I posted this on AO3 last February as an xReader. This is the xOC version, so the heroine has a full name (more info on my bio).

Beta Reader(s): Nica

Cover Art © idk I found it by accident on Pinterest and I couldn't find the artist :')

Happy reading!

The summary I have on AO3:

How to Make Your Valentine's Day Memorable

Step 1: Wake up early in the morning and clean yourself rigorously before wearing your uniform.
Step 2: Style your hair how you think is best and spray your favorite perfume around your neck.
Step 3: Don't forget to pack your homemade chocolates into your bag.
Step 4: Attend school like usual.
Step 5: Patiently wait for the last bell to ring.
Step 6: Give the most amazing box of chocolates to your crush and confess.
Step 7: They accept your feelings and the two of you live happily ever after.
Bonus step: Realize that life isn't as easy as the romance movies you watched when you were a kid.

Chapter 1: February 13

On February 13, it was nothing unusual for people to talk about their Valentine's Day plan, regardless of whether they wanted to spend it with their partner, friends, family, or alone. That included those who studied at Nekoma Metropolitan High, especially since the school had never banned the activity from being celebrated as long as it didn't crash with their actual study time. Sometimes even the teachers took a part in enjoying the moment because what's better than watching youth learn to love and take the extra step to convey it in the most romantic way?

There had been some exceptional stories throughout the history of the school—stories that weren't merely about kids pronouncing their love with a box of homemade chocolates or a sentimental letter that'd been rewritten countless times. Last year, a second-year guy brought a colorful bucket of more than two hundred fresh roses for his girlfriend to commemorate the days they'd been together. The other time, a rich third-year guy showed his love to his crush by decorating the school with thousands of brightly colored balloons and ordering a banner with "Will you be my girlfriend?" written on the body. It was uproarious until it got broadcasted by so many digital and printed media in Japan.

Even until now, these things were often mentioned to give hope to those who wished to receive a surprise. It didn't have to be a huge one because many people couldn't handle crowds. A simple invitation to dinner would be enough. A traditional way of calling the person to the backyard and confess under a blooming cherry blossom would work wonders. A confession through a text or phone call wouldn't be too nice, but it was better than nothing since there were a lot of shy people out there. Up to this point, desperate singles would basically accept anything.

"And… we're still boyfriendless this year. We aren't hunting for one, so it shouldn't matter." A girl with a long straight black hair told her two friends as she lazily stroked the back of her head. They weren't the only group of friends in 3-5 who decided to spend the first few minutes of the lunch break in the class because the cafeteria would need time to shift from a bloodbath over rice balls and breads to a normal and safe place to sit down and relax.

"Don't worry, Ayaka. We're boyfriendless and awesome. We're also going to get homemade chocolates from Michiru," the one that dyed her curly hair into dark brown pointed her finger at the girl who sat in the desk in front of her while Ayaka who stood beside them nodded as an agreement to what was just stated. "Hey, even if you've been with Ayaka since middle school, you must give me the same amount of chocolates, okay?"

Michiru gently pulled one corner of her lips. "Of course. You don't have to ask because you're also my good friend, Miwa. We've been in the same class for two years."

"How sweet." Miwa showed a grin. "Are you really going to give everyone in the class?"

"I'm planning to, but also those from other classes and the teachers. I'll put them in a small plastic bag to save time. I'll ask my brothers to help me."

"Cool, and since he's going to study pharmaceutical sciences at Keidai while you won't, why don't you make a special heart-shaped one for the gorgeous Kuroo Tetsurou?"

"Eh?!" Michiru yelped before decreasing her volume in realization that she didn't want to be the center of attention. "Kuroo…? Why did you suddenly mention him…?"

"Why? Don't you like him? And don't act as if this is the first time I've ever asked you about him. Why don't you try being honest for once? Go confess." Miwa's grin became wider.

Michiru shyly shook her head, trying to hide the gawkiness that she might project in the way her body moved. "Still no. I'm going to give everyone obligatory chocolates like usual, but you two will get more than the others."

"Oh, no." Miwa put on a disappointed face. "Are you sure you'll only give more to the two us? Are you really that sure? What about three… two… one—"

"What are you three talking about?"

Just when Michiru was about to question Miwa's random countdown, she was startled by a male voice that she'd heard a million times. She turned her head to the right and found the man of the moment standing next to her desk, one hand propping on the edge of the surface. Her heart beat a little faster than a second ago, but she'd like to believe that it was because he appeared out of nowhere when he was the one currently being talked about. Anyone would've reacted the same way. The reason Miwa and Ayaka didn't budge was because they stood on the opposite direction from her, so they could already see Tetsurou heading towards them. There's no any other explanation to it.

"Tomorrow's Valentine's Day," Ayaka answered on everyone's behalf.

"Oh, true." Tetsurou smiled, narrowing his eyes as he stared at Michiru. "I'll be waiting for your chocolates, alright? Just like the past two years."

Michiru fluttered her eyes several times before returning Tetsurou's smile with a softer one. "Don't worry about that. I'll give people that I know from your club too."

"But can you give me some extra pieces? Among every type of chocolate that I've had, I love yours the most. They taste and smell good, that's why I'm looking forward to Valentine's Day this year. I won't tell my friends about it. It'll be our secret… and Ayaka and Miwa." Tetsurou brought a finger in front of his mouth before bringing it back down since he didn't get a quick answer from the girl. "So, what do you think?"

"Ah, yes, of course." For a split second, Michiru forgot how to breathe. She wondered why Tetsurou didn't tell her these two years ago. She felt a bit overwhelmed because today was just like any other day and she didn't expect to get such high praise towards the easy process of melting and setting chocolates inside the refrigerator. Then again, anyone would've reacted the same way. It wasn't just her. If Miwa and Ayaka were in her shoes, they'd maybe have it worse.

"Okay then. Good luck." Tetsurou patted Michiru's head twice before walking away to the only door of their classroom and being gone within a blink of an eye.

And there he left the girl, frozen in place.

Although this wasn't the first time Tetsurou touched her in a friendly way, Michiru couldn't think of a sentence to explain what kind of heart palpitation she was suffering from. She wasn't ready for any of these. She wasn't ready when he came by to her desk, just like she wasn't ready when he told her that the reason he was waiting for Valentine's Day was because of her chocolates, followed by his big hand grazing the top of her head. All that she could perceive besides the overall noise of her classmates was the giggles of her two friends, with one being consistently louder than the other. It wasn't helpful at all. It gave her nothing but uneasiness.

The first time she heard about Tetsurou was during the first week of school. The girls in her class were in the middle of changing to their gym uniform when a few chattered about the cool boys and girls in their year. His name was mentioned by one of them and the others immediately agreed, describing him as "the tallest guy in his class who's very outgoing and attractive, even with his unsymmetrical messy hair. He's also in the volleyball club and he's been playing the said sport since middle school". The next morning when she was on the way to the toilet, she saw Tetsurou leaning against the window in front of the public place with some of his friends. He did look different than the rest of them, but she never thought about it too much.

The first time they talked was when she was a member of the student council. Somewhere around June, there's an after-school meeting that discussed about the distribution of funds for all the clubs. She had to stay until late afternoon to do some paperwork with some other people. When it was five, there's a knock on their door and she was told by the upperclassmen to open it. She did and it was Tetsurou. He gave her a piece of paper about the male volleyball club's fund because what his captain and vice-captain handed during the earlier meeting was the wrong version. It was only him explaining and her muttering "okay", but it was already something worth to be remembered.

Then things just happened. Even when they weren't in the same class, he started to greet her whenever they met in the hallway or some other places. She never knew how he found out about her full name, but the same thing could be said to her—Tetsurou never knew how she found out about his. He never asked, so she didn't feel like asking either. But it wasn't a one-in-a-lifetime sort of chemistry between them because everybody else had it just the same. It was very common for people who spent eight hours a day in the same building to remember each other. Word of mouth was one of the strongest aspects in this.

They got into the same class in their senior year. He tapped her back when she was in the middle of searching her name on the biggest school board located in the entrance of the school. He smiled and told her it was great that they were going to spend almost a year together, saving her from wasting time. Ayaka, who's known as her best friend, would also be with them. She had a feeling that it'd be the best ending for her high school life since besides being able to be with Tetsurou—not like she ever prayed for it—Ayaka had officially broken the record of sticking with her for five consecutive years since middle school.

"Right…" Miwa remarked after some time, looking jaded as she pulled Michiru back from the past. "'I don't like Kuroo', she said before becoming speechless… Where's your mind wandering?"

"Okay, I'm going to get some snacks!" Michiru stood from her chair, quietly slamming her palms on the wooden table. Without waiting for Miwa to stop giggling like a lunatic, she moved her legs out of this place, not looking back for once. It wasn't a second later when her two friends eventually followed her because not seeing the three of them together would be a rare sight.

"Kitagawa! Wait!"

Michiru hadn't had the chance to stop walking and look behind to check on whoever called her when she felt two girls embracing each one of her arms. It was a good thing Ayaka and Miwa were a meter ahead and not right beside her because they could've ricocheted around the packed hallway, considering it'd only been a minute or two since the last school bell rang. It felt as if she really wasn't allowed to speak when three more girls came to her from the north. These were all from other classes and she had no idea what they sought from a sad girl who just wanted to go home.

"Will you do our hair and makeup tomorrow?" they simultaneously requested, almost sounding like a choir.

"Oh…" Michiru raised both eyebrows, remembering the lovely kinds of sparks that could happen right where she stood in twenty-four hours from now. "Sure, but bring your own applicators and lipsticks, okay? It's not good if we all share the same one because of the transferable bacteria. I also can't stay at school for too long because I have something to do."

"Yay, you're really the best!" the girl on her left snuggled into her tighter before thanking her and letting her go. The other four did the same and quite honestly, Michiru had a hard time comprehending each syllable. All that she got was they would come to her classroom after class tomorrow and they promised to bring what they had to. And just like that, they all scattered into different directions.

"Here we go again with our makeup artist. It's totally understandable why those girls trust you to take care of them because you're very talented, but you should ask them to pay you. You have almost five thousand followers on your stunning Instagram, so you can charge them a good fee." From the way Miya voiced her opinion, she didn't seem to be joking, yet Michiru opted to only smile as she continued stepping forward, now directly between her two friends.

After being forced by Miwa, six months ago she finally created an Instagram account and it had generated quite a lot of traffic. Only a few people that she personally knew had an Instagram because everybody in Japan used LINE and often Twitter. That said, she could proudly declare that those five thousand followers weren't her own friends. She'd earned money over the past few years from doing some freelance makeup or hairdo jobs, but she'd gotten a lot more since then, now from all over the city and not only around her neighborhood. Every month, it was guaranteed that she'd get called at least once. On last Christmas and New Year's Eve, she had to work the entire day for those who would go out on a romantic date.

Other people who saw what just happened in the hallway might assume that her schoolmates were just using her, but she had a rule to never ask money from her own schoolmates because it was weird. She wasn't stupid—she was aware that she was going to lose some amount of mascara and concealer, but she was also going to gain experience and pictures for her portfolios. Nothing exhibited her credibility better than the before and after shots that she could post online to attract customers. She also wouldn't be called stingy by anyone. No matter how she looked it, it was always a win-win situation.

"It's so cold today." Ayaka hugged herself as soon as they arrived at the first floor since the front door of the school was wide open, allowing the winter wind blowing into the entrance of where the shoe lockers were placed. Hearing people's grumbles, seemingly she wasn't the only one feeling this way. Even the thick jacket people's wearing and the fact that they lived in Tokyo couldn't protect them from shaking to the point of freezing to death. Good thing it wasn't snowing.

Michiru could feel her legs going numb as she dashed to her locker, just a couple boxes apart from Ayaka's. She let out a "huh" when she couldn't find her plain black scarf. She was sure she wore it to school and that she folded and kept it inside her locker before she went to her class. Did it fall? Impossible. If it did, then she would've noticed because it was a huge and long object, not akin to a tiny strand of hair. Did someone steal it? Among all possibilities, this sounded the best. Maybe someone forgot theirs and randomly pick a locker that turned out to be hers. This was why Nekoma should've ordered a locker with an actual lock. Safety should be their number one concern.

"Ayaka, have you seen my scarf?" Michiru asked Ayaka and when she got a "no", she moved to Miwa who stood behind her. "Miwa, have you seen my scarf?"

"Huh?" Miwa scowled. "No. Did you lose it?"

"Uh, seems like it…" Michiru mumbled in a gloomy tone. She was going to survive even if she had to go home by foot, but that was her favorite scarf that she bought as a gift to herself for starting high school. She couldn't accept that her item was gone without a trace like this. She wanted to find the culprit if it was really stolen or the person who might've kindly picked it up, but she didn't know where to start. If she told the teachers, most likely they'd advise her to not make a big deal out of it and simply buy a new one. The wisest way for her was to take a deep breath, forgive, and forget.

"How come it's gone? Did someone steal it?" Ayaka joined the discussion with what Michiru had in mind, but she was all ready to walk home with a red checked scarf around her neck. Miwa's also good to go with her plain white one. Almost everyone here wore their own scarf.

Michiru sighed, deciding not to sulk over a simple matter like this. "It's not a big deal. It's not the end of the world. Maybe I unconsciously left it somewhere or it really fell. It's my own mistake for not checking it twice. I'll borrow one from my brothers for tomorrow—"

Michiru stopped speaking when a person coiled a warm object around her neck from behind. She looked down to make sure that it wasn't a snake or any types of reptiles. Once she registered that it was a dark grey striped scarf, she turned around to find Tetsurou smiling at her with Morisuke by his side. Her heart skipped a beat. When her eyes met Tetsurou's and lasted for seconds, her emotion overwhelmed, as if it was going to burst and instead of collapsing because of the harsh weather of this city, it'd be because of his never-ending affection. She couldn't take the heat, so she chose to avert her gaze down to the floor.

"How could you lose your scarf? Be careful next time," Tetsurou reprimanded her, holding his laughter at the same time.

"Uh, yeah… I don't know how it happened, but you don't have to…" Michiru clutched the scarf with one hand, intending to take it off, but Tetsurou acted faster by tying both ends in the simplest knot. This wasn't how she usually wore it, but if she had to be honest, she didn't mind it at all.

As long as it was Tetsurou and no one else, she wouldn't push the person away.

"Thank you. I-I need to go home soon. I'll give you back the scarf tomorrow. See you. Yaku, you too." Without lifting her chin to look at Tetsurou and Morisuke for one last time, Michiru ran away from the scene. She almost bumped into people, but she didn't stop until she reached the front gate with a heaving chest and burning cheeks.

The scent left on Tetsurou's scarf was sweet, soft, and masculine, but not too sharp nor deep. It was something that she'd encountered before, but she was unable to name every single element because she wasn't an expert in this field. What she had back home was the cheap perfume that anyone could get in the minimarket all over the country. When she closed her eyes, she could picture earth and its nature—land, rain, trees, forests, and anything green that she couldn't find in a busy capital like Tokyo. It fit with Tetsurou's persona. He was very gentle, very considerate, and very selfless. He was mature like an older brother everyone could depend on. He was a great person. He was like no other.

"Hey, that was too obvious!" Miwa's yelling broke Michiru's short vision.

"W-what was too obvious?" Michiru questioned Miwa's statement as soon as she stood in front of her with Ayaka who always looked as cool as cucumber.

"That you like—" Miwa lowered her voice because there were a lot of students passing by. "That you like Kuroo, dumbo. He was confused when you suddenly fled like that, but we covered you up by saying that you have jobs this evening."

Michiru curled her lips, gripping the strap of her brown school bag. "Sorry. I was startled. I know Kuroo and I aren't strangers, but… I don't know how to put this…"

Miwa rolled her eyes. "Just say it!"

"I… That…" Michiru's heart raced as she struggled to talk. "…don't you feel that Kuroo's a bit off today? I think… he's being a bit too… physical?"

"Okay, wait a minute." Ayaka elevated one hand in the air to prevent anyone from mouthing before her. "Don't take this too seriously because we can never be too sure, but I think he expects you to confess to him tomorrow."

"What?" Michiru yelped, eyes agape. If Miwa's the one who said that, she could understand because her hobby was to taunt people, but Ayaka? She'd been nonchalant about this subject ever since Miwa brought it up during lunch break.

"Think about it. He asked you for more chocolates and I don't think he's ever done the same to another girl because we haven't heard any rumor, have we? There must be more things, but since you two are actually pretty close, we might not notice them," Ayaka provided a logical explanation. "Look, take this with a pinch of salt, but I think Kuroo likes you."

Instead of shouting a denial out loud, Michiru knitted her eyebrows. "Stop that, Ayaka. He doesn't like me."

"Hmm… That can be true." Miwa folded her hands in front of her chest while nodding. "Kuroo is really kind, but he doesn't treat other girls like how he treats you. I've never seen him being that close to another girl. He likes to joke around with you and sometimes nudges you. How come you don't realize that? Although you're right about him being a bit too much today, so I must agree with Ayaka's prediction…"

Michiru couldn't oppose her friends because she didn't want to have an extensive useless debate about something that'd hurt her the more she mulled over it. Tetsurou liking her? That Kuroo Tetsurou who's the captain and star of his volleyball team until his retirement last January, who's always in the top five of their school rank because he studied harder than anyone else in their class, and who's accepted into Keio University's department of pharmaceutical sciences that had less than ten percent of acceptance rate? No matter how positive she wanted to judge herself, all she could see was a girl who held a piece of beauty blender and cotton pad, while Tetsurou wore a white coat and tried to save the world by finding the cure to diabetes mellitus.

"I need to go home and prepare the chocolates for tomorrow. See you again. Take care and be safe." With the power of divinity, Michiru blocked the image of her standing next to Tetsurou from her pathetic mind. She didn't wait for her friends' permission when she left the gate, skipping some steps as she swung her legs a tad too fast. She heard Miwa call her a coward and a loser, but just like her, that girl needed to be realistic.

Someone like Tetsurou would never hold a feeling towards an average person.

Once she was home, Michiru was welcomed with the usual sight of her three older brothers playing PlayStation in the living room, all sitting on the same sofa that was situated across from the TV. She stood behind them, waiting in case someone would notice the littlest being home and had the instinct to say "welcome home" or even better, "are you hungry?", but that was just a wishful thinking. She'd been living with these boys her whole life and that had never happened when they were too absorbed in the multiplayer video game that could consume hundreds of hours of their life.

Michiru abruptly unwrapped Tetsurou's scarf and smacked it against the head of the one who sat in the middle, who ironically was also the middle son. "Hey. Smell this and tell me what kind of scent this is."

"Huh? W-wait, pause the game!" he shrieked before holding the scarf with both hands. "Wait… This isn't your scarf, is it?"

"Just tell me what kind of scent this is," Michiru groaned in exasperation, but then she wanted to laugh when the other two brothers also grabbed a part of the scarf and brought their nose closer. If only she could record this moment, because not everyone had the privilege of watching three adults sniffing a piece of fabric that had no clear background to it. It was creepy, but amusing at the same time.

"Hmm…" the middle one spoke first. "Sandalwood, I guess?"

"Yes, I think sandalwood too," the one who sat on the left—the youngest one—agreed.

"I know nothing about fragrance, but this smells very subtle. Did you steal it from one of your rich teachers?" the oldest one added and that was when Michiru pulled the scarf back like it was worth one million yen and clung to it like it was the last valuable item from the most important person in her life who just passed away a few days ago.

The brothers didn't attempt to interrogate her based on her odd behavior as they went back to their video game, as known as something that weighed more than their only sister. Michiru didn't care much either as she hurriedly sprinted to her room on the second floor. She dropped Tetsurou's scarf on the single bed, hung her bag on the hanger hooks on the wall beside her metallic wardrobe, and changed her uniform into something comfortable for cooking—a loose t-shirt and long pants because even if she was inside, short pants would be too daredevil for the weather. Then she stared at the lonely grey scarf.

Sandalwood.

Before she went anywhere, she grabbed her phone from her bag and searched for "sandalwood" on the internet. She read through many descriptions of what sandalwood should smell like and everything fit into her depiction of what naturally grew on earth. Even the name itself should already explain it well—that it had something to do with the woods. She didn't know why this would matter that much, but she was glad that she'd found an answer to the question that might linger in her head for longer than needed.

Her eyes were riveted back on the grey scarf. Her mind was filled once again with Tetsurou and everything he'd done so far to her. He'd bought her some of her favorite drinks and snacks without her asking, but he also got some for Ayaka and Miwa because he was a reasonable human being. He'd helped her carry papers and books to the teacher's room, but she'd seen him do the same to other people, regardless of their gender and grade. When Miwa said that Tetsurou had never treated another girl like he treated her, was it true? On the top of her mind, she couldn't think of something that Tetsurou would only do to her. It was all parts of Miwa's imagination.

Her plan was to give two pieces of chocolates to more than sixty people that she was quite close to and also to her family. She owned many silicon chocolate molds in the shape of flowers, hearts, and stars that could hold fifteen pieces of chocolates. The middle part of her refrigerator had four layers that could handle three molds on each, which meant that if she filled everything, she could produce a total of one hundred and eighty chocolates. She could even give some to the school's gardeners, janitors, and securities.

The first thing she did was clean the refrigerator by taking the stuff out and wiping every corner with a damp towel. She had to utilize the dining table and the four chairs surrounding it since she didn't have a fancy kitchen like a renowned chef or celebrity. Besides, she had to use the kitchen counters for her actual homemade chocolates making. Within minutes, she'd prepared everything required—some blocks of white chocolates, two double boilers she'd use to temper the chocolates, two spatulas to stir and scrape the chocolates, a bottle of red food coloring that she submerged inside of a bowl of warm water because it wasn't a good idea to add a room temperature food coloring to a hot chocolate, some big bowls to mix the chocolates with the food coloring, and some measuring cups to pour the chocolates into the molds.

She multitasked like she was the head chocolatier of the award-winning shop in Switzerland. She chopped the chocolates into smaller pieces so they'd melt faster and drop them onto the transparent heatproof bowls on top of the boilers. She waited for around ten minutes before using both hands to stir the slow-melted chocolate until they reached her desired consistency. She turned the flame off and took the bowls off the heat with a thick towel to protect herself from getting burned. She transferred everything into one big bowl before adding a few drops of red food coloring that'd been warmed up well so that it wouldn't seize her chocolates and ruin everything.

"Good girl."

Michiru stopped her hands from combining the mixture and raised her head to see Ren, her oldest brother, standing behind the dining table with a phone in his hand. "…Nii-san, what are you doing?"

"Recording you."

"…and why?"

"I just want to create memories when you're still young. Don't mind me." Ren swayed his unoccupied hand, signaling Michiru to keep on working.

Michiru grunted, choosing not to care too much because her brothers sometimes acted like they were educated in another planet. As long as they weren't bad people who hurt her in any way, she wouldn't complain too much. She kept her focus locked into her bowl of chocolates that'd turned baby pink, just like how she preferred it to be. Last year, each person received one dark red and one white chocolate—she wanted it to be lighter, but she accidentally added too much food coloring and almost cried. Two years ago, it was pink, blue, and white because she had less friends and more time than now.

"Anyway, you've been single for eighteen years. Do you have any comment about that? Maybe share your deepest feelings? Are you sad?" Ren bombarded Michiru with frivolous questions, as if he was currently in the middle of his job as a journalist for a nosy celebrity news website.

"Yes, I've been single for eighteen years and what's wrong with that? Am I less of a person just because I've never held hands with a guy?" Michiru asked back. "You only dated one girl when you're eighteen and you've been alone for ten years since."

"At least I have more experience than you."

Michiru snorted before reaching for two measuring cups, dividing the pink chocolates into each. "Don't try to make yourself feel better, Nii-san. We all know you didn't do anything with that girl."

"Who gave you the scarf?" Ren swiftly changed the topic, proving that he didn't let what happened in the living room slip away that easily. "You seemed enthralled to the point that you wanted to find out about what kind of perfume the owner of that scarf is using."

Michiru's hand twitched upon hearing the question, but as soon as Tetsurou's face popped in her mind, she shoved it away and tried to behave as normal as possible. "I lost my scarf and I don't know why, so a friend lent me his."

"A friend," Ren emphasized the title. "Is it really 'a friend'?"

"It is," Michiru coolly responded as she began filling the molds she had nearby. She'd put out twelve, so she was going to fill six of them with pink and the other six with white. It was very likely for her to get some leftovers, but she had extra molds to take care of that. There wouldn't be a problem at all because she'd done this before.

"Will you give this 'a friend' one box of chocolates called 'full of love'?" Ren couldn't stop teasing his sister and it was funnier since his expression was flat. Maybe he didn't even realize that he sounded like a joke.

"I give everyone the same shapes of chocolates, thank you for asking, but some got more than the others, like Ayaka and Miwa for instance," Michiru explained, dominant hand steady above the mold. It'd be a hassle if she spilled or overfilled some since she also had to transferred them inside the refrigerator. It was better to stop a few millimeters before it reached the top to avoid anything bad.

"You didn't answer my question," Ren said as he stepped closer to where Michiru stood, zooming in to capture her movement better. "Do you like this guy? What's his name? Tell me more about him."

"Don't stand next to me, you're blocking the light!" Michiru admonished Ren and with a faint "sorry", he walked back, only to move to somewhere behind her. She was terrified of messing her hard work if Ren stayed here any longer, but unfortunately for her, he didn't seem to be aware of what his actions could cause.

"Why don't you just tell me about him? As an older brother, I'm glad that someone finally manages to make my little sister—"

"It's my classmate and he lent it to me because he's a good person." Michiru set the measuring cup aside, fiercely glaring at Ren. "Now can you leave me alone? After this, I need to work on the other type of chocolates, then I must wait twenty minutes for them to fully set. You should get ready because I'm going to ask you and the others to help me pack them and clean up before six because I must cook dinner for the family and do our laundry. I can't afford to make a mistake, but I'm bound to have one if you keep pestering me like this."

Ren shrugged. "Alright, I've tried and gotten the answer, anyway."

"Whatever. Tell the other two to help me in twenty minutes from now and turn your camera off."

"Alright." Ren locked his phone, just like what Michiru asked. "Good luck with the chocolates."

"Thanks," Michiru replied before exhaling a long breath and holding the measuring cup that was still half full. She didn't want to be bothered right now, particularly about Tetsurou because it'd remind her of things that she had a hard time acknowledging. All that she wanted to do today was to get things done. End of discussion.

Thank you for reading! Reviews are greatly appreciated! ❤