A few hours later

It was night when Sano eventually woke up. The entire room was black with a small light source from the lamp and the windows. Sano noticed right away that he was not sleeping alone. The familiar figure of the brunette hair girl caught his attention.

Sano immediately got up and deeply sighed. 'This girl should have woken me up. Why did she sleep next to me?' Then again, there must be traces of poison left in her system, and she must feel so unwell that she laid down without thinking about him.

Still, quite some time has passed since he last saw her sleeping face like this. He saw it a lot when she was in the hospital, but this is different; they were not directly sleeping next to each other.

This isn't good, and she looks cute. Sano would never have imagined that he would have thoughts like this. To think she would make this kind of her face in her sleep, and underneath those covers, she is only wearing that bathrobe. Sano felt his heartbeat rapidly, and before he knew it, he extended his hands towards her. But before he could remove the covers, she stirred and muttered.

"Ru...."

"..." Sano pulled his hand back. She is still thinking about that man?

Why? Sumire is dating Terashima now. No, didn't he notice this too? Sumire and Terashima look like the perfect couple in other people's eyes, but he noticed something wrong. Occasionally he would see that clouded look in her eyes.

"Ru, don't go. Don't leave me alone."

Is this what Hino was talking about before? So she still misses that man to the point that she would think of him in her sleep.

While it was Ichinose Arashi who made him jealous, that was at the start. After he learned of this man's existence, he felt threatened.

....

It was a strangely warm day when he realized how vital Tsueno Mamoru was to her.

'Late again.' Sano clicked his tongue irritated. That girl keeps bailing on him lately. Due to his workload, he did not overthink it. But the last few days, he has time. She is either late or does not come.

Then again, this is mainly his fault for neglecting her. Sano deeply sighed. Recently the relationship between the two of them is terrible. He thought overtime the situation would improve, but instead, they get into more fights. Unlike before, where she would meekly obey him, she fights back.

What is he going to do? At this stage, she will break up-- Sano's thoughts broke off when he spotted brunette hair approaching from the corner. But the girl was not heading his way.

Sumire stopped and looked at the man beside her with anger in her eyes.

"What on earth were you thinking? You can't just go around stealing things."

"Technically, I was returning stolen property."

The man beside her was somebody he recognized very well. It was Tsueno Mamoru. Ever since that time at the casino, he sees this man a lot more. It is strange how he never saw this person this many times before the incident. To think somebody like this was by her side.

"That's beside the point! You--You-" Sumire bit her lip, and he saw it. She was struggling not to cry.

"Ki, I'm sorry."

"..if you apologize like that, I can't get mad anymore."

Mamoru laughed. "I'll make it up to you."

"I hear there is a new shop that opened up.."

"Great, let's go there then."

"...Thank you for the other day."

Sano watched as he extended his hand out and patted her hair. "You're welcome. But, I was very worried. Please don't do that again."

"It's your fault, idiot...they..they were talking badly about you."

"You'll get mad if I say it's okay. But next time, consult with me first."

Sumire deeply sighed. "You say consult with you, but I can never find you!"

Mamoru laughed and ruffled her hair. "I see you're always searching for me."

"That's because if I take my eyes off you, you go ahead and get yourself in trouble."

"Sumire," Sano called out. 'I've had enough watching this.' How could he watch his girlfriend flirt around with another man? He hated how naturally they spoke to each other. Showing how much they care about each other. Sumire has never done this with him.

Why is she so different when she is with this man?

The girl turned her head, and her eyes widened. She looked panicked for a moment but quickly said her goodbyes and rushed over.

"I didn't think you would pick me up."

Sano leaned forward and kissed her. "San--san?" He only kissed her for a few minutes until she pushed him away.

"You always do this. Did you think if you kissed me, I would--"

Sano grabbed her wrist. "Come back with me."

"Your. .your so unreasonable. I hate this about you."

But even as she said the words hate, Sano noticed how she gradually got closer. The two of them are such selfish people.

...

His thoughts regarding the past broke when he saw a change in her. Tears streamed down her eyes rapidly, and he deeply sighed. He does not know what to do when a girl cries, and he is terrible at this stuff. But he wondered when? Since when did he dislike seeing her tears? Since when did he want her to smile all the time?

...

The following morning, Sano stood silently by the door frame, watching Sumire. He watched as she scooped some miso soup out of the pot with a ladle and poured it into a white bowl. For the last few minutes, he had not moved a single inch and remained there just staring at her.

She wore the dress he ordered Razel to bring over last night. When he asked for an update regarding Terashima, Sano confirmed his thoughts. That reckless man left. But why did he not come here? As he thought this, Sumire turned around.

"Good morning."

"..."

'I thought she would leave.' Sano nodded and walked over. "Cooking?"

"Mm, breakfast." She pointed to the mini table where there was

steamed rice, grilled fish, omelet, and now miso.

"Huh...you made all this?"

Sumire laughed. "Yes. It's only a simple meal I'm afraid."

He placed his hand on the counter beside her, which led to trapping her.

Sano leaned slightly over her. "Do you feel better?"

"I do feel better." Sumire tapped the counter with her fingers.

"Last night, did I say something strange?"

"...you mentioned Tsueno." Sano did not see the need to hide it.

"I did, huh?"

Sano could not miss the hollow look in her eyes and frown. "Let me ask you one question, are you still in love with Tsueno Mamoru?"