"Look, Onii-chan!" Hikari exclaimed. She was pointing at a sign saying 'Help Wanted' that was on the window of a café.
"A café, huh?" Atsushi hummed. "Yeah, that could work. And it's not too far from home."
"Come on, let's go in!" Hikari pulled on Atsushi's arm and in a blink of an eye, they were already in the café. It wasn't fancy, but it was nice and relaxing. There were tables and chairs scattered all over the room neatly with a counter in the corner of the café. The walls were bright yellow with designs of yellow flowers on it, and the floor was dark brown. A small chandelier hung above the middle of the café.
A man with neatly-combed hair walked up to them and said, "Welcome to Hoshi Café, can I help you?"
"Yes, we're here for the job." Hikari said politely.
"Ah, yes. Can you please fill in these resumes?" The man went to the counter, placed two papers and two pens in front of them with questions on them.
They bowed slightly to the man and started to fill in the paper. "Oh and by the way, my name is Takeshi. I am the owner of this café. If you need any help with the job, don't hesitate to ask me." The man said kindly.
The two smiled and nodded. After a few minutes, they handed over their resume to Takeshi. "You'll be working part time, correct?" Takeshi asked.
"Yes." They both said.
"Alright. You two start working tomorrow. Is 4.00 pm to 9.00 pm ok?"
"That's fine." Atsushi said, and Hikari nodded.
After they said goodbye to the kind man, they went out of the café. They walked home quietly. "So, are you going to tell your friends?" Atsushi suddenly asked.
"About what?" Hikari asked back.
"You know, about mom and dad."
"I um… I think I'll just keep it a secret."
"Why?"
"I don't want to worry them…"
"And Kei?"
Hikari stopped walking when she heard his name. Takishima Kei, the one who always worried about her and cared for her. She hated keeping secrets from him. If she keeps this secret, it'll hurt her and Kei for sure. But if Kei doesn't know, then he won't worry and things will be like before, right? It'll tear Hikari to pieces, but if it means protecting Kei, she's willing to do it.
"Hikari?" Atsushi said worriedly.
"Onii-chan," Hikari hugged him and wept. "P-Please, I beg of you…d-don't tell Takishima…"
"But why?" Atsushi asked, concern growing inside him.
"Y-You know what he's like. It's so easy for him to worry about me, and if he finds out about this, he'll…" Hikari cried harder, thus making some people look at them. But they both didn't care.
"Hikari, if you keep it from him, he'll be even more hurt."
"But I can't bear it… I could never forgive myself if I make Takishima sad like that…"
"Hikari-"
"Onii-chan, please! I'm begging you; don't tell him or anyone about it. Please…"
"…Alright. But you must remember the consequences, Hikari."
~0~0~
The next day, school started again. Hikari and Atsushi have already gone to their schools. Hikari have been in deep thoughts since she woke up. What was going to happen from now on? How will she hide her sadness from the others? How long will she and Atsushi be able to survive?
Hikari was scared to death. Never has she thought of losing her mother and father at such a young age. She always thought that they would always be around for her, or at least to the day that she gets married to Kei or that she will have her first child, or…when they finally have a family vacation. She felt so guilty. The time when her parents told her and Atsushi about the trip, instead of being happy for them she complained like a child. She should've understood the situation. She could've waited for the family vacation and just let her parents have a good time.
She looked up at the sky. The sky was dark, and it looked like it was going to rain. "I should've brought an umbrella…" Hikari mumbled.
Hikari quickened her pace. She couldn't be stuck out there in the rain. She'll get a cold and she won't be able to work, thus making Atsushi work alone and worry about her. She ran faster when the rain droplets started to fall lightly. "Oh crap!" Hikari ran faster and faster. She wasn't even half as fast as she normally was due to the fatigue, stress, and heartbreak from the other day. It had taken more than half of her energy away.
She grinned when she could see Hakusenkan, but her grin vanished when the rain started to pour much heavier. She was already freezing to the bone. But it didn't make her give up, so she ran as fast as her weak legs could go and made it to the door of the greenhouse. She opened it and went in quickly. She dropped her bag to the ground and panted for air.
"Oh, Hikari!" She heard a very familiar voice call. She opened her eyes and saw a worried Akira. "Hold on, I'll go get you a towel." She ran to the kitchen and rummaged around the cabinets for anything that could dry Hikari off.
"Hikari, are you alright?" She heard Ryuu ask.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little tired from running." Hikari smiled.
"Hikari, you're soaked. You should change your clothes." Megumi wrote on her sketchpad.
Hikari nodded. "You're right. I'll go change into my gym clothes then." Hikari tried to stand up but her legs couldn't move. She had pushed herself to the limit.
"You're so tired, you can't even move?" That teasing voice said. She looked up and saw him.
"I'm okay, Takishima." Hikari reassured. She tried to stand again, but to only fall back to the ground.
"Hikari, here." Akira wrapped a short towel around Hikari's head and started to dry her hair. "You could've called us to come pick you up."
"I didn't want to trouble you." Hikari said kindly.
She gasped when she was suddenly being carried princess-style by Kei. "T-Takishima, I can walk on my own."
"Are you kidding me?" Kei asked, a bit too harshly to Hikari's ears. "You couldn't even stand. It's alright, Hikari, I'll be your legs for the rest of the day." Hikari gasped for the second time when Kei kissed her head. "Don't worry, I'm happy to help."
"Thank you, Takishima." Hikari smiled at him.
He set her down on the sofa while Jun handed her a cup of tea. After saying her thanks to everyone for their concern, she quickly drank her hot tea. After that, she went to the restroom to change her wet clothes with the help of Akira and Megumi.
"Hikari, are you sure you're alright?" Akira asked worriedly.
"You're so weak." Megumi added on her sketchpad.
"I'm fine." Hikari told them.
"But, Hikari…" Akira started. Hikari looked a bit thinner and most definitely pale. She just saw her last Friday but Hikari had changed so much. "You look a bit…unwell."
"That's not true." Hikari smiled. "I'm not sick or anything. I'm perfectly fine."
Without waiting for an answer, she changed her we clothes into her gym clothes. I can't let them worry… Hikari thought. No matter what, I must hide this from them!
