Back in New York, Julia was glad she had told Mizuki. Obviously Shizuki was not off the hook, as Mizuki had threatened him over the phone and told him not to mess with Julia, but that she was happy for both of them. Sano, who did talk Shizuki often enough, also told him it was pretty obvious what was going and he was happy they finally told Mizuki. Of course, Sano would figure it out pretty quickly and keep it a secret, as he managed to keep his knowledge of Mizuki a secret for a long time.

The relationship progressed, with both Shizuki and Julia dreading the end of April, as Julia would be returning to CA and Shizuki would be coming with her for a week. As they had been dating for nearly five months, they thought it was finally time to tell both parents and it was only fair to do it in person. Shizuki also wanted Julia to visit his mother's gravesite as it would be 25 years since she had died.

The day before their flight home, they decided to go out to a nice restaurant and have a standard date, something they hadn't done in a while. Julia enjoyed it when Shizuki came up with something different than your typical date and the two of them challenged each other to outdo the previous date.

Unfortunately, they never made it to the restaurant. Julia's heel broke, causing her to trip and twist her ankle. Shizuki immediately scooped her off the ground, cradling her in his arms and started carrying her. As going to either his place or her dorm required a subway ride, he started heading to a direction Julia wasn't familiar with. She didn't know where all of his friends lived, so it didn't surprise her too much, but she still decided to ask.

"You need a new pair of shoes, but first we need to put some ice on your ankle and let me take a quick look at it, okay?" Shizuki said, his voice full of concern.

"Just let me know whose place we are going to, this way I know how much I'll be teased."

"You won't be teased, trust me. We're going to Alexa's," Shizuki said as he shifted Julia in his arms so he could open the door to Alexa's building.

"Who is Alexa? I don't think you've ever mentioned her before," her voice laced with a hint of jealousy.

"Julia, she was my neighbor when I first moved to the city. I thought you had met when you came touring for colleges, but she moved out just before you started school. I apologize but she is the only one I know who lives close enough, plus she might have a pair of slippers you can have."

"How often do you guys hang out that I've never met her?" Julia asked, the jealous tone dropping, replaced by a curious tone.

"We meet for lunch maybe once or twice a month, sometimes in a group, sometimes it's just us. Really, she wanted something more when I first moved in," and as he said that Julia gasped immediately, but the hushed her and continued, "but then you came to visit and afterwards she knew I was taken and chose to back off. She was a great listener when I was debating with how to treat you and how to proceed with our relationship. Don't worry, and now I only regret you two didn't get to meet sooner."

Shizuki kissed Julia gently on the cheek as he knocked on Alexa's door. The doorman knew Shizuki and just let them up, giving Alexa a heads up. Alexa was happy to finally meet the woman who stole Shizuki's heart and Julia grew to love Alexa as Shizuki fussed over Julia. Julia was upset that their standard date was ruined, but was glad that she got to meet someone who helped Shizuki figure out that she would make a good girlfriend despite the age gap.

With this chance meeting, Julia made a new friend, who only served to tease Shizuki about his baby girlfriend.