"I'm so jealous of people who can see you live."
5 minutes later.
"Jun looks so handsome in this photo."
A zoom and another message:
"Who are those girls?"
Yume closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
"This girl is so annoying."
She closed the notebook before getting even more stressed.
Plim! Plim!
"Ah, nooooo!"
Yume shouted so loudly that she woke Kenji, who was lying next to her in the studio.
"Damn, Yume... you scared me!"
"Sorry, Kenji, but this girl..."
Kenji shifted on the sofa, yawning.
"Leave it to me."
He took the notebook and started reading the comments. Then he began typing.
"What are you doing?" Yume asked.
"Replying."
"To the obsessed one?"
"Ha, so that's what you call her?"
"Yes..."
"Maybe she's just a teenager who has her first crush..."
Yume rolled her eyes, not buying the "teenager" idea.
"And Jun? Where is he? Didn't he say he would pick Sayuri up after class?"
"They probably stopped somewhere to eat. Speaking of class, Yume, why didn't you go today?"
Yume tried to change the subject, but Kenji kept insisting.
"You're going to fail again like this."
"Ugh! Don't jinx it. I just didn't need today's classes, so I took the day off..."
At Sayuri's house, the atmosphere was getting worse.
Fshhh... Fshhh...
"Sayuri?" he called again. "Sayuri??"
Her mother, who was in the kitchen, replied.
"She'll be home a little later, she has college work..."
"No way... and you believe that?"
"Why wouldn't I?"
Fshhh... Fshhh...
He closed the newspaper and stood up.
"Where are you going?"
"I'm going to settle this once and for all," he said, putting on his coat.
The man left toward the college with heavy, intimidating steps. When he reached the park, he was forced to take a detour because of construction.
He walked further until something made him stop.
He saw his daughter smiling, hugging a tall boy. The boy had his back turned, but when he wrapped his arms around Sayuri's waist and pulled her closer, the father saw his face.
"I can't believe it... that... that..." he muttered, clenching his fists.
Sayuri and Jun didn't notice him. They were focused on each other. Jun pulled her closer and kissed her intensely.
That made her father boil with rage. Unable to take it anymore, he went back home, slammed the door open.
"What is this!!" the mother exclaimed.
"Call Sayuri home right now!"
"But she went to study..."
"NOW!!"
The mother called her daughter, but she didn't answer. The phone was off.
The father left again in fury, but when he returned to the park, they were gone.
"We're here," Sayuri said as she entered the studio. "We brought food."
"Wooow!" Yume's eyes sparkled.
They sat around the small table and ate peacefully. Sayuri enjoyed herself, unaware that a storm was waiting at home.
That night, Jun, as always, took Sayuri to the corner near her house. But she felt uneasy.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing... just a bad feeling..."
"You're just tired. Come here." He hugged her. "Go home and rest. I'll see you tomorrow."
She nodded. Jun left on his motorcycle and returned to Kenji's house to rehearse.
Sayuri turned the doorknob. The house was silent, but her father's voice filled the space.
"Where were you?" His tone was different.
"At the library..."
SLAP!
Sayuri's face turned to the side before she could finish.
"LIAR!!" her father shouted.
"Oh my God, dear..." her mother said, her voice trembling.
"Again: WHERE WERE YOU?!"
"I already told you..."
SLAP! Another, stronger slap.
"Enough!!!" the mother yelled.
Sayuri, broken and trembling, lifted her head with tears in her eyes.
"You're right... I wasn't studying," she said, exhausted. "I was with my boyfriend."
"BOYFRIEND??"
The father placed a hand on his forehead.
"That useless worm?"
"What?" the mother asked, confused. "Who?"
"That strange boy from Midori..."
Her mother looked disappointed too and asked Sayuri if it was true.
"Yes," she sobbed. "We're together..."
"Since when?"
"Forever, Mom..."
Tears kept falling.
"Then it's over," he said firmly.
"Not a chance!!" Sayuri replied.
"What??"
"You heard me. Nothing is over. I love him."
"As long as I'm your father and you live in my house, you will obey me."
"No! No!!"
"Sayuri, please..." her mother begged.
"No, Mom. I'm done living a life that isn't mine. I'm done..."
"You think you can handle adult life? With that useless boy?"
"Jun is not like that! He's wonderful, smart, and kind..."
"ENOUGH!!"
He walked toward the sofa, but before sitting down, he said she would never see that boy again.
Sayuri panicked.
"I... won't... stay away from him... never!!"
"Then pack your things."
"No, dear, that's enough!" her mother said.
"Enough? She doesn't know limits. I didn't raise my daughter to run around with that kind of trash."
Sayuri stepped forward.
"Not just around... I was in his bed too."
That was the final blow.
He slapped her again.
"Get out of my house."
Sayuri turned and went upstairs.
"Don't you dare take anything I bought for you."
"I won't..." she said.
In her room, she broke down. She knew this day would come, but not like this.
"Sayuri..." her mother entered.
She hugged her daughter.
"My daughter... why did you do this...?"
"He doesn't understand, Mom... he's not just a boy... he's the love of my life..."
Her mother helped her pack.
"Where will you go?"
"I'll stay with Yume for now, until graduation. Then I'll move forward... I want to live my own life."
With her suitcase, she looked at her father.
"See you, Dad..."
"Sayuri..."
Silence.
Then he continued.
"From today on, you will pay for your own college."
"Dear..."
"She wants independence, then she'll have it," he said, turning the page of his newspaper.
"Take care, Sayuri..."
"Goodbye, Mom..."
Now she was alone in the empty street. Relieved in one way, but deeply hurt in another.
Ding Dong!
"Sayuri?"
Yume's mother opened the door.
"Sorry for coming so late... is Yume here?"
She noticed the marks on Sayuri's face immediately and, without asking anything, let her in.
"She's upstairs."
Sayuri climbed the stairs holding back tears. When Yume opened the door, she couldn't believe what she was seeing.