The next morning, you and Souji were jogging in the park, breathing the fresh air. You somewhat felt relief that everything is going alright now. But could not help but feel sad that you might not see Souji again soon. 

Flashback

"Kaa-san, I can't just leave you here and go back!" you protested after hearing what she just suggested. 

"Y/N, I'll be fine. We still have our old house here. I'm sure Rippukan-san and Souji-kun will be here to help me if I need any." your mom reassured you. 

"But---"

"You've given up so much. It's time you do what you want." your mom explained. 

You stay silent. What do I want to do? You wondered to yourself. Before, it was to get your bachelor's degree and then off to your master's. But it was postponed due to the debt collector. 

Coming back to Japan was only to get more money to pay off the debt. Now everything had settled down. Your mom was right. You could go back to your track in getting that bachelor's degree. But why do you feel so sad about it? 

"I'll think about it, kaa-san," you told your mom. Your mom just smiled and nodded. 

End of flashback

"N/N! N/N! Y/N!" Souji called out to you. You snapped out of your thought and turned to look but saw that he was way behind you. Souji quickly jogged up to you. 

"Are you alright?" he asked in concern. You looked at him in the eye and nodded. 

"Yeah, I'm alright. Sorry was just lost in my thought," you explained. 

"You know, you can tell me anything if that makes you feel better," Souji stated. 

You smiled warmly at his phrase, "Thanks, Sou-chan. I'm fine, really." 

Souji was unconvinced about it but decided to brush it off for now. 

"Let's go grab some breakfast, shall we?" he asked, glancing at his watch. Just then, your stomach growled loudly. You blushed in embarrassment and tried to hide your face, seeing the teasing smirk on Souji's face.

"Ignore that!" you demanded. 

"Someone must be really hungry. Don't worry N/N, I won't judge if you finish three portions of food later." he teased before jogging away. 

"Yah! Get back here!" You pouted. You slowly catch up to him and steal his water bottle. 

"Hey, what's that for?" he stated, but you continued on jogging. 

"Race you to Amy's cafe. The last one there had to pay for the meal!" You turned back and announced before leaving him in the dust. 

Souji stopped for a moment and chuckled at your childishness. After that, he continued to jog and catch up to you. 

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

"I-- I --- I w--wi---wi---win---in!" You breathed heavily and cheered as you reached the cafe. You turned and saw Souji jogging up to you and shaking his head. 

"You're paying, Sou-chan!" You teased him. 

Souji said nothing. He only flicked your forehead. 

"Ittaaa!" you yelped in pain. 

"Yah! What was that supposed to mean?" you fumed. 

"Let's get in." He stated, ignoring your question. 

"Amouuu! Matte, Sou-chan!" You demanded. 

Souji pushed the door open, and you quickly followed. Amy saw both of you and just gave you a smile as Souji walked toward his usual seat with the gang. You reluctantly followed behind. 

As you both sat down, Amy walked up with the menu. 

"What can I get started for you both today?" Amy asked. 

"Cream Soda, please." both of you stated at the same time. You both paused and glanced at one another before quickly looking away. Amy chuckled. 

"Alright, I enter that in first. I'll come back to get your breakfast order," sending you a wink before she left. 

You wanted to protest, knowing what exactly was on Amy's mind. 

"What do you want to eat?" Souji asked, startling you. 

"Eh? Hmm..." you wondered, looking through the menu. 

"Ooooh! I want Souffle pancake and also the egg benedict." you excitedly pointed to the picture. 

Souji tried to hold in the laughter, but you caught on. "What are you laughing at? You know you're paying right." You huffed, crossing your arm and swinging your face the other way.

"Hai. Hai. I'll get the scrambled egg breakfast then." Souji said. Amy quickly returned with both of your cream sodas and took note of your breakfast choices. 

"Y/N-chan must be super hungry today." Amy teased, seeing your order. 

"Hehe...cause both of them to look so good, and I can't decide." you shyly replied. 

"Can't blame you. I'll do the same too!" Amy smiled back. With that, she left. 

Both you and Souji were sipping your cream soda when you saw Utchy dashing in. 

"Souji-dono, there you are! I heard from Rin-dono that you broke up with her." Utchy frantically exclaimed. 

You stopped and looked up. Your eye-widened, you look at Utchy and then back at Souji. He continued to sip his soda, unbothered by the situation. 

"You and Rin broke up?!?" You asked.

"Yeah." was the only response you had from him. 

"Why though?" both you and Utchy asked at the same time. 

Souji stopped enjoying his drink and looked up. 

"It's just that I feel like we aren't meant to be." was all he commented before eating the ice cream. 

"Demo--Souji-do-" Utchy was about to lecture Souji, but Amy came to the rescue. 

"Hai Hai! Stop harassing my customer Utchy." She sent him a look that she'll explain to him later. Utchy got the signal and shut up. 

"My apology. Enjoy your breakfast, Souji-dono, Y/N-dono!" before he retreated. 

"Would you like to join us?" you asked him. 

"It's alright. I have to go train now. I'll see you both later. Thank you, Y/N-dono!" Utchy smiled, and with that, he left. 

Amy placed the breakfast on your table. 

"Here is your order! Enjoy!" Amy smiled and left. 

"itadakimasu" both you and Souji murmured before digging in. 

There was a heavy silence. The only audible sound was the clattering sound of the knife and fork. 

You gulped your food and took a sip of the soda. 

"Are you okay?" you finally found the courage to ask him. He slowly looked up and noticed how concerned you were. 

"I'm fine. Don't worry about it," he said in a calm, soothing voice. He was about to get back to his food. 

"Is it because of me that caused the break-up?" you asked him. You could see him pause for a while as if he was trying to think of a way to explain the whole situation without making you feel that you were the root. 

"I can go and---" 

"I broke up with Rin because I realized I am in love with someone else!" he announced. 

To Be Continued...

Hello, everyone! Long time no see! 

Thank you for patiently waiting for the sequel of |SECRETS|. I hope this book will live up to everyone's anticipation. Again, it will be a very slow update, so I beg for your patience. I'll try to update the next chapter as soon as possible, but there are no promises. :<

Anyhoo, let me know your thought about the first chapter! 

Til' next time, 

Adieu~~~