"Crap! I'm late!" Lia swiftly ran with all of her might. "Eh?!" She braked herself to a stop.
"Oh, hey Lia," Kai greeted her, with a warm and fuzzy smile on his heavenly handsome face.
"Hey, senpai!" she breathed out.
"Hahaha..." Kai shook his head, and then reached out to pat Lia's. "Hey now, you don't need to run like this anymore. I already saved some ice cream for you, you hear?"
"E-eh? B-but...w-why?"
"Well, because...you like Chocolate Mint Ice Cream right? You would sulk whenever I buy them all up, now wouldn't you? Ahahaha!"
"...Ha...ha...ha...very funny, senpai. In any case, thank you!"
"You're welcomed."
"Oh! Kai-senpai! Will you be here tomorrow?"
"Hm? Yeah, of course. Why? Wanna have lunch with me?"
"Hahh???" Lia's face turned flashing red.
"I heard that cafe over there had some new sweet desserts in! I wanna try them!" Kai pointed out to Le Berry Cafe right across the street.
"B-but..."
"Aww...c'mon...okay?"
"Err...but..."
"See you tomorrow~! Bye~bye~!"
"Kai-senpai!"
"Tata!"
"................Bleahhh." Lia sank down to her knees, and then she sobbed, as she hatefully rolled her eyes at Le Berry Cafe.
"Eh? Miss? Is something wrong?"
"Err....uncle! N-no, thank you, I'm fine. I just want some Chocolate Mint Ice Cream, please."
"Oh!! Take those on the top of the fridge. They're the only ones left! Kai-kun had saved some for you!"
"Ahahaha...thanks, uncle. I'll take those then."
Later that night, Lia found herself sitting in front of her laptop, pouting. Right now, she was thinking of ways to avoid going to Le Berry Cafe. Should she turn down Kai-senpai's offer? No can do. It's rare to get a chance to go out with him.
Should she tell him the truth? No, that would make things awkward, and he would feel guilty.
Should she relocated their meeting place? But Kai-senpai wanted Le Berry's new dessert menu.
"Ahhhh....what to do?" she sobbed.
"Eh?" Lia stared at Kai-senpai, as he happily held out a purple bag with a pink ribbon and 'Le Berry' written across it.
"I bought the desserts! ♥"
"Err....aren't we going to eat in there, senpai?"
"Nope, we're going somewhere else."
"Where then?"
"There!" Kai pointed out to an Italian restaurant nearby. Lia gasped out in surprise.
"THERE? B-but...Kai-senpai..." She took out her wallet, trembling frightfully.
Seeing her in such a state, Kai let out a laugh, shaking his head. "It's on me today, how's that?"
"...N-n-no can do! Kai-senpai bought the desserts, then...to think you're going to pay the lunch bills again is just...ahh...no can do!"
"Okay then, you'll just pay the drinks. How's that?"
"E-eh? S-s-sure...I'll...try."
"Then let's go! ♥"
"How is it?"
"It's nice! I've always loved these, Kai-senpai! Thank you!"
"No problem. Eh? Wait... 'Always'?"
"Oh, I'll eat these whenever my family and I go on an outing every weekend."
Every weekend... Every weekend... Every weekend... Every weekend... Those words echoed in Kai's ears. This...this girl... She's... She's actually loaded, isn't she? he thought, cringing at Lia.
"I know what you're thinking," she said, rolling her eyes at him. "No, I don't have that much money on me. My family only gives me pocket money on school days."
"Ohh..... Okay."
"Wow...the food's not that expensive, huh?" Lia smiled at Kai-senpai.
"Yeah, that's why I picked that restaurant," he replied. "I don't like burning a hole in my pocket, actually. Ahahahah..."
"Cause you're obviously saving them for your ice cream... Duhh..."
"Uhh......eheh....that's right."
"Right! See you tomorrow, eh, senpai?"
"Oh? Okay! See you!"
"Thanks for the lunch! Bye~bye~!"
"Bye!" Kai's smile slowly faded, just as Lia disappeared from his sight. At this very moment, a feeling of guilt began to overwhelm him. A series of thoughts were rushing through his mind, making his guilt grew stronger.
"Doesn't she have a boyfriend?"
"Isn't she too young for me?"
"She didn't know much about me."
"When she does... Will she accept me truly as I am?"
"Am I giving her too much hope?"
"Do I really care so much about her?"
"Am I worthy of her?"
"Have I finally forgotten Miki?"
"And...do I like her?"
"Or... Am I in love with her?"
