In the same restaurant but a few tables away from Mika and Rachel.

"What are they talking about...? I can’t hear them from here..." Lily muttered pensively as she stared at the other two.

"..."

Yarjak, however, could only heave a sigh of defeat.

He and Lily were also on a date. Or rather, Yarjak thought he was on a date.

Lily may have agreed to Yarjak’s suggestion but in the end, she just used him as a cover to tail Mika and Rachel during their date. And surprisingly, they were not found out yet by the two even though they were always in their vicinity.

While Yarjak optimistically tried to enjoy this so-called date of his, Lily was only focused on Mika and Rachel’s activities.

However, they were guided to a table a little bit further away from them, and thus, Lily had problems watching them.

"Huh? Something happened!" she whispered.

"?"

Yarjak directed his gaze to them as well and only saw how Rachel stood up and walked away. Her head hung low as she left the restaurant. Meanwhile, Mika seemed like he was ridden with guilt and shook his head lightly.

"..."

Lily’s saddened and concerned expression was fixed on Mika.

"Do you want to go to him?" Yarjak asked her.

"No... I don’t think it’s the right time for that..." she replied dejectedly.

"I see."

Yarjak took a sip from his drink. But in his field of vision, he barely managed to see Mika leaving the place, too, after paying.

"May I ask you a question, Lily?"

Lily did not give a response as her attention was still on Mika.

"Do you like Mika?"

"!"

And all of a sudden, she turned her head to Yarjak with a blushing face and wide-open eyes.

"Seems like I hit the nail on the head." he muttered with a faint smile.

"I-i-it’s not like that!" Lily tried to disagree but her voice was shaky and her face heated up even more.

"Please, be honest with me." Yarjak begged, smiling gently.

Lily realized that it would be only fair to tell him the truth, knowing that he was apparently in love with her. Furthermore, she finally noticed how she used him to tail Mika and Rachel.

She gulped down her saliva, however, she could not look him in the eyes out of embarrassment.

"At first, I just thought that he was just a friend. It was fun hanging around with him and Sylvia back then. But after a while, especially recently, I feel strange when I look at him." she began to explain softly.

"Strange?"

"Yes... I don’t know how I should describe it. I just know that I soon found myself always looking in his direction."

Then, Yarjak stood up from his seat.

"I understand. Thanks for telling me." he said with a soft smile.

"Yarjak?"

"You can go ahead and enjoy your time here. The food is on me." he stated, walking to the restaurant’s exit.

"Oh. And good luck!" he added with a wink.

"..."

Thus, he left a confused Lily behind.

"I’m an idiot..." he sighed after being outside.

"Don’t worry, big Bro! You’re still young! One day, you will find the right one!"

"Sara?"

Sara was standing outside the restaurant for a while as she was curious about her brother’s date, which she learned about from the others.

At first, Yarjak wondered, why she was here but then, that thought faded away.

"Are you still hungry? It will be my treat!" she suggested, slapping his back.

"..."

The two siblings walked together as Sara tried to cheer up her brother, who was happy to have a sister like her.

In the meantime, Ophelia was seen drinking at a bar. Given the fresh breeze and temperature, she sat at one of the many outdoor tables in front of the bar.

With a blank gaze, she stared at her wine.

"Didn’t know that you drink."

"?"

To her surprise, Mika casually joined her and took a seat at her small table.

"I’m an adult. Is it so unusual to see me drinking?"

Her cheeks were lightly tinted in red and her eyes were drowsy.

"..."

Mika smiled consolingly at her glass of wine.

"What? You want to drink as well?" Ophelia joked.

"To be honest, maybe I could actually need a drink now." he chuckled faintly.

"Did something bad happen?" she guessed half-heartedly before taking a sip.

"Maybe." he replied without an unchanging expression.

"But weren’t you on a date, enjoying your youth?"

Even after realizing that she was about to reach her limit, she did not think about stopping to drink as she filled up her glass.

"Rachel asked me out."

"?!"

Because she flinched, she accidentally spilled some wine on the table.

"H-how nice, huh...? Should I congratulate you on getting a lover?" she tried to play it cool despite losing her composure.

Mika sighed.

"You’re still spilling everywhere, you know?" he remarked.

"Ugh..."

"And for your information, I turned her down." he added regretfully.

"You did what?"

She was flabbergasted.

"I promised her to take her feelings for me seriously. And that’s what I did."

His gaze wandered to the empty street.

"..."

Ophelia did not comprehend him completely.

"No matter what I feel for anyone, my answer would be the same." he explained.

His melancholic smile did not waver once.

"Being with me would make the other person only suffer later on."

"What do you mean by that...?"

Ophelia started to come back to her senses.

"It’s just like I’ve told you. I already know that my future isn’t bright and I can’t possibly let my beloved one be involved in that future."

Mika stood up.

"I’m sorry for ruining your drink. I didn’t mean to blur out so much." he apologized.

In the face of his apparent fate, feelings of affection were nothing but irrelevant to him.

"That’s true. You’re indeed spouting some nonsense even though you’re a child." Ophelia mocked him, shrugging her shoulders.

Mika turned his head to her.

"Your future is not bright? You don’t want anyone to get involved in yours? Why are you talking like some kind of tragic hero?"

"It’s not just your future lover. She and those, who are close to you, are there to support you in your darkest times. They’re there to brighten up your future. So cut me some slack with your depressing talk."

"You don’t understand."

"What is it that I don’t understand?"

"..."

Mika averted his gaze.

"See? If you talk so mysteriously, then how can I understand you?"

Ophelia, too, got up.

"Please, let me understand you."

Her gaze was firm.

"Why do you want to understand me? You’re just my teacher..."

It was an accident but Mika uttered words he did not mean to say.

"And just like that, you try to create some distance again."

However, Ophelia saw through him and even took a step closer to him, which in turn, made him take a step back.

"I want to know because you’re someone important to me."

A smile formed on her face.

"You know? Just like you, I deemed those feelings of mine irrelevant, too, but now I’ve realized it. No matter how irrelevant that feeling is, it’s still real and one can’t deny it."

Mika began to get uneasy.

"What you’re doing may be for the best but it still hurts for the other person if they couldn’t fully understand you."

"And I, too, want to understand you..." she added shyly.

"Why are you so adamant all of the sudden...?" Mika muttered, mentally driven to a corner.

Ophelia’s lips were trembling as she was searching for courage.

"I-I want to help you. I want to be there if you need someone to rely on... I... I want you to be happy..." she stuttered nervously.

She took a deep breath.

"I-I want to be involved with you b-because I like you, too, o-okay?"

It felt like she could die any time out of embarrassment.

"..."

Mika was stunned at that moment.

And other guests from the bar were gasping in excitement, witnessing a romantic scene, which was like a theater scene.

But just like with Rachel, he did the same.

He forced a smile on his face.

"I’m sorry but your feelings are wasted on me. You’re better off finding someone better than me."

Following those words, he turned his back on the shocked and betrayed Ophelia and headed back to the inn.

Agape, she stared at his back, which was getting smaller and smaller. But eventually, a smile crept onto her face.

Unlike Rachel, Ophelia noticed that Mika was the most hurt by his own words.

"Do you think that’s enough to get rid of us even after wording it like that, you idiot...?"

She began to pick up her pace as she ran after Mika.

"?"

Mika slowly twisted his neck back after noticing her running to him.

"!"

While Ophelia closed her eyes, Mika’s eyes widened as her soft lips were pressed against his.

It was just a short kiss as Ophelia quickly backed off.

"D-did my determination get through to you?"

Ophelia tried to act as if she was scolding him but she was sweating and her cheeks were even redder than before.

"W-whether you like it or not, I chose you as the t-target of my affections!" she stuttered as she pointed at him.

"..."

But Mika was speechless as he still had to process his kiss with her.

And it unsurprisingly tasted like wine.