CHAPTER SEVEN

I opened my eyes.

The sunlight that was shining into my room was giving me enough lighting to see my pristine white alarm clock standing atop my end table. It was 7.30 in the morning.

Slowly, I sat up, pushing down the thick duvet that covered my body and scrunched it on my lower stomach. I rubbed my eyes a few times and my head roughly, trying to get rid of the sudden headache.

Sitting in a trance, I heard light chirps of birds from a distance, which intrigued me. I've always liked animals—birds especially. Very carefully, I turned my neck to the direction of my window that was half covered in white, lacy curtains which were bounded at the middle by two strips of baby blue fabrics. I prepared myself to stand up and stretched my arms, letting out a deep yawn simultaneously. Kicking my legs softly, I pulled the duvet away and stood up on the side of my bed.

I slipped on my favourite slippers—they had fluffy brown bunny heads at the front—and treaded lazily on the white furry carpet towards the window. Putting both my palms on the glass, I shivered slightly at the coldness that buzzed my skin. I reached the golden clasp and clicked it open, then pushed the window forward.

Smelling the sweet scent of morning air, I subconsciously smiled as I heard the chirps growing louder. I took a gray cardigan from the hanger near the large wooden chest across the bed and put it on. I snuggled against the woollen comfort and warmth it provided me and started to hum Canon by Pachelbel as I skipped downstairs to get some breakfast.

It had been two days since Shin visited me.

Koharu, Sakuraba, and Takami were nice enough to have visited me on Friday. I remembered them apologizing for not bringing me any fruits—honestly, I was thankful for that—and I couldn't help but notice how Koharu and Takami were sticking to each other the whole time. I was sure that Sakuraba noticed it, too, because we had some fun times laughing at the weird mannerism those two showed.

I stopped my skipping at the very last step and looked at the calendar that hung on the pale yellow wall.

'Sunday already, huh?' I thought as I continued to skip into the kitchen.

"Morning, Pops!" I greeted my dad casually when I saw him sipping his black coffee on the dining table. He was holding the morning newspaper in one hand—so typical, right? "Do you want waffles? Pancakes? French toast? Anything?" I offered him as I clicked the water boiler on.

"No thanks, Mio. My stomach doesn't work until 9," Dad chuckled and I chimed in.

"Well, it looks like somebody's all better!"

"Mum! Do you want anything for breakfast? Waffles? Pancakes? French toast? Pancakes? Omelette? Pancakes?" I enthused as I put three teaspoonfuls of sugar into my bunny mug—I just so happened to like my tea sweet; don't judge me—and took a berry infused tea bag out of its box.

"No thanks, sweetie, I can cook my own breakfast and yours, too," Mum giggled and gave me a hug, which I reciprocated. "Let me guess... You want pancakes with chocolate chips?" she released me and put on a crisp white apron. I nodded vigorously, to which she smiled.

"Don't forget, I want some too!" Dad joined in, dropping his newspaper on the table.

"You said you didn't want any!" I protested as I sat down on the kitchen stool, waiting for the water to boil.

"Well, it seems like my appetite's gone up after I saw my favourite girls happy and healthy!" he came over and ruffled my bed hair.

I laughed. "You're so corny!" I said as I moved his hand away from my messed hair.

"Anything for my girls," he beamed and gave mum a kiss on the lips.

I smiled at my parents. I've always loved—and envied—how they looked so happy around each other. Dad used to tell me that they always got voted couple of the year in high school—which I didn't believe at all—but then, I started to believe and see why they got picked.

A loud click from the water boiler snapped me from my thoughts and I proceeded to pour the hot water into my black mug. The smell of berries drifted around the air, and I sighed in happiness.

"Mum, Dad, can I go running today?" I asked them as I stirred my tea, still sitting on the wooden furniture. They both looked at me at the same time, worried.

"Don't worry! I'm all healthy now! And this time, I'm honest," I gave them my best puppy eyes and slapped my chest a few times to show them that I was tough.

My parents sighed synchronously at my antics. "Alright honey, but not too far and not for a long time, okay?" Mum asked. I nodded quickly and sipped my tea before sighing in happiness again.

Today was going to be a good day.

I looked at my reflection in the mirror.

My hair was tied into a high ponytail that ended just below my neck. I was wearing my gray training pants—thank goodness the mud stain came out—with a deep purple tank top. I grabbed my milk scented lotion and put some on my arms, moistening my dry skin.

After waving my arms around to get the lotion to dry faster, I took my fully charged iPod and cell phone from my desk, shoving them into my pants' pocket. Catching a sight of spare changes near the desk lamp, I quickly swept them with my hand and dropped them into my other pocket. I glanced around for a jumper, and my eyes settled on a folded gray jumper that I borrowed from a certain someone.

I debated against myself. To wear, or not to wear. To be honest, the sweater was really warm—I didn't even notice the water that was seeping through the other night, so that had to be somehow thick—and I really liked the size. But then again, it wasn't mine, and it was only there because I haven't had the chance to return it back to its original owner.

It was hard battling against yourself in silence, but my other 'self' won. I took a black jumper from the large wardrobe and put it on, zipping it halfway up.

I jogged in place, examining my appearance. It seemed like it was going to be a bit windy, and I did not want to risk getting sick again, so I took a white woollen scarf that was tied on my bed post and whirled it around my neck, getting it up to my chin.

I smiled. 'Perfect,' I thought in satisfaction.

I checked my phone before leaving the house, noting to come back for lunch. It was ten o'clock when I opened the gates and sprinted right. I put my earphones on and played a rock song on my iPod, rhythmically shaking my body as I ran along the sidewalk.

It was a nice morning; people were jogging, the sun was up and shining, the birds were chirping. But the best part about it was that I could see. Unlike that one night when I got lost—that was horrible.

I moved my facial muscles, making weird expression as I felt them freezing from the chilly autumn air. My decision of putting on a scarf was a good decision, as it turned out. I felt my cheeks getting rosy and I inhaled the morning air deeply as I passed a happy couple jogging alongside one another. Finally, I've felt the rush of joy from running and ran even faster. I took turns here and there, figuring that I could always ask for directions if I get lost.

Looking to my right, I saw a trail that lead to a small park. The park was filled with children running around in some kind of a tag game, mucus trailing down their nose from the cold. I felt myself grin and jogged in place, momentarily 'resting' my legs. After three songs were played on my iPod, I started jogging forward; happiness filling my heart after seeing the child I supported won the game of hide and seek.

"O-okay, so I go right from here, and then?"

The old lady in front of me repeated her explanation about my whereabouts. Needless to say, I got lost. Don't ask me how I got lost for a second time—not to mention in broad daylight this time—I just did. I nodded as she started to gesture where to turn with her wrinkled hands. She was very pretty and patient, something I kind of lacked.

"O-okay, I got it! Thank you very much!" I gave her a little bow and then waved, met with a small smile that graced her glowing face.

I turned around and started to jog. Honestly, I couldn't remember much of what she had said. I tilted my head up a bit to watch the sky as I jogged slower downhill. Laughing at the cloud that was shaped like my dad's head, I scooped my earphones out of my pocket which I had taken out earlier to listen to the old lady.

I was choosing a song from my iPod when I saw my hands got darker. 'Is this... A shadow?' I asked myself and halted almost immediately after I confirmed that it was, indeed, a shadow.

"Whoa!" I let out a small yell as I stopped right in front of the person in front of me. "Sorry! I almost crashed into you just now," I laughed a little and looked up.

The person had his back facing me. I felt myself shrink as I thought of how stupid I looked talking to a person's back. I glanced up at the person again, then tilted my head and raised an eyebrow as I examined his clothing. He was wearing a gray jumper—I assumed he was a he because he was taller than me and had broad shoulders—with its hood covering his head. For some reason, that sight seemed familiar to me.

As I looked down, deep in thought—I guessed that he was Channing Tatum for some odd reason—I heard him spoke to me.

"It seems like a lot of our encounters start with a crash."

I looked up; my hope crushed into bits and pieces. There I was, imagining what it would have been like if he were Channing Tatum, but no, I had to almost crash into Shin.

I guessed he saw my slightly sad—my lips were starting to quiver—look, so he asked me: "Are you still sick?"

I shook my head. "No, I just thought you were Channing Tatum."

Shin look at me, a bit puzzled. "Who is Channing Tatum?"

My expression changed for a dramatic turn. "Who is—who is Channing Tatum? Only, like, my favourite actor in the world!" I explained as I waved my arms up and down, still having a firm grip on my silver iPod.

"Oh," Shin replied and turned away from me before starting his jog down the hill. Shocked of being left alone without as much as a bye, I ran and passed him before turning my right foot and used it as a pivot to spin around, trying to face him.

Embarrassingly enough, the uneven terrain caused me to lose my balance and I fell flat on my face.

How did that happen? I wouldn't have known, that was my first time trying to do a cool spin like that.

I felt the tremor of his footsteps stopped and grumbled as I tried to look up. Obviously, I was in an awkward position—I could hear the people on the opposite sidewalk laugh at me. That was probably because my face was on the ground and my butt was sticking up.

"Don't say anything," I mumbled grumpily as I pushed my hands on the cemented pavement, propelling my upper body up. Soon enough, I noticed a hand placed right in front of my vision.

"Here," Shin said, kindly offering me his palm. I pouted and placed my hand in his, putting my weight on it as I stood up.

"Thanks," I said in a quiet voice. He nodded and continued on jogging. I checked my clock: it was eleven. Deciding I had nothing better to do until lunch, I caught up with him and jogged beside him. I thought that it was dangerous for my iPod to be held by someone as kinetically challenged as me, so I put it inside my pants' pocket, tapping it twice to make sure it settled in deep and safe.

Shin must've thought something was off, because he looked at me with that Shin-esque questioning look. I shoved my hands into the pockets of my jumper and shrugged. "I'm jogging with you." He just gave me another nod.

An idea passed through my brain. I quickened my pace by a bit, noting that he quickened his pace, too. Then I started to jog faster. When I saw him trying to catch up with me, I started sprinting like crazy.

Well, maybe not like, crazy crazy, but it was quite fast considering I had just gotten well.

My eyes widened when I saw him nearing by the seconds. I was determined not to lose, so I tried even harder to sprint even faster. It turned out that he was still able to catch up to me, but he couldn't pass me at all.

We probably looked like two weirdoes—running really fast on the sidewalk that was almost packed with people and all—but to be completely honest, I enjoyed it. It was really fun having someone who was on equal grounds with you. I turned right, he followed. He turned left, I followed. It was an addicting game of tag that I wished would never end.

I smiled challengingly at him, satisfied to see him covered in sweat. His eyes were completely focused on the route in front of him, yet I could feel him checking my every movement from the corner of his periphery. I tugged the elastic band that held my hair and pulled it off, letting my black strands blow freely in the autumn breeze.

I felt so happy.

Yet, ever so slowly, I noticed my stamina decreasing. My neck was getting sweatier and my breaths were getting shorter and heavier, and my insides felt like they were curling into a little ball. My legs were doing incredibly fine, though, they certainly didn't complain from the much overdue exercise.

Stepping on a hexagonal stone pavement, I made a quick cut to the left and dashed forward, thanking God for the lack of people that was present on that particular sidewalk. I had absolutely no clue where I was heading, but I was having way too much fun to stop for directions. Shin was right beside me; I could tell that he was slightly struggling to keep up with my pace. As I ran, I tried to multitask and calculated the speed I was going at before making a mental note about Shin's current speed.

Subconsciously, I let out a laugh. I hadn't been able to multitask for a long time. I mean, sure, I could walk and talk at the same time, but I hadn't been able to run and think at the same time. It would confuse my brain and I would end up falling into a ditch I had somehow see from miles away.

Feeling my stomach growling and curling in protest, I gradually changed my strides, letting Shin passed me by. I smiled when I realized that he probably hadn't noticed me slowing down. I jogged and followed his trails, the coins in my pockets jingling loudly.

'Huh, he really isn't slowing down, is he,' I thought as I pulled my cell phone out to check the time.

It was around fifteen minutes to twelve. No wonder my stomach had been growling. I held another debate with myself while walking, trying to figure out which would be better: buying some snacks from a nearby shop or going home and eat a whole meal. Without a doubt, the latter won, but it only had a little time of rejoice because out of nowhere, I realized that I was in a completely different neighbourhood.

"Oh no..." I whined loudly. "This is not good... Um, um... I should ask for directions," I looked around for anyone who seemed approachable. There weren't any—by that, I meant that there were a couple of people, but they looked mean enough to be a part of infamous gangs and such. Not really my cup of tea. I sighed and walked slowly, nearing a junction.

"Well, okay, one plan's down. What about... Oh yeah! Shin! Where is he?" I hit my palm with my fist in realization. "Shin? Shin~? Where are you~?" I called out to him, my hands cupping my mouth. "Shin?"

"Yes?"

I let out a shrill when I saw his rather intimidating figure coming from my left. I gulped, holding my heart with one hand while my breath got really heavy. Looking around, I took notice that I was at the junction already.

"Would you stop doing that?" I asked between gasps of air.

"Stop what?" Shin enquired. He stopped jogging in place and stood still, pulling his hood back.

"Scaring me! You always show up out of nowhere," my eyebrows were raised as my breath steadied. Shin didn't say anything. I took one deep breath to calm myself down and asked him, "where are we right now?"

He looked around, taking information on how our surroundings look before replying, "Block F."

I gave him a tired stare, obviously not knowing where 'Block F' was. "Well, is there any place from which I can get food? I'm getting really hungry," I rubbed my stomach, feeling the warm air that was trapped on my white woollen scarf.

"Do you have any preference?" Shin asked me, his voice starting to show some interest. A very slight one, though.

"Well... I like sweet things? Are there any waffle vendors or something around here?" I asked, fanning myself with my right hand, leaning on my left leg.

Shin nodded before turning around and power-walking the other way.

"H-hey, wait! Shin! I can't walk that fast yet! My stamina hasn't recovered!" I half-yelled as I tried my best to catch up with him. What was up with his pacing?

He stopped and looked at me, seemingly noting my scarlet face and heavy breaths. I gulped and stood straight, trying to look as strong as I possibly could. "What?" I asked, cursing myself when my voice came out a bit strangled.

"Do you need some help?" he asked simply, his voice reverting back to its emotionless sound.

"With what?" my shoulders started to slump again, but thankfully, my breath was getting regular again.

I guessed he took my question as a yes, because the next thing I knew, I was being carried on his back.

"S-Shin! What are you doing? Let me down; I can walk by myself, you know!" I screamed, putting my hands on his back and pushing as hard as I could so that he would let go of me. As it turned out, having an empty stomach completely drained out my power, resulting in me not moving an inch from where I was.

"It's fine," Shin said simply, tightening his hold on my knees. He kept on walking straight, ignoring the weird looks we got from the gangster-looking-teenagers. I, myself, couldn't stand to be looked at, so I tried to hide my face inside the large scarf that could only cover half my head.

"Are you sure?" I asked quietly, my head held down. I grasped the back of his hoodie tightly when I felt him nod and rested my head behind his lower head. The firm steps that he took rocked my body back and forth and I enjoyed every moment of it. I nuzzled my head a little bit, finding comfort at the crease of his neck.

"Hey, Shin?"

Shin stopped walking and turned his head slightly to look at me.

"You sure know how to make a move on the ladies."

"Ooh, ooh! I want the chocolate one! Hey, hey, Shin, which one do you want?" I asked excitedly as I jumped up and down, pointing my dainty finger at the menu board that was nailed onto the wall.

Shin shook his head, telling me that those sorts of things ruin his balanced diet. I scoffed and ordered a chocolate banana crêpe that was indicated by the number 3.

"That would be five hundred yen," the cashier told me as she handed my piping hot dessert.

My tongue subconsciously stuck out of my mouth when I reached down at my pocket to take my money. After a few tries, I finally succeeded in taking all of my coins into my fist and pulling them out. I slowly counted them, picking them out one by one. Grinning in satisfaction, I handed the blond cashier all of the coins and walked away, Shin beside me.

"You wan' som'?" I offered Shin as I chewed on the sweet treat. I knew it was bad manners to talk with your mouth full, but I felt like Shin was one of those people who wouldn't care about manners. Well, not anyone else's at least.

"No," he refused.

"Oh, come on," I swallowed and took a seat on the nearby bench under a tree. The sun was rising up, burning my pale skin. Shin took a seat next to me, his face still as serious as ever. "It has bananas?" I persuaded him, slowly inching the crêpe closer to his face.

Shin looked at me, his eyebrows lightly raised, his eyelids squinted.

I rolled my eyes. "Bananas are known for their high amount of potassium? I thought you knew that. Now eat," I persistently shoved my crêpe at him, my mouth curling into a frown.

Ever so slightly, he cringed at my movement and tried to hold my down with one arm. Not one to give up, I kept on waving my arms at him, trying to reach him in some way. He had his left hand on my right cheek, keeping my vision of him very sparse. I couldn't see where I was poking the crêpe with his hand meddling!

I started opening my mouth and then closing it with vigour, trying to bite one of his fingers off my face. That movement seemed to put him in a bit of alert, so I kept on doing it. I could feel his hold getting stronger, and I tried to turn my head a bit more his way but to no avail.

"Shin! Eat some bananas, dammit!" I yelled, waving my crêpe holding arm up and down while trying to move it forward simultaneously.

"No," Shin declined yet again, his voice getting firmer.

"Please? I don't feel right eating by myself!"

"You shouldn't have bought that, then."

"But I was hungry!"

"You could've opted for something healthier."

"...Would you have eaten it with me, then?"

"No."

"Shin!" I whined. "If you don't eat this, I'm gonna cry," I threatened, pulling my arms back to my side slowly, my lips forming a puppy dog pout.

Shin wasn't a guy who could be fazed by such tricks, I had come to learn.

"I'm gonna do it! I'm gonna cry!" I made my lips quiver, my eyes bigger and started to blink rapidly. Looking at his constant facial expression, I gave up. "Fine! You suck," I crossed my arms and pouted, taking another bite from the delicious food. I thought I heard a light chuckle, but when I turned around, there was only the silent Shin.

"Next time, Shin."

Shin turned his head.

"Next time we're going on these kinds of training, I'm going to make you eat whatever I'm eating! So you better not plan out your food intake for that day!" I pointed my crêpe at him, fiery passion burning in my eyes.

I didn't know why, but Shin's eyes visibly widened. I guess he wasn't a fan of people who points their food at other people.

"I'll be waiting."

With that, Shin stood up and started to jog.

Flabbergasted, I stared at him for a couple of seconds before running after him.

"Hey, wait! I haven't finished eating yet!"

A/N: Hello, again! I'm very sorry for the long (and unannounced) hiatus, I sorta had a writer's block. I hope this makes up my absence, though :) As per use, thank you for the LOVELY PEOPLE who left me REVIEWS! Special thanks to Juliedoo, Lorem tenebrae, Random Person 94, sweetchill, Weuer, odagiriryu, and xXDeath-N'-HellXx! Reading your reviews kept me going forward and reminded me of my obligation to finish this story, which hopefully can be fulfilled, haha. Of course, I thank all of you who have added this story into your alert and/or favourite list! I can't believe I even got listed as one of your favourite AUTHORS! :O In short, I owe you guys a lot. So, thank you so, very much. :)