Some time ago, in the Spring Room.
For some reason, Haruno kept feeling that the waiter who just left was Yuu.
If it wasn't him, when did this waiter clean the terrace?
Kouichirou was in the room, and he hadn't dirtied the terrace either, so why would a waiter come to clean it?
There was clearly a major logical flaw here, but whenever Haruno tried to think deeper, she felt like a math dunce attempting advanced calculus—her mind went blank, her thoughts kept hitting a wall, and she could only give up.
"Haruno, what's wrong?" Her mother noticed her daughter daydreaming and turned to ask.
Haruno quickly snapped out of it, giving a nonchalant smile: "Nothing."
Saori narrowed her eyes slightly, perhaps sensing something?
But she didn't press further, instead turning her gaze to the Yuuki family group, engaging in dull small talk.
Responding to the atmosphere on instinct, Haruno's mind drifted, starting to think about Yuu.
In fact, since waking up this morning, her mind had been filled with him.
Memories with him, things she wanted to do with him in the future—she thought of a jumble of things, using them to pass the tedious socializing time.
(Where is he? What's he doing? Is there someone else with him? Is he thinking of me too…?)
(And, I want to see him.)
She desperately wanted to see him, Haruno prayed for it.
So when Yuu actually came to find her, the satisfaction in that moment made her realize for the first time that her heart could beat so fast.
If the lie was fake, it would eventually melt like snow under the sun.
How long could this heartbeat last before it melted?
If it never melted…
Even if their relationship was full of calculations, even if it was fake—to her, it was surely the most perfect "reality."
(To think I'd have such teenage girl thoughts? How foolish.) Haruno couldn't help but scold herself.
As an older sister, she'd had to be more mature than her younger sibling since childhood, more mature than her peers.
After turning 20, she was supposed to think from an adult's perspective, not act rashly or selfishly.
So, what made a girl unconsciously shed her maturity, act recklessly, and have her IQ drop?
The answer was simple.
It was the magic that made her treat a lie as reality.
"Haruno, are you in love?"
Still in a Japanese-style setting, in an elegantly decorated room, Saori suddenly asked her.
After finishing talks with the Yuuki family and returning to the room they'd rented for the day, Saori sent her husband away, saying she wanted to discuss something privately with her.
As mother and daughter, Haruno quickly understood and answered with a calm smile.
"Why would you say that, Mother?"
Saori gracefully poured two cups of tea, saying casually: "You might hide it from the Yuuki family, but to me, not only are you clearly uninterested in Kouichirou, sometimes you look at him like he's a rival—no, like an insect, with a tone of disgust."
Her hand holding the teacup froze. Haruno opened her mouth in shock: "…Was I that bad?"
"Whether it was bad or not, you know best."
Saori always spoke concisely and sharply, her gaze so piercing it made people uneasy—truly hard to deal with.
Haruno puffed out her cheeks slightly, bringing the teacup to her lips, muttering: "Fine, I don't like him."
"Then who do you like?" Saori pressed immediately, her tone still soft but with an undeniable firmness.
"I've been around, so I can tell—you've been thinking about 'your boyfriend' since this morning, haven't you?"
"Ha… Spot-on guess."
Like chugging a beer, Haruno tilted her head back, pouring the tea down her throat, then exhaled warmly and shrugged: "I like a guy younger than me, met him outside. For now, it seems like unrequited love."
Without elaboration, she admitted it frankly.
Not because excuses were useless—her mother was the type who knew boundaries. Once Haruno clearly showed resistance, her mother wouldn't force her to say more.
But afterward, her mother would use every means to uncover what she wanted to know.
Facing the great demon of the Yukinoshita family, Haruno didn't think she could hide it for long, so she might as well confess now, end the conversation quickly, and go meet Yuu for their date.
After her words, a brief silence followed.
"You're finally ready to date…"
For some reason, Saori sighed in relief, but her eyes suddenly sharpened, her tone turning serious: "I won't ask further. Every girl has her dignity, and even as mother and daughter, we shouldn't touch such personal matters."
"I just want to know, how far have you two gone? You haven't gone to bed yet, have you?"
Wasn't that personal enough?
Rolling her eyes inwardly, Haruno suddenly smiled, shaping her hands like bird beaks, touching each other.
Then her middle fingers intertwined tightly, clearly mimicking a "lip kiss" gesture.
"Not past that line, but about this far… And it's every day."
"…"
Saori fell silent, slightly closing her eyes as if suppressing a headache. She pressed her hand to her temple, letting out a long sigh.
Then she looked up with an icy stare.
Haruno awkwardly withdrew her inappropriate hand gesture, lowered her head, and gave a sheepish smile, not daring to act cheeky in front of her mother.
"…We just talked about dignity, and you do this."
Shaking her head, Saori lifted her teacup, sipping slightly as if calming herself: "Fine, maybe I don't understand today's youth. Since your feelings are this deep…"
Before finishing, she froze, staring in disbelief.
"Wait, you said it's still unrequited love?"
Haruno blinked, her face innocent: "Maybe? But I think he's almost into me—just one step away."
"That one step hasn't been taken, and you're already stealing third base?"
Saori clutched her chest, panting softly, as if about to pull out heart medication.
Haruno clapped in admiration: "That's my mother—great analogy."
And immediately received an even sharper cold glare in return.
"What's going on here? Explain it properly!"
"Haha…"
Her final resistance proved futile. Haruno slumped her shoulders, like a condemned prisoner ready for sentencing, giving a weak smile.
She glanced at the clock, mentally prepared herself, then, in a storytelling tone, broadly recounted her relationship with Yuu to her mother.
Of course, to keep Yuu out of trouble with her mother, she had to take the blame herself.
So in the end, "A girl fell in love with a rental boyfriend and forced him into an improper relationship with her"—
That was the story of how she met this man.