She's my girlfriend... or is she?

Ken is back at the café near their school, getting tutoring from Rebecca. They sit down and order their usual.

"Is your little brother doing better?" She asks as they take out their study materials for the day.

"He's fully recovered. He was very sad that he couldn't meet you."

"Really...?"

"Yes! All my younger siblings are very curious and can't wait to meet new people. I told him that he'll definitely get to meet you in the future..." He looks at her with a side-eye to gauge her reaction and smiles when he sees her smile and a slight blush on her cheeks.

"Is your ankle better?" This time, he asks her. She always wears high socks, so it's impossible to see her ankles with the naked eye.

"Yes. The bruise has completely disappeared too."

"Glad to hear that. Did you go to the hospital for a check-up?"

"I-I've never been to a hospital, so it's kind of scary..."

"You've never been to a hospital?"

"When it was necessary, my parents called the family doctor directly to our house."

Ken wants to ask her about the kind of life she had when she was with her parents, but he holds back, not wanting to ruin the mood. Thinking about her possible life, something else comes to his mind.

"When is your birthday?"

"Why the sudden question?"

"Just answer me."

"It's this Friday..."

"But that's a week away!"

"Yes..."

"You should have told me sooner!"

"Why? So you could have organized a birthday party or something?"

"Yes!"

Meanwhile, the waiter serves their orders.

"Let's start studying now..." She takes out a book to read while he would work on the exercises.

"Yes, ma'am~"

After a couple of hours, she's almost done with the book and decides to look up to check on Ken. As soon as she does, she sees him struggling to keep his eyes open while looking at the book in front of him.

"Are you tired?" She asks, putting a bookmark in and setting the book aside.

"Just a little..." He yawns. "But I'll finish the exercises..."

"Rest a little. You won't be able to do the exercises in that state anyway."

"Thanks...~" He barely replies, crossing his arms on the table and resting his head on them.

She sighs, looking at him, and thinks about how he'll get a stiff neck if he falls asleep in this position. So she gets up and sits next to him.

"Hey." She whispers to him.

"Mh?"

"Stand up." He's confused due to his drowsiness, but he sits up straight immediately. She pushes him by the shoulder furthest away from her, making him rest his head on her shoulder.

He doesn't say anything, just smiles; while she resumes reading her book, occasionally sipping her shake.

* * *

After about half an hour, Ken wakes up, confused.

"Did you sleep well?" Rebecca giggles, noticing the drool hanging from his mouth, and points it out to him. He immediately wipes his mouth.

"I'll go to the bathroom for a moment, then we'll continue, okay?"

"I'm not going anywhere." He smiles at her remark and heads to the bathroom.

Rebecca has finished reading the book, so she can't do anything but wait for him to return. Soon after, three guys sit at her table, one of them right next to her.

"What are you doing here alone?"

"Do you want some company, sweetie?" The guy sitting next to her gets closer to her.

"N-no... I... uh..." She raises her arm, placing her hand in front of her face to create some distance between him and her, avoiding eye contact with any of them.

"Are you shy?"

"I like them shy!"

Avoiding their gaze and looking down, she notices her legs trembling and her lower lip quivering. She wants to get up and leave, wants to scream at them to leave her alone, but she feels everyone's eyes on her and starts hyperventilating. Her breathing is heavy and unstable, and she feels a pain in her chest, trying to alleviate it by pressing her fist against it.

"Are you okay...?" The guy next to her grabs her wrist, which she had placed between them, but she hadn't lowered it because her body felt too rigid.

Suddenly, she feels someone else grab her other arm and pull her forcefully to the other side of the guy.

"What are you doing to my girlfriend?!" The tug snaps her back to reality, and as soon as she hears the familiar voice, she turns to the person holding her, almost wanting to cry with relief at seeing Ken.

"Oh shit, we didn't know she was taken. Our bad."

"It's better if you don't show up here again."

"Don't you think you're exaggerating now?"

"Don't you think you exaggerated quite a bit?"

"Please, gentlemen, you're disturbing the customers..." A waitress intervenes, trying to calm down the boys and Ken.

"Are you okay? Do you want to leave?" He doesn't want to leave, but she's visibly in shock and he doesn't want to keep her in the presence of those guys for another minute longer and is willing to 'give in' and leave the place if she wants to. She nods, and he pays the bill to the waitress and they leave without saying another word, with him still holding her.

"Did you just see that? It was so romantic! The way the guy protected his girlfriend... kya!"

In a café not far away, two girls are sitting at a table, and they've watched the whole scene.

"'Girlfriend', huh?" The other girl, tall with slightly tanned skin, long hair dyed midnight blue, responds to her friend, who is much shorter with short white hair and a dreamy look in her eyes.

"Do you remember that guy I dated a year ago?" She continues.

"Which one of many...?"

"The hot but stupid one. Blond with blue eyes, very tall, with a nostril piercing."

"Ah, him. From the description, it sounds like the guy who just left... Oh. It's him!"

"Bingo. He always told me he didn't want anything serious... and now he says he has a girlfriend. What a disappointment."

"I can see why you'd be upset... he's pretty hot."

"Focus. And yet she's pretty bland."

"Are you really thinking about this? Isn't it over? Or should I say, it never started. Eheh~"

"You're really on my nerves today."

"But come on... you have a girlfriend now. You should be thinking about your man and not some random, hot guy you lost contact with a year ago."

"You know how I'm a free spirit, and I get bored easily. And I've just found something that will keep me busy for a while."

"You're the worst..."

"You bet I am."