they say that once you fall in love with someone- you'll get the chance to spend a lifetime with them.

oh how wrong these people were.

because falling in love isn't just as easy as how you count every letter in the alphabet- it was like a neverending maze of problems and doubts.

growing up and maturing made the two seventeen-year-olds realize that- and it didn't just dawn down upon them like how the sakura blossom kisses the green, dewy ground.

no, it fell upon them like an unexpected storm- blowing away their promises to each other and onto the dark grey sky, never to be seen again.

it was a dull, sunday afternoon in the late spring of 2007 when a hurricane came crashing down on them.

l/n y/n just got back from a business trip in europe, wanting nothing more than to be welcomed in the arms of the guy that she loved, mitsuya takashi.

the two kept a good communication the whole time that she was gone, and although she would like to admit that she and the lilac-haired male had a healthy relationship- it's quite the opposite.

there were times of miscommunication between the two- mostly because of the young manager's busy schedule and the male's priorities in the tokyo manji gang.

it seems as if now was the time that the heavens were testing their limits, pressing down on their buttons until one of them snaps.

and that's exactly what happened.

because on that same, dull afternoon was when y/n got to feel the pricking cold of the storm above her.

on that same spot, in that same park was mitsuya takashi standing beside a girl with blonde hair.

the two seemed to be close- closer than what she was comfortable with. but you know, the young manager wasn't the type to lash out without knowing more about the situation and decided to lay low to see what was happening.

in her mind, she wanted to understand what was going on before she had to make a move.

the (h/c) haired girl got some snippets on their conversation- and it seems that the two knew each other very well because they were catching up on what they had missed in each other's lives.

apparently this girl was shiba yuzuha, a girl who just came back after two years of living with her parents to get out of her abusive older brother's household.

a wave of relief dawned down on her, smiling to herself that this was nothing more than a friendly get-together between two old, good friends.

did she approach them? no.

she wanted to give the two friends some space to talk more- the young manager isn't possessive over mitsuya, she wanted to give him space to breathe.

meeting him could wait another day, right?

well apparently it could, but their relationship couldn't last for another year.

on that same spot, in that same park- mitsuya takashi broke it off with her.

"i'm sorry, but we just don't have time for each other anymore. you have your company to handle and i have my family and the gang. it's better of this way, i don't want to give you false hope."

no no, it didn't give her false hope- but it instead broke it.

and as she stood at that same spot, she watched his back growing farther and farther away from her vision- until only a blob of his lilac hair could be seen.

the sky cried with her that day, pouring its emotions down on the asphalt that they used to drive by at.

'it's better off this way'

was what she would always tell herself every day for the past twelve years- leading up to that damned wedding.

growing up made her realize that it's alright to lose your first love- but it's hard to forget about them. you'll start seeing them in other people, craving for that longing that your heart oh so desires.

and that's what she was doing with her very own assistant.

"miss l/n, are you listening?"

the (h/c) haired woman was snapped out of her trance, eyes darting towards kokonoi hajime who was sitting there on the sofa chair with his brows arched.

dark eyes noticed how spaced out she was acting today, and wondered what has gotten the young manager that way.

"oh, i'm sorry. could you please repeat that?"

"i was just telling you about your dad's request for a banquet, welcoming in bonten as your new sponsors."

now it was the turn for y/n to raise a brow at this, looking down on her desk to see that indeed, her father did request for a private banquet with bonten.

she didn't know if she should thank her father or not for sending something to keep her mind off of things- but nevertheless, sighed and skimmed the written document.

a banquet with the top executives of the bouncing ball corporation and all executives of bonten- seems easy enough to please.

(e/c) eyes met with the silver-haired man's dark ones, standing up and taking her blazer and bag with her.

"mister kokonoi, will you accompany me in checking some probably venues for the banquet before we make preparations?"

the man nodded, standing up as he followed behind the female.

"please drop the formalities and just call me kokonoi." y/n side-eyed him, humming at this as she nodded.

"alright kokonoi."

and with that, the two made their way towards the elevators and pressed on the parking lot button- the soft humming from the speakers serving as their white noise.

from above, he studied the young woman as he would to a book.

kokonoi noticed how she would always part her hair whenever it's off the casual bun that she was normally seen in- earrings made of true gold and the tattoo on her neck causing a wave of familiarity dawning down on him.

he had seen it once, twelve years ago. pattern sketched with ink on the side of ryuguji ken's head.

does the two have any connections with each other? relatives maybe? no that's highly unlikely.

or was there some deeper meaning into this plain, black ink that's etched onto her (s/c) skin?

"kokonoi? we're already here." he was snapped out of the trance once y/n's soft-spoken voice reached his ears.

true to her words, they were indeed standing in front of the open elevator doors- peering at the seemingly empty parking lot.

the silver-haired man cleared his throat, walking out trailing behind her as the two started to look for the familiar matte bugatti that the young manager owned.

"if i may ask, where are we going first?" the (h/c) haired woman hummed, spotting her car from the distance.

"well we are hosting a banquet, so we're going to look into the ana intercontinental first to see if we can book the place."

kokonoi hajime looked at her in amusement, her formalities and standards for a simple banquet hall never failing to amuse him.

he was never the one to understand how rich people spend their money of course- but by the looks of it they don't really think much about what they're buying.

y/n took out her car keys and gave them to the silver-haired man who raised a brow at her actions- the young woman simply placing it onto his palms as she took out her phone.

"you'll be driving us there while i call see colleagues for more available halls in case this one's already booked."

the man didn't know if she was fooling around or what, but she immediately went to the passenger seat and waited for him to enter the driver's side.

he let out a small huff of annoyance, an amused grin on his face as he looked down on the car keys that were on his palms.

"i guess i'm her chauffeur now. i need to demand a pay raise for it or something."

kokonoi entered the car, the faint smell of lavender and lemon welcoming his senses at (e/c) eyes looked at him in wonder.

"are you alright? you've been spacing out recently."

"are you alright hajime?"

now he wasn't one to compare a person to another, but his mind can't help but to try and find a resemblance on his first love towards her. his heart desperately clinging on with false hope.

his dark eyes met with her bright ones, looking into those deep (e/c) pools of hers that he had been afraid to look into- in fear that he may never resurface and stay there in their depths forever.

a simple, honest mistake.

"i'm alright. let's go, shall we?"

unbeknownst to him, the (h/c) haired woman was doing the same thing to him.

this was a never-ending game of 'try and spot the difference' where the difference is painfully obvious but these two adults are just too blind to see through them.