Dreams
"Thank you for watching Laugh-UpCity! Signing off..."
"Tete!"
"And Tata!"
"Ta-ta, guys!"
The comedy variety show finally ended. Len stood up, getting ready to leave before a voice stopped him.
"It's nice talking to you, Kagamine."
He looked at the girl with dark green hair and nodded with a smile. "Me too."
"See you again next time. You may not know..." She paused and giggled bashfully. "If we're meant to be friends, fate will bring us together again."
"Fate, huh..." Len muttered under his breath.
So, was he fated to have Rin bothering him over and over again - from the day she stepped into his cab to the day she had last begged him for help?
Suddenly, his handphone rang. Len excused himself from the girl and walked out of the convention hall quickly. Looking at the caller ID, a sigh escaped from his lips and he picked the call up lazily.
Speaking of the devil...
"Yes, Miss Kagamine?"
And the next thing he knew was that a sharp piercing scream nearly caused his ear drums to explode.
Okay, maybe he was the devil instead.
Chapter 40: Friend
When Len and the girl stepped out of the multi-purpose building, Len went to stand next to a nearby lamp post and bid her goodbye.
"Who are you waiting for?"
"A friend," Len replied.
The girl's mouth formed into an oval shape before a smile formed on her face. She waved him goodbye and walked away. Before Len could have a brief quiet moment to himself, he felt a hard push on his back. He stumbled forward and looked behind with a frown, getting ready to scold whoever had pushed him so hard. His frown ceased as he saw Rin, who was wearing a cap and a pair of rounded glasses to conceal her identity, standing behind him with her hands outstretched towards him and glaring at him with puffed up cheeks.
"Is this how models greet people?" Len grumbled as he rubbed his back.
Rin snorted and crossed her arms. Her mood seemed bad and that made me wonder if his text messages really did annoy her that much. Maybe they did make her angry because she immediately called him right after he sent her the last text message, saying that she wanted to meet him right away and ending the call off by calling him a 'big fat liar'. That was harsh.
"Tell me, who's that girl?" Rin demanded.
"Who?"
"That girl with you just now."
"Oh, that girl... she is..." Len dug his brain, trying to recall her name but apparently, he had forgotten it. "My ex-client."
Rin narrowed her eyes at him with suspicion. Unless he always met her, how could he remember his ex-client? He did not even remember who she was when they had met each other in the karaoke box. She did not know why her chest tightened at the thought of this.
"Ex-client? I see," Rin said in feign nonchalance. "You guys seemed close."
"Really?" Len scratched the back of his head with an unsure look. "I guess I can regard her as a friend... Or should I say, an acquaintance? A friend?"
Friend...
That word struck her badly. She felt a pang of jealousy in her chest this time. Len had never mentioned once in front of her, straight to her face, that she was his friend. It was so unfair. What wrong had she done for not deserving to be his friend?
"Yeah, friend. So what? As if I care!" Rin yelled like a spoilt brat who felt unfairly treated by the adults.
Len was slightly taken aback by her sudden outburst and then chuckled softly. He gave her a smirk and leaned closer to her, gazing into her eyes with a hint of amusement in them. Rin bit her lips as she stared into his cerulean eyes as well. Staring into his eyes was just as good as being hypnotised. She could not look away even if she wanted to and worst of all, she felt herself shudder and being lost within his gaze. Somehow, the tension in her chest slowly released.
"Are you jealous?" his voice sounded soft and breathy, which made Rin shiver in the inside.
"I'm not!" she snapped and broke the eye contact. "Who would be jealous over such a little thing? I'm just curious."
"You don't have to be so angsty, Miss Kagamine. I was just joking."
Rin pouted. Why couldn't he stop teasing her? Her heart felt like it was already going to burst at any moment. Even her body felt as if it was going to melt from his gaze. If he continued to tease her like that, she might as well lean in and give him a peak on his enticing lips before vanishing on the spot. That was what he would get for making her so heated...
"Ah!" Rin gasped and covered her mouth in embarrassment. "Why am I so perverted?!"
"Perverted?" Len quickly back away and gave her a look. "Don't tell me you're thinking of doing something sick to me. Perverted model!"
Rin blushed and denied, "I'm not! I was thinking... think... king... ah..."
"Pervert."
"Shut up! I was wondering if you'd like to have supper with me!"
"And that's perverted?"
"No, it's not!"
"But you said so earlier..."
"I didn't!"
"I definitely heard you."
Rin shrieked in annoyance and shouted, "So, do you want to have supper with me or not?!"
Len looked away and laughed softly. "I wouldn't want to have supper with a pervert."
Rin's face darkened as she growled, "I'll kill you."
He laughed again and patted her shoulder. Teasing her was so amusing, he thought to himself. But he knew she was definitely a pervert. After all those touchy-feely incidents that he experienced really proved that she was one. A pervert who had no idea that she was a pervert deep down inside her. And according to Meiko, this was the type of pervert whom he should avoid.
"Sure, sure. I'm a little hungry," he replied with a smile. "Where do you want to go?"
"Anywhere?"
"Where?"
"You choose!"
"Me? Well..." Len closed his eyes and thought hard. "Let's have ramen. You know, the place where I let you have the orange pudding."
Rin gaped. "Again? The same stall?"
"What? It's cheap there. Besides, the stall owner will charge me cheaper since I'm a regular," he said proudly and brushed his thumb across his nose.
"That's... so..." Rin muttered in disbelief. "Won't you get tired of eating that all the time?"
Len shook his head and replied with a laugh, "No, why? I can eat the same thing everyday without getting tired."
"You're unbelievable."
"Because I can save money this way," Len continued and looked at her with an awkward smile. "You probably don't understand. I don't blame you though... because you've always lived a secure life which almost everything was provided by your parents. You don't have to worry about not having to eat the next day or not having enough money to pay for the bills. Eating the same food everyday is already a blessing to me. I won't ask for more."
Looking away from Rin, Len chuckled at his own words. He felt so stupid and useless. It was almost the same feelings he had felt in the past. Because of these feelings, he betrayed his childhood friend. He frowned at this memory. If only he were not childish back then, he would have face that person differently. He would not have to live in regret and guilt. It was really unmanly to have those pathetic feelings of uselessness and envy.
"Then, I shall learn to understand. Now, without my parents' support, I'm an independent adult who's earning salary to support myself," Rin interrupted his thoughts.
"Supporting yourself and supporting your whole family are two different things, Miss Kagamine," Len spoke in a weary tone. "Especially when you have a sick parent to care for."
Rin nodded slightly and looked down, staring at Len's shoes then at hers. She could not deny that they were still in different worlds even though they were already working independently. Even their shoes had showed her their differences and this painful reality. She could never understand him no matter how close she could be to him. She felt bad. So bad.
"I'm sorry." Rin knew she was a brat who had always demanded help from Len, but Len had never once called her a burden. "I'm very sorry."
Len blinked, looking very puzzled, and asked her, "What for?"
"And thank you."
"Huh?"
"Without you, I wouldn't be standing up there on stage today." Rin smiled as she tried to prevent her tears from forming on her lower eyelids. "Thanks for the outfit too. I like it very much."
Looking away to hide his light blush on his cheeks, Len gulped and let out a cough. Was it just him or Rin was getting cheesy here?
"You're welcome... wait... Why are we talking about this?" Len cleared his throat again and hung his head low so that she could not see his reddened face. "I want to eat my ramen."
Rin's face turned red as well and she let out an awkward laughter. "Oh! Haha! Yeah! Let's go!"
Without looking at her, Len nodded slightly and walked towards his vehicle which was parked along the roadside nearby. Rin scratched her warm cheek as she stared at his large back, wondering if it was just her or the atmosphere between them had turned somewhat awkward.
-:-:-:-
"Two bowls of ramen, Mister!" Len called out his order as soon as he sat down right in front of the stall.
An old man's head suddenly popped out from behind the curtain and the old man stared at the two blondes in front of him. Then, a smile flashed across his face.
"As usual, Kagamine? Extra fishcakes and vegetables?"
"Yes, for one bowl only," Len answered promptly and turned to Rin. "Do you want to have an upsize ramen, Miss Kagamine?"
Feeling a little lost due to her first time ordering food from a streetside stall, Rin took a long time to respond and when she did, it was only a soft meek reply, "Ah... sure..."
"You will get fat, you know?" Len teased and shifted his gaze back to the old man. "Just give her extra vegetables. She needs to maintain her weight. Best if she could lose a bit more. Right, Miss Kagamine?"
"I have lost enough, Sir. Why don't you lose some weight then?"
Len rolled his eyes and said, "Heh... Unlike someone, I don't have to worry about my looks."
"Is that all?" the old man interrupted their conversation, looking slightly amused by the two of them and feeling a little bad for being the 'third-wheel'.
Len nodded and replied, "Okay."
After that, the old man disappeared behind the curtain to prepare their orders. Not long after, the old man appeared again with two bowls of piping hot ramen in his hands and placed them on the table. Len placed the money on the table, paying for his and Rin's shares but Rin pushed his money aside and took out her money instead. Len looked at her quizzically.
"I'll pay. My treat," Rin said, knowing what Len was thinking just by looking at his face.
"You don't have to."
Rin flashed him a small smile but immediately looked away in a cold manner as if she was not very happy with his courteous reply, and mumbled softly, "I have never thanked you properly before so this is my treat."
"What?" Len frowned.
"It's my treat and that's it! No questioning about it, okay?" Rin spoke louder and pushed her money towards the old man.
The old man collected the money and chuckled. He gave Len a wink which made Len's breath hitch. He knew what the old man was thinking and that was not what it was supposed to be.
"I see that you've gotten yourself a girlfriend, son. She's pretty," the old man spoke his mind out without caring how uneasy Len looked.
"Hic!" Rin suddenly hiccuped and quickly covered her mouth.
She was surprised to hear that she was pretty, especially when she was wearing a cap and a pair of rounded glasses which made her look like a nerd. What made her even surprised though it was not her first time hearing it, the old man thought she was Len's girlfriend! She hiccuped again and shifted her body a little to take a look at Len to see his response to the sudden comment. He might be embarrassed and surprised like her.
But her expectation immediately dropped when Len opened his mouth to speak, "Oh, no. Of course not. She's just someone I know."
The old man did not say anymore except for giving him a nod to show that he understood him before disappearing behind the curtains again. Both of them started eating without saying a word to each other. It was no doubt that Rin was angry. Was she only just someone he knew? Not a friend? That was so unfair!
"Mr Kagamine?" an unknown voice was heard next to her.
Rin turned to look at the source and saw another man in his late fifties. Rin's face turned dull. Why was Len acquainted with so many old men? Okay, not that many but it seemed as if he could mingle well with older people.
After hearing his name called, Len immediately drank the last drop of the soup and looked at the man. Len stood up from his seat in surprise and walked towards the man.
"Hey! I'm on leave today. Are you as well?" Len asked with a bright smile.
The man laughed and replied, "Yeah. I accompanied my daughter to watch Laugh-UpCity on live. She wanted to know the new model who passed the modelling audition."
Rin nearly choked on her noodles. Len looked at Rin and then back at his colleague who had no idea that Rin was the new model. Seeing the flabbergasted expression on Rin's face only made Len mentally laugh at the situation.
"Are you here for the ramen?"
"Yes, of course. But I'm packing the ramen home instead," the man answered and called out to the old stall owner. "Two ramens, packed!"
"Alright!" the old man in the mini-kitchen shouted back.
-:-:-:-
"Hey, Miss Kagamine, I need to visit the restroom. Please wait for me here, okay?"
With the noodles dangling loosely on her lower lip, Rin looked at Len and gave him a quick nod before sucking the noodles into her mouth. Len waved to his colleague before heading off to a public restroom located a few metres from the ramen stall. After a minute, Rin's handphone rang, which was just in time as Rin had just finished her last strand of ramen noodles in her bowl.
She picked it up and spoke, "Rin's speaking."
"Rin! It's me! I've watched your debut on television with the others just now. You've done a great job there! But... aren't you a little bit too honest?"
"Thanks, Meiko. I'm an honest person to begin with."
"Lies, Rin. Lies!"
Rin giggled and spoke again, "I'm really sorry that I didn't wear the uniform you lent me. Somehow, I got the outfit I needed. But anyway, thank you for lending the uniform to me."
"Oh... I was wondering why you didn't wear it. Now I know why. Haha! Wow, Rin! I can't believe everything that has just happened. You're a model now. My friend is now a model! A few months ago, you were fighting for this dream. This morning, you were only a person who passed the modelling audition. Tonight, you're an official model. Do you know what, Rin?"
Rin tilted her head a little and asked, "What is it?"
There was a short pause but Rin could hear Meiko taking a deep breath before speaking again.
"I'm so proud of you."
"Eh?" Rin gasped softly at the unexpected and sudden statement.
"If I were your parent, I would be so proud of you."
Rin smiled and looked down, staring at her own faint reflection on the ramen soup. She had almost forgotten about her parents. It had already been three months and she could not believe that time would pass by so fast. The memory of her betting with her parents before she left the house were as clear as day; it felt as if it had just happened the day before.
"I wonder if my parents did watch me just now."
"Rin..."
"It has been three months."
"I know... You have won the bet right?"
"Not yet. In order to win, I need fans and I can't stay as a newbie forever. I need to work even harder to climb up the ladder."
"I see. You still have a long way to go."
"Nothing is easy," Rin said and shrugged.
"It's late already. Let's talk again tomorrow?"
"Okay, sure! Goodnight!"
"Goodnight, Rin!"
After that, the line went dead. Rin kept her handphone into her pocket and started drinking the ramen soup.
"Ah!" a sudden male voice startled her.
Rin looked up again and stared at Len's colleage whom she had totally forgotten his existence during the short chat with Meiko. She felt really bad for not noticing his presence and wondered if she had mentioned anything obvious which got to do with modelling. She hoped she did not though.
"Yes?"
"That orange handphone! Don't tell me... you're Kagamine's girlfriend?" the man exclaimed with an excited look on his face, even his eyes seemed to sparkle under the slightly dim light of the ramen stall.
Upon hearing the word 'girlfriend', the soup burst out of Rin's mouth and she stared wide-eyed at the man. The man ignored that stare and chuckled to himself.
"Two months ago, Mr Kagamine suddenly came to me and asked if I could accompany him to buy a handphone. He said it was for a girl and since I have a daughter, he wanted to know what type of handphone a girl would usually buy. So, I agreed and helped him to choose a cool handphone model which I think a girl would like," the man explained happily. "Do you like the handphone, Miss?"
"Yes! Thank you very much, Sir!" Rin bowed to the man gratefully.
The man shook his head with a weak smile and said, "No, you shouldn't thank me. The person you should really thank is Mr Kagamine."
"I've already thanked him..."
The man did not seem to hear her, instead he interrupted her speech, "You see, Mr Kagamine wanted to work night shifts all of a sudden. That was... two to three months ago, if I'm not wrong."
Rin remembered it. Len was working very hard at that time, claiming to work night shifts every single day to earn extra income. He did not exactly tell his mother and her the reason why he was out so late at first but was soon found out by them. When he was questioned about it, he dodged it and even claimed that his pair of red spectacles was his girlfriend out of nowhere. Yeah, Rin definitely remember that embarrassing last point.
"Our supervisor once asked him why he was working so hard without taking a break, Mr Kagamine replied that he wanted to buy a gift for someone using the night shifts salary," the man added and smiled warmly at Rin. "Today, I finally see that someone whom he had been working so hard for, other than his mother. You must be special to him."
Rin blushed and scratched her cheek awkwardly. She did not know anything about Len actually working very hard to buy a gift for her even though he had no idea if she could pass the audition. What made her even surprise was that Len had been planning to buy a gift for her beforehand, strongly believing that she could make it through.
"He's so stupid... what if I really couldn't meet his expectations, his efforts would have gone to waste," Rin muttered.
The man heard her and said in a soft voice, "This shows how much faith he has in you, Miss. This is the type of guy you should treasure. Though he cannot satisfy you with his family background, career and money, he's the type who will work very hard for the people he cares for. He is very independent and has a good personality. A good husband material, I feel."
Rin felt her hairs standing up. A good personality? A good husband material?! Len had neither! It was true that he was independent, hardworking and filial though.
"Don't say unnecessary things, Sir. You'll give her unwanted ideas," Len's dull voice was heard behind the two of them. "And she's not my girlfriend."
Rin and the man turned around to see Len who had just returned from his toilet break. Len put his hand on Rin's head and patted her a few times with a cheeky grin.
"Wha... What are you doing?" Rin snapped and brushed his hand away with her cheeks turning an even darker shade of red.
Len smirked at her flustered face and continued his teasing, "Why do I feel that you are doubting my personality? I'm good, am I not?"
That was not good at all. Each time he teased her, she felt as if her heart would explode and her face was overheated. As crazy as it sounded, she hated his teases but loved them at the same time. Was he like that with other girls as well? Or did he only tease her? She hoped it was the latter. She wanted to hear more from him. She wanted the teases to be shared between them. Only him and her. Only his sexy voice...
Rin's jaw dropped in horror. What was she thinking again?
Glaring at Len, she protested angrily, "No, you're definitely not good! Look at yourself, you're always saying stupid stuffs to make me angry like now. So stupid! So stupid! So stupid!"
"I didn't mean to..."
"I'm going home!" Rin did not give Len a chance to say anymore, instead she grabbed him by the arm and stomped away.
As the shocked Len was being pulled away, his colleague just smiled and waved to him, wishing them goodnight.
-:-:-:-
When Rin stepped into the vehicle, she glanced at Len, who was starting the engine, with knitted eyebrows. "Why are you so stupid? Working so hard and worrying your mother just because of me. You didn't even know whether I could pass the audition!"
"That man told you?"
"Yeah! He told me everything."
"Oh."
"What oh? You're making me feel bad here!"
Len stepped on the accelerator and started driving, remaining silent although he had heard what Rin had said. Rin pouted and looked away grumpily. She was supposed to be grateful and thanked him for doing all these for her but she was unhappy at the same time that he had actually bet her success with his time and health. Did he really have so much faith in her?
"You know, Miss Kagamine," Len finally spoke in a gentle voice. "I have never felt regret for helping you. Seeing you trying your best, it just made me want to get something for you. That's all."
Rin looked at him again, still frowning, and said, "Still, why a handphone? You can just get something simpler."
"I wanted to get you one. Is there a problem to it?"
"N... No? But..."
Len interjected, "Then, why not a handphone?"
"Why a handphone?" Rin repeated her question again. "You haven't answered me yet."
Len kept his mouth shut again. Knowing that Len was probably trying to avoid that question, Rin rolled her eyes and did not probe further. That was what she meant by saying that no matter how close she was to Len, she could never decipher his thoughts. He always remained a mystery to her. At one point of time, he was so kind to her. But the next, he was so bad to her and tried to run away from her. Furthermore, he liked to keep things to himself, especially his thoughts.
A cat. Rin nodded to herself. Len was definitely like a cat.
"I don't know why... but I had that urge to buy you a handphone. I'm strange, right?" Len muttered softly and laughed at his own awkward speech. "I mean... who in the world doesn't have a handphone at your age today? You were so backward."
Rin quickly protested, "Huh? My parents refused to buy me one. Not that I didn't want it."
"Admit it. You liked it. I just know you like it." Len gave Rin his famous cheeky grin which made her feel flustered again.
Rin gripped onto the hem of her blouse tightly, trying to hold back her senseless habitual retorts. She knew she could not deny him anymore. Everything he said was quite true. In fact, she liked the handphone more than he thought. She liked how he had worked so hard for her. She liked how much he had supported her. This orange little treasure was the only proof of his efforts and faith.
"I like it... so what?" Rin's soft voice quivered. "It was... a gift... from you. Because it...was from... you."
At each word she said, her voice became softer and softer until it became inaudible. Albeit embarrassing and not her style to be frank, Rin wanted him to know her true feelings. She tried to force herself to say nice things to him instead of trying to refute any word he said which she always did. However, the word 'thank you' was stuck at her throat.
"Thank you."
Rin's eyes widened. No, that was not her voice at all. She looked up and stared at Len whose eyes were still on the road. Did Len just thank her? What did she do? Did he really hear what she had said earlier? But it was so soft! There was no way he could hear her!
"Because of you, Miss Kagamine, my very first outfit is finally created." Len stepped on the brake at the sight of the red light and turned to look at Rin. "If you'd given up on me that night, I think I wouldn't have taken a step forward. Thank you."
"No... I... I should be the one who should say thank you," Rin blurted as she unknowingly reached out to touch Len's hand which was resting on the sterling wheel.
Startled, Len's hand jerked upwards and he looked at Rin looking speechless and shocked by her sudden contact. Rin, on the other hand, quickly withdrew her hands and mentally scolded herself for being so... touchy-feely. Wait, no, she had touched him before so there was not much a surprise to it, right? She stole a glance at Len's face. Why was he so sensitive by her touch? He was not like that before.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to touch you!" Rin apologised and quickly turned away from him.
Gosh! This was awkward!
But hey, she did manage to say thank you to him earlier!
Rin clenched her fists tightly in the hope to trap the warmth of Len's hand within her palms until she heard Len's voice interrupted her brief moment of fantasy.
"Where did you live now? I need your address."
Still clenching her fists, Rin told him Haku's address. Len gave her a nod before stepping on the accelerator again. The rest of the journey was awkward and quiet, especially Len who was still mentally fretting about that random touch.
Man... this was sure a weird night. At first, he had butterflies in his stomach when Rin had openly told her audience that her outfit was made by her special someone. And right at this moment, his mind was blank and he was not in the mood to tease her anymore. All he could think of was her random words of thank you and her sudden touch. The warmth of her fingers still lingered on his left hand, which made him want to rub this feeling off from it.
Rin was a friend. Only a friend. Nothing more than a friend.
Len slowly shifted his gaze to Rin but Rin immediately took notice of his gaze and returned it quizzically. He flinched and returned his gaze back to the road.
"I must be drunk," Len groaned softly to himself.
"Huh?"
Gripping tightly onto the sterling wheel, Len forced a smile and stuttered, "N... Noth... Nothing."
Suddenly, Rin gasped and pointed at a building. "Hey! It's Haku's apartment! Stop here!"
"Here?" Len immediately drove the side of the road and stepped on the brake. "I didn't know it is so close to Tokyo University."
Rin laughed. "So that I won't be late for lessons!"
"Yeah, right."
Laughing once again, Rin unfastened her seat belt and got ready to step out of the car. She halted and turned around to take one last look at Len. A small smile formed on her face.
"Thank you for everything. Without you, I won't be standing on stage today. I'm so glad I have met you, Sir."
"Ah... uh... me... Me too," Len stammered with his hand covering his mouth and cleared his throat. "I've never had a... crazy... and an honest friend before. So... I mean, crazy in a good way... and... so yeah... Do I... have to say more?"
"Fr... Friend?" Rin gasped out loud.
Len looked at her with face turning a little red and repeated, "Yeah, friend!"
Rin covered her mouth and giggled with glee. He had just called her a friend. A friend! Finally, Len regarded her as a friend!
Without thinking, she happily stretched her arms towards him and and leaned forward. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she pulled herself towards him and...
"Goodnight!" she whispered into his ear before pressing her lips on his cheek.
She quickly pulled herself away from him as something clicked within her. What had she done? She had kissed him... out of the blue! That was not right! Friends don't kiss each other, right? No, no, wait. She was the one who kissed him. Not him. She swore it was not on purpose. It was just an impulse!
When she saw how shocked and petrified Len was after the light peck on his cheek, she felt her body burning up due to embarrassment. Oh no, would their friendship just end like that? Would Len look at her differently? What if Len hated her for being so... perverted? No, she did not want this to happen. She did not want him to say anything.
"Miss Kagamine..."
Rin snapped out of her thoughts and let out a scream. She picked up her handbag and flung it across Len's face before kicking the door open. She hurriedly dashed out of the vehicle and ran away till Len could not see where she had disappeared to.
As Len rubbed his throbbing cheek, he clicked his tongue and mumbled, "Geez... what's up with her?"
-:-:-:-
Rin fell flat on her bed and lay still, panting heavily after the frantic escape from Len. She touched her lips and traced the outline of her lower lip. She could not believe it. How could she be so daring? Why couldn't she control herself like before? It was not like she had never had an urge to kiss him before.
Friend...
Rin smiled at the thought of him calling her a friend but soon her smile faded. A weird feeling of sadness overwhelmed her for some reasons unknown to her. She clutched onto her chest and flipped her body over to allow herself to take in a deep breath to get rid of this feeling. Unfortunately, she could not. She unbuttoned the first few buttons of her blouse and took in another deep breath.
A thought suddenly hit her. Not really a thought, but her own voice that escaped from her warm lips as a soft sigh.
"I want it to be more than just friend... Len."
Just then, she realised why she was feeling sad.
Because she was becoming a little greedy for him.
Hi everyone, thank you for reading up to Chapter 40. I would like to thank those who had reviewed Chapter 39. Thanks for all those encouragements. Hope to hear more from you again! :D
Here are the reviewers:
- AzMoAn
- mirrors02
- funbunn
- SnowQueenStya
- Burned Blue Cookie
- Mimi02
- Blue Neonlightshow
Next, I would also like to thank those who had story alerted and favourited this story.
Preview of the next chapter:
Chapter 41: The Black Sheep
It had all started with a simple drawing lot. Everything that had happened was because of it.
If she had arrived slightly early, she might not have drawn the 'emergency unit' card. Or maybe she was fated to work in the emergency unit in the first place.
If she hadn't drawn that card, she wouldn't have met him.
If she hadn't met him, she wouldn't have worked with him.
If she hadn't worked with him, she wouldn't have known him better.
If she hadn't known him, she wouldn't have realised what was important in her life. Because of him, she had fought hard for her dream, hoping that she would be with him forever. But all her efforts were thrown into the drain within a split second and reality struck her badly.
She would never stand up again like before... because she had given up.
Author's random notes:
1) Thank you for the support and wishes which most of you have given me through the reviews. It is very heartening to see my readers cheering me on despite the barrier of the internet. Thanks once again! I am feeling a lot better than before because of the emotional support I have received from everyone, including my lecturer who has been trying her best to fight for my rights at my placement. Just last week, I had completed my final lesson plan implementation and my assessor gave me an excellent grade. Knowing that I had been through tough times at my placement, she could hardly believe that I could pull through the preparation of the lesson materials and classroom management. During the post conference, she told me something which made me tear up. She said, "I am sorry that you were placed at the wrong placement, but you have persevered. For everything till now, well done."
2) To answer AzMoAn's question (and if some of you have been wondering for quite some time), Rin's parents will be back some time later in the story. I don't plan to bring them in for now because they will ruin everything. I am sure Rin doesn't want them to appear now and take away her dream which she had worked so hard for; which I have spent 2 years writing her development; which you readers have spent 40 chapters worth of time to get to see Rin's huge character development (if you compare this chapter to the first few chapters). There is no way I would allow Rin's parents to appear now and rob our precious time spent on this story. But they will have to appear again in the future for more drama and suspense. Anyway, they are Rin's parents so they are bound to appear again.
3) My next update of this story will probably be in between 10th to 24th July. I will be doing my final year Major Project during that period and the schedule for the research-based project is very tight (it will last from July to October). I hope everything will turn out well. Any future update regarding on this story will be posted on my profile. Keep a lookout for it! Thank you.
Thanks for reading my author's notes. Have a great week ahead! :)