( when silence screams arc)
Hina said nervously,
"Please… stop."
Just as Tsubaki was about to kick Haruki, Hina suddenly stepped in and hugged Haruki tightly. The kick didn't land on Hina, because at that very moment, someone blocked Tsubaki's attack.
Haruki looked up.
"Isame…" A faint smile appeared on Haruki's face.
Isame landed a sharp back kick to Tsubaki's stomach. Tsubaki stumbled back. Fixing his clothes casually, Isame said,
"Sorry, man… I got here a little late."
"It's fine," Haruki replied with a smile.
Tsubaki laughed,
"Their savior is here, guys."
In a calm but cold voice, Isame said,
"I told you to stay away from him."
Tsubaki mocked his words,
"Does it hurt you to see your friend getting beaten up?"
Then his tone suddenly became serious,
"If you don't want your friend to get beaten again, tell him to stay away."
With that, Tsubaki left.
Isame grabbed Haruki's hand and helped him up.
"You okay?"
"Yeah," Haruki said softly.
"Why was he hitting you?" Isame asked.
Haruki ignored the question and turned to Hina instead. Helping her up, he asked,
"Are you alright?"
"Yes," Hina replied in a sad tone.
Isame's anger flared.
"I asked you something, Haruki."
But Haruki remained silent, holding Hina's hand and walking away.
"Should've let you get beaten… saved you for nothing," Isame muttered, but Haruki didn't react.
Haruki sat Hina down on a bench.
"Now that everything's fine, I'll be going."
Hina lowered her head, tears streaming down her face. Haruki panicked.
"Hey… what's wrong?"
No answer. Haruki tried again.
"Hina, say something… why are you crying?"
Through her tears, Hina said,
"This is all because of me."
"That's not true—" Haruki tried to explain.
"If you hadn't come here to help me… this wouldn't have happened to you," Hina's voice trembled.
"That's why… from now on, don't come here anymore."
Haruki looked at her in shock.
"What are you saying?"
"If you come here again, Tsubaki might hurt you again," Hina said, tears still in her eyes.
Haruki just stared at her. Then, with a faint smile, he said,
"So, you're stopping me from coming to college just because you're afraid Tsubaki might hit me again?"
Hina stayed silent.
"Don't be scared… I'm fine. Look at me, I'm standing here as if nothing happened," Haruki said, wiping her tears with his hand.
"And Isame's here too… for me."
Hina glanced at Isame. He stood with his hands in his pockets, smiling at her.
But still, her tears wouldn't stop. Trying to make her smile, Haruki said,
"Now smile… or I'll start crying too."
Their foreheads touched, and a small smile broke the silence.
"Oye, budget Laila-Majnu!" Isame's voice startled them.
They looked at him in surprise. He continued sharply,
"Yes, I'm talking to both of you. Been watching for a while… and you're ignoring me."
"We didn't ignore you," Haruki quickly said.
"Yeah, right… you two were busy in your love story," Isame teased.
Both Haruki and Hina blushed.
"We're just good friends," Haruki protested.
Isame stepped closer and whispered,
"Staying all distant like this won't work. If you ask me, take a day off and get it over with."
Hina's face turned crimson, and Haruki grabbed Isame's neck.
"Don't listen to him. He talks nonsense," Haruki told Hina, trying to calm her.
"I'm not talking nonsense… I'm speaking the truth," Isame laughed.
Haruki tightened his grip on his neck.
"You focus on your studies. I'll get going now," Haruki said to Hina.
Hina smiled and waved goodbye.
"You're coming with me," Haruki said, pulling Isame along.
Outside the class, Haruki confronted him,
"What the hell were you saying in front of Hina?"
"First, let go of my neck," Isame whined.
Haruki released him. "Sorry."
"Thanks… and what I said was true," Isame replied, fixing his collar.
"If she was offended, she would've slapped me by now. The fact that she didn't means only one thing," Isame said.
"It means nothing," Haruki replied calmly.
Isame sighed,
"It means she's interested in you."
Haruki brushed his hand off his shoulder.
"Stop building castles in the air."
"Believe me or not, your love story has already begun," Isame grinned.
"I'm getting late. I don't have time for your nonsense," Haruki said, walking away.
After dropping Hina at college, Haruki went straight to the café. He was already late. Sneaking in, he headed toward the changing room but heard his manager's voice.
"Haruki! Is this the time to come to work?" Jin Yun said angrily.
"Sorry, sir…" Haruki mumbled.
The manager noticed the injury on his face.
"What happened to you?"
"I… fell," Haruki lied.
"Take care of yourself," Jin Yun said simply. "Go, start working."
In class, Hina tried to study, but her mind was stuck on Haruki.
He must be in pain… who can be fine after such a beating?
While Haruki worked, Kazuki entered the café. Haruki saw her, quickly went to the changing room, changed clothes, and came back.
"Hi," Kazuki greeted with a smile.
"Hi… bye," Haruki replied bluntly and walked away.
"Bye," Kazuki murmured with a secret smile.
Hina took out her phone and typed a message: Hey… where are you? How long will you take to come?
She waited… 1 minute… 2 minutes… 10 minutes. She gripped her phone tightly as if she could pull the reply out of it by force. But no reply came. She started to worry.
Just then, Souta, her classmate, came over.
"Hina, aren't you going home today?"
"Yeah… but Haruki hasn't come yet."
"Why?" Souta asked, sitting beside her.
"I don't know. He usually comes on time," Hina said sadly, still staring at her phone.
"Looks like he's not coming here again," Souta said.
Hina's expression changed instantly.
"Why would you say that?"
"After what happened this morning… who would come here to get beaten again?" Souta replied.
"He said he would come," Hina murmured.
"Maybe he said it just to make you feel better."
Tears welled up in Hina's eyes. She quickly called Haruki… but he didn't answer.
She quietly set her phone down, her heart filling with a strange silence.
"He didn't answer," Souta said.
To be continued… 👀