Corruptions Are Best Exposed In The Autumn!

Chapter 9 - And This Is Why My Father Rules!

My eyes widened in disbelief, but perhaps I should've been less surprised than I was. Rin managed to break up with that asshole of a guy.

"I'm terribly sorry..." I muttered while placing a hand on the side of my neck.

"Don't be," she replied. "No regrets at all, and to be honest, I should've dumped him sooner. He played me like a fiddle."

The two of us reached an intersection, where the entrance to the mall was just up ahead. I closed my eyes briefly. There was just something I had to do.

"Hey, want to go grab some bubble tea?"

Rin looked at me in surprise, and rapidly blinked to process my words. "U-Um, sure."

"Sorry I should've asked first, but do you like bubble tea?"

"I-I don't mind."

I drew an eye back at her while pretending to look forward. Her raised eyebrows screamed confusion, but I was ready to explain. Taking a deep breath, I could feel my body trembling while preparing my next line:

"I know we don't know each other too well, but I'd love to listen more about what you're going through if it makes you feel any better."

Wow, I actually said it.

"Don't worry about it."

Huh?

I spun my head at her in surprise. "Y-You sure?"

"You're just trying to sound cool, aren't you, Mr. Barista," Rin replied with a smirk.

Chuckling to break the tension, I scratched my face out of habit. What was I rushing into things for? We barely even knew each other.

"By the way," Rin glanced away while we approached the bubble tea shop around the corner. Another few seconds passed by until she continued: "I wanted to say I was sorry for slapping you that very first day we met, and calling you an idiot and stuff."

I stared at her, surprised by the topic. "N-No worries, you don't need to apologize for something like-"

"There's more," she interrupted; her light, gentle voice turned hard and serious. "I'm also sorry for the scene I caused the other week between Elias and I at your café. I acted stupid in front of you. It's quite embarrassing, to say the least."

My mouth dropped open. Her bringing this all up was not on my radar. "You don't have to apologize!" I insisted. "I would've been angry too at that guy if I were in your shoes."

"If you say so. I appreciate you forgiving me easily."

I opened the door to the tea shop, and every cell on my body breathed a sigh of relief when a jingling sound didn't ring into my ears. After Rin and I ordered our drinks, we found an open table at the end, and just when I sat down -

"Hey, you up for this?"

"Huh?"

I glanced up at her, confused about what she was talking about. She began to dig in her black and white purse, appearing somewhat frustrated. The crackling and mashing that jumped out was baffling - just what type of things does she have in there?

Finally, after what felt like a minute, she pulled out a small gaming console.

"Y-You're going to play?" I asked, watching while sucking my straw.

"No," she grinned. "We're going to play."

"Sure..."

Placing the console on the table, she hoisted the screen up with a small kickstand, and took out two small controllers while handing one to me.