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@four4four: Kei sure felt bad, right? But let's see what'll happen next chapter. Thanks for the comment
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Ajisai no Himitsu
(NMB48)
Chapter 2: The Secretary
It felt cold and her head hurts. Sayaka woke up to the soft sound of rustling clothes. She was at an unfamiliar place. She looked on the other side of the bed only to see a girl sitting at the edge of the bed and putting her clothes on.
She noticed how she felt cold besides being under the sheets. She looked under the sheets only to find out that she was totally naked. She looked back at the girl and recognized her even without seeing her face.
"Kei...?"
The girl looked at her with a totally red face. "Saya-- I mean Yamamoto-san... G--good morning."
She said before looking down.
Sayaka doesn't remember anything from last night, except for the fact that they went all out and got totally drunk at the bar. Whatever happened after, she can really not recall.
But judging from the situation, Sayaka had a hunch about what happened. And it was probably her fault.
"G--good morning, Kei." Sayaka sat at the bed, covering her bare chest with the sheets. "I totally don't remember what happened last night, but--"
"We can talk about it later. For now, you should take a shower and put some clothes on. So that you wouldn't catch a cold." Kei suggested as she smiled at her, while still blushing. "Ah! Your clothes are still being washed so you can use my clothes for the mean time."
Sayaka felt quite embarrassed but she had this enormous beating inside her chest. "Thank you, Kei." She blushed and cannot look at Kei's face directly.
"I'll go prepare breakfast. You go take a bath." Kei stood up and left her alone in the room.
Sayaka cannot absorb everything. What did she do in her drunk state? She was trying to recall what happened but nothing came to her.
Sighing in frustration, she stood up and put the bath robe placed in a chair beside her. Kei probably prepared this while she was asleep. Sayaka felt an unknown sense of guilt and she wasn't sure if this was really guilt or pure embarrassment.
Sayaka strode in the small hallway as she searched for the bathroom. It was easy to find since there are not so many rooms in the apartment.
She entered the bath room and headed to the sink. She drenched her face with the cool water from the tap and looked at her reflection in the mirror.
"I need to take responsibility for what I did last night." She murmured to herself before finally taking a bath.
After washing her body in the shower, Sayaka then soaked herself in the tub. It felt good because of the warm water and she suddenly felt a bit sleepy. The warmth of the bath somehow relieved her headache too.
It was unexpected that suddenly Miyuki's image flashed in her mind. Sayaka felt bad after she thought of Miyuki. How her innocent eyes looked at her and how she can straight-forwardly make remarks. Her heart started to beat fast again.
Why? Why does her face always appear on her mind even when they've only met yesterday?
Sayaka doesn't understand a single thing.
****
The air was filled with the scent of bacon and eggs. Kei smiled at the thought that she was making breakfast for her boss. She turned off the electric range and started plating the food.
She knew exactly what taste of coffee will Sayaka prefer. How would she not know? When she has been Sayaka's and her father's secretary for two years already.
Kei heard footsteps approaching her just as she has finished brewing the coffee.
"Need help with anything?" Sayaka asked casually as she walked behind Kei.
"You're my visitor plus I'm done already." answered Kei with a smile as she put a cup of warm coffee on the table. "Have a seat."
Sayaka politely sat opposite Kei and felt the awkwardness of the situation when their eyes met.
"U-uhm, Kei..."
"Hm?"
"I'm sorry about last night--"
"You are not the only one who's at fault. We were both drunk last night..." Kei said as she diverted her eyes away.
Sayaka sighed as she sipped the coffee. "But still, we cannot leave things as it is..."
"How's the coffee?" Kei has been asking random questions to divert the topic.
Sayaka smiled at her. "It's good. You know my tastes."
They began eating breakfast without anyone uttering another word. Only the soft clacking of utensils can be heard.
"Yamamoto-san..."
"Kei, I told you, you can call me Sayaka. We're not in the office."
"S-Sayaka..."
"Yes?"
"You really don't remember anything that happened last night?" asked Kei who was surprisingly the one who brought the topic back.
Sayaka shook her head as a reply. "Besides when we we're drinking at the bar, I don't really remember anything. Anyways, would you mind telling me what happened?"
"Well, you we're totally drunk and I was a bit sober and I got you into the car. I don't know where your house is so I decided that we better head here. I assisted you in walking up at my bedroom when you pulled me in for a ki--" Kei stopped when she realized she had been going too far in detailing things. "Never mind."
Sayaka gawked as she somewhat recall something.
She was laying on a soft bed when she saw a girl who was staring at her. The girl caressed her face and murmured something that she didn't even hear. All she knew is that it was Miyuki. That's why she pulled her in for a kiss...
"Oh no! I--I'm totally sorry! It's all my fault! I remembered some thing. I pulled you in for a..." Sayaka blushed as she asked for an apology. "That was my first kiss..."
"Me too." remarked Kei as she looked at Sayaka with her face all red.
"May I ask something... did we do something besides the kiss last night?" asked Sayaka.
Kei didn't answer but instead gulped down her coffee. Sayaka looked at her with a sense of guilt and said, "Kei, I need to take responsibility for what I did last night."
"You sound like a boy. Don't worry I wouldn't get pregn--"
"Of course I know!" Sayaka laughed and hearing her made Kei smile.
"It has been a while since I last heard you laugh like that." remarked Kei.
"Really? I'm surprised you noticed." said Sayaka.
"Of course, I'm your secretary."
"And you're my friend, as well." Sayaka said with a reassuring smile.
"Yes, indeed."
****
That afternoon...
Jonishi Kei went inside her room to get something. She left Sayaka in the living room as she watched TV. She went over to her table and looked inside the drawer. She found the sole picture she and Sayaka has took during her first day at work.
She smiled as she looked at their younger faces in the photo. Kei cannot even believe that things are progressing just like what she wanted.
But her smile faded when she remembered last night. When Sayaka called her Miyuki. She touched her lips and felt a chill as she remembered their first kiss.
But she felt really upset last night after hearing Miyuki's name. For the first time, she felt jealous. And she didn't like it.
Kei shrugged off the thought and took her phone and wallet with her. It was Sunday after all, she need to buy groceries.
She went to the living room and told Sayaka that she'll be buying groceries. But the latter insisted that she'll come. That's why both of them left the house and headed to the supermarket.
The supermarket was situated only a few blocks away from Kei's house. They didn't bother to bring the car but rather enjoyed the walk up to the building. They were having small talks as they walked and Kei was very happy to get to spend some time with Sayaka without discussing business matters whatsoever. It just felt so normal that they didn't even noticed that they arrived at the place.
Both of them entered the supermarket and Kei took a push cart along with her as she went from aisle to aisle to get the things that she need to buy for the week.
Sayaka tagged along as Kei picked what she usually buys except when she sees some new products. She observed how the girl carefully read the labels and choose one over the other.
"Hey, Sayaka... You don't shop for groceries right?" asked Kei.
"Yes. Our maid usually does that." answered Sayaka.
"Anyways, would it be fine if you join me for dinner tonight?" Kei asked again.
"I would love to." Sayaka replied and looked at Kei with a smile. "Thank you."
"What do you want for dinner?"
"Curry rice!"
"You sure??"
Sayaka nodded like a kid. It made Kei smile watching Sayaka show her unknown sides to her.
"We rarely cook curry rice at home. I kinda miss the taste."
"Okay then, I'm going to make delicious curry rice for you!"
"Yaaaaaay!"
They went over the meat and vegetable section to buy ingredients for dinner. Kei enthusiastically chose and picked items while Sayaka was excitedly watching her.
After they're done, they headed to the counter to pay for the items. The lines are long and it would take quite some time for them to pay that's why Kei asked Sayaka to wait for her at the bench somewhere over the corner.
Sayaka did what she was told to and patiently waited for Kei. While sitting there, it came across her mind as to how good it must be to live on her own and do things on her own will too. Just like how Kei does.
While she was daydreaming, her secretary was still waiting in the line. Glad that the line was progressing quite fast. Kei opened her wallet and got the bills after mentally estimating how much all of their groceries would cost.
"Excuse me, Miss." Someone said while tapping her left shoulder.
Kei looked around to the speaker who was standing behind her.
"This fell from your wallet." She said before handing a photo to her. It was her and Sayanee's photo. She must have absent mindedly inserted it to her wallet.
"Thank you very much!" She was indeed thankful that she didn't lost it.
"It was a nice picture. Both of you look good." Commented the girl who was next in line. It made Kei blush really red.
"T--Thank you."
"Ah! It's your turn!" Commented the girl while pointing at the counter. Kei thanked her again before moving towards the counter.
After all the bills got paid, Kei had Sayanee assist her with the groceries. She let out a sigh as they walked out of the supermarket.
"Are you alright?" asked Sayanee in which Kei responded with a cheery nod.
"You know, I never had this kind of fun when I'm shopping groceries before. Thank you for accompanying me."
"Oh..." Sayanee felt the heat creeping up her cheeks and suddenly went out of words. "It's my first time doing this too..."
Kei looked at her and saw her blushing furiously. It made her smile and it made her heart flutter.
"I--I had fun, too!" Sayanee added because she felt kinda shy when Kei stares at her like that. "...and I hope we can do this again..."
Sayanee looked back at Kei and waited for the latter's answer.
"Of course we can do it again!" she replied with a smile.
They continued to chat while walking on their way home.
"Whenever I walk home during this time of the week, I always feel like this road is so long--like it was stretching up to nowhere. But having someone to talk to while walking, somehow made me enjoy walking down this road."
Sayanee was just listening attentively as Kei speaks. The afternoon breeze somehow felt warm to both of them and they enjoyed having their bodies bathe in the afternoon sunrays. The surroundings were orange-colored, reflecting the color of the sky, adding up to the subtly warm feeling.
"I like the sunset. It looked so beautiful... It makes me feel warm inside. You know, I've always dreamed of this scenery -- walking down the road together with the person I like while watching the sun set. It feels so peaceful..."
Kei stopped walking and turned around with her back facing the sun, she was now face to face with Sayanee.
"Do you feel it?" Kei asked her.
Sayanee was speechless. She cannot believe the beauty that she can see in front of her. It seems like Kei was being illuminated by the afternoon sun.
"I--I do. Yes, I can feel the warmth..."
"Yamamoto-san, I'm very happy that I got to spend this wonderful moment with you. I hope that I can walk this road with you forever, but that wouldn't be possible. It will be night soon. But before everything goes dark, I just want to tell you that... I want to thank you for always being my light."
"K--Kei, I--"
Sayaka was about to try to speak when Kei stopped her by putting a finger on her lips.
"You are my shining light, no matter how bad a day may be, when I see you, you can always make me smile in an instant... And during those days when you aren't there and I feel unwell, I can always get through the day thinking that I'll be able to meet you tomorrow... You are my dream -- a sky that I want to fly into, an ocean I want to dive deep into, a forest I want to explore, a mountain I want to climb, a horizon I always want to see..."
Sayaka heard probably the most beautiful compliment that was ever told to her... She didn't know there's more to come.
"I love you, Sayaka." Kei said with her serious gaze, and it melted Sayaka's heart right away. The words were echoing in her mind. Just as she thought that she heard the best words when Kei said something even better...
"It's alright if you don't give me an answer yet... I just want to tell you... that's why..." Kei added with a now red face. She started to walk again and Sayaka followed too.
Just as they were near Kei's house when Sayaka spoke. "Kei... I really appreciate your feelings. And I'm really happy that you feel that way to me... Thank you so much, Kei..."
She stopped walking, Kei did too. It was almost dark and the wind was now chilly.
"I don't know if I can reciprocate your feelings the way you want to... Because you know, I am no good when it comes to romance and stuff... because I haven't even dated anyone before..."
"Is this your... answer?"
"Not yet... Kei." Sayaka moved closer and continued what she was saying. "Today was really fun, and... I'm looking forward to spend times like this with you... again. Can we?"
Kei's mind went blank and she was staring at her with a surprised face.
"I want to know more about you, Kei."
Kei finally said a word. "This is more than enough, you know... to make me happy. It's like a dream."
"I'm serious. I don't know how it feels like to be inlove. But I can feel something funny inside my chest, and I know that I am happy... I can't explain this feeling. You are the first person who ever confessed to me..." Sayaka added. "Maybe we really should start dating, Kei..."
TBC...
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A/N: Hope you liked this chapter guuuys
Stay tuned for more updates~
Thank you for reading!
Comments are deeply appreciated <3