The silence of the room was broken by a persistent "beep… beep… beep…"
Yume groaned, pulling the pillow over her face.
On the other side, Kenji woke up full of energy.
"Finally!!!!"
Sayuri, in her room, had the same reaction.
"Finally… vacation."
Everyone got up excitedly and started getting ready, while Yume stayed in bed.
"It's so warm…"
Jun was the first to arrive at Kenji's house.
"I'm here!"
He placed his suitcase in the trunk and sat on the hood.
"Are the girls still not here?"
Kenji, loading things into the car, replied,
"I hope they're on their way. I told them we were leaving early."
"Good morning," Sayuri's voice came out slightly out of breath.
Jun almost hugged her, and for a split second nearly revealed their secret.
He held himself back, simply nodding.
"Hey."
"Good morning, cutie. Did you sleep well?" Kenji asked.
"Yes… but where's Yume? Is she still not here?"
"What do you think?" Jun said.
Kenji took Sayuri's suitcase and put it in the car.
"If she doesn't show up in thirty minutes, we're leaving without her," he said, closing the trunk.
Then he wrapped an arm around Sayuri and noticed her wrist.
"Nice bracelet. Is it new?"
"Yeah…" she replied, trying to hide it.
Ten… fifteen… twenty minutes and nothing.
"Calm down," Sayuri said. "I'll call her."
"TRIIIING! TRIIIING!"
No answer.
"TRIIIING! TRIIIING!"
"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 fell asleep! I swear I was already awake."
"You're not ready yet?"
Kenji grabbed the phone.
"You have ten minutes or we're leaving without you."
"I'm coming! I'm coming!!!"
Jun got off the hood, annoyed.
"I knew it. She always does this…"
Sayuri looked at him.
"But she'll get here."
"She will. Late," Jun replied.
Sayuri didn't answer, just stared at him, irritated.
Jun, noticing she was upset, smiled and sent a message.
"You look really cute when you're mad :D"
Sayuri replied with an angry emoji, and Jun burst out laughing.
"What's so funny?" Kenji asked.
Jun quickly hid his phone.
"Nothing. Just remembered a joke."
"I'M HEREEEEE!"
Yume arrived completely disheveled, dragging two suitcases.
"What is all this?" Kenji asked.
"My clothes and skincare stuff. Just the essentials."
Kenji chose not to argue and loaded everything into the trunk.
BAM!
"Let's goooo!" Kenji shouted.
"I'm so excited," Sayuri said as she got into the car.
Kenji drove, Jun sat in the passenger seat, and the girls sat in the back. Music played as they hit the road.
"Can we stop for coffee? I haven't eaten anything," Yume asked.
"Took you long enough," Jun teased.
"There's a café near the highway exit."
A few minutes later, Kenji turned into a charming roadside café.
"I'm going to the bathroom. Get my coffee, Kenji."
"Just coffee?"
"And a sweet thing too, hehe."
"Of course. And you, cutie?"
"A café latte, please," Sayuri said.
"Jun?"
"Black coffee. Need to wake up."
Kenji got out, leaving Jun and Sayuri alone.
She leaned toward him over the seat.
"So warm…"
He looked at her bracelet, smiled, and teased her.
"My girlfriend is going to get jealous."
"Then I should be quick," she played along.
She kissed his cheek, hugging him tighter.
Jun couldn't resist. He opened the door and moved to the back seat, pulling her into a deep kiss.
"You're crazy."
"Crazy about you," he said between kisses.
Yume came back and knocked on the window.
"Excuse me, that's my seat."
They both laughed. Jun returned to the front seat.
"You two really have no shame," Yume said.
"What can I say? I lost control," Jun replied, glancing at Sayuri.
"Okay, change of subject. Kenji is coming back."
A few hours later, they finally arrived at a beautiful cabin that looked more like a mansion surrounded by pine trees. The air smelled amazing.
"Good morning, sir," one of the maids greeted.
Sayuri whispered to Yume.
"Maids?"
"Yes. Kenji's mom never lets him come here without them."
"Good morning, Madelaine. It smells wonderful."
"We prepared everything for your arrival, sir. I'll call Bill to help with the luggage."
Kenji hugged Sayuri and led her inside, making Jun slightly jealous but silent.
"Let me show you the house."
Kenji proudly showed every room while Jun tried to focus on the scenery.
"If you had already told him…" Yume murmured.
"I know. But she wants to wait. She's afraid of hurting him…"
"Then good luck, buddy. It won't be easy," Yume teased.
Inside, Kenji opened his bedroom door.
"This is my room… you could stay here, cutie…"
Sayuri immediately felt uncomfortable.
"We're not in a relationship, so that wouldn't be appropriate," she said politely.
"You're right… but we could be," he said, touching her face.
"Sir?"
A maid appeared, saving the moment.
"Lunch is ready."
"Perfect, we're coming."
The dining room was huge and elegant.
"I told you," Kenji whispered proudly as Yume already started eating.
Sayuri sat across from Jun.
"What are we doing today?" Yume asked.
Jun and Kenji said at the same time:
"ICE HOCKEY!!!"
"ICE hockey?" Sayuri asked.
"It's hockey, but with snowballs," Kenji explained.
Yume immediately stood up.
"Let's go find warm clothes."
Soon they were all dressed and headed to the ice rink behind the cabin.
Kenji knelt in front of Sayuri, helping her with skates.
"I'm not good at skating…"
"I've got you," he said gently.
Jun silently tightened his own skates, watching from a distance.
Kenji held Sayuri by the waist, guiding her.
"Careful… slow…"
"Oops!" he caught her. "One step at a time, cutie."
Jun looked away, clearly uncomfortable.
Yume approached him.
"Relax your face… or he'll notice."
"Let's just start already," Jun muttered.
Kenji made the first snowball.
"You have to guide it to the goal without breaking it."
"I think I got it… like this?"
The snowball instantly broke.
"I don't want her on my team!" Yume shouted.
"Thanks, friend!" Sayuri almost fell.
They split into teams: Kenji and Sayuri against Jun and Yume.
Kenji's team was losing at first, but Sayuri finally scored and celebrated by hugging him.
CLACK!
Jun dropped his stick.
"I'm done," he said, taking off his skates and walking away.
Sayuri looked worried.
"I had fun!" Yume said.
"Yeah… it was fun," Sayuri replied, glancing at the cabin.
Later, Sayuri went to shower.
As she walked through the hallway, a hand suddenly pulled her.
"Ah!"
Jun had just come out of the shower, wearing only a towel, water still dripping from his hair.
"Jun, you're… you're…"
He laughed and hugged her from behind.
"I'm in a towel, love."
"B-but…"
She broke free and ran into her room, completely embarrassed.