Even confident, he knew that, to win Sayuri over, he would have to face a difficult obstacle: his friend. Kenji knew Jun better than anyone and, because of that, he knew that, on the outside, he acted cold and strong, but inside, he was just a scared and sad boy.
Knowing their friendship might not come out intact, he needed to lay his cards on the table.
"We need to talk. See you at the studio at 6 PM."Kenji
Jun found it strange. The tone was serious, but he chose not to think too much about it—especially if it had anything to do with Sayuri.
Later, when he arrived at the studio, he sat on the couch waiting for Kenji.
"Hey… how are you?" Kenji said, tossing a beer to him.
Jun caught it.
"Good… anything new?"
"Everything's chill," Kenji replied, opening his beer. "It's been a while since we talked like this."
Jun gave a half-smile.
"Yeah… but tell me, what was so urgent?"
Kenji sat beside him, took a sip, and took a deep breath.
"So, Jun…" he started, running a hand through his hair. "You know I care about you a lot. You're like a younger brother to me."
Jun frowned slightly.
"Younger? Haha."
"You know what I mean…" Kenji let out a short laugh. "And I want to always be honest with you."
A brief silence settled.
"Then just say it already, man," Jun said, impatient.
"I want you to hear it from me that I'm going to start dating Sayuri seriously."
Jun turned his head, staring at him.
"What do you mean? Dating?"
Kenji exhaled slowly.
"Because things changed. We got involved, and feelings came up. It was inevitable."
Another sip.
Jun didn't like where this was going.
"And… she… I mean, does she…"
Kenji hesitated… but decided not to hide it.
"You want to know if she also started having feelings for me? Yes, we fell for each other."
He lied to Jun, thinking it would make things easier. Jun would step away, and the path would be clear for him.
"No one's to blame, Jun. It just happened. I'm sorry…"
Jun couldn't believe it. It felt like the ground had disappeared beneath his feet. Nothing made sense anymore; a feeling of abandonment and betrayal took over his soul.
"Jun? Are you okay? Say something…" Kenji asked, concerned.
The air grew heavy. Jun, staring at the floor, spoke coldly:
"I'm fine. No need to apologize."
Kenji watched him, trying to read something there.
"I just wanted to be honest with you," he said.
"Okay," Jun replied, standing up. "So that's all you wanted to say?"
Jun took a sip of his beer, as if it meant nothing.
"Yeah, I guess that's it."
"Then I'm heading out. And Kenji, you don't need my permission for anything."
The words came out too easily, as if they were true—but they weren't.
"Are you really okay?"
Jun finally looked at him and smiled.
"I'm fine. Go ahead… don't worry about me, I won't get in the way."
But the way he crushed the can in his hand made it clear he was lying—especially to himself.
"I'm too tired today. See you around. If you need anything, call me."
"Are we rehearsing tomorrow? It's been a while since we played," Kenji insisted.
"Sure. See you tomorrow."
Kenji stayed at the studio. Part of him felt bad—maybe his lie had gone too far—but on the other hand, the path to Sayuri was now easier.
Meanwhile, she felt alone, and as she looked at the bouquet of flowers beside her bed, a sadness filled her chest. It was beautiful, perfect… but it wasn't from him, and because of that, it didn't fill the emptiness.
Even though she had promised to forget Jun, the tears always came—especially at night. She tortured herself, reliving every moment she had been close to him. She cried every night until she fell asleep.
The next morning, she woke up weak. Her throat burned, and her body felt heavy. When she went downstairs for breakfast, her mother noticed she wasn't well.
"You don't look well at all. You should stay home today."
"But Mom, I can go. It's just a sore throat."
"No way," she said firmly. "You have a fever. Go back to bed."
"What's going on?" her father said, sitting down.
"Sayuri has a fever."
"I told you not to stay out in that cold," he said, turning the newspaper page. "Now you're going to miss class because of your stubbornness."
"I can go to class! Cough, cough, cough!"
Her mother interrupted:
"No chance. It'll get worse and you'll miss even more classes. Not happening. Take this medicine and go lie down."
Sayuri went back to sleep. The house stayed quiet all morning, and the only sound was the drizzle falling outside.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
"Who could that be…?" she murmured, getting up slowly.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
"I'm coming… I'm coming…"
She asked, surprised as she opened the door:
"What are you doing here, Jun?"
"My grandma asked me to bring this to your mom."
She tried to respond, but coughed.
"Are you okay?" he asked, concerned.
"I'm fine… you can leave it… I'll give it to her…"
But as she turned… everything spun.
"Hey—" he caught her. "Careful."
"I'm fine…"
"No, you're not."
He held her firmly and realized she was burning up.
"You have a fever. Come on, I'll help you."
"You don't have to…"
"Stop being stubborn," he said, picking her up and carrying her to her room.
He gently laid her on the bed and covered her carefully.
"Stay there. I'll be right back."
He went to the kitchen, worried.
"Where are the teas…?"
He looked everywhere but couldn't find any. Without thinking, he went out to buy some and quickly returned.
He prepared everything calmly and brought it to her.
"Here… this will help."
Sayuri sat up with difficulty, holding the cup with trembling hands.
"It's good… what is it?"
"Lemon with ginger. My grandma used to make it when I got sick."
She took another sip and looked at a bag he was hiding on the floor.
"What's that?"
"Oh, this…" he tried to brush it off. "I brought it for you. They say it helps you get better."
"A nurse teddy bear…" she smiled. "Thank you, Jun…"
Seeing her smile, Jun realized everything was still there—alive and even stronger. He raised his hand to her face, gently brushing a strand of hair aside.
"I think I should go… take your medicine properly."
"No… stay," she whispered.
"Sayuri… I can't…"
"Please…"
He tried to pull away, but she held his hand. In the movement, he lost his balance and fell over her.
"Sorry… did I hurt you?"
She couldn't answer. They were too close. Breaths mixing, hearts racing, no room for reason.
He didn't pull away.
And he gave in, kissing her.
"Are you crazy? You're going to get sick too," she said.
"You're right… I'm sorry…"
Then she kissed him back. A warm, intense kiss after so long. There was feeling, there was love there.
"You… shouldn't…" he murmured against her lips.
And he kissed her again.
And again.
But when he looked at the bouquet beside the bed, he stopped.
"I need to go…"
He pulled away, looking at her. He didn't want to leave—but he had to. He said goodbye without looking back, leaving behind a heart in flames.
"Jun…" she whispered.
"I shouldn't have done that," he said to himself as he crossed the street. "They're dating. I'm not that kind of guy."
That same day, worried about Sayuri's health, Kenji went to her house bringing some medicine.
"Can I come in?"
"Come in," she said, sitting on the bed.
As soon as he entered, he noticed a scent in the air. He knew exactly whose it was. And when he saw a bag of medicine already there, he had no doubt—he had been there.
"Looks like you've already been well taken care of," he said, with a hint of jealousy. "Want me to make you some tea?"
"Thank you, but I already had some… lemon with ginger. Have you tried it? It's delicious."
Kenji, silent, sat beside her. He tried to cheer her up with jokes and stories, but the more he tried, the more he realized she was distant.
Sayuri smiled and sighed, as if lost somewhere else.
"I think I should go… I have rehearsal today."
"Be careful."
He held her hand.
"Say… when you get better… I'd like to ask you out."
"Like… a date?"
"Yeah."
"Kenji… I…"
"You don't have to answer now," he said quickly. "Just give me a chance."
She looked at him. She didn't want to hurt him, didn't know what to say, but she was too tired to come up with an excuse.
"Okay… I'll go."
He smiled and kissed her forehead.
"Good night."
When Kenji arrived at the studio, he was out of breath.
"Sorry I'm late, I was with Sayuri."
Jun missed a chord.
"You should've told me."
"You know how it is… when I'm with her… time doesn't fly, I get lost in her arms."
Jun didn't respond.
"Ah, Jun… I've never felt like this before. It's so good to like someone…"
Jun looked at him.
"Funny," Jun said dryly. "You talk like it's your first relationship."
"It's not my first, but this one is different, I know it."
"How so?"
"I don't know if you'd understand… you've never dated…"
"Enough of this," Jun cut him off. "Let's rehearse."
During rehearsal, Jun missed lyrics, chords.
"Damn!"
"Focus, Jun!"
"I need a break. I'm a little rusty."
He went out to the balcony, frustrated. Then Kenji approached.
"You okay?"
"I'm messing up too much. I never mess up like this… I think we need to rehearse more…"
"I can't tomorrow, I'm going out with Say, but we can rehearse at night."
Jun replied without looking:
"I hope you two enjoy it."