Ryosuke was anxious as his steps walked the path toward Suzuki’s residence. The awful words he just read kept bothering him. How could someone bash other people that harsh? Cursing and wishing someone to die because they don’t like someone was too intolerable. Even, some of the bashing sounded like he was their property. Heck, he was owned by none, not even his fans.

He intended to push the doorbell, but saw a new intercom instead. Grandma Suzuki did not use one before. Shrugging it off, he pushed the button, and soon someone answered. It was a woman’s voice. He did not recognize the voice, though.

“Is Shida-san at home?” he asked.

“Sorry, there is no one here with that name,” the voice answered.

He frowned deeply, then initiated another approach, “I’m Yamada Ryosuke from the next door. Is Grandma Suzuki at home?”

He heard a noise from the intercome, sounded like the woman was talking with someone. And a few seconds after, the woman replied, “Please wait for a moment.”

Soon enough, the door was opened. He was hoping to see Mirai, or Grandma Suzuki, but he met a middle age woman he did not recognize instead. Just as he stepped inside after being invited to, a man emerged and greeted him while the woman excused herself.

“Yamada-kun. It’s been awhile, isn’t it?”

He bowed his head slightly recognizing that the man was Suzuki Kaji, Grandma Suzuki’s only son.

“Suzuki-san, good afternoon.”

The man smiled warmly, greeting back, then added, “You’ve grown up, ne.”

He chuckled awkwardly as response. The last time he met the older was about two or three years ago, he wasn’t sure.

“Ah, forgive me. You come to meet Mother?” Kaji-san asked.

Remembering his initial purpose, he asked, “Pardon me, but may I meet Shida Mirai instead? She is Grandma Suzuki’s caretaker.”

At this, Kaji’s mouth curved down in a slight frown. Inhaling a mild sigh, Kaji answered, “I know her, but unfortunately she isn’t here anymore.”

“She is not here? Then where is she?”

Shrugging his shoulders, Kaji-san muttered, “If I know then maybe I can persuade her to return.” Kaji-san gestured him to follow, and he did as he asked for.

They headed to a bedroom, and when Kaji-san knocked on the door, the man asking, “Mother, may I come in?”

“No, unless you bring Mirai back, I don’t want to meet you!” came the stern reply, so much like Grandma Suzuki, and that made Ryosuke flinched.

He heard Kaji-san heaved a sigh before bellowing once more, “Yamada-kun is here. Don’t you want to meet him either?”

“Ryosuke?” the more soft tone was heard.

He took the initiative to answer, “Yes, Grandma. It’s me, Ryosuke.”

They heard quick steps coming closer and Kaji-san once again heaved a sigh. As the door was pulled open, Grandma Suzuki stepped out and almost as though assaulting him as soon as she spotted him.

“Ryosuke, you can bring Mirai back, right? They couldn’t take her away just like that!”

He threw a confused glance at Kaji-san who then explained to him while restraining the histeric mother of his.

“A few days ago, her office sent us a notice that they would replace Mirai with another person because Mirai was needed for another post. When her replacement came, Mirai immediately left with Akira.”

“You are a diplomat, Kaji. You should be able to bring Mirai back. They have terminated the contract without our agreement!” Grandma Suzuki reprimanded her son.

Kaji-san looked helpless when explaining, “I’ve told you, Mother, that you signed the contract with the office, not with Mirai herself. So, it’s in their right if they decide to replace Mirai with another. That is also mentioned in the contract.”

He could not describe his feeling as he watched silently the interaction between the mother and the son. He was at loss. Finding out that Mirai was no longer working for Grandma Suzuki came like a thunderstrike for him.

He took silent steps backward, while his hosts did not notice. His heart beat frantically. At a point, he spun around and ran, leaving the residence and ignoring the voices that called out to him. In every step he took, the question rang out.

Where are you, Mirai?

He took out his phone and quickly dialed Mirai’s number, but no matter how many times he tried he was always answered by a voicemail service. Getting worried and frustated at the same time, he left messages in her voice-mailbox.

“Shida-chan, where are you? Can we meet? I need to talk to you. Please, answer me.”

His calls weren’t picked up, so he sent her messages with the same intention: finding out her whereabout.

“Ryosuke?”

He looked up as he heard Mika’s voice called him when he entered his house.

When they met eyes, he saw her hesitantly asked,“Were you looking for Mirai-chan just now?”

He only stared at his little sister. His brain was too slow to process a response because it was crowded with his worry over Mirai.

“Yes,” he eventually answered.

Fidgeting, Mika told him, “Actually, she ca