“Yui!” Ivan screamed from his nightmare.
Ivan was all alone, it had been a week since Yui left without a goodbye.
He stared at his empty room to realize this again. He wanted to stay in bed, but staying in bed won’t bring Yui back, and the schedule wouldn’t stop for him. After eating some leftovers and cleaning up a bit, Ivan went straight to work.
He entered the engine room and started working without saying a word. When he worked, he did not have to think, until he needed a rest.
“Ivan?” Hans tapped his shoulder.
“Y-Yes!” Ivan was startled.
Hans looked at Ivan’s scruffy face and said nothing. The duo had an uncomfortable standoff.
“I’m fine! Nothing’s wrong!” Ivan gave Hans a thumbs up and forced a smile. Hans couldn’t get mad seeing Ivan like this.
“If you feel sick, you should stay home,” Hans sighed. “This will affect our work.”
“I am not sick,” Ivan smiled, but his eyes were bitter. “But Yui…”
They didn’t talk further. Ivan rushed through the schedule and left work early like usual. He went for dinner by himself and told the waitress to give him something casual. The waitress didn’t know what to do with that, so she asked Lotti what to do, as well as letting her know that Ivan arrived.
Lotti looked at the calendar, it had been quite a while since he last came. Jealousy, worry, and frustration – complicated emotions, but they didn’t stop her from taking care of Ivan. She got the scraps she saved in making the Tier-0 meal and cooked a three-course by herself. She asked someone to serve the dishes and hide, to see if Ivan had noticed her effort.
However, Ivan just sat there and stared at the food blankly. Five minutes passed, the food was getting cold, Lotti couldn’t help but walk up to him.
“Hey,” Lotti was irritated. “This is made with natural pork, you know how rare that is?”
“Ack, my apologies,” Ivan noticed his mistake and started eating immediately. Ivan’s eyes sparkled with astonishment. “Very tasty!”
“Of course, they are good, I cooked it myself,” Lotti announced with pride.
“Very tasty…” Ivan couldn’t hold his feeling anymore and cried.
“Whoa! What’s happening? Where does it hurt?” Lotti was frightened.
“No, nothing,” Ivan wiped his tears. “The food tasted too good, I haven’t eaten anything like this for a long time.”
“You sacred me!” Lotti was confused and protested. “I thought you needed nothing else other than your pretty girl.”
“Yui… has been gone for a week now,” Ivan smiled bitterly.
“Wait what?” Lotti was a bit happy knowing that.
She knew it was inappropriate to think like that. Lotti got closer and slapped him on his back forcefully. “Don’t worry! She will be back soon!”
“What are you talking about?” Ivan was bewildered by Lotti.
“Sit Straight! Stand Up! March Forward! You don’t want her see you like this?” Lotti kept slapping Ivan hard.
Ivan was bemused by Lotti’s enthusiasm, he couldn’t help but laugh. After all, nothing cures the heart better than human touch.
“You’re right,” Ivan nodded with a smile.
ns 15.158.61.6da2
