sᴇᴄᴏɴᴅ.

A month has passed and she is feeling a little better now. Ever since that night when he called, he never bothered her anymore. No more calls nor messages. She is also thankful that she is getting busy with her work since their manager appointed her to be the project head for this season. She teamed up with Shohei and this gave him a chance to spend more time with her. 

"Let's go out for dinner." He smiled at him. She just finished the paperworks, so she smiled back and nodded. 

"What should we eat tonight?" She asked before taking her bag and turning his computer off. Most employees went home already. 

"Let's have yakitori. Are you fine with that?" She nodded and they went out of the company building. 

When they arrived at the yakitori restaurant, Shohei quickly saw that he was there. He looked for vacant seats and she is still gullible on what he's trying to do. He chose the vacant seats near him but he let her take the seat behind him with both of them facing their backs. He took the seat across her and they ordered food already. 

"I barely slept last night. I finished some paperworks but there's still a lot. I don't know when I will finish everything." She pouted with her chin resting on her palm. 

"You should sleep well tonight, then. We need to go to the site tomorrow." Shohei said and she smiled. 

Meanwhile, his ear perked up when he heard her voice. He is having dinner with a long-time friend and he didn't expect that they would cross paths this time. He took his phone and sent his friend a message to stop talking for a while because he doesn't want her to know that he is just behind her. With the other voice he can hear along with hers, he already suspected that he was pursuing her. 

'Is that your girlfriend?' 

'Not my girlfriend. Ex-girlfriend.' 

'You still love her, desho?' 

'Shut up. Just finish the food and we will leave.' 

'She is with a guy. Is that her new boyfriend?' 

'I'll stab you with the barbecue sticks if you will not stop.' 

'Ara, ara. Jealous already? Go and get the love of your life.' 

'Aoyama Riku, shut the fuck up.' 

He is already finished with his food and just waiting for Riku to finish but since he keeps on talking, he can't finish it quickly. He took his glass of beer and drank till the last drop. He asked the helper for the bill and pulled his wallet out to take some money. He gestured that he would leave first but Riku held his arm and pulled him back to his seat. He glared at the older one and Riku just smiled teasingly. 

"Why don't you tell her the real reason why you broke up with her?" Riku asked when they finally got out of the restaurant. 

"She deserves someone better." He answered and they started walking. Riku heaved a deep sigh and shook his head. 

"And you think she will not understand that your parents don't like her for you? Where's the Yamamoto Shogo I knew? That one who will fight for everything. Think about this carefully, okay? It's either you will let her go with that man and suffer forever or you will get back to her, tell her the real reason and you two will get through it together. For me, you're like a coward. Fight for her. She loves you. I can assure you that." He stopped from walking and just stared at Riku. 

"Punch me." He suddenly said and Riku raised a brow. He repeated it and the older one literally did it. 

He winced in pain when Riku punched him hard. He touched the corner of his lips and saw that it was bleeding. He took his handkerchief and wiped the small cut on it. Riku chuckled softly and pushed him away. He smiled and ran back to the restaurant to talk to her but when he arrived there, he saw her using her phone. He looked around for the guy and she got surprised when he approached her and held her arm gently. 

"Can we talk?" He asked and she slowly nodded. She looked away, trying to hide her teary eyes but she felt saved when Shohei went back from the restroom. 

"Are you sure?" Shohei asked and she smiled faintly. The two went out for a while and Shohei just watched them leave. 

"What will we talk about?" She mumbled and her eyes widened when he hugged her from behind. She tried to release herself from it but she felt weak. 

"Don't do this, please. You're just hurting me more." She continued to mumble and her tears already fell. 

"I'm sorry, Fuyu. Let me make it up with you, please? I'll be better. I'll be better for you." He whispered and she turned around to look at him. 

"You don't need to be better for me, Sho. You need to be better for yourself. Why are you doing this? Do you feel alone? Do you need someone by your side?" She asked and he held her hands gently. 

"That's not it, Fuyu. I still have so much to tell. Listen to me first, please?" He said and she closed her eyes to take a deep breath. 

They were together for three years and until now, she is trying to move on. She already accepted the fact that he doesn't love her anymore but with what just happened, she is feeling confused. She wanted to hug him. She wanted to cry in his arms. She wanted to kiss him. She wanted to do all of those with him but she knows she can't. 

"The real reason why I broke up with you is not that I fell out of love. It is because my parents don't like you for me." He finally said. More tears fell from her eyes and a faint smile formed on her lips. 

"I know, Sho. I can feel it. I tried my best to please them but I got tired. I was not supposed to do that because that's not me. I should not be pleasing them because they are not the ones who are in a relationship with me. But thank you, Sho. Thank you for telling the truth." She let his hands go and before she went back inside the restaurant, she cupped his cheek and left a small kiss on his lip cut.