the decision and the farewell

Mio was at home, curled up under the covers on her bed. Although she had already decided what to do at the cemetery, she was afraid. Paralyzing fear.

Determined, she grabs her phone and looks up Tanaka's number. She presses the call button and after a few moments a female voice answers. “ Hello? ” Tanaka's professional voice answers. Mio panicked and hung up. She threw the phone across the bed. " I can't! I can't! This is crazy! Me? A model? They'll laugh at me! I'm the clumsy girl from Nexus drinks! Her internal struggle was at its peak. " She told herself she could do it, and a second later, she convinced herself it was the worst idea in the world.

While she was in that debate, a notification popped up on her phone. A recommended post on “MeInstagram.” (The platform, knowing she followed ECLIPSE, sometimes recommended industry news to her.) What she saw completely paralyzed her.

It was an official post from Shinomiya Inc.'s account. The headline read: “ANNOUNCEMENT: Shinomiya Inc. and Takashima Industries are pleased to announce the future engagement of their heirs, Ren Shinomiya and Akira Takashima.” The photo was professional: Ren, wearing his perfect ice mask, standing next to a beautiful red-haired girl.

A void opened up in Mio's heart. She felt a sudden and intense urge to cry. She felt a sharp pain in her chest that she couldn't explain. She felt... betrayed. " Why... why does it hurt so much? He's an idol. I'm... nothing. What did I expect? That the robot shoe stalker would feel something for me? How silly. "

Overwhelmed by the news, her fear evaporated, replaced by cold rage. She grabbed the phone. She dialed Tanaka's number again. “ Hello? ”, “This is Mio Sakurai,” Mio said, in a firm tone of voice that even she didn't recognize. “ I accept the offer. And I have one condition. ” There was a pause. Tanaka, impressed by the change, accepted the condition Mio had proposed.

The next day, Mio went to Happy Burger to hand in her resignation.

The smell of burnt potatoes and the sound of a family argument filled Happy Burger. “ I told you the oil was boiling, Kenji! Now everything smells burnt! ”, “ You got distracted looking at your phone, Sara! It's your fault! ”.

  “Guys... ” Mio said, her voice barely a whisper. They both yelled, “ WHAT?! ” at the same time, without even looking at her, ready to continue fighting.

“ I... ” Mio gripped the straps of her bag so tightly that her knuckles turned white. “ I came to... I came to hand in my resignation. ”

The effect was instantaneous. The chaos stopped. Kenji, who was holding a spatula, dropped it with a clang onto the counter. Sara stood with her mouth open, her phone forgotten in her hand.

“ What?! ” Sara shouted. “ This is a joke, right? Mio, we don't have time for jokes! ”

“ It's not a joke... ” said Mio, shrinking back, waiting for them both to yell or complain.

Before he could say anything else, Sara shot out from behind the counter and, to Mio's surprise, hugged him. It was a clumsy, desperate hug, so tight that it almost knocked the wind out of her. “No! I'm going to miss you, bunny! Who's going to scream now when the ice cream machine jams? And who's going to put the ketchup smiley faces on the kids' orders?! ”

Mio stood completely still, her arms pressed against her sides, unable to process it. “ A hug? From Sara? I had always thought that if I left one day, neither of them would care. That, deep down, it would be a relief for both of them. ” But when Sara let go of her, she saw that her eyes were genuinely sad and a little red.

“ Why... ” whispered Mio, completely confused. “ Why are you sad? I thought... ”

“ Because it's fun working with you! ” interrupted Kenji, scratching the back of his neck and looking away, clearly embarrassed to show emotion. “ He's right. ” said Sara, crossing her arms. " You're a walking disaster, Mio. But... you're our disaster. Your witticisms, your clumsiness, your mini panic attacks when a customer asks for more pickles... they spiced up our day! You made us happy, Mio."

Mio stared at them. The weight of those words was almost more shocking than Minamoto's contract. " I... made someone happy? "

Maybe, just maybe, her life wasn't so bad. She had to reconsider what she wanted. But she shook her head to herself. She had already called Tanaka. She couldn't back out, even though she was trembling with fear.

“ Why are you quitting? ” asked Sara. “ Is it because of something we said? ”

 “No,” replied Mio. “ It's... an opportunity. I can't tell you what it is, but it's a new job that... will completely change my life. Even though it will be difficult.”  

Sara and Kenji smiled at the same time. “ Ah! We get it! ” said Sara. “ You're leaving with Tomoki, right? ”

 “ What?! No! ” Mio blushed violently.

As a farewell, Sara and Kenji gave her one last bottle of Nexus.

Mio left, but not before thanking them both for putting up with her, and promising to visit them soon.

Mio felt relieved. She walked a few blocks, and then the weight of it all hit her abruptly. Her legs were shaking so much that she had to lean against a wall. She was sweating cold. That goodbye was possibly the strongest emotion she had ever felt in her life. She felt sad, but she had to move on. " Oh my God... that was harder than I thought, my legs are shaking with fear. "

As he tried to catch his breath, he saw a familiar outfit in the distance. A baggy sweatshirt and a cap. His heart skipped a beat. It was Ren, dressed as a commoner. He was walking among the crowd, seemingly aimlessly, looking... lost.

Mio raised her hand slightly, an involuntary movement, as if she wanted to touch him or reach out to him. She wanted to shout his name.

But in the end, the words didn't come out. She remembered that post. The wedding of the millionaire companies. A world she didn't belong to. At least... not yet.

With pain in his chest, Mio didn't say a word. Instead, he put his hand over his heart, squeezing the fabric of his sweatshirt, while staring at the floor.

I don't know what this feeling is... he thought, feeling the burning in his eyes. ...but if this really is love... then I don't think there could be a worse curse than this.

Without saying anything, he got up and walked away in the opposite direction.

In the middle of the crowd, Ren stopped. He felt a gaze burning his back. A gaze that made his whole body tingle. And for a moment... he swore he heard Mio's voice calling him. He turned around, searching among the people. But when he did, there was no one there. Only strangers.

Had he imagined it? Or was it the voices of both of them, trying to speak to each other through the noise of the city? He stood still, staring at the empty spot where she had been, feeling more confused than ever.