischievous twinkle in her eye. she teased, her voice playful.
Arashi chuckled to himself, shaking his head.
He quickly left the room to go prepare her designated space. Meanwhile, Esme started to explore. Her eyes wandered around the Arashi’s room until she noticed something out of place—a black leather dress hanging in the corner. It took her by surprise, and her curiosity flared, but she stayed silent. She wasn’t sure if it was something personal, and she didn’t want to overstep her boundaries.
As she finished sightseeing in Arashi’s room, she wandered to the lobby, Esme’s eyes widened. she asked, pointing excitedly at the two cars parked in the center of the room.
Arashi smiled, feeling a slight sense of pride. he said, running a hand along the sleek black surface of the car. “
Esme’s jaw nearly hit the floor.
She walked around it in awe, her eyes practically sparkling.
Arashi chuckled, watching her excitement. He casually gestured to the other car. He pointed to the purple Nissan Fairlady Z33 to be Esme’s project for her Internship Program.
Esme’s eyes immediately shifted to the Z33. she murmured. She practically bounced on her heels, already thinking about the work ahead.
Arashi said with a wink.
Esme beamed.
Arashi replied, only half-joking. He turned toward the coffee machine in the corner, feeling like they could both use a little break from all the excitement.
Esme nodded enthusiastically. she said, grinning as she plopped herself down on one of the nearby stools.
As the coffee brewed, a playful look crossed her face. she asked teasingly, her tone light but inquisitive.
Arashi raised an eyebrow, amused by the question.
Esme said with a playful smile.
Arashi chuckled.
Esme teased, grinning.
Arashi shook his head, smiling.
TO BE CONTINUED.
