🍚😠 Dinner at the Mansion
That night, Miko sat stiffly at the long dinner table 🍽️
Poking her rice 🍚👉 like it had personally insulted her 😤
Stab.
Pause.
Stab again.
Her grandfather—the legendary underworld boss—watched quietly 👁️
Not angry.
Not smiling.
Just observing 🧠
He sipped his tea ☕
Steam rising slowly 🌫️
"Something troubling you, Miko-chan?" he asked calmly 😌
Miko froze 🧊
Chopsticks stopped mid-air 🥢😳
Her shoulders stiffened.
Her back straightened.
Then—
💥💥💥
"IfollowedBarfi-sanontheirdateandIhidbehindabushandspyonhimandChichi!"
Silence.
Grandpa blinked 👀
Once.
Twice.
He slowly placed his teacup down ☕⬇️
Very carefully.
"…You followed a boy," he repeated 😐
Miko covered her face with both hands 🙈
"I wasn't spying! I was… observing!"
Grandpa tilted his head slightly 🤨
"The difference?"
"Spying is… spying!"
"Observing is… for safety!" 🛡️
He raised an eyebrow 👁️⬆️
"Miko-chan… did you take binoculars?"
"…Yes." 😳
"And sunglasses?"
"…Yes." 😳
"And hide inside a bush?" 🌳
"…Yes." 😳
He nodded slowly.
Once.
"Spying."
Miko groaned into her hands 😩💔
💓🌀 The Confession
"I didn't like the feeling," she burst out 😣
"When he went on a date…"
"My stomach felt tight…"
"I kept thinking about him…"
"And—and—"
Her voice cracked 💔
Words collapsed into silence.
Her cheeks burned 🔥
Ears red 🌸
Grandpa leaned back in his chair 😌
Arms folded.
"Ah…"
"So it has begun."
"What has begun!?" Miko panicked 😨
"The famous problem of the heart," he said simply ❤️
Miko blinked 😶
"You care for the boy," he continued 🧠
"You worry for him."
"You watch over him."
"And today…"
"Someone else stepped into his life."
Miko swallowed hard 😖
Her fingers curled into her sleeves.
"I don't like Chichi…"
"No," Grandpa corrected gently 🤍
"You don't like that Chichi likes him."
Silence fell 💭
Heavy.
Her heartbeat filled her ears 💓
🤍🛡️ Grandpa's Wisdom
"Come here," Grandpa said softly.
Miko stood 🚶♀️
Walked over.
Sat beside him 🪑
He placed a warm hand on her head ✋🤍
"Miko… understand this."
She looked up 👀
"When people are broken… like Barfi…"
"The first hand that reaches them becomes special."
Her eyes widened 😳
"He trusts you."
"He listens to you."
"He calms down around you."
Her cheeks warmed 🌸
"But," Grandpa added, voice serious ⚠️
"This is also a dangerous time for him."
Miko nodded nervously 😟
"What should I do, Grandpa?"
He smiled—
Not like a crime lord.
Like a grandfather 😊
"Don't chase him."
"Don't force yourself near him."
"Don't fight other girls."
"…Then what?" she whispered 🤍
"Be the one who understands him best."
Something settled inside her 🌱
Quiet.
Warm.
Grandpa chuckled 😂
"And next time…"
"Don't hide in a bush."
Miko turned bright red 😳
"I-I won't!"
"Good," he said, lifting his teacup ☕
"Because if you embarrass our business family again…"
"I will personally choose your husband."
Miko choked on air 😵💥
"GRANDPA!!!"
He smiled calmly 😌
And—
She smiled too 🌸
Soft.
Shy.
☕📞 Back at the Café
The café was quiet that afternoon 🌤️
Too quiet.
Barfi sat on a stool 🪑
Staring at his repaired bicycle 🚲
Like it was giving him life advice 🧠
Walter Blue was peeling an orange violently 🍊💥
For absolutely no reason.
Peel flew.
Orange suffered.
Barfi sighed 😮💨
Time for the hardest thing in the world.
Asking Laddu for dating advice 😰
📱😵 The Call
Ring 📞
Once.
Twice.
"HEYYY SON!!" Laddu shouted 📢
"What you want, MY CHILD?"
Walter snorted 🤣
Almost swallowed orange peel 😵
"I… have a date," Barfi said quietly 😐
Walter gasped dramatically 😱
"My boy is becoming a man!"
On the phone—
👏👏👏
"NICE!! VERY NICE!!"
"So tell me," Laddu asked proudly 😎
"How many girls you dated before?"
"Zero."
💀
Laddu coughed like his soul left his body 🤧💥
"ZERO!?"
"My brother! I had… uh… 51 ex-girlfriends!"
Walter froze mid-chew 🧊
"51!?"
Barfi almost dropped the phone 😨
"Laddu… how?"
Laddu sighed like a war veteran 🎖️
"I only date weird girls."
"Psychos."
"Dangerous ones."
"The type who can beat me up and still ask for chocolate." 🍫
Walter nodded seriously 🤔
"That explains everything."
"OYE! I CAN HEAR YOU!" Laddu yelled 📢
"And I can smell your bad life choices!" Walter yelled back 🤢
Barfi tried not to laugh 😅
🧠📜 Dating Wisdom (Questionable)
"What should I do on a date?" Barfi asked.
Laddu spoke like a sage 🧙♂️
A very stupid sage.
"Be normal."
"Be polite."
"Listen more than you speak."
"And smile."
Barfi repeated softly 😊
"Smile…"
"Yes! Gentle smile!"
"Not your psycho smile!"
Walter whispered 🤨
"He has a psycho smile?"
"Apparently," Barfi whispered back 😐
Then—
"CALL YOUR FATHER ME ANYTIME!" Laddu shouted
"OKAY LOVE YOU SON BYE—"
💥
Crash.
Scream.
Thud.
📵
Silence.
Barfi stared at the phone 😶
"…He will survive, right?"
Walter shrugged 🤷♂️
"Fifty-fifty."
👀🌑 Someone Listening
Barfi sighed 😮💨
A small nervous flutter in his chest 💓
Walter nudged him 🤜
"If Laddu dated 51 dangerous women…"
"You can handle one polite girl."
Barfi nodded slowly 😐
"…I hope so."
At the café doorway—
Miko stood silently 👁️
Expression unreadable 😶
Eyes narrowed just a little 😑
A date, huh…?
She stepped inside quietly 🌫️
And the air changed.