Flambéed Love (Story of Seasons / Harvest Moon Fanfiction)

Chapter 7: Disclosure

Weeks has passed since the day Minori and Fritz settled their passive dispute - the day they reconciled as friends, with help from their best pals. It was now approaching the middle of winter, where the harshest weather struck Oak Tree Town. The wind brought even the mightiest trees to its knees, and the cold could easily penetrate a human flesh exposed to it without the protection of warm clothing. On days when blizzard raided her farm, Minori's concern would escalate. 'Will my crops be all right? Is the barn enough to keep my animals warm?'

And especially during winter, it gets busier for Marian and Angela at the clinic as the number of patients rises. Minori herself was somewhat weak as a child, and even though she does feel under the weather at times, it was never terrible enough to prevent her from leaving the house.

In fact, things were going towards the right direction for Minori and the gang - her friendship with the boys was back to normal. While it does take a little bit of time to let go of the recent incident, both Minori and Fritz have made it clear in their own mind that it was something of the past; something that they should not dwell on. Raeger, upon understanding the success story of their reconciliation, has stopped placing some distance away from Minori, which he felt unusually grateful about - it annoyed him not being able to talk Minori freely. But even more than just removing that 'wall' between them, Minori and Raeger has become closer and closer each day. They were talking and joking more often, and they begun to share even more personal things about themselves. Minori was still conscious about her 'feelings' towards Raeger, but she brushed it off and decided that at most, he was just her eye candy.

After a long day at work today, Minori was starving. She was eating a lot more during winter, and sometimes she started to worry about her weight. But eating delicious food was far more important than such trivial issue. Even though she did gain some weight, Minori is perfectly under the healthy range and she still looked petite anyway. And so to 'reward' her hard work today, she decided that it was another time to treat herself with a good dinner from Raeger's restaurant.

...

"Raeeeegerr!! Good evening!" Minori exclaimed cheerfully as she swung open the entrance of the restaurant/the young chef's place of residence - yep, he lives just upstairs.

Normally, Raeger would greet Minori back warmly. But for some reason, his response today was a little bit disappointing..in fact, there was no response at all! Raeger looked down emptily while he continued wiping the shiny white plate in his hands.

Minori walked closer towards the bar so that the young chef could perhaps notice her..and maybe he'll hear her this time around. However, upon closer inspection, he somehow..looked pale. Concerned, Minori waved in front of Raeger, and asked, "Uhmm, hey Raeger. Are you alright?"

"Huh? Oh.. welcome Minori. Sorry, I'm just feeling a little.. dizzy, that's all." Raeger finally replied weakly.

Of course, Minori noticed his weak tone. She has always noticed things about him. 'Why is his voice..so weak? Wait, is he sweating?! In this cold?!'

"Raeger..you seemed pale. Are you sure you're alright? You're not sick are you?" Minori asked again.

Raeger shook his head. "No, I'm fine. I'll get over it soon." He then looked up to face Minori properly. "Anyway, what can I get you?"

Minori was not convinced..but well, if Raeger said so, she'll try to believe him. And anyway, she didn't want to be labelled off as annoying if she insisted and kept on asking him. "If you say so, Rae... Then I'll have one fried rice please!"