A little before entering the studio, Jun took a deep breath, adjusted his jacket, and pretended to be at ease.
"I'm here."
Kenji, who was already setting up the instruments, pulled a crumpled sheet of paper from his pocket and waved it in the air.
"Come on, Jun, let's rehearse a new song."
Confused and surprised, he reacted:
"A new song? Since when do we have a new song?"
"Since you wrote it," Kenji replied, excited.
"I wrote it?" Jun let out a laugh. "I don't remember that."
Without saying anything else, Kenji handed the paper to Jun. He took it, skimmed through the lines, and his expression changed.
"Dude, where did you find this?" he said, handing it back, trying to sound indifferent. "This isn't a song, I was just… I don't know, scribbling random stuff."
"Random?" Kenji raised an eyebrow. "This has rhyme, it has emotion. It's exactly the kind of ballad we've been looking for."
Jun looked away.
"I don't want to play this song."
"Cut it out," Kenji said firmly. "This song is great. Come on, let's work on it."
He grabbed the guitar and sat next to Jun.
"I was thinking of this progression here…"
The notes began to fill the room. Jun watched for a moment, then leaned in, getting into the rhythm, picking up the guitar.
"Hm… what if it goes like this?"
He adjusted the melody, making it deeper, more emotional. Kenji watched him, knowing that deep, melancholic sound was exactly what his friend's heart was hiding.
Little by little, the two began building something together.
"It's turning out perfect," Kenji said, glancing sideways. "Where did this inspiration come from?"
The question wasn't innocent; he already knew exactly what the inspiration was.
Uncomfortable, Jun stood up, walked to the mini fridge, grabbed a beer, opened it with a sharp click, and took a sip before answering:
"I don't know, I told you… it was just something I scribbled to pass the time."
He sat back down, uneasy, avoiding eye contact.
"Let's stop for today. My throat's already getting rough."
Kenji knew exactly why his friend was uncomfortable.
"Sure. We'll continue tomorrow. I'm sure this song is going to be special."
The silence in the studio made room for thoughts that had been avoided before. Kenji leaned his elbows on his knees and asked:
"So… have you seen Sayuri after what happened at the party?"
Jun didn't even look at him.
"You know I haven't."
"Don't you think you should talk to her? Apologize… or at least explain why you kissed her? Actually—why did you kiss her?"
"I ask myself that every night…"
"I think maybe you like her…" Kenji whispered.
Jun let out an irritated sigh, cutting him off:
"I don't know what you're trying to do. It was just a kiss, and I kiss girls all the time."
He turned his face away, his expression cold, but Kenji didn't back down.
"You know that's not true. And you looked jealous at the party."
Jun rolled his eyes, grabbing another beer.
"There's no jealousy," he denied. "I just stopped that guy from taking advantage of her. She's too naive… and that's what made her think a kiss meant something more."
Knowing his friend was lying, Kenji pushed further:
"So, since it's not mutual… you wouldn't mind…" he tilted his head, "...if I got with her?"
He paused.
"Because, let's be honest… she's beautiful and smart…"
Jun stood up.
"I'm leaving. I can't deal with this conversation."
Kenji laughed.
"You think she wouldn't fall for me?"
"Haha…" Jun let out a dry laugh.
He grabbed his jacket, already walking away.
"You act like this is a game, and you don't even like her. She's not your type, so why would you do that?"
Kenji shrugged.
"She may not be my type, but I'd win easily. And if you don't want her, I'd be doing you a favor. I'd help her forget you."
Jun got on his bike and revved the engine.
"Good luck…"
Kenji burst out laughing.
"Of course…" he murmured. "Let's see how long you can keep this up."
His expression shifted.
"And I… I'm going to enjoy this a lot."
But there was more than just provocation. Kenji already had a plan—not to hurt anyone, but to prove how hypocritical Jun was being by denying his feelings.
He would get closer to Sayuri not out of malice, but because someone had to make Jun stop running from his own emotions.
Even if that meant pushing him to his limit.
"What did he expect me to say? That no? That he can't be with her?" Jun muttered to himself as he walked into the house. "Yeah right… everything turns into a competition for him…"
"Is everything okay, Jun?" his grandmother asked, concerned.
"I'm fine, Grandma. I'm going to bed… good night."
"Good night, dear."
The sound of the door slamming echoed through the hallway.
He threw his jacket onto the chair and went straight to the bathroom.
Hot water ran over his body, but it wasn't enough to calm the storm inside him.
His mind was at war: denial, jealousy, anger… all at once. Jun ran his hand through his wet hair.
"Damn it…" he muttered, closing his eyes.
Her image appeared again—the smile, the look… that soft, innocent gaze.
"Ever since she showed up… my life's been a mess."
The water kept running, but the chaos inside him only grew.
"Damn… I should've avoided this. I need to stay focused on my goals…" he whispered. "Damn it…"
On the other side, Kenji already knew exactly what to do and, before going to bed, sent Jun a message:
"Rehearsal tomorrow. Same time — 5 PM."
Jun saw it, but didn't reply. He didn't want to deal with anything right now. He just closed his eyes and let exhaustion take over.
The next day, Kenji woke up energized and confident. During breakfast, he sent another message:
"Rehearsal today. New song. I'll pick you up at 4 — you and Sayuri. Kisses, Kenji."
"Hm… new song? Interesting…" Yume murmured.
All morning, she tried to convince Sayuri:
"Come on, girl… Kenji wants our opinion, it's a new song."
"Yume, you know I can't…"
"Can't… or don't want to?" she teased, narrowing her eyes. "Because of Jun? I thought that was already in the past."
Sayuri looked at her coldly.
"It is in the past. I'm not interested in him."
"Then why avoid it? Unless you still feel—"
"Fine! I'll go!" she interrupted quickly. "Now can we focus on class?"
"Nice…" Yume whispered, satisfied.
At four in the afternoon, they waited outside the college. They spotted Kenji's car approaching, and when he stepped out, he looked well-dressed, confident, and attractive.
"Finally," Yume complained, getting into the car. "I was freezing."
Kenji didn't care. His eyes went straight to Sayuri.
"Hey, Say… how are you?" he opened the door for her. "You smell… really nice today."
Sayuri found the comment odd.
"Thank you… I'm fine."
As they got out of the car, Kenji noticed Jun had already arrived. He walked over to Sayuri and casually placed his arm around her shoulders.
"Come on. I'm sure you'll have fun."
She found his behavior strange but just smiled.
When they walked in, Jun immediately muttered:
"You've got to be kidding me…"
"Hey, Jun," Kenji said casually. "Brought the girls to hear our new song."
"I'm not playing that," Jun replied immediately.
"Yes, you are. The song is good."
"That's nonsense."
"Come on, Jun…" Yume jumped in. "We want to hear it, right Say? Stop being annoying."
Jun looked at Sayuri, as if seeking approval, but she avoided his gaze.
Fed up, Jun grabbed Kenji's arm and pulled him aside.
"What the hell are you doing?" he whispered, irritated. "I'm not playing that!!"
Kenji remained calm, provocative.
"Why?" he said quietly. "Is there something special about it?"
"You… you don't get it," Jun muttered.
With no way out, he grabbed the microphone, exhaled slowly, trying to compose himself. Then Kenji started the first chords.
Jun's heart raced like never before.
There she was—the muse. The song had been written for her, a confession and an apology.
With every verse, every note, he fought himself… but it was useless. His eyes betrayed him, searching for her.
He needed to know if she understood.
And then, in the middle of a verse, their eyes met.
The world around them disappeared.
No sound. No space. No time.
Just the two of them.
Everything he couldn't say was there—in his eyes, in hers.
Jun felt trapped, as if he were only a step away from her and yet completely unable to reach her. He wanted to give everything up for her—but just as he was about to let go of his pride and his goals…
Kenji stepped closer to Sayuri and started singing softly into her ear, getting closer… and closer.
That was enough to snap Jun back to reality. He dropped the mic and stood up, irritated.
"What a joke…"
"What happened?" Yume asked, confused. "The song was good."
"It's not!" his voice came out harsher. "This is a joke."
And, fixing his eyes on Kenji, he added:
"If you wanted that so badly… you should've done it somewhere else."
He walked out toward the street, but Kenji followed him.
"Hey, calm down! I didn't mean anything by it. You said it wasn't a problem, remember?"
"Go to hell!" Jun snapped, turning around sharply, breathing heavily.
"I don't care who you want to be with, but at least have some decency. You looked like a hunter, and she was your prey. Didn't you see how uncomfortable she was?"
"Her or you?"
Kenji narrowed his eyes.
"Let me ask you something: I can't be with her in front of you? Is that one of your rules, Jun? What are you afraid of? Finally admitting you like someone other than yourself?"
Jun stepped closer, frustrated.
"I don't care. I don't care what you think—you're wrong," he tried to deflect. "This isn't about you or her… it's about that terrible song."
"Oh really? Just the song?" Kenji kept pushing. "So everything else is fine? I can kiss her, hug her, and you won't care?"
Jun clenched his jaw.
"Yes. Let's go back and I'll prove it."
Kenji frowned, not quite believing him.
When they returned, Yume stood up, worried.
"What happened? Did you guys fight because of the song?"
"It's fine," Jun answered quickly. "The song isn't good."
"Yeah…" Kenji played along. "We'll fix it later."
Little by little, the mood returned to normal. They sat down, had a few drinks, and soon were singing other songs—lighter, more upbeat—as if trying to forget what had just happened.
Lying on the floor, laughing and chatting, Jun watched Sayuri through the reflection in his glass, unnoticed.
She did the same—but instead, she watched him through the reflection of the table.
Kenji noticed she was cold. Without saying anything, he wrapped a blanket around her and gently pulled her closer.
At that moment, she looked at Jun. It was automatic—but he pretended not to notice.
Not satisfied, Kenji wrapped an arm around her to warm her up, brushing his hand along her arm.
"I'm heading out…" Jun said, standing up.
"I've got plans with someone."
He said a quick goodbye and, as he got on his bike, finally looked at her before speeding off into the night.
"Wow… I'm exhausted," Yume murmured. "Kenji, can I sleep here?"
"Of course, you know where the guest room is."
Then he looked at Sayuri.
"And you?" he stepped closer. "Want to stay too?"
Sayuri blushed slightly. Kenji, not missing the chance, added:
"You can stay in the guest room… unless you want company. Then you can stay in mine."
"No!" she replied too quickly, blushing even more. "I'm going home, but… I loved tonight."
"I was joking, but wait—I'll take you."
"You don't have to, really—"
"No discussion," he said, already taking her hands.
On the way, he tried to get closer to her. Kenji was a man, and even if part of this was to provoke Jun, he wasn't going to miss the chance to enjoy it too.
He noticed her voice getting softer… slower… and before falling asleep, she whispered:
"I liked the song… especially the kiss you gave me under the moonlight…"
Kenji watched her for a few seconds.
So calm, so delicate… so beautiful.
"Now I understand…" his gaze softened. "Why Jun fell in love with you."