As much as they tried to move on with their lives after that intense night, deep down… everyone knew nothing would ever be the same.
Yume knew their feelings were mutual, but she didn't know how to help. Sayuri had her heart broken for the first time. Jun felt like trash, trying to avoid everyone. And Kenji was still trying to make sense of everything that had happened.
Jun thought it would be easy to move on, to focus on his own goals like he always did… but something in him felt unsettled, unresolved.
As the days passed, a quiet emptiness began to grow inside him, as if suddenly nothing made sense anymore. And no matter how much he tried to ignore it, there was something he couldn't deny:
He missed something.
Maybe the way she looked at him with admiration… the absence of her smile, her kind words. But most of all, that feeling of being important to someone.
Alone in his room, Jun let his fingers glide over the guitar strings, lost in a random melody. With every whispered verse, one image kept coming back.
He started writing down the words that formed in his mind.
A song was being born.
He would never admit it… but it was an apology to her.
As if his heart was speaking louder—stubborn, betraying his own reason.
The song was about the kiss, about the first time he saw her, and about how he hurt her.
He set the guitar aside and threw himself onto the bed. With the window slightly open, he let the breeze in. He stared at the sky; the stars seemed distant… but his mind was even farther away.
"That's enough…" he muttered, suddenly getting up.
He grabbed his jacket and left.
"Sweetheart, are you going out?" his grandmother asked.
"I'm just going for a walk, Grandma. Don't worry."
He put on his boots and stepped outside.
Without realizing it, his feet led him to a tavern. As soon as he walked in, he spotted Kenji.
"So, you're here…" he said, approaching. "Didn't even invite me."
Kenji looked up, surprised.
"It was kind of… last minute."
Jun glanced at the table.
Three glasses.
"You're not alone, are you?"
Kenji cleared his throat.
"I was with the girls, but they already left."
Jun looked around, pretending not to care.
"So now you're avoiding me?" he said, looking away.
"Of course not. Like I said, it was last minute. You know how Yume is—impulsive…" Kenji replied, trying to change the subject. "I'll grab you another drink."
"The usual."
"I know. Be right back."
Hours later, already outside and on their way home, Jun—slightly loosened up by the alcohol—asked, almost without thinking:
"How is she?"
Kenji glanced at him.
"Sayuri?… She seemed fine."
Jun nodded slowly.
"Good… at least I won't feel guilty."
Kenji stopped for a moment.
"You really don't care that you hurt her?"
"I never meant to do that…"
"From what I saw, she really likes you. Aren't you afraid she'll stop?"
Jun took a deep breath.
"It's better this way… for both of us."
Kenji didn't reply. He just kept walking.
When they arrived, he helped Jun up to his room. As he laid him on the bed, his eyes fell on a scribbled piece of paper next to the guitar.
Curious, he read it… then looked at Jun, already asleep.
"How long are you going to keep denying your feelings…"
He stood up, taking the paper with him.
"You're going to regret it…"
The next morning, Jun woke up to his grandmother calling him. As he stepped out of his room, he found a note taped to the door:
"Rehearsal this afternoon. Don't be late!"
"Of course… today of all days…" he muttered, still half asleep.
"Good morning, Grandma."
"Good morning, dear. Want some coffee?"
"Sure, thanks."
While drinking his coffee, he said:
"I've got rehearsal this afternoon, Grandma. Do you need anything?"
She thought for a moment.
"No… I'm just finishing some cookies for a friend."
"I can help."
"No," she said, smiling. "Go have fun. You've been too alone lately, always locked in that room."
"Alright…" he replied, finishing his coffee.
"Oh!" she called. "Before you go, take these cookies to our neighbor."
"Our neighbor?"
"Yes, Sayuri's mother, right across the street. Tell her next week I'll make the vanilla ones."
He hesitated before agreeing.
"Sure… I can drop them off before three."
Jun went back to his room and ended up dozing off, losing track of time.
"Damn it…"
He rushed out. He wanted to deliver the cookies before Sayuri got home, but fate had other plans.
He reached the door and took a deep breath, hoping she wasn't back yet.
"Good afternoon," Sayuri's mother said as she opened the door.
Relief washed over him.
"Good afternoon, ma'am. My grandmother sent these cookies and asked me to tell you that next week she'll make the vanilla ones."
"Oh, wonderful! Thank you. Come in, you can leave them on the table."
"Sorry, I'm in a hurry…"
Trying to avoid dragging things out, he handed over the cookies quickly. But when he turned around… He couldn't believe what he saw. She was there.
Their eyes met again—but this time, something was completely different.
Before he could say anything, Sayuri looked away and walked inside, completely ignoring him.
Without a word.
As if he didn't exist.
Jun wasn't ready for that.
Something inside him hurt in a way he had never felt before. A silent rejection… But a deep one.
Dazed, he started walking toward Kenji's studio for rehearsal. On the way, he tried to convince himself that this was a good thing. It was exactly what he wanted.
So then…
why did it hurt so much?
Why?
Why?