If there was one thing I learned this morning, it was this:
Riku does not leave your nightmares just because you're on vacation.
The resort's badminton court was already warm under the sun, the salty breeze drifting in from the beach and mixing with the dull thwack of shuttlecocks. I stood alone near the baseline, racket in hand, sweat already forming at my temples.
Five days at a beach resort.
Crystal-blue ocean.
Soft sand.
Unlimited food.
And here I was… practicing badminton at eight in the morning.
Why?
Because in my dream, Riku smiled at me and said, "Warm-up's over."
That was enough motivation.
I smashed the shuttle hard. Too hard. It hit the net and dropped pathetically.
"…Focus," I muttered.
Which was difficult, because my brain had decided today was the perfect time to replay last night on loop.
Not the beach.
Not dinner.
Not Kyosuke's annoying thumbs-up of doom.
No.
That moment.
The one where Saki had wrapped herself around me like a human koala in her sleep.
And then—
The morning.
Her face.
The sheer, unfiltered panic as she realized what she was doing.
I swung again. Missed.
"Ugh."
She'd frozen. Completely. Like a malfunctioning NPC.
Then she'd slowly—painfully slowly—unwrapped her arms, rolled away, fell off the bed, and whispered something that sounded suspiciously like a prayer.
And the worst part?
I'd been awake for half of it.
Not moving.
Not hugging her back.
Face turned away like I was pretending to be a respectable, emotionally stable human being.
Which I was not.
The court gate creaked open.
"Yo."
I turned and immediately felt my soul attempt to exit my body through my ears.
Saki.
She was very much awake. Fully dressed. Hair tied up loosely, sunglasses resting on her head, and holding a bottle of water like nothing catastrophic had happened twelve hours ago.
She looked… normal.
Too normal.
"Morning," she said casually, walking closer. "Didn't think you'd be practicing already."
"Oh. Haha. Yeah. Just, uh. Habit," I replied, voice about one octave higher than usual.
Smooth. Very smooth.
She leaned against the fence, watching me with narrowed eyes.
"You're sweating like you're being chased."
"I run hot."
"You're standing still."
"…Emotionally, I'm running."
She snorted despite herself.
Okay. That was good. She wasn't avoiding me. She wasn't pretending I didn't exist. She wasn't acting like I was radioactive.
Which meant—
She remembered everything.
And was choosing violence.
I served again, this time clean. The shuttle sailed perfectly.
"Nice shot," she said. "You practicing because of Riku?"
My hand froze mid-swing.
"…How do you know that name?"
She grinned. "You yelled it in your sleep once. Very dramatically."
I stared at her. "Please tell me you're lying."
"I am not."
The universe is cruel.
Before I could recover, Kyosuke's voice echoed from behind us.
"Oho? Early morning training?" he said, strolling in with a drink. "Vacation discipline. I'm impressed."
"Stop stalking me," I said.
"I'm supervising your growth as a man."
Saki's dad appeared next, hands behind his back, smiling like he was proud of the sunrise.
"Good to see young people active," he said. "Badminton builds character."
He looked at me. Smiled.
I did not trust that smile.
Saki leaned closer to me and whispered, "You look like you're waiting for someone to accuse you of a crime."
"I feel like I committed one."
She blinked. "Wow. That bad?"
"I mean—NO—Not bad bad—Just—"
She laughed. Actually laughed. Loud enough that Kyosuke turned around with a knowing smirk.
"Oh?" Kyosuke said. "Someone's in a good mood this morning."
Saki crossed her arms, still smiling. "I slept great."
I dropped my racket.
Kyosuke's grin widened.
Saki's dad hummed thoughtfully.
The shuttle rolled away like it was abandoning me on purpose.
I bent down to pick up the racket, face burning.
This vacation was only on day two.
And I already knew one thing for sure.
Surviving Riku's training was easy.
Surviving Saki acting normal after not-so-normal things?
That was going to take a miracle.
Breakfast at a beach resort is supposed to be peaceful.
Sunlight. Ocean breeze. Soft music. People smiling with plates of food.
This breakfast?
It was a battlefield.
I sat at the long table outside the dining hall, staring at my tray like it might attack me first. Rice, eggs, grilled fish, fruit, juice. Normal food. Safe food.
Unsafe people.
Saki sat across from me, calmly sipping orange juice like she hadn't emotionally ruined me less than twenty-four hours ago. She looked refreshed. Relaxed. Like someone who definitely did not wake up hugging another human being like a life raft.
Kyosuke sat beside her dad. That alone should've been illegal.
My parents were chatting happily with Saki's mom, completely unaware that two men at this table were actively plotting my downfall.
"So," Kyosuke said casually, breaking a piece of bread. "How was everyone's night?"
I choked on my water.
Saki's dad looked at me. Slowly. Carefully. With the same expression a scientist gives a very interesting experiment.
"Peaceful," he said. "Very peaceful."
Saki kicked my shin under the table.
I kicked back on instinct.
She kicked harder.
My leg died a hero.
My mom frowned. "Are you two playing footsie?"
"No!"
"Yes!"
We spoke at the same time.
Saki coughed. "I mean—no. He was just… moving a lot."
"I have restless legs," I said quickly. "Medical condition."
Kyosuke raised an eyebrow. "Since when?"
"Since today."
He smiled. I hated it.
Saki's dad buttered his toast slowly. Way too slowly. "Did you two sleep well?"
"Yes," Saki said instantly.
"No," I said instantly.
Everyone looked at me.
"…The pillow was weird," I added.
Kyosuke covered his mouth, shoulders shaking. "That's tough, man."
Saki shot him a glare that could end wars.
Breakfast continued, somehow. Plates filled. Food disappeared. I was halfway through my eggs when Saki leaned forward.
"By the way," she said casually, "you're coming with me to the beach market later, right?"
My brain short-circuited. "Market?"
"Yes. Souvenirs. Snacks. Normal things."
"That sounds… normal," I said carefully.
Kyosuke nodded. "Very normal."
Saki's dad nodded too. "Extremely normal."
I put my chopsticks down. "Why are you both nodding like that?"
"No reason," they said together.
My dad laughed. "You kids enjoy yourselves. Just don't get into trouble."
Kyosuke muttered, "Or do."
I kicked him. Hard.
Saki laughed again. Not teasing. Just… natural.
And somehow, despite everything, the sun, the food, the sound of waves in the distance—
I felt okay.
Nervous. Yes.
Confused. Definitely.
Surrounded by traitors? Absolutely.
But okay.
Then Saki's dad stood up, stretching. "Alright. Breakfast's done. Beach again in an hour."
He paused. Looked at me.
"And Haruto?"
"Yes, sir?"
He smiled. Warm. Dangerous.
"Relax. Vacations are meant to be enjoyed."
Kyosuke clapped my shoulder. "Yeah. Enjoy it."
Saki smiled at me, softer this time. "See you in a bit."
As they walked away, I stared at my empty plate.
Somehow… I knew.
Breakfast was just the calm.
And the day was absolutely not done with me yet.
The beach market was loud, colorful, and full of things nobody actually needed.
Shell necklaces, sunglasses that looked like toys, keychains shaped like fish, shirts with questionable English on them.
Haruto followed Saki through the crowd, hands in his pockets, brain mostly offline.
She was acting… normal.
Too normal.
Which made everything worse.
They stopped near a quieter corner between two stalls selling ice cream and handmade bracelets. The noise faded just enough for the silence between them to become noticeable.
Saki slowed down.
Then stopped.
"Haruto," she said.
Uh-oh.
She turned to face him properly, not smiling this time. Not teasing either. Serious Saki. The rare, dangerous variant.
"About last night," she said.
His spine went straight like he'd been electrocuted.
"Y-yeah," he replied, voice doing that thing where it cracked for no reason. "Last night. Night. Yep."
She took a small breath. "I'm really sorry."
That alone almost knocked him out.
"It's… it's a habit," she continued quickly. "I already told you before sleeping that I cling in my sleep. I honestly didn't mean to do that. I wasn't conscious at all."
He nodded too fast. "Right. Yes. Habit. Totally normal. Many people cling. To… humans."
She looked embarrassed now. Really embarrassed. "But still, I shouldn't have done that. Being your… girlfriend doesn't mean I can just cling to you like that. That was wrong of me."
Time stopped.
The ocean paused.
The wind froze.
Somewhere, a seagull probably crashed mid-air.
"…Sorry?" Haruto said.
Girlfriend.
She said girlfriend.
His brain replayed the word on loop.
Girlfriend. Girlfriend. Girlfriend.
Since when.
Since WHEN.
Saki noticed his expression. "Haruto?"
No response.
"Haruto?"
He blinked once. Slowly.
"…Why," he asked very carefully, "did you just use the word girlfriend?"
The silence stretched.
One second.
Two seconds.
Five seconds.
Saki's face went red.
Then redder.
Then dangerously close to overheating.
"…Oh," she said softly.
Oh.
That was not a good sound.
She looked away, fiddling with the strap of her bag. "You… don't remember, do you?"
Remember what.
His heart began to panic before his brain could catch up.
"Remember what?" he asked.
She hesitated, then spoke in a rush. "When you had a fever. A really bad one. You were half asleep, barely making sense, and you kept talking."
Oh no.
His soul tried to leave his body.
"You said," she continued, not looking at him, "that you liked me. A lot. Very clearly. Multiple times."
He froze.
"That I was special. And annoying. And important," she added. "Which… honestly sounded like you."
Haruto's ears started burning.
"And I," she said, voice getting quieter, "said okay."
Another pause.
"I accepted."
That was it.
Haruto's internal system crashed completely.
Error.
Fatal error.
Restart unavailable.
"…I confessed," he whispered.
"While sick," she nodded.
"And you accepted."
"Yes."
"And now you think we're dating."
"…Yes."
He stared at the ground like it might open up and save him.
"Why," he said weakly, "did nobody tell me this."
Saki peeked at him. "You passed out right after. Then you recovered and acted like nothing happened. I thought you were just… being you."
They stood there, both bright red, both refusing to make eye contact.
Two childhood friends.
Zero emotional skill points.
"I'm sorry," Saki said again. "If I misunderstood—"
"No!" he said too fast. "I mean—no misunderstanding. I just—needed time. Like… a lot of time."
She nodded quickly. "Same. A ridiculous amount."
Another awkward silence.
Then she muttered, "So… we're officially awkward now."
He let out a weak laugh. "Yeah. Very."
They stood side by side, staring at the sand.
Neither of them knew what to do.
But somehow… neither of them walked away either.
We stood there longer than necessary.
Like… way longer.
People walked past us. A kid dropped ice cream. Someone yelled about discounts. Life continued at full volume while we remained frozen in the middle of our own personal disaster.
Finally, Saki cleared her throat.
"So," she said, voice way too casual for someone who had just casually dropped a relationship bomb. "Do you… regret it?"
That snapped me back.
"What? No— I mean— I don't know— I mean—"
Great. Stellar answer.
She smiled, a small one. Nervous. "That was not very reassuring."
I rubbed the back of my neck. "I don't regret liking you. I just regret doing it while my brain was running on fever fumes."
She laughed. A real laugh this time. "Yeah, your timing is terrible."
"Hey," I said, mildly offended. "I could've confessed in a much worse situation."
"Like when?"
"Like during a family dinner. Or while vomiting."
She winced. "Okay, fair."
Another pause. This one lighter. Less deadly.
"So…" she said again, dragging the word out. "What does this mean now?"
I stared at the sand. "I have absolutely no idea."
She nodded. "Same."
We both sighed at the exact same time, then glanced at each other and immediately looked away again.
"This is so awkward," she muttered.
"I feel like I'm walking on emotional glass," I replied.
She snorted. "You look like it too."
"Thanks."
They started walking again, side by side, slower this time. Not touching. Very aware of the fact that they could touch and that was now a dangerous concept.
Saki pointed at a stall. "Hey, look. Keychains."
I leaned in. "That one looks like a deformed crab."
"It's cute."
"It looks like it has tax debt."
She laughed, covering her mouth. "You're impossible."
Something eased. Just a bit.
After a few steps, she spoke again, quieter. "About last night… you didn't… feel uncomfortable, right?"
I shook my head immediately. "No. I mean—surprised? Yes. Confused? Extremely. But uncomfortable? No."
She visibly relaxed. "Good."
Then, without looking at me, she added, "I won't do it again."
That made my chest feel… weird.
"Okay," I said.
A beat.
"…Unless you want me to," she added quickly, panicking. "I mean— not now— I mean— forget I said that."
Now it was my turn to panic.
"I— uh— yeah— let's— let's survive today first."
She nodded vigorously. "Agreed. One crisis at a time."
From a distance, Kyosuke's voice suddenly rang out. "OI! YOU TWO DONE CONFESSING OR SHOULD WE BOOK THE WEDDING HALL NOW?"
Saki's face went nuclear red.
I nearly tripped over nothing.
She grabbed my sleeve and dragged me away. "Ignore him. He doesn't exist."
"I think he exists too much," I said.
As we walked back toward the others, still awkward, still embarrassed, still very much not knowing what we were—
One thing was painfully clear.
Nothing was the same anymore.
And somehow… that terrified me.
And didn't.
At the same time.