"Hey, let's go shopping!"

"Where should we go eat? I'm pretty hungry."

"Look, the new game I talked about yesterday just announced its release date."

The halls were crowded with voices and clamoring conversations. Miko walked past through the groups of people, sliding her way through like a snake. 'I haven't checked the time yet, but it's probably close to midday by now.' She thought, as her hands patted her pockets for her phone. Her phone lit up. '12:07 p.m.' Miko hummed thinking of what to do after her last and only lecture for today, as she aimlessly strolled about.

A distance voice shouted.

"Miko! Wait up!"

A cheerful voice resonated closer from one of the halls. The girl hurried over, approaching Miko gleefully.

Miko responded to her name, "Oh, Megumi. I thought you said were busy after your lecture ended in the morning?"

"Plans got changed last minute, and I figured you'd be around here after your lecture," Megumi answered.

"Is that so?"

"Yep. Are you going somewhere right now?"

"Sort of, what's up?"

"Oh, can I tag along with you then?"

"Sure, but I haven't made up my mind on where I was going though."

"Well, it's midday so... Do you want to go get lunch?"

"I'm down."

"Okay, let's go then!"

As the doors opened, a flash of light brightened. A sightly view of the campus garden came forth. You could see lots of people scattered across the grass. It was a great day to be out.

Megumi whipped out a pair of shades and put them on, "It's pretty sunny, huh?"

"You look stupid, it's not even that bright outside." Miko gagged at her.

Miko continued joking with Megumi, but having focused on their lectures earlier, they held onto the jokes and went to search for a place to eat. The two girls strolled their way around campus. Eventually they settled for a ramen joint close by. It was pretty popular, but it didn't receive many customers at this time luckily. The waitress checked them in, assigning them to a vacant table by the bar. They sat down and discussed what to order.

Miko skimmed the menu. "Megumi, do you have any recommendations? I don't eat in this place often."

Megumi sipped her glass of water. "I think you'd love the tonkotsu ramen they make here."

"I'll order that then. How about you, what're you getting?"

"Maybe Niboshi Shoyu ramen. It's the only dish I've not tried here yet."

"You ate almost everything from the menu?" Miko gasped.

"I'm a regular here, so yeah."

"That's fair, I guess. Anyway, what about drinks?" Miko asked, tapping onto the tablet. "I've already put mine in."

"I'll have ramune, please."

'Order sent, thank you for ordering! Please wait patiently.' The screen read. A lengthy conversation followed and they passed the time chatting.

The waitress finally came, pushing a cart which carried their food and beverages.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

"Here are your orders. Please let me know if you need assistance. Please enjoy your meal."

Megumi and Miko thanked her and received their orders. They prepared their meals, as they gathered the utensils from the compartment on the table.

The girls clapped once, "Thank you for the meal."

"You weren't lying. This looks so good," Miko said, as she caught the inviting aroma from the Tonkotsu ramen.

Megumi added to Miko's statement, "It tastes so good as well."

Slurps and murmured chatter could be heard from their table as they enjoyed the food. Words weren't said much, as they ate.

Megumi broke the silence. "So how are you and your boyfriend doing?"

Miko's eyes shifted away from Megumi's direction. "We're... doing well..."

"Oh...?" said Megumi, teasing her with a grin. "Any progress with you-know?"

"Progress with what?"

"Like, the romantic stuff and all."

"It's going... smoothly, I guess. Not that much has happened yet, but kisses and stuff."

"Well, aren't you being all lovey-dovey with your boyfriend," Megumi chuckled.

"You're embarrassing me, Megumi..." Miko couldn't help, but barely hold back her smile.

Still, it was extremely noticeable. It wasn't just that, but her face was pretty red itself. Megumi kept the verbal attack going, poking more fun at Miko's embarrassment. Inside, she was pretty envious of her best-friend. After all, she hasn't had the best track record of relationships in the past. Still, she was very supportive of their relationship. Her pride in having been a pretty big part of why the couple came to be exuded.

"Thankfully, I made you realise sooner, huh?"

"That's true... I'm glad you did." Miko faced towards her now. "You are half the reason why I actually chose to date Aki-kun."

"I see you've still not dropped the honorific."

Miko stammered, "I-it's just because it's still a bit too early. I can't immediately get comfortable."

"Really? Or are you just shy still?"

Megumi took the words out of Miko for an instant. Then she replied.

"I don't know what you're talking about. Why would I be shy still?" she said, trying to knock down the obvious truth. However, it didn't fool anyone.

Megumi noticed. "If you're gonna lie, you should try doing a better job at it."

Miko felt defeated and admitted, "Fine... I am still shy around him."

"Why's that? I mean, how long have you two been together again?"

"Exactly three months and seven days."

"Wow, you even nailed the exact length. Are you like obsessed with him or something?"

"You could say that."

"Creepy..." Megumi shuddered half-jokingly. "Well, you guys get along really well, no?"

"We do, yeah. We love each other a lot, and we show it to each other often."

"Then... what's the problem? It seems kind of strange that you're still shy around him, don't you think?"

"It's not like that, no. It's a bit hard to explain."

A brow raised on Megumi's perplexed face. She became even more interested in the topic. "What? It's more complicated?"

"In a way."

"How exactly?"

Miko struggled to voice her thoughts. She hasn't told anyone about it yet, not even her own partner. It was something she felt a little conscious about. She cared whether people found it weird or not, and it would be especially worse if her close friends and family would think that way about her. It wasn't completely serious, but it felt like the best option was for no one other than herself to know. She had always been a pretty sensitive person and can't respond to negativity particularly well. Nonetheless, Miko is aware of this flaw, but it's difficult for her to not be affected by it.

Despite what felt like an eternity for a response: Megumi finally heard her answer.

"I still am... crushing on Aki-kun. I get it makes no sense, since we're already dating and everything."

As Miko explained, she got cut off mid-sentence.

Megumi burst in laughter, "That's what this is all about? I was thinking it was something more serious."

"Wait, that's not weird or anything?"

"Why would it be? I feel like it's lot more romantic if you still crush on your partner. It's kind of cute in a way."

"Really?"

"Yes, really. Though some people would find it a bit strange."

"Huh?"

"I'm kidding. But in all honesty, don't treat it as a bad thing. If anything, Yasuda would be blessed to know you're crushing on him." Megumi giggled, attempting to cheer up Miko.

"Even then, I don't think I'd be able to tell him something so humiliating..."

Megumi sighed, "To be in love, huh. Must be nice." She pouted with jealousy.

"I'm sure love will find its way to you."

"In a century, yeah. Maybe even in another lifetime actually," Megumi mumbled, slurping up the remaining noodles in her bowl.

Miko finished up her ramen as well. As they cleaned up the table, a phone notification rung.

Megumi smirked. "Speak of the devil. Let me guess, Yasuda just texted you?"

Miko flipped over her phone on the table.

'NEW PRODUCT RELEASED! 50% OFF!'

A disappointed smile was all she responded with for a moment. Her poker face couldn't hide the fact she was dispirited.

"It was just some dumb advertisement notification."

"Right."

"Anyhow, we should get finish up here."

Megumi nodded and both got up to pay the bill. They exited the restaurant and waved their goodbyes for next time. Now that her friend has gone off, she felt unusually lonely. Her phone hasn't received a message back from Aki since she left the dormitory for a lecture in the morning. Even though Miko had spent times way longer than now without Aki's presence. This time it felt unfamiliar. She opened their messages and stared blankly at the last sent message.

'I wonder what he's up to right now...'