𝐒𝐔𝐆𝐀𝐑 𝐁𝐀𝐁𝐘 | 𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞: 𝐮𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝

☑ ᶠⁱⁿᵈ ᵃ ᶜʰⁱᶜᵏᵉⁿ ˢⁱᵗᵗᵉʳ

ｃｈａｐｔｅｒ ｔｗｅｎｔｙ－ｏｎｅ

♟

The (h/c) haired woman rested her chin on the small coffee table, her eyes strained on the beady black orbs of her beloved pet chicken. Melvin stared back at her as if it could read what she was thinking, head tilting to the side from time to time.

"Behave for today, okay? We don't want to upset Mr. Haru here now, don't we?" The brunette silently listened to the baby talking that she was doing. His sight observed her actions towards the fowl, patting its back ever so gently.

(Y/N) stood up from her former crouching position before dusting herself. She turned to look at Haru who was currently sitting on her couch. 

"I'm very sorry for this sudden departure of mine.. The meeting will probably only last for a few hours. I promise I'll make it up with you when I get back!" She bowed in full gratefulness, rattling the flustered boy in the process. He waved his hands on the mid-air frantically and laughed nervously.

"Y-You don't need to thank me! I was the one who decided to visit you out of nowhere." The young woman huffed in relief with his statement as she wrapped her fingers around the strap of her bag and headed towards her door.

"Alright, I'll be heading out. Have fun with Melvin!" (Y/N) motioned her hand into a goodbye. The male jumped out of the sofa before proceeding to the now opened door to watch the young woman as she rode inside the cab.

After seeing the vehicle depart from her front yard, Haru turned his heels towards the chicken that was staring at him in utter silence. He suddenly grew conscious with Melvin's gawking at him.

"So, I guess it's just you and-" Before he could get the chance to complete his sentence, the chicken loudly squawked. It aggressively flapped it wings and started to run in circles around the poor confused boy.

"H-Hey! Calm down!" He tried to catch the fowl but it was fast enough to sprint its way out of his grasp. Like a pro, it swooped down the slightly agape window and into the front yard.

Haru's heart started to pump in a sickeningly fast pace as he tried his best not to jiggle on the doorknob in order to successfully open the door. The blinding rays of the sun immediately pestered his face, making it hard for him to see where the chicken went to.

Just as his vision started to adjust to the brightness, he was welcomed with a sight of a foreign middle aged woman over the fence who was now caressing a very behaved Melvin resting on her arm. His breathing finally calmed down while he approached the individual with the chicken.

"Thank goodness.. I thought he's a goner." The rooster cackled after hearing the his voice. He pursed his lips in confusion with Melvin's random rage at his mere presence.

"Oh, you must be Mrs. Paraiso. (Y/N)'s neighbor?" The woman smiled at the brunette's correct guess of her identity as she continued to pet the dozing poultry. 

"Yes, I am.. How about you, young man?" 

"I'm uh.. Kato Haru.." Haru straightforwardly answered while occasionally checking on Melvin.

"Hm, are you perhaps... (Y/N)'s boyfriend?" The woman chuckled with her cheesy teasing statement after seeing the male's face be covered with hues of embarrassed crimson red, him laughing awkwardly in the process.

"N-No.. Not yet-" 

He paused on his sentence after realizing what he said, the woman blinking in surprise with it as well. 

"T-Thank you so much for catching Melvin. See ya!" Quickly, he grabbed the sleeping chicken and ran towards the inside of the (h/c) haired girl's house before locking the door behind him. He inhaled a barrel of air to pacify the bubbling discomfort he was feeling deep within him.

He carefully placed the resting rooster on top of the pristine white couch and proceeded towards the comfort room. He heard his stomach grumbling from all the pressure that he was enduring along with the bowl of seaweed salad that he ate this morning before deciding to relieve his self on the toilet.

After successfully releasing the excess food that was hanging inside his tummy, his heart jumped in shock after witnessing Melvin snooping at him through the bathroom's doggy door. He timidly scratched the back of his head as he grew more and more conscious with the chicken's beady eyes staring at him.

He figured out that it would be best to ignore the fowl and finish his business in this area so that he could exit the comfort room at once. As he was about to reach for something to clean his self with, a sigh of disbelief immediately slipped out of his lips after realizing something.

"Hey, Melvin... Are you um.. Do you know how to get a roll of tissue?"

•••

(Y/N)'s phone rang while she made her way towards Daisuke's empty office to put all the folders of the finished documents on his table. Her walking was halted as she checked on who it was, her expression lighting up after seeing the caller id.

"Sup', mom!" 

She went inside the room with the phone still against her ear. The beige tinted folders were neatly placed on the desk first before she proceeded to sit on the nearest window sill. The young woman and her mother talked about anything in particular until their topic arrived to the recent happenings in her life.

"How's Melvin doing, dear?" The woman in her fifty's asked from the other side of the line. (Y/N) grinned with the mentioned name, remembering her precious chicken almost immediately.

"He's very fine! He's currently being cared by Haru." (Y/N)'s mother paused for awhile to process what her daughter said. She slowly pursed her lips while she fidgeted with her thumb.

"Haru is.. the police guy, right?" There was a sudden silence that lingered on the line as the (h/c) haired girl felt a foreign stone weighing her stomach down.

"Yes..." The middle-aged woman sighed with her daughter's response to the question that she just asked. She shifted her position on the sofa to give her self more comfort, resting her back on the cushions of the couch in the process.

"I thought you said you were going to stop talking to him.."