𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐖 𝐌𝐄 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 | 𝗠.𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗳𝘂𝘆𝘂

────── four

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ

═══ THE GAME CONTINUES ═══

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ

A WHOLE WEEK PASSED BY until Akiko saw Baji and Chifuyu again. She spotted them sitting outside a convenience store, sharing a portion of peyoung yakisoba. At the mere sight of food, her stomach growled. Ever since the incident, Mr. Hoshino had kept her on a tight leash. It was horrible, just being in his presence, with those black eyes following her every move. And her mother, as always, did nothing to interfere. Akiko even skipped dinner and breakfast to escape them. Hence why she was starving.

Baji was the first to notice Akiko. He smirked and waved, resulting in Chifuyu following his gaze. He also smiled and waved her over. Hesitant at first, Akiko slowly made her way toward them.

"Hey," she mumbled.

While Baji felt no shame in eagerly finishing his portion of the peyoung yakisoba, Chifuyu found himself taking in every detail of Akiko's face. He noticed how pale she looked, and her eyes were dull.

"Are you okay?"

"Huh?" Akiko was confused for a second before she fully registered the question — she blamed the hunger for dimming her focus. "Oh, yeah. I'm fine."

"You don't look fine," noted Baji, wiping his mouth.

"When was the last time you ate something?" Chifuyu inquired. Something about his green eyes made her forgot how to lie.

"Uhm ... maybe during lunch break ... yesterday ... ?"

For some reason, Akiko felt a pang of guilt in her chest at the worried expression etched onto Chifuyu's face. They were still mere strangers to one another. It didn't feel right to have him worry like that.

"Here, you can have my peyoung yakisoba," Chifuyu offered.

With a shake of her head, Akiko softly declined his offer. "I can't ask you to give your food to me."

"Good thing you didn't ask," Baji interjected. Taking the food out of Chifuyu's grip, he forced it into Akiko's hands and pushed her onto the bench between himself and Chifuyu. "Eat or we'll feed it to you."

"But —"

"Baji never makes a promise he doesn't intend to keep. You should take his word for it," adviced Chifuyu, grinning.

Akiko sighed. "Fine."

Even though she made it look like she wasn't enjoying it, Akiko had to force herself to eat slowly. She was starved to the point she wanted to finish the peyoung yakisoba in one big bite.

"See? That wasn't so hard," Chifuyu said after Akiko was done.

Baji stood up, stretched his legs and threw away the empty food container. Mischief glistened in his eyes.

"Care for a ride?"

At the side of the road, two familiar bikes were parked. When Baji gestured toward them, Akiko widened her eyes and shook her head furiously. Her legs had felt like jelly the last time she rode on Chifuyu's bike. This time, she might throw up.