𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭 𝐅𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 | ɪɴᴜᴍᴀᴋɪ x ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ

✧ chapter 25 ✧

word count: 1171 words

"a cone of vanilla ice cream, please."

your eyes widened as you heard the familiar voice behind you and placed your phone down. you swiftly turned around and saw a white haired man with his jacket's collar zipped up until it reached his nose. 

sheesh, why does he have to be here when i'm here too??

you were probably staring too long at him because he noticed you too and locked eyes with you. however, the little moment was ruined by the clerk who handed him the vanilla ice cream he ordered. the man came back to his senses and looked back at the clerk. he took the ice cream into his left hand and handed the money for the ice cream to the clerk. once he got his change, he began walking to you and you felt your heart beating faster. 

damn it, i shouldn't have stared at him. i can see where this is going...

he then sat down in front of you and unzipped his collar to lick his ice cream without saying a word. you also tried to distract yourself by taking a bite of your own ice cream. it was an awkward silence for a while until he finally spoke up.

"i thought you were in america. are you here on vacation?"

you looked back at him into his amethyst eyes.

"oh, uh, i started working here a month ago."

you gave him a small smile and broke the eye contact. 

i feel like my cheeks are getting hotter by the moment if i keep looking at him. 

but you decided you didn't want an awkward moment like this so you continued the conversation without looking at him. 

"what about you?"

"um, i'm working in an insurance company near here."

you looked back at him and raised your eyebrow.

"insurance company? by any chance, is it... nakaburo company?"

he widened his eyes and gave you a small nod. you smiled at him.

"what a coincidence! i've been working there for a month now! but i don't think i've seen you before..."

inumaki took another lick of his ice cream.

"i just moved there. i'm going to start working there next monday. my old company was a little too far from my apartment, after all. is the work there good?"

"mhm, it's great there! my colleagues are kind and the boss doesn't give you too much work either. it's a nice place, really."

 inumaki simply hummed in response and silence took over again once more for a few minutes. you thought of what to talk about and you felt slightly annoyed by the fact that inumaki was wearing a high collar again. you felt as if your words years ago didn't reach him well. 

"i'm sorry if this sounds rude but it's been a while since i've seen you wear something with a high collar like that. i thought i told you to be proud of it before i left...?"

inumaki nodded at your question.

"you did. i didn't wear anything with high collars for a few months. but..."

he looked at you with glistened eyes.

"i couldn't help but feel insecure again once you weren't next to me."

you nodded slightly and sighed as you closed your eyes. the memory of you seeing inumaki without his high collar flashed through your mind.

"well, i'm in no position to lecture you like i did last time since i'm no longer your girlfriend but..."

you opened your eyes and looked at him.

"everyone has something they can feel insecure about. whether you make it your downfall or something to be proud of is up to you. and for you..."

you leaned closer to inumaki and smiled.

"i wish you wouldn't feel insecure about it anymore. be proud of it, inumaki-senpai."

his eyes widened at your words and gave you a small smile. he soon nodded at you and you sat back in relieve. 

"y/n, i'm no longer your senpai. i'll be your colleague soon. i don't know if this is too much to ask but... can you call me toge as you did last time?"

you were quite shock at his question and gave it some thought before nodding.

"sure, toge."

he smiled at you and soon it became silent again. you then remembered you haven't took a picture of the quote you were meaning to take before so you opened your phone once more. you pressed your camera button and closed the app. inumaki simply looked at you as he ate his ice cream in silence.

"you still love taking pictures, huh?"

"of course. being an instagram influencer is probably my side job now."

you said that with a laugh and he smiled at you.

"yeah, i've seen how much your instagram page has grown. that reminds me, maybe we should take a selfie to remember our first reunion after all these 5 years?"

"sure."

you reopened your camera app and switched it to selfie mode. you positioned your hand for the best angle and once you were satisfied with how it looked on your phone screen, you snapped a pic. 

"should i post this?"

"if you feel like it, then go on."

"alright then."

you switched to your instagram app and posted it on your instagram story, set to close friends. you didn't want your 'fans' to get the wrong idea or something, after all. you also added the writing "look who i met~" and tagged inumaki's instagram handle. you then erased the app and turned off your phone as you placed it back on top of the table in front of you. it became silence for a little while until he asked the question you knew he would ask sooner or later as you took another lick of your ice cream.

"i don't mean to intrude into your private life, but i'm curious. how's it going with that boyfriend of yours?"

you looked down at your ice cream which was on your right hand and bit your lip.

"kamo? i broke up with him already."

"oh? why?"

"he was too old-fashioned for my taste."

inumaki hummed at your response and you swore you saw a sign of relieve in his face. you were also intrigued at his own personal life. so you looked up at him and tilted your head.

"and you? have you got a girl yet?"

he looked back into your eyes and sighed. after a while, a response came from his mouth.

"...no. not yet."

you nodded slowly.

"i see. i hope you find someone that would be perfect for you soon."

he smiled at you.

"you too. although my heart has been telling me all this time that..."

you felt his warm hand softly touch your left hand that was placed on top of the table and a blush crept up your cheeks. 

"you are the only one for me."

a/n: YESSS WE'RE DONEEEEE~ (*≧ω≦*)jkjk, we still have one more chapter to go~ (ﾉ'ヮ')ﾉ srsly tho, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR 900 READS!!! (๑˃ᴗ˂)ﻭ let's get to 1k!!! (♡˙︶˙♡)

p.s. idk why i chose an insurance company but i think working there is quite common now, isn't it? ;D

p.p.s. i saw a super old draft from 2022 which was a star wars fanfiction, do you guys want to read it? (o^ ^o)