The cold breeze howled at a furious pace as a couple consisting of a silver-haired tall young man whose facial features could be counted as young models with his fiery grey eyes fixed toward the front.

Walked beside him was a teenage girl who was about half feet shorter than him and had a stature of the petite category and well proportioned. Her raven glossy hair was braided elegantly over her shoulder with her inky black round eyes fluttering and blinking now and then, not sure where to look at.

They both walked down the gallery as Yuuta showed her some of his family's traditional photos and some similar stuff that Chihiro always saw in museums. Their venture continued without much awkwardness as since the information about the Trinity Cup was announced, they had become pretty close to being called good friends.

They never realized that without mentioning they already started to call each other by their first names, and now they doesnt concerned about it much. First, it was Shio who connected these two, then Mio and now they were all alone, not bound but consensual.

"You have changed Yuuta-kun. The way you were before I never had thought you can have such a kind side." Yuuta didnt pause in his step but his mind went blank for a moment.

"Kind? How come?" As he remembers, he barely has concerned himself with anyone other than Mio, so her remark took him off guard.

"Well, if not for you, we wouldn't have been celebrating here today and wouldn't have to look forward to the main event as we are now. So this side of yours is something I  never was aware of." The way she turned her head and said with a smile was a very charming notion.

Yuuta glanced at her once, but didnt reply. More like, he was at the loss of words, so he chose to stay silent.

Soon they entered a gallery which was on the backside of the mansion and was relatively narrower than the place they went before.

The left side of the gallery had various paintings of famous artists and portraits of some legendary figures. On the right side of the walkway, had large windows which showed the garden spread in a vast area of almost half of the mansion sq ft.

The flower beds and the drowning sun made a great scene for Chihiro as she eventually halted her feet at one of those windows before she called for Yuuta.

"Yuuta-kun...can we stay here for some time?." Yuuta also paused in the way as he glanced back and noticed the shine in Chihiro's eyes and the slight hue her face has adapted because of the cold wind.

"Yeah sure." Yuuta was sure that the gym rat would still have been playing so he thought it would be better if he consume his time here.

He walked back and leaned on th windowsill with his head turned outside as the chilling wind rushed at his face and blew his hair.

"You aren't cold, right? I can ask someone to bring a coat for you." Upon his remark, Chihiro glanced at him as her eyes lingered upon the jacket he was wearing, with a little hope hidden behind her eyes.

Yuuta saw through her thoughts and he was genuinely baffled but he knew it wouldn't be good to advance more than this. So he decided to shrug the matter as he swayed his glance away and looked back toward the outside.

Chihiro pouted slightly, completely ignorant of how she was behaving at the moment. It was like she wasn't the same Chihiro at all who had decided to draw a boundary between her and Yuuta.

Soon she also got over it as she leaned on the frame of the window and enjoyed the scenery and inhaled as much air she could which was blended with the fragrance of numerous floras.

"You know Yuuta-kun." After a series of complete silence, Chihiro spoke without looking at the man as a glint of reminiscing filled in her beautiful round eyes.

"Hmm?" Yuuta hummed as he continued staring outside without much going inside his mind.

"When I was a kid, my mom and dad barely stayed at home well it's the same for now too but during my early age I felt more hurt because of their absence." Yuuta who was carefreely taking the conversation suddenly became a little attentive as she mentioned such serious things about herself.

"I always cried alone with thick clothes stacked inside my mouth so my neighbor dont hear me. It's amazing of me that I knew about the public image at that age too." Her face formed a bitter smile as she remember the darkest times in her life that she could never forget.

"I always remained alone as I feared anyone getting close to me would leave one day that's why I became an introvert loner. If not for Mio and Shio meeting me by chance on an eventful day I doubt whether I would have ever come out of that state. " By this time Yuuta's whole attention was on the girl beside her whome he barely knew and wasn't much interested in knowing either.

But listening to her story, he felt something inside of his heart, something from his past scratching up again.

"Looking back I feel how pathetic I was to cry over such a thing. Various parents become busy with their careers, it's natural but I made such a big deal out of it. But to be honest, for me... it's the people who matter and the memories they make by sharing countless emotions together. Even if it sounds dumb, I don't want money-bought happiness but something which can make my heart flutter and put a natural smile on my face" A drop of tear formed at the corner of her eye as she finished speaking. She wiped her eyes when she suddenly felt some weight over her head.

Confused she looked to her left and got stunned. Yuuta who generally doesnt show much expression if not for Mio, had such a warm and caring gaze directed toward her that she felt lost completely in his eyes.

He slightly rubbed his hand over her hair gently as he spoke his thoughts in a very calming tone.

"I understand that feeling, and dont say it's pathetic or anything. People who love and care for you are the most who matter to me and to live with them and share time with them would be something I cherish. I also share your thought and understand your sentiment so don't belittle yourself. Okay?" Chihiro's face was flushed red but hearing his word she couldn't help but shed a heavy drop of tear before a nod came in reply from her.

A genuine and beautiful smile formed on her face which made Yuuta blink twice before he heard her saying.

"Thank you for understanding me Yuuta-kun."

_________..._________

The celebration went without a hitch as the group prepared various dishes while chatting and having a bunch of fun. Mio and Rin were oblivious about cooking so everything fell upon Chihiro and Kurumi.

They also didn't complain as everyone shares the wok and finished the dishes by evening. 

By the time they finished eating it was already past 6 and the sky was almost dark so they decided to leave early. Yuuta insisted on dropping them in the car but modesty or not they couldn't receive such special treatment.

Since their home was away from Mio's home they didn't go back like how they came. Kurumi and Rin took another train as Mio, Shio and Chihiro boarded other.

Inside the train, Shio fell asleep as soon they sat while the other two sat in silence unlike usual.

Mio was observing Chihiro's weird actions and expressions for some time and Mio wasn't sure what made her like this. Finally not being able to take anymore, Mio took Chihiro's hand in a rigid grip and asked in a worried tone.

"Chi-chan. Did something happen in Yuuta-kun's house?" Chihiro got out of her reverie as she turned her head toward the person she was closest to in the whole world.

The feeling of guilt erupted inside Chihiro as she stayed silent for a couple of minutes making Mio even more worried.

What seemed like an eternity only was 3 minutes since Mio asked Chihiro about her sudden unusual behavior when Chihiro finally broke the ice.

"Mio we are best friends right?"  Without hesitation, Mio nodded as she waited for her friend to finish.

"Then if anything happened related to a third person in our life, it won't change us right?" Mio was about to nod when her face stiffened suddenly as her brows tensed.

Mio inhaled deeply and looked directly into Chihiro's eyes as her grip became tenser as a question formally came out of her mouth.

"Chi-chan...is it about...Yuu?"

_______...________

A/N: Ah this young love.

Anyway, please do drop a comment. The lack of comments feels that people have abandoned reading.😢