A/N: Thank you for always being so patient with my updates!! Another long chapter but here you go! :)

--

Amu had been spending the past three hours going through every file in her laptop but she still couldn't seem to figure out what she had been working on for the past two weeks.

She held the position of a style advisor for Hirata Office for three years now and performed every task without a hiccup. However, today she felt as if she had just begun at a new company, not understanding anything she was staring at. 

"Kitagawa! What's going on?" Her boss exclaimed after running into the dressing room. "The press is already here yet none of our talents are dressed yet."

"I'm so sorry." Amu apologized, hurrying out of her chair to bow at the frantic woman. "I'm just trying to get back up to speed with everything."

"First, you skip out on work yesterday and now your performance had completely plummeted. There better be a good reason for this."

"I've been wanting to explain myself but you've been so busy all morning that I didn't get a chance.." Amu began.

"Oh- so it's my fault?"

"No! That's not what I meant!" The younger one apologized once more, this time wanting to crawl into a hole for miswording her reply. "I actually got into an accident during the earthquake and I lost a few weeks of my memory. To be honest, I don't know anything about today's event." 

After explaining the situation, Amu held her breath and hoped for her manager to come to a realization. Yet to her dismay, the woman decided to just shake her head, anger surfacing on her face. "I'm very disappointed in you. Seriously, the least you can do is make up a more realistic excuse. Losing your memory? This isn't a drama, hun."

Amu was stunned by her manager's blunt words. As the accusation repeated over and over again in the girl's mind, she attempted to put her own thoughts into words. However, before she could craft a response, her manager decided to put an end to the conversation.

 "I'm going to need your company badge, Kitagawa." The woman said, her hand extended out as if she was waiting for the card. 

"Eh?"

"I didn't want to do this but you were the one who originally wanted to be in charge of this event so obviously, you'll have to take responsibility for today's disaster. I wouldn't have minded if you'd just told me that you made an honest mistake- but going that far to create such a delusion just baffles me."

"Miss, I promise I'm telling the truth! If I may, I've been at this company for years now and-"

"Your badge." The woman repeated, this time in a much sharper tone. 

Amu fought against tears as she lifted her ID badge over her head before placing it in her manager's hands. She watched as the woman rolled the string around the card, bending it around the sides before shoving it into her jacket pocket. 

"You can leave now. I don't want you making a bigger mess than you've already had."

After her manager left the room, the younger one grabbed her bag and quickly rushed outside. Needing some time to recollect herself, she decided to sit on a bench in the back of the building and rested her eyes, letting the tears easily trail down her cheeks. 

"Kitagawa-san?" A voice suddenly called out.

Amu's eyes instantly fluttered open at the sound of the woman's voice. As soon as she recognized the person standing in front of her, she wiped her tears away and pressed her lips firmly together. "Matsuoka! I'm so sorry about today. You were probably looking forward to this event and I completely blew it for you."

"Hey, don't worry about it!" Mayu replied, taking the empty seat next to her. "I actually overheard the conversation between you and the director from before. Are you okay?" 

Amu nodded. "The past few days just have been really complicated for me. I feel like half of me is stuck in the past, and the other half is begging to move on. Does that even make sense?" 

"It totally does- in fact, that's also how I've actually been feeling recently," Mayu replied, leaning her back against the bench. "I know it's against company policies but I was actually in a relationship with this guy that I really loved, and still do. We dated for 2 years until his manager found out about us. We broke up just a month ago but it feels like it was only yesterday that we were together."

"I'm so sorry to hear that." Amu replied, lowering her shoulders. "I didn't know you were feeling that way this entire time." 

"No, don't be! In fact, it was a good thing that you didn't know, for legal purposes, that is." The older one chuckled. "I just wanted to tell you that you're not alone. There are going to be days where everything seems perfect and then suddenly life decides to pull the rug from underneath you. The both of us just have to keep walking on, despite how uncertain our paths might be." 

"Thanks, Mayu." Amu nodded. "I just wished that I could've gotten to know you earlier."

"I agree, Amu. I think we could be close friends too!" Mayu replied. Before she could continue on, her phone vibrated and she quickly glanced at it, sighing at the caller ID. "The director is looking for me now so I have to run but I really enjoyed talking with you!" Mayu explained, passing her phone to the latter.

"Let's connect on LINE. You can reach out to me if you need anything!"

--

After packing the last of his belongings, Ryosuke propped his crutches under both of his arms before slowly making his way over to the chair. On his way there, he stopped by a full-length mirror where he caught the sight of his own figure. 

Almost immediately, he could recognize how different he had become over the course of a few days. Ryosuke fixated his gaze on his ankle splint and closed his eyes, feeling frustrated once more about how he ended up this way. In fact, he was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn't realize another person had entered the room. 

"You okay there?" Daiki asked, sliding close the door behind him. He glanced around the room and noticed that everything has been packed already and he raised an eyebrow in speculation. "Did you do all of this?" 

Ryosuke nodded. "I couldn't really sleep last night so I decided to pack things up little by little." He explained, taking a seat in a nearby chair. "How's Satoko?" 

"Uhm, speaking of Satoko..." The older one began in a hesitant tone. "Did you two get a chance to properly talk about this living situation? I think something's up. She didn't say a single word when I went to pick up your belongings."

"I'm sure she's just upset about my decision." Ryosuke frowned. "I couldn't tell her about the ring so none of this probably made sense to her."

"That's not all, Ryo." Daiki sighed. "She seems... different? Satoko isn't the same person I saw a month ago and honestly, the same goes for you. Have you actually been truly happy with her or are you only getting engaged because you're afraid of ending a long relationship?" 

"I'm honestly happy..." Ryosuke replied, but even he knew that he couldn't lie to himself. "...Just not as much recently." He added.

The two sat in silence for a brief moment, both of them unsure what to say. After a while, the door opened once more and a familiar woman stepped in, pushing her bangs to the side as if she had been rushing through something. "Sorry for the delay." Rio apologized, taking in a deep breath. "Paperwork took a little longer than usual." 

Ryosuke's eyes immediately fell onto her figure. It was strange for him to not see Rio wear her white coat. Instead, it was replaced with a beige-colored one. Even her hair that was usually tied up in a ponytail was let down for the first time, letting the silky long strands fall past her shoulders.

"Is something wrong?" She asked, noticing the boy's stunned expression. 

"No." Ryosuke replied, redirecting his gaze with a stern expression.

"Anyways..." Rio began again. "Thanks for offering to drive us, Dai-chan."

"Yeah, of course." Daiki responded. "I wouldn't recommend taking a cab now that the two of you are living together, for safety reasons. You don't want a stranger knowing where you live." 

"Right." The girl replied, lowering her eyelids halfway. She had spent the entire night mentally preparing to live with this man for a month but she had completely forgotten to factor in that he was an adored celebrity.

"Everything will be okay." Ryosuke assured her after noticing Rio's concerned expression. 

Rio was taken back by the boy's sudden sincerity. However, before she could reply, Ryosuke continued on as his usual self.

"Just don't do anything stupid that can get us in trouble."

--

After arriving at Rio's apartment unit, the girl opened the door and stepped to the side, letting Ryosuke slowly make his way in.

"Huh, so this is what the infamous Yamada Rio comes home to," Ryosuke commented, glancing around her living roo