When Max finished with the grind, the sun had almost set already. It took longer than expected.
"Phew..."
Exhaling, he took a look at his body. Sweat was formed and wet his body, making it cling to his skin. Looking at his condition, he thought.
'Let's take a shower and then get dinner at Nina's place.'
It had been a long time since he visited the restaurant. He was curious about what she had been doing lately. Besides, he wanted to talk about tomorrow's outing to the aquarium. That sounded like a nice rest time, and he also could livestream the outing as a vlog if Nina didn't mind.
With a quick decision, he took a shower, changed his clothes, and exited his mansion. Max always greeted the security to keep their relationship good. Who knew if he needed a key to the roof again in the future?
Walking through the street, he quickly arrived at the restaurant. It was still too early for dinner, so it was pretty much empty, with only two customers inside.
Just like when he first came to the restaurant after he got his memories back, the short-haired waitress inside beamed with a happy smile and waved her hand upon seeing him.
"Max!" She shouted energetically, approaching him while clutching on an empty tray.
Smiling, he waved his hand back at her. She stopped before him and asked.
"Are you here to eat? Or are you just visiting because you miss me?" She asked, giggling playfully.
"I've come to eat, Nina. Can you bring me the spicy noodle set with grilled pork belly?"
"Ah, what a shame. So you don't miss me?"
"Well, I do." He said, "But I am too hungry to think about that right now. I skipped lunch earlier."
"Excuses." Nina pouted, making Max look troubled.
But then, she smiled and giggled.
"I was just joking, don't look like that. I know that you have just finished streaming. Ah, you can sit at your usual place." She said, turning around and showing him his seat.
He followed suit and sat down in his usual place. Following that, Nina gave him a cold water she took from the counter.
"Do you mind if I eat with you, Max? My shift will be over soon." Looking a bit hesitant, she said, "There is something I have to talk about with you."
"Hmm?" Max raised his eyebrows. He guessed that something was related to the outing tomorrow. "Sure. I don't mind at all."
"Yay! Just wait for a minute, alright? I will rush my dad to make it quick but delicious!"
"For a long time, I have been wondering whether I should go to culinary school or not. My dad said that I should go, but I hesitated. It's been a year since we graduated from high school, and you know... I finally decided."
A beautiful smile bloomed on Nina's face. She looked like she was relieved from something that burdened her for so long.
"That's great." Max smiled with her. Then, he asked curiously, "Does the school require you to attend physically? I remember that some higher schools only require VR attendance."
"Yes." Nina confirmed with a nod. "It's cooking, so we need to learn it with our real body. No matter how advanced VR is, it still can't perfectly recreate reality."
"That's right."
He had to agree with that. Even now, he still longed to do parkour IRL because it felt different than when he did it in VR.
"Where is this school, by the way?"
"Hmm, it's southwest of the United Nations, directly opposite this city. If I use Sky Rail, then it would take me around 8 to 10 hours, I think? I am not sure. And I probably will leave next week because I was already accepted. I have talked about this with dad, too."
"That's far... And so suddenly."
Sky Rail could be comparable to normal flight in his past life. 8 to 10 hours of travel showed how far that school was located.
"Hehe, sorry. I could only tell you right now because... Well, this is also a sudden decision from me too. I only tried to apply, but who knows that I got accepted? It's a miracle."
Nina ruffled the back of her head. She was sad to be separated from her friend too, but she held it in.
"But, Max! We can always meet in VR whenever you miss me! A call is the only thing you need."
"Are you sure it's not the opposite?" Max smirked, teasing her. Then, his smile disappeared as he realized something.
'That's right...' He thought, 'I have memories of being together with Nina for so long. Not being able to see her directly for some time might feel a bit lonely.'
Sighing, he smiled softly again. She didn't show her sadness, so he also couldn't do that.
"I guess we will have to do our best to have fun together tomorrow then. I will buy your ticket to the aquarium. Think of it as my congratulatory gift."
Nina blinked a few times before bursting into laughter. "I guess so! Let's have fun!"
Many people entered the restaurant. They were bustling with their own activities as the part-time waitress did her best to serve them.
At the corner of the restaurant, two youngsters were laughing merrily. No one knew that behind their laughter was a painful temporary separation after being together for many years.
Still, their smiles prevail. Because they knew it wasn't an eternal separation.