The silence in the room was broken by an insistent beep… beep… beep…
Yume groaned, pulling the pillow over her face.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Kenji woke up excited.
"Finally!!!!"
Sayuri, in her room, had exactly the same reaction.
"Finally… vacation."
Everyone got up excited, each one starting to get ready, while Yume stayed in bed.
"It's so warm…"
"I'm here!" Jun shouted in front of Kenji's house.
He put his suitcase in the trunk and sat on the hood of the car.
"The girls still aren't here?"
Kenji, putting a few things into the car, answered:
"I hope they're already on their way. I told them we'd leave early."
"Good morning," Sayuri's voice came out breathless.
Jun almost hugged her and nearly revealed their secret.
He held himself back, limiting it to a simple nod.
"Hey."
"Morning, babe. Sleep well?" Kenji asked.
"Yeah… but where's Yume? She's still not here?"
"What do you think?" Jun said.
Kenji grabbed Sayuri's suitcase and placed it in the car.
"If she's not here in thirty minutes, we're leaving without her," he finished, closing the trunk.
Ten… fifteen… twenty minutes and nothing.
"Relax," Sayuri said. "I'll call her."
"RIIIING! RIIIING!"
Nothing.
"RIIIING! RIIIING!"
"Hello…" a sleepy voice answered.
"Where are you?" Sayuri asked. "We're leaving soon."
Yume looked at the clock and panicked.
"Oh my God, I passed out! I swear I was already awake."
"You're still not ready?"
Kenji took the phone.
"You have ten minutes to get here, or we leave without you."
"I'm coming! I'm coming!!!"
Jun got off the hood, complaining.
"I knew she was gonna do this. She always does…"
Sayuri looked at him.
"Oh, but she'll get here."
"Yeah, but late," Jun shot back.
Sayuri didn't answer, she just stared at him, annoyed.
Realizing she was mad, Jun smiled and sent her a text.
You look really cute when you're annoyed :D
Sayuri replied with an angry emoji, and Jun burst out laughing.
"What's so funny?" Kenji asked curiously.
Jun quickly put his phone away.
"Nothing. Just remembered a joke."
"I'm hereeeeee!"
Yume arrived completely messy-haired, carrying two suitcases.
"What's all that for?" Kenji asked.
"Uh, my clothes and products I use. Just the basics."
Already out of patience, Kenji chose not to answer and shoved the luggage into the trunk.
"BAM!"
"Let's gooo!"
"Woohoo!" Kenji shouted.
"I'm so excited," Sayuri said as she got into the car.
Kenji drove, Jun sat beside him, and the girls sat in the backseat. They put on upbeat music and hit the road.
"Can we get coffee? I haven't eaten anything yet," Yume asked.
"Took you long enough," Jun teased.
"I think there's a café by the highway exit."
They arrived at a charming roadside café.
"I'm going to the bathroom. Grab a coffee for me, Kenji."
"Just coffee?"
"Hmm… and a little dessert, hehe."
"Sure, I'll get it. What about you, Say?"
"A latte, please."
"Jun?"
"Black coffee so I can wake up."
Kenji got out of the car, leaving Jun and Sayuri alone. She leaned over the seat and hugged him.
"Wow… you're so warm."
He looked at her wrist, seeing she was wearing his bracelet, smiled, and teased her.
"Miss, my girlfriend's gonna get jealous."
Playing along, she replied,
"Then I better be quick."
She kissed his cheek and hugged him tighter. Unable to resist, he climbed into the backseat, wrapped his arms around her, and kissed her intensely.
"You're crazy!!"
"Crazy about you," he answered while kissing her.
Yume, coming back from the bathroom, knocked on the car window.
"Excuse me, that's my seat."
The two laughed. Jun got out of the car and returned to the front seat.
"You two have absolutely no self-control, huh?"
"What can I say? I think I lost my mind," Jun replied, looking at Sayuri.
"Okay, now change the subject. Kenji's coming back."
"God, it's freezing out there," he said while handing them their coffee. "Let's keep going, we still have another hour on the road."
After a long drive and incredible scenery, they finally arrived at the cabin, close to lunchtime.
"Good morning, sir," one of the maids greeted them.
Sayuri whispered to Yume:
"Maids?"
"Yep. Kenji's mom never lets him come to the cabin without them."
"Good morning, Madelaine. Smells amazing."
"We prepared the best for your arrival. I'll call Bill to help with the luggage."
Kenji wrapped an arm around Sayuri and guided her inside the cabin, leaving Jun jealous but trying to hide it.
"Let me show you the house, Say."
Kenji was excited, showing every detail of the cabin to Sayuri, while Jun tried distracting himself with the view.
"If you guys had already told him…" Yume said.
"I know, okay? But she wants to wait. She's afraid of hurting him and wants to do it at the right time..."
"Then hang in there, buddy. It's not gonna be easy…" Yume said, patting Jun's shoulder three times.
Inside the cabin, Kenji tried taking another step forward with Sayuri.
"And this is my room. You could sleep here, Say. I don't know… it'd be nice…"
Sayuri felt uncomfortable with the suggestion and politely answered that it wouldn't be appropriate, since they weren't in a relationship.
"You're right, but…" he stepped closer, caressing her face, "we could be…"
"Sir?"
One of the maids appeared, and Sayuri immediately felt relieved.
"Lunch is served."
"Perfect, we're coming. Thank you."
"Come on, I'm starving. I bet Yume's already there." he said, holding her hand.
As soon as they walked in, the dining room was enormous, full of details and with a magnificent chandelier.
"Didn't I tell you?" Kenji whispered, looking at Yume, who was already eating.
Sayuri laughed and sat beside her friend and across from Jun.
He noticed she seemed a little uncomfortable, but he couldn't say or ask anything.
"So what are we doing today?" Yume asked while grabbing another slice of pie.
Jun looked at Kenji, and both said at the same time:
"ICE HOCKEY!!!"
Yume made a face, and Sayuri, confused, asked:
"Ice hockey?"
"It's like hockey, but instead of pucks, they use snowballs. Pretty dumb."
"It's really fun, you'll see," Kenji answered.
Yume stood up and grabbed Sayuri by the arm.
"Come on, let's find you something to wear."
Later, already dressed in thermal clothing, they grabbed their ice rinks and skates and headed towards the ice rink behind the cabin.
Kenji knelt in front of Sayuri, helping her with the skates.
"I don't really know how to skate… maybe I should just watch."
"I'll help you, don't worry," he said with a smile.
Jun watched silently while tightening his own skates harder than necessary before stepping onto the rink.
Kenji held Sayuri by the waist, guiding her carefully.
"That's it… slowly… easy…"
"Whoa!" He caught her when she almost slipped. "One foot at a time, Say."
Jun looked away for a moment. It was impossible to pretend it didn't bother him.
Yume walked up beside him, crossing her arms.
"Relax that face…" she murmured. "Or he's gonna notice."
"Then let's just start already before I quit," Jun grumbled.
Kenji made the first snowball.
"So, Say, you have to get the snowball to the goal without breaking it apart. You gotta move carefully and slowly."
"Got it… like this?"
She grabbed the stick and started pushing the snowball, but it fell apart. She tried again, and it broke again.
"Woooo! I don't want her on my team!" Yume shouted.
"Thanks, friend!" Sayuri answered, nearly falling.
Kenji and Sayuri formed one team, and Jun and Yume the other. As soon as the game started, Jun's team took the lead; after all, he and Yume knew how to play, while Kenji had to help Sayuri.
Halfway through the game, when Sayuri finally scored a goal, she celebrated by hugging Kenji, who spun her around in the air.
"CLACK!"
Annoyed, Jun threw the stick onto the ground.
"Relax, man. You're still winning," Kenji teased.
"I'm done. I'm tired. You guys can keep playing," he said, taking off his skates and heading back to the cabin.
Sayuri grew worried, because she knew how hard it was for Jun to pretend that none of this bothered him.
"So I guess the game's over, huh?" Yume said while removing her skates.
"I had fun. What about you, Say?" Kenji asked while helping her off the rink.
Looking toward the cabin, Sayuri answered:
"Yeah… it was fun. Next time, we'll win."
"Haha, that's right, babe."
Back at the cabin, Sayuri went to shower and change. As she walked down the hallway toward her room, a hand suddenly pulled her.
"Oh my God!"
She looked up and saw Jun. He had just gotten out of the shower and was only wearing a towel, his wet hair dripping small drops of water down his face and body.
Sayuri immediately turned away and shut her eyes.
"Jun, you're… you're…"
He laughed, hugging her from behind.
"I'm wearing a towel, love…"
"But… but…"
Sayuri didn't know what to say. She slipped out of his arms and ran to her room, completely flustered.