Author's Note:

Hi, it's been almost a year since I updated this fanfiction (the previous chapter was on November 18th, 2019). I hope you've been doing well dear readers and that you have been staying safe in these trying times. I hope this chapter finds you in the best circumstances.

This chapter has minimal beta-reading, so feel free to point any mistakes you may find.

The next chapter in "The Other Side" is 70~75% done. I expect to publish it soon. Thank you for your patience.

"Will you be late again?" Yuzu asked, despite knowing the answer.

"I'm afraid so...:" Mei replied, trying her best to hide her shameful guilt.

"Do you have any idea when you'll be home?"

"Don't wait up. Just go to bed."

"Mei… Could you just come home, please?"

"I'm not having this conversation again…"

"I don't get it… You never had any issue finishing your work at home..."

"I'm sorry, Yuzu. I have to go. I need to submit this in forty minutes."

Mei could hear a little sob coming from the other side of the phone. It wrenched her heart, but she couldn't yield. She knew she was being unfair and selfish, but she couldn't help herself. She was way past the point where she could just go home, hug Yuzu, and ask for forgiveness.

She was lying, and she had a feeling Yuzu was aware of that. Mei didn't need to stay late in her office. She was running away from a conversation, from a reality she couldn't bear to handle.

She invented this vague "important work" that she absolutely needed to do in her office. She insisted that she didn't want any phone calls or visits during the day from her family because she needed to "focus."

They complied, but this unnamed work went on for more than a month, and questions started. Ume made a remark wrapped in a joke suggesting that Mei sounded like someone having an affair.

They all knew why Mei was suddenly unable to have a conversation that lasts more than ten minutes.

Yuzu has chosen her path, and Mei has lost hers.

Yuzu's unwavering support of Mei's ambitions was the reason why she could brave all the challenges life threw at her. She was firmly on the path of becoming the chairman until the board suddenly decided that being a lesbian, "married" to her own step-sister, is detrimental to her qualifications.

Mei stopped minding such setbacks years ago. She knew they will always be there. They were nothing but bumps across the road as long as she had Yuzu walking beside her.

However, Yuzu chose a path away from her.

Mei couldn't help but find the situation ironic. "Careful what you wish for," was it? She always wished for an occasion to reciprocate Yuzu's support. Still, when the time came to honor her words, her true nature emerged.

Five years ago, Shou came home and delegated the control of his NGO to some of his trusted associates. Since then, he took over the academy and limited his volunteer activities to advising and funding. Mei couldn't trace back when Yuzu started spending time with Shou, but before she realized it, Yuzu had found her calling in following Shou's footsteps.

Mei couldn't give her blessings to Yuzu after learning about the hardships Shou had to endure, but deep inside, she knew that was just half the reason.

The other half lied in how, for the second time in her life, her dearest person was leaving her, and for the same goddamned "noble calling."

She hated her selfishness. "I don't want to share you with needy children. I want you to stay by my side." Is that what she was supposed to say?

She pulled a stack of unread research papers. The nights spent keeping herself busy made her finish a three-month worth of workload. She spent years perfecting her efficiency in order to spend more time with Yuzu. She never imagined there would be a situation when she'd rue doing so. When "Yuzu's time" was not spent in the comfort of Yuzu's company, she had to face herself.

It was no wonder she was reverting to that shell of a person she used to be before meeting Yuzu.

She was midway through the second paper when someone knocked on her door.

She looked at the time. It was 11:32 p.m. The cleaning lady didn't pass by until 2 a.m.

"Come in," Mei called out.

Shou entered without saying a word and sat down on the chair across her office. Mei sat motionless, waiting for him to say something. It was prudent for her not to start conversations in her current state of mind. She had a feeling the purpose of a visit on such an hour wasn't social.

"Yuzu is worried about you," Shou primed the conversation without any kind of greeting.

"I'm aware of that," Mei replied, mirroring his tone.

"I know. I came here to take you home."

"I need to-..."

Mei looked around her desk. If it were Yuzu or Ume, she could fool them into thinking she's in the middle of doing something, but a fellow academic would easily see through her.

"You ran out of excuses days ago… " Shou said, sparing Mei the effort of concocting another lie.

Mei slumped against the backrest of her chair. The fact that her father had to intervene means that Ume judged the situation got out of hand.

"I'm sorry…" Mei said, finding nothing else to say.

"I'm sorry too..." Shou mirrored her sigh, feeling as trapped as Mei. He couldn't help feeling he was partly to blame. When Yuzu started asking him about his time abroad, he knew a day like this might come. He was torn between shutting the door out of fear for her and helping her carve her own path. He never thought there would be a day where he'd sympathize with his father's opposition to the way he had chosen to live.

"There will always be a part of me that will blame you for helping her," Mei said, "but deep down, I know, better than anyone, that's just how Yuzu is… She'd have found another way, even if you tried had to stop her… I'm stuck. When "

"She already made her decision. She'll be gone a week from now."

"What?!" Mei stood up. "Bu-But…"

Words died in her throat. She thought Yuzu wouldn't make a final decision without a proper "okay" from her.

"Why?" Mei asked when she couldn't piece her thoughts together.

"She had to," Shou said. "Her mind is already made up. I'm sure you knew that, otherwise you-..."

"What do you know?! She can't do that! She promised she wouldn't make a decision without my consent... "

"Mei, this isn't about-…"

"Then what is IT about? You did the same thing, and we're just supposed to 'deal' with it! When I did something similar and chosen a path away from her, she chased after me and brought me back to her side. I can't do that in this case, can I?"

Shou didn't say anything in return. There wasn't anything to say. He was in Yuzu's position years ago, and Mei had to deal with the same situation twice. He couldn't offer words of comfort. There weren't any.

Mei sat back down and covered her face with her hands. "Yuzu has the biggest heart…" she said with an exhausted voice. "I can't help that my heart is only big enough for her."

"Mei, listen…" Shou said in a deep voice. "There's something I never told a soul about my time there. The hardest part of volunteer work is that you can often find yourself playing God, deciding who is 'more deserving' of help. You can't always help everyone. There is nothing I could do or say that may prepare her for such… way of life."

"My God…" Mei's heart sank. "That's going to crush her…"

"That's why she needs you."

"How am I supposed to help her with that?"

"I wish I had an answer… The only thing I could tell you is that it would have been harder if I didn't have Ume. So… " Shou stood up and unhooked Mei's coat from the coat hanger.

"Right…" Mei gathered her papers and put them away along with her self-loathing. There will be plenty of time for both. She needed to be by Yuzu's side, as excruciatingly late as it may be.

She followed Shou to his car. They drove home in quasi-silence. Mei tried her best to focus her thoughts on Yuzu rather than what her introverted nature dictated. She couldn't see the forest for the trees for so long.

Shou took Mei home but didn't go in.

Mei unlocked the door to be met with the sound of calm music playing. She closed the door without making a sound and tiptoed her way to the bedroom for fear of waking up Yuzu.

Yuzu was asleep indeed.

Mei took the time to change into her sleeping gown and brush her teeth before joining Yuzu in bed.

"Welcome home," Yuzu said as Mei was pulling the covers over herself. Her voice was clear, suggesting she was awake the whole time.

"I'm home," Mei replied and pressed herself against Yuzu's back. "I had a talk with Father."

"And?" Yuzu did know what to expect from a conversation between Shou and Mei. Both of them usually beat around the bush when it came to each other.

"Nothing," Mei hugged Yuzu and kissed her nape. "I love you."

"Did he tell you I-..."

"Yes."

"I thought you'd be furious."

"Look at me, Yuzu."

Yuzu faced Mei just to be met with a tender kiss.

"However far apart we are, I am always with you, never forget that," Mei pointed to Yuzu's heart. "This is my home."