The morning after the showcase, Hana woke to a phone that wouldn't stop buzzing. At first, she thought it was just Yui—checking in, as she often did when things got messy. But when Hana unlocked the screen, she froze.
Dozens of messages lit up her group chats. Screenshots. Photos. Snippets of gossip threads from campus forums.
**Ren Takahashi's muse.**
**A nobody climbing the social ladder.**
**Family will shut this down soon.**
Her stomach dropped.
The photograph from the showcase—the stolen one of her under the blossoms—had spread online overnight. It was everywhere now, passed from one student to another, even finding its way beyond campus walls.
By the time Hana reached campus, the whispers weren't just whispers anymore. They were headlines in the student rumor mill, spoken boldly in hallways, debated like a piece of art itself.
She found Ren waiting near the steps of the art building, his expression calm on the surface but storm-dark underneath. His phone buzzed in his pocket. He ignored it.
"You've seen it," he said.
Hana nodded, words caught in her throat.
"My family has too."
---
The weight of his words sank like a stone in her chest.
Ren's family. She had always known this moment would come, but she hadn't expected it to arrive like this—messy, public, sharpened by rumor and ridicule.
"What did they say?" she asked quietly.
Ren's jaw tightened. "That we'll be meeting. Tonight."
Hana's pulse raced. A meeting. Not a casual dinner, not a passing introduction. A meeting sounded official. A trial.
---
That evening, Hana stood in front of her mirror, smoothing down the simple dress she had chosen—modest, clean, carefully selected to show respect without pretense. Her parents had offered to accompany her, but Ren had insisted it was something they had to face together first.
When he arrived at her door, he wore a dark blazer, his usual casual confidence replaced with something more measured. Still, when he looked at her, his eyes softened.
"You look perfect," he murmured.
Her hands trembled as she adjusted her sketchbook in her bag—a quiet anchor she carried everywhere. "Do you think they'll listen?"
Ren's silence was answer enough.
---
The Takahashi estate stood at the edge of the city, a world away from the cherry blossoms and campus paths that had framed their love until now. The gates loomed tall, metal entwined with ivy, the driveway stretching endlessly toward a house that was more mansion than home.
Hana felt small stepping inside. The air smelled faintly of cedar and polished stone, the walls lined with art collected from across the globe. Servants moved quietly, their eyes flickering toward her with a mixture of curiosity and pity.
They were led into a sitting room where Ren's parents waited.
Mr. Takahashi sat with a posture so precise it seemed carved from marble, his suit sharp, his expression unreadable. Mrs. Takahashi's gaze was softer, but no less piercing, her silk kimono flowing around her like water.
Ren bowed lightly, then straightened. "Thank you for seeing us."
"Of course," Mr. Takahashi said. His voice was calm, but edged with something Hana couldn't place. "Given the circumstances, it was necessary."
Hana bowed as well, her hands tight at her sides.
---
The silence that followed stretched unbearably until Mrs. Takahashi spoke.
"Hana," she said, her tone gentle but cool, "we have heard much about you in recent days."
Hana's chest tightened. "I'm sorry for the way this reached you. It wasn't our choice for it to become so public."
"That," Mr. Takahashi interjected, "is precisely the problem. Public perception. The Takahashi name is not a private matter. It carries weight, and with it, responsibility."
Ren's voice cut in, steady but firm. "With respect, Father, Hana isn't the problem. The whispers are."
"And whispers," Mr. Takahashi replied, "become storms if not handled swiftly."
Hana lowered her gaze, fighting the urge to shrink into herself. She had expected judgment, but hearing it so plainly, in such measured tones, still hurt.
Mrs. Takahashi leaned forward slightly. "Tell us, Hana—what is it that you want with our son?"
The question struck like a blow. Her throat tightened, but she forced herself to meet their gaze.
"I want… nothing but what we already share. His kindness, his passion, his presence. I don't want his family's money or status. I only want him."
The room fell silent.
Mr. Takahashi's expression didn't change, but his fingers drummed once against the armrest of his chair. "And if what you share damages his future? If this… attachment distracts him from his path?"
Hana's voice wavered, but she didn't falter. "Then that is his choice to make. Not mine. Not anyone else's."
---
Ren's father studied her for a long moment before shifting his gaze to his son. "Ren. Do you hear how naïve this sounds?"
"I hear how true it is," Ren replied. His voice carried a quiet force. "You taught me to see the world clearly, to find value where others overlook it. Hana is not a distraction. She is the reason I see at all."
Hana's breath caught, warmth flooding her chest even as the weight of the room pressed down on her.
Mr. Takahashi exhaled slowly. "Your stubbornness is familiar."
Mrs. Takahashi spoke again, her tone softer. "We do not doubt Hana's sincerity. But sincerity does not protect against the world's cruelty. You are young. You are both unprepared for the storms ahead."
"We'll face them," Ren said simply.
---
The meeting ended not with resolution but with dismissal. Hana and Ren bowed once more, their departure marked by silence rather than blessing.
Outside, the night air felt heavier than before. Hana's hands trembled as they walked down the long driveway, Ren's arm steady around her shoulders.
"I don't think they hate me," she whispered.
"They don't," Ren said. "But they don't trust the world. And they don't trust us to survive it."
"Do you?"
He stopped, turning to face her fully. In the glow of the estate lights, his eyes burned steady. "I trust us more than anything."
Her chest tightened, tears prickling her eyes. "Then I'll hold to that."
---
The next morning, the campus was buzzing louder than ever. The rumors had shifted.
**The Takahashis are against her.**
**They'll break up soon. Just wait.**
**No one survives that kind of pressure.**
But Hana walked through the whispers with her head higher than before. Because now she knew the truth. The world might doubt. His family might question. But Ren believed. And so did she.
The storm had gathered, but so had their resolve.