Author's note : Forget this crap! We'll talk later ;))
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Chapter 13 : The vow
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It all starts with the wedding.
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That's right. Tonight, under Osaka's serene sky, Hattori Heiji and Toyama Kazuha are getting married. After their decades together with dubious and unnecessary complicated status, the couple finally realized that they are meant for each other. The lifelong friendship has grown into love, and here comes the beginning of their 'forever life'.
The ceremony is being held at Kaneyoshi Ryokan, one of the most luxurious traditional Japanese inn in the heart of Kansai district, by the riverside of Dotombori. The place is real exquisite. From traditional Japanese scent to the private dainty onsen, this ryokan is destined to create the wedding of dream.
The ceremony is full of people, lots and lots of people. No wonder it's the engagement between children of Osaka's top two chief commanders. As the groom's best man, Shinichi keeps his head high, tries his best to look after the guests like the host on his own. (Note : In most Asian cultures, the bride's and groom's friends usually play the significant roles in assisting the ceremony somehow.)
"Shinichi! Help me bring this up to the reception," said Ran as she is busying arranging the souvenirs behind the service desk. She hands him a box of them.
"Okay. Anything else?" The man accepts the box and turns a little around.
"Hmm.. No. That's all. Araide-san, could you pass me that paper?"
"Here, sweetheart. And here, punishment for adding that -san" , who is helping his wife behind the desk, suddenly pecks his nose on her lovely cheek, in which in return, the brunette girl turns to hit him loudly. She blushes for thousand shades of red right now.
"Hey! We are in the wedding!"
"So what? We have had one ourselves," Araide laughs as he see his flushed wife. It seems that Ran is still not used to calling him on the real name basis. Well, old habits.
"Geez.. I don't know.. It's kinda strange for me.. can that be changed if I start call you 'Daddy' like our little babe..?"
"EH? YOU'RE PREGNANT?!"
"Hahaha! Gotcha!"
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The couple continues to tease each other happily as husband and wife. Very sweet and happy couple indeed. Shinichi looks at Ran's cheerful face and couldn't help but secretly smile for her. She deserves every bit of it after all.
The detective then walks out of the scene heading to help the reception desk. More guests are still coming to the registration so he decides to sit helping them.
Minutes later, as Shinichi is organizing the guest's list, he suddenly hears people whispering in awe.
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"Hey. Who is that girl?"
"Oh my god. Who is she!"
"Is she from Tokyo?"
"Does she come alone?"
"Goshhhhh! She is so BEAUTIFUL!"
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Annoyed. The handsome face slowly lifts his head, not really interested just wonder who is the one in talking and how so she manages to get as many as these attentions. He actually expected to see a cute Osaka girl, somewhat friend of Kazuha, wearing some kind of a fine Kimono..? (Note : In traditional ceremony, wearing traditional dresses is a must in Japanese culture.) He predicts it all. Confident in his deduction.
But then he sees one of his most familiar Tokyo girl, the one he never expected to see in these dresses.
Miyano Shiho.
"Haibara! You come?! Wh.. Why are you wearing THIS..?!" Again. The over-protective boy quickly stands up and makes his way through the crowd. And then that he sees her up close, his unusual temper seems to rise frantically again.
Shiho, on the other hand, is wearing a silk Kimono. It's a Sakura pink Kimono that is very fine and meticulously weaved. The soft, tender silk carefully wraps around her fragile shape as showing her milky neck part delicately. The strawberry shade is so perfect for her so that it makes the girl shines like no other. She faces up close to her detective friends, tying her beautiful eyebrows in doubts.
Shinichi ignores that. He quickly glances at the other men around. Clearly, they are holding breathes, starring intensely and unforgivably disgustingly to his side.. The way she moves.. The way she walks..
GOD DAMN IT! SHE IS NOT AN ANGEL, YOU JERK!
W..wait... Why would I get angry?
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The girl raises an eyebrow, gazes at him.
"What? Don't you like the dress? I spent hours putting this on, you know?" playfully, the girl pouts at the flustered man.
"N.. Th- THAT'S NOT THAT! I mean, it doesn't suit you at all!" Lying. It's all over his face as it obviously becomes red and embarrassed. Shiho watches him avoiding her eyes in amusement. Surely, this Kimino is more than 'suitable' for her, and she knows that.
"Oh. Really? I guess I'll have to take it off then..." replied calmly Shiho as her hand unexpectedly trails up to the collar and slightly pulls it off, intentionally, showing her flawless lower neck, and, even worse, her completely blank milky shoulder with no clue of a bra's string.
Those loathsome lustful males must have had giant nosebleed by now.
"WH- WHAT ARE YOU DOING! STOP THAT! BAKA!" Shinichi quickly grabs her hand and pull it away as fast as the fastest in his life, while Shiho just laughs her heads off like it was the greatest joke of all. Breathtaking! The detective's face is priceless. Shinichi swears that behind the innocent pretty face, she must have had smirked at him the whole time.
"Hahaha! Alright. I'm here with the FBIs. Jodie and Shuichi are already inside now." God. At least she can talk.
"Ah.. I see.." How could he forget that Heiji was also part of the BO's breakdown.
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"So.. How are you doing as the best man?"
"Fine. Nothing's special, I guess.."
"Any beautiful bridesmaid?"
"Yes, but she already has a boyfriend."
"Aww.. Poor Kudo. You must be really hurt to be forever alone.."
"WHAT?"
"Just Kidding. Let go of my hand now. The ceremony is starting."
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Eh?
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Finally, the man realizes that he has held her hand for a long time, getting him some jealous glares from many bachelors. The detective quickly lets go of the girl, feeling slightly uneasy again.
Shiho examines his weird expression.
What was he embarrassed for?
The girl decides to shrug it off and slowly walks toward the ballroom. She seems to have quite an enjoyable time.
Shinichi irritatedly watches her walks difficultly in the Kimono, frowning to himself. What's to be so excited about? Well, he understands that it's her first time wearing it as Miyano Shiho but still she is just 'Haibara', that little devil brat in his eyes.
Yet why can't he stop looking at her smiles?
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Pssh. He guesses he will give in then.
Just this time.
Only this time.
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".. and I wish you both the best of life today and in the days to come. Happy married life, my daughter and son!"
CLAP! CLAP! CLAP! CLAP!
Right after Chief Ginshiro Toyama, Kazuha's father, gave the couple his wedding bless, the loud clap just roars over the tremendous hall. Both Heji and Kazuna smile broad in their shed of tears, blissfully, inexpressible. The guests watch the married couple hug their parents on the stage. Everyone smiles at the scene.
And now the ceremony reaches it half break before the toasts from bridesmaid and best man.
"Woohoooo! There you are, COOL KID! You look so goooooooood on thisssss!" As soon as guests begin to take their dessert, a very cheerful voice suddenly calls Shinichi across the room.
It's surely Agent Jodie.
"Woah! Jodie-sensei! You wear Yukata, too? You look so beautiful today!" Still calling her 'Sensei' as her undercover.
"Really?! Thanks! But I guess I still can't win against someone..."
"Huh?"
"KYA! You thought of her, didn't you!"
"What? Who?"
"That girl.. the one you made a scene with earlier in front of the reception.. Hahaha! Oh my god. I never thought you were a jealous type of guy!"
"Wh.. HEY! What do you mean! I didn't make a scene of that!"
"Come on. Everyone was talking about it. The most gorgeous girl and her possessive boyfriend. You crushed hundreds hearts in minutes, you know?"
"WHAT THE HELL? I AM NOT HER BOYFRIEND! AND I WASN'T JEALOUS AT ALL!"
"Oh really? What a shame! Why don't you two date then? You like each other."
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What?
Jodie smiles at the detective boy.
"Aren't you in love with her? Everyone knows about it. It shows in your eyes," the FBI agent continued while looking at him meaningfully. Shinichi is puzzled. His face freezes before her.
What shows in my eyes..?
Seeing that the man is getting confused with his thought, Agent Jodie knows that her prediction was true. After going through such horrible adventures together, she had seen it all, countless of times.
Nothing can be more obvious.
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"Look, Shinichi-kun," she begins, "I don't know if you're playing dumb or not. It's probably not my place to interfere with your relationship anyway. However..," she pauses, "as a friend, I can't stand seeing you make the same mistake twice."
The man flinched at the sentence.
"You may have your reason for not marrying Mouri-kun, I didn't know. You may have your reason for being darn protective over Miyano-kun, I never know. You may have your reason for not dating anyone in six years, I didn't really know. I know nothing yet I still couldn't help but wonder..."
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"I wonder that if you didn't love her as a girl, then, what is she to you?"
RING! RING! RING!
The bell rings and the ceremony's announcer is back on the stage.
"Hello, Sir and Madame, welcome back to the second half of the wedding, one of the most-awaited moment, of courses. On behalf of Hattori and Toyama families, we would like to thank you all again for being here to love our dearest new couple. Hope you enjoy the desserts, and now, it's time of our best man! He is undoubtedly one of the best friend and most-beloved rival of Heiji-kun, and maybe the hottest bachelor for tonight. Please welcome Kudo Shinichi!"
Finally, here comes one of the most-highlighted moment of the wedding, the best men and the bridesmaids' speeches, and it's Shinichi's turn to go first. Everyone around him suddenly claps their hands and looks at him expectantly, waiting for him to go up there. Oh. Crap. The 'hottest bachelor' quickly startles and realizes that he totally forgot about the speech.
Shit!
Jodie winks at him.
"Good luck, hottie."
And then he walks up the stairs.
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Silent. Everyone is looking at him.
Nearly a thousand of ladies and gentlemen are looking at him expectantly and admirably. The handsome detective is on the stage now, standing still behind the glamorous podium. The wedding couple lovingly smile at him. He looks slightly nervous. Of course, he did prepare the speech before yet assisting with the ceremony was so busy. He didn't practice it.
The man pulls the script out of his pocket, reluctantly smiles at the audiences.
And so he begins.
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I'm Kudo Shinichi, Heiji's best man."
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"It's very honored to me for being able to stand by his side tonight. As his best friend, I couldn't be happier..." He rolls his eyes around, smiling,
puts up a handsome smirk,
and,
Pfff!
Suddenly, he sees a girl laughs.
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It's Miyano Shiho.
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Without a clue of humor, during his smooth, flaweless introduction, suddenly, Shiho just couldn't help but let a small chuckle like she won't be able suppress it any longer. The scientist watches the man with extreme merriment. Even though others may not notice it, but she knows full-well that the detective is being nervous. Behind that handsomely-trying-to-act-cool face, she sees a nervous little nerd, and that's enough for enjoying.
Shinichi, on the other hand, just unconsciously grips his script tight. That woman! Yes, he sees it all through. He knows that she is making fun of him.
God! Can't you just leave me for a moment! Why must my eyes stop at that woman! Urghhhhhh!
The detective continues to curse himself as he stupidly smiles at the audiences once more. Damn the eyes. Damn the eyes!
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Yet deep down inside, he unknowingly wonders it himself.
He did flicked his eyes through thousand of audiences.
He spreaded his look broadly across the hall.
But why must she the only one who stands out for him?
What makes his eyes stop?
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There are hundreds and hundreds of people wearing similar kimonos, same looks, same colors, same expressions. From where he is standing, they all look so little and indifferent.
Yet why?
Because she is the only one laughing.His mind automatically replies, very logically and reasonably, but the detective knows well enough that it's just a lame excuse. He closes his eyes then and breathes heavily.
Jodie's word rings up in his mind.
What she is to me?
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The audiences begin to look at him.
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He looks back at his script again. It shows the story about the couple's funny moments.
He put it down.
"Haha.. sorry, I'm just so happy.. speechless.." Shinichi finally continues his speech and gets some sweet laughs from the audiences.
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"Well, Heiji and Kazuha' love is really a long story. For many of you may have already known that they were childhood friend, I think you might also know that they were unconsciously falling for each other, too. I mean, who wouldn't know? What a dumb couple." The audiences purposely laugh at the remark. The wedding couple, looks at the man, too. This is not what they've heard him rehearsed.
The detective continues.
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"One day, before the beginning of this romantic comedy, Heiji visited to my house in Tokyo and we had a little drink-drunk."
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"Then, he asked me one of the most stupid question I've ever heard, 'Do I think he loves Kazuha?',"
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"Surely, I laughed. You can imagine how funny it felt back then. After all forcing me to witness their dumbstruck romantic tensions, there he had a gut to ask me that! Ah. That was a little irritated (laugh). But, no matter how much I wanted to smack it in his face, I thought it would be meaningless to not let him figure that out himself,"
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"So I asked him a question back, what did he feel about her.."
Shinchi paused. He looks at both Heiji and Kazuha, giving them a smile in the middle of his precious gift.
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"Well, to be honest, I thought his answer would be some silly crap like.. a brother? So I actually planned a fist for him.. sorry, mate (laugh). But his answer was somewhat surprising. I still couldn't believe my ear. He answered me that.. he felt peaceful."
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"He told me that whenever he was with her he felt so relaxed, so relieved. He feels like it was at home. Whenever he talks to her, he could be fully himself. Nothing is needed to be hidden. No need to act cool. Just being him is enough with Kazuha."
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"However, wasn't that just friendship? Doesn't falling in love feel more like heart-pumping? Nerve-wracking? Exciting butterflies?"
He holds a little breath again, feeling calm himself, yet, unfortunately, just the second he finished the sentence, so their eyes meet.
It's her again.. Miyano..
Thump!
Is that.. heartbeat... ?
The detective's eyes widen.
Wasn't that just friendship.. ?
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A playful smile still paints upon Shiho's face.
Shinichi glimpses at her again. Her strawberry blonde reflects deep in his eyes.
Among hundreds of other beautiful ladies, she is the only one he can really notice.
Is this really just friendship?
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"... I told him.. No, that's not it."
That's not it.
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"When you truly love someone, you will feel relaxed because she'll always accept you."
I never have to lie to you.
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"You will feel peaceful 'cos she'll always be there."
You never leave me alone.
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"You will feel smarter."
Because of your supports.
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"You will feel stronger"
Because you trust me.
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"You will feel braver."
Because I want to protect you.
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"And, no matter how bad or how difficult the world is, you'll always feel secure," Shinichi grits his teeth, "because you know that she will always fight beside you."
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"That little peaceful happiness is love."
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Love ?
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That's right.
Now, I finally know.
The only reason I couldn't see any other girl
is because I can only look at her.
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No matter when or where,
I can only have her in my eyes.
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... I love her...
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And that's exactly what he told Heiji.
When he was with her, he had nothing to hide.
When he was with her, he had nothing to fear.
When he was with her, he could do so much more things.
When he was with her, he could be stronger and stronger.
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She is the only one beside him of all times.
She is the only one who can make him so warm.
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"And that's what make me jealous of him like hell. To be able to find the love of your life like that, Hattori Heiji, you are definitely the luckiest man in the world. So, ladies and gentlemen, please stand and raise your glasses.. On behalf of everyone here I would like to say congratulations to both Heiji and Kazuha, for you finally have found your lovely home. Please take a good care of each other. May you live together happily like ever before. Together and forever. To the bride and groom!"
To the bride and groom!
Cheers!
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I love her.
That's right. I love Haibara. I need to make sure of that now. I won't make the same mistake again.
Right after the end of the ceremony, as many guests are leaving the ballroom, Shinichi quickly wanders around the lobby, trying his best to find the person he is looking for.
The only person he is always looking for.
Shit! What a crowd. Where are you!?
Anxious. The detective whirls his head impatiently. Where else she could be?
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Ah! There she is!
Minutes later, through the window, he finally sees her from afar. She is standing alone in the parking garden, a floor lower than his. Seems like she is catching a taxi.. he needs to hurry.
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The detective runs off the corridor. He jumps down the lobby's stair and pushes himself as fast as he can.
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Please wait.
Please don't go just yet.
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Shiho is waving at a car.
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He nearly reaches her.
"Haibara!"
He shouts.
She turns around.
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Another man quietly steps down from a car.
"What's up, Shiho-chan? Ah. You must be her Kudo-kun! Allow me to introduce myself properly then. My name is Kuroba Kaito. I'm dating Shiho."
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"Attention. This is the final boarding call for passengers booked on Japan Airlines flight 846A to Tokyo City. Please proceed to gate 3 immediately. Repeat. This is the final boarding call... "
"Let's go, everyone," said Jodie as soon as she heard the announcement. Right now at Osaka International Airport, Shinichi, Shuichi and Jodie are flying back the same flight to their hometown since they all have some errands tomorrow. It's almost one o'clock in the morning now, very close to their departure time.
However, the young detective still sit at the exact bench. He doesn't fall asleep yet he hasn't heard her. The FBI agent looks at him again. He seems somewhat distant.
Something must have happened.
"Come on. What's wrong?" Shuichi, too, notices that. He steps close to the detective and pats his shoulder.
"Eh? Ah. Um. Nothing. I'm just really tired," finally, Shinichi snaps out of his thought. He chuckles a little hardly and quickly grabs his bag heading to the terminal. Both FBI agents look at each other.
Then, Jodie purposely raises her voice.
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"Ah. Shuichi. Have you called Miyano-kun? When will she go back?" Shinichi stops his feet.
"Uh-un. I don't know. She hasn't pick it up. I'm a little worried then."
"Really? Isn't she with her friend? Should we call her again?"
"Hold on. Don't disturb her. I know where she is." Suddenly, the only quiet man decidedly speaks up.
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He turns around.
"She is staying with her boyfriend tonight at Amaga Inn. They plan to have a little vocation in Kyoto this weekend so I think she probably go back by Monday." Fisting. He doesn't know what else could be more painful.
The fact that he knows he fell in love with his best friend the day she decided to date someone else?
Every single word felt like a knife.
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Shuichi stares at him.
And so his eyes widens.
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"Wait. Did you just say 'Amagi Inn'?"
"Hmm?"
"Look," he points at the nearest television showing a breaking news.
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"Isn't that hotel on fire?"
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Author's note :
Hello! Everyone! It's great to be able to meet you again! :D:D Please don't get mad at me this time.. I have a perfect excuse. lol. I was in the hospital for almost the whole month.. boringly, of course. Hahaha :) I don't know if you remember what I told you about the basketball injury or not (see A/N on Ch.8 and 12 if you want to know.. lol). Well, the pain was somehow difficult so the doctor decided to give me an operation. That's why this chapter comes so much later than it should have been. I'm really sorry. I shouldn't promise you.. T_T
Anyway, how is this chapter? To be honest, I'm not really confident about it even though I did tried as hard as possible to be romantic as a male's brain could! lol! ;D;D;D;D I'm sorry if it didn't work. Please tell me if it's suck. Seriously. I can handle it. Tell me that and I shall grant your wish! :D:D:D I really want this story to have a place in your heart, so please, tell me what I can do. I will be waiting. Big thanks in advance then! ;))))
Oh. One more thing. I would like to tell you that THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE TO VOTE YOUR OPINION. Beyond this chapter, the story is going to reach its happy ending. So, this is also a final call for the groom's vote! Who will Shiho end up with? Shinichi or Kaito? It all depends on you! So, if you have time, please vote it then :D;D
Finally, I would want to thank all my readers and reviewers.
Thank you so much again and again for those wonderful supports. Really. I thank you with all my heart. I have gone through one of the worst moment in my life.. lost my strong shoulder and withdrawn from my basketball team.. That's one kind of hell.. Hahaha. But, seeing your reviews, I almost cried. Even though we may not know each other, I still feel grateful. Thank you for caring for me. Thank you :)))
Ah. I think that's enough. Apologize for my babbling.. Hahaha.. Well, I need to go to bed now. I'm really sorry but I will comeback to answer the reviews as soon as possible.
See you next chapter! ;))))