Bound By Fate

Chapter 9: Family, Friends

By the time lunch rolled around, my head was still spinning. The whole thing with Kai, the jerks from earlier, and finding out about his family… it was a lot to take in. I needed to process it all, but at the same time, I didn’t want to overthink things. He had made it clear that his family’s reputation didn’t matter, at least not to him, and I didn’t want to make it weird between us.

Still, I felt like I needed a break from the intensity that always seemed to come with being around him lately. A break from thinking about… whatever was going on between us.

As I made my way to the cafeteria, I scanned the crowded room for a familiar face, hoping I could find someone who wasn’t Kai for a change. It wasn’t that I didn’t enjoy hanging out with him—I did, more than I should probably admit—but I couldn’t be stuck in his orbit all the time. I needed to remind myself that I had my own life too.

“Lina! Over here!” a voice called out from across the room.

I turned to see Aiko waving at me from a table near the windows, her bright pink hair standing out like a beacon in the sea of students. She was sitting with Ren, who was flipping through his notes with a bored expression, and Hana, who was deep in conversation with someone across the table.

A wave of relief washed over me as I made my way toward them. I hadn’t spent much time with my friends lately, not since everything started getting so complicated with Kai. It felt like I was coming up for air after being submerged for too long.

“Hey, guys,” I greeted, sliding into the empty seat next to Aiko.

“You’ve been MIA,” Aiko teased, giving me a playful nudge. “Too busy with your secret Alpha boyfriend?”

I nearly choked on my water. “He’s not—wait, how do you even—?”

She grinned, clearly enjoying my flustered reaction. “Relax, I’m just messing with you. But come on, we’ve seen you with him. You two have been spending a lot of time together lately.”

Ren looked up from his notes, raising an eyebrow. “Kai Igarashi, right? Didn’t know you were running with the elite crowd now.”

I groaned, dropping my head onto the table. “It’s not like that. We’re just working on a project together.”

“Sure, that’s all it is,” Aiko said, her tone dripping with sarcasm. “Because we all know how boring school projects are.”

I shot her a look, but she just laughed.

“Honestly, though,” Hana chimed in, finally turning away from her conversation, “you should bring him around sometime. It’d be nice to meet him.”

I wasn’t sure how to respond to that. Introducing Kai to my friends felt like another step in whatever weird dance we were doing, and I wasn’t sure if I was ready for that yet.

“I’ll think about it,” I said, hoping that would be enough to change the subject.

We spent the rest of lunch catching up on normal stuff—homework, gossip, Hana’s latest crush—and for a little while, I almost felt like my old self again. It was nice to just sit back and laugh with my friends without the weight of everything else hanging over me.

As the bell rang and we all started to pack up, my phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out to see a text from my brother, Kenji.

Hey, are you free later? Need to talk.

I frowned, typing out a quick reply. Yeah, what’s up?

Meet me at home. It’s important.

My stomach twisted as I read his message. Kenji wasn’t the type to ask for something like this unless it was serious. I hadn’t seen much of him lately—he was always busy with work and his own life—but the fact that he wanted to talk now, out of the blue, had me on edge.

“You okay?” Aiko asked, noticing the look on my face.

I nodded, shoving my phone back into my pocket. “Yeah, I just need to go home after school. Family stuff.”

She gave me a sympathetic smile. “If you need to talk, you know we’re here, right?”

“I know,” I said, grateful for the offer. “Thanks.”

---

Later that day, I made my way back home, the familiar streets passing by in a blur as I tried to figure out what Kenji could possibly want to talk about. He was waiting for me when I got there, sitting on the front steps with his arms crossed, looking more serious than I’d seen him in a while.

“Kenji,” I greeted, sitting down beside him. “What’s going on?”

He sighed, running a hand through his hair before turning to face me. “I’ve been meaning to talk to you about this for a while, but things kept getting in the way.”

I raised an eyebrow. “What is it?”

Kenji hesitated for a moment before speaking. “I’m leaving the city, Lina.”

His words hit me like a punch to the gut. “What? Why?”

“I got a job offer,” he explained, his voice calm but firm. “It’s a big opportunity, and it’s something I can’t turn down.”

“But… you’re leaving? Just like that?”

“I’ve been thinking about it for a while,” he admitted. “I didn’t want to tell you until I was sure, but now everything’s in place. I’ll be gone in a few weeks.”

I stared at him, struggling to process what he was saying. Kenji had always been the one constant in my life—the one person I could count on, no matter what. The idea of him leaving, of being on my own, felt like the ground was shifting beneath me.

“You’ll be fine,” Kenji said softly, as if reading my thoughts. “You’ve always been stronger than you think.”

I didn’t know what to say. Part of me wanted to argue, to beg him to stay, but I knew that wouldn’t change anything. Kenji had always done what was best for him, and I couldn’t hold him back.

“When are you leaving?” I asked quietly.

“Two weeks.”

I nodded, trying to keep my emotions in check. “I guess I’ll have to get used to being without you then.”

Kenji chuckled, though there was a hint of sadness in his eyes. “You’ll manage. and besides, you've always got Ethen.”

We sat in silence for a while, the weight of his news hanging between us. I wasn’t sure what was going to happen next, but for now, I was just grateful for the time we had left.

---

The next day at school, I couldn’t shake the heavy feeling Kenji’s announcement had left me with. I kept replaying our conversation in my head, trying to come to terms with the fact that he was really leaving. I wasn’t ready for that, but there wasn’t anything I could do to stop it.

Kai found me between classes, as usual. “You okay? You’ve been quiet today.”

I forced a smile, not wanting to dump all my family drama on him. “I’m fine. Just thinking about some stuff.”

“Anything you want to talk about?”

I shook my head. “Not right now.”

He nodded, not pushing any further, and I was grateful for that. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust him—it was just too much to deal with all at once.

As we walked through the halls, I caught sight of Aiko and the others sitting near the lockers. They waved me over, and for the first time in a while, I felt like I was exactly where I needed to be. Surrounded by people who knew me, supported me, and who—despite everything—would always be there.

And that, for now, was enough.