The two looked at each other in silence for several minutes. She wiped his tears away with her cold fingers. He wanted to say something, but it felt like the words had gotten lost inside all that pain.
Sayuri gently moved a strand of hair from his face that covered one of his eyes and tilted her head slightly:
"Love..."
Finally, a word.
"Hi..." he replied with a small tired smile.
Jun raised his hand to her face and gently stroked her skin, careful around the reddish mark:
"Forgive me..."
Sayuri slowly shook her head:
"There is nothing to forgive... everything will be okay now."
Jun gave a faint smile, but his eyes were still watery:
"Say... I should be the one comforting you..."
She hugged him tightly and slowly exhaled, as if everything would finally be okay.
Yume, still standing on the stairs, tried to hold back her tears, deeply moved. Her mother slowly approached and watched the scene in the living room:
"Is that Jun?"
Yume nodded silently.
"Wow... I have not seen him this fragile since his mother left..." she murmured. "So there really is true love there."
After a long time holding each other on the sofa, Jun took a deep breath while gently holding her hand:
"Come live with me?"
Sayuri looked at him in surprise. She did not expect to hear that:
"Come... I want to take care of you..."
"Jun..."
He held her hand tighter:
"I promise... I will not let anything bad happen to you again."
Sayuri slowly lowered her gaze to the bracelet he had given her the day he asked her to be his girlfriend. Her fingers touched the small metal detail for a few seconds.
Then, with tears in her eyes, she simply nodded slowly.
Sayuri walked down the stairs with her suitcase while Jun waited for her in the living room.
"Friend..." Yume called. "Are you going to be okay? Do you want to stay here a little longer?"
Sayuri placed the suitcase on the step and held her friend's hand:
"Yume... I feel like my place is with Jun. From the very beginning I always knew it was him..."
A small pause.
"I will be better with him than anywhere else."
Yume hugged her tightly before picking up the suitcase and taking it to Jun:
"Take good care of her, okay?"
Jun tilted his head and gave a soft smile:
"I am serious. You know me, Jun..."
He took the suitcase.
"Ha... okay, shortie. I promise I will take care of her."
When they arrived at the apartment, Sayuri took a deep breath, calm, as if all the nightmare from the night before had stayed outside those walls.
Jun closed the door and looked at her:
"Welcome home, love."
Little by little, the apartment began to take on their personality. Small adjustments, improvised furniture, and unfinished renovations turned into laughter.
Between studying, work, open paint cans, and clumsy steps to the sound of "Permission to Dance", they finished painting the living room together:
"It is perfect..." Sayuri sighed, looking around.
And it truly was. Not the apartment, but that moment.
They smiled happily, enjoying the rare peace they had finally found, until the sound of Sayuri's stomach echoed through the room.
Jun burst out laughing.
"Oh my gosh, I am so embarrassed!" she said, hiding her face.
He stepped closer while still laughing and held her hand:
"Come... let's eat something."
After a few weeks, life together felt like a true paradise.
Sayuri accompanied Jun to every performance, while Kenji and Yume often came to the apartment for lunches, movies, and nights full of laughter.
For the first time in a long while, life felt so light. Almost perfect.
But a notice from college brought back a worry she had been trying to forget. Her father had kept his promise. He would no longer pay for her studies.
When she arrived home after class, Sayuri sat on the small living room sofa and stared at the floor, trying to think of a quick and practical solution.
Some time later, Jun arrived from work carrying a small shopping bag:
"Love?" he called when he noticed the strange silence in the apartment. "Did something happen?"
Sayuri took a deep breath. She did not want to worry him, but she also did not want to hide anything:
"It is about college... my father..."
Jun's expression changed immediately:
"What did he do now?"
"Calm down, Jun... he just did what he promised. He stopped paying for college," she forced a small smile. "Now I need to find a job quickly to finish my studies."
Jun immediately offered help, saying he would figure out a way to pay.
But Sayuri knew his salary barely covered the apartment expenses.
"It is okay, Jun... I already thought of a solution, do not worry."
She quickly stood up and started going through the bags, trying to change the subject.
"Hmm... what did you bring?"
Jun watched her for a few seconds, still worried:
"Everything you like, love..."
The next morning, instead of going to class, Sayuri spent the day looking for a job.
She entered several stores, answered repeated questions, heard polite refusals, and walked through entire streets until her feet started hurting.
After so many no's and some painful blisters, finally a small door opened.
It was a simple tailoring and custom clothing shop. Not a big company, not a dream job, but it would help. And at that moment, it was everything she needed:
"Finally..." she sighed in relief.
Sayuri walked home limping, but with a bright smile on her face:
"I cannot wait to tell Jun..."
Suddenly, she hid in an alley, placed her hand on her chest, and felt her breathing speed up:
"Dad..." she murmured.
Her father had just come out of a newspaper shop and was standing in the middle of the sidewalk:
"I hope he did not see me..." she said, trembling.
Her father put the newspaper under his arm, looked toward where she was hiding, and whispered:
"Sayuri..."
That whisper carried many feelings: disappointment, pain, and longing.
She leaned slightly to check if he had left:
"Thank goodness... I should wait a little longer."
While waiting in the alley, she heard a noise behind the trash can. Curious, she went closer and found a puppy, apparently abandoned and hungry:
"Oh... what are you doing here?" she asked, picking the little dog up and petting it.
CRAAASHHH!!
Thunder cut through the sky, making Sayuri and the puppy jump:
"What do I do with you?" she said, looking at it. "Hmm... you remind me of someone with those cute little eyes."
She bit her lip, thinking.
CRAAASHHH!!
"Okay, okay... you are coming home with me."
She placed the puppy under her coat and, even with her injured foot, ran through the rain, dodging the cold drops.
Jun was already at home. He paced back and forth, worried about her in the storm.
"Sayuri, where are you?" he murmured anxiously.
Then the door opened.
Sayuri appeared completely soaked and smiling:
"Love!!" he said immediately.
While grabbing a towel to help her dry off, he heard a small sound coming from her coat.
"What is that?"
She smiled, slowly opened her coat, and pulled out the puppy, wagging its tail happily:
"SURPRISE!"
Jun froze. He did not know whether to scold her for coming back in that rain or think it was the most adorable thing in the world:
"What am I going to do with you..."
She smiled softly:
"I could not leave him out in the rain... he reminds me a lot of you."
"What??" he asked in shock, taking the puppy in his arms.
She stepped forward and hugged both of them:
"Now... our home is complete."