April's POV:
I was already ready before Yuri somehow.
Which honestly felt illegal.
Because in every relationship movie ever, the girl takes seventeen years getting ready while the boyfriend waits dramatically.
Meanwhile, here I was:
-dressed
-hair done
-sitting comfortably on the bed
-eating cheesecake
-scrolling through my phone
While Yuri was still inside the walk-in closet, getting ready.
This relationship was fundamentally backwards.
"Are you eating the cheesecake already?" Yuri shouted from inside the closet.
I immediately covered the box protectively.
"No."
A pause.
"…I can literally hear the spoon."
Damn traitor, spoon. I had my belief in you.
I ignored him and continued scrolling through my phone.
More specifically:
The girls' group chat.
Unfortunately named:
girls only🫴🏻🙏🏻🥀
Which sounded less like a friend group and more like a support group for emotionally damaged women who have gone through 48 divorces.
Members:
Mica
Me
Jayjay
Rakki
And currently?
Mica was losing her mind.
Because I had accidentally sent breakfast videos earlier, which I was supposed to send to Ci-N and Keifer.
And now she noticed Calix.
Big mistake.
Huge mistake.
girls only🫴🏻🙏🏻🥀
Mica:
WAIT GO BACK.
Beautiful April:
what now
Mica:
CALIX IN THE BACKGROUND 😭😭😭
I zoomed into the video.
Calix was literally just standing there holding his plate.
That's it.
Gorgeous Me:
he's literally eating
Mica:
EXACTLYYYYYY 😭
Rakki:
This girl falls in love every 3 business seconds
April: you have experience with ci-n
Mica:
HE LOOKS SO STRESSED HOLDING THE JUICE 😭😭😭
I replayed the video.
Oh my god.
He actually did look stressed.
Like a tired office worker protecting his lunch break.
I actually laughed.
From inside the closet, Yuri spoke again.
"You're laughing suspiciously."
"Mica's bullying her own boyfriend again."
"That sounds healthy."
"It's true love."
Another message appeared instantly.
Mica:
WHY DOES HE SAY "my chicken" SO SADLY 😭
I physically wheezed.
Then Jayjay finally appeared online.
Which was dangerous.
Very dangerous.
Jayjay:
Why is april active while being alone in a room with Yuri?-
I stared at the screen.
Excuse me?
Me:
HE IS IN THE CLOSET
The typing bubble appeared immediately.
Then stopped.
Then appeared again.
Oh no.
Jayjay:
that sounds wrong too
I almost threw my phone.
At the exact same moment, the closet door opened.
And unfortunately.
Yuri looked offensively good. Like, researchable good.
Black sweater.
Chain.
Hair messy, yeah, his black SLAYS. (i have gone fangirl mode)
Sleeves rolled slightly.
Like he was prepared to destroy emotional stability casually.
Actually annoying.
I stared for one second too long.
Dangerous mistake.
Yuri noticed immediately.
"What? Am I too handsome today?" Cocky.
"No."
"You stopped eating. For me?"
Traitor.
I looked away instantly and shoved another spoonful of cheesecake into my mouth with dignity.
Which probably would've looked cooler if I wasn't wrapped in a blanket surrounded by pastry boxes like a cave creature.
My phone buzzed again.
Jayjay:
APRIL WHY ARE YOU QUIET
Rakki:
she's staring at him probably
Blocked.
All of them blocked.
Mentally.
Yuri walked over toward the bed and looked at the bakery destruction around me.
"…You actually ate this much?"
"You left me alone with pastries and emotions."
"That sounds dangerous."
"It was."
He sat beside me casually while checking his phone.
Comfortable silence settled naturally again.
Easy.
Too easy.
I reached for another pastry dramatically.
"I'm a growing teen."
Yuri glanced sideways at me immediately.
"Yeah," he replied calmly, "my seventeen-year-old baby."
I froze.
Absolutely froze.
"…Your WHAT?"
He looked completely unbothered.
"My baby."
I stared at him in horror.
"You can't just say things like that casually."
"You call yourself a growing teen while eating half a bakery."
"That is NOT the issue here."
My phone buzzed again.
Mica:
SEND CALIX CONTENT NOW.
Priorities.
Another notification appeared immediately.
And this one nearly killed me.
Jayjay:APRIL ANSWER RIGHT NOW
Jayjay:OR IM COMING TO YOUR ROOM
I narrowed my eyes suspiciously.
Me:don't.
The typing bubble appeared instantly.
Too instantly.
Danger.
Jayjay:TOO LATE
Jayjay:IM CLIMBING UP WITH CI-N
I sat upright immediately.
Excuse me???
"What happened?" Yuri asked calmly.
"Security breach."
"What?"
"Jayjay and Ci-N are coming here."
A pause.
Then Yuri tsked and sighed the sigh of a man who had lost faith in humanity years ago.
My phone buzzed again.
Jayjay:WE'RE ALREADY ON THE STAIRS
Ci-N (Private message):OPEN THE DOOR MOTHER
Me:WHY ARE YOU BOTH LIKE THIS
Ci-N:WE SENSED ROMANCE
OH MY GOD.
I immediately looked toward Yuri.
"This is your fault."
"How is this my fault?"
"You called me your baby."
"That sounds unrelated."
"It is DIRECTLY related."
Then,
Distant screaming echoed from outside the hallway.
"APRILLLLL."
Oh no.
OH NO.
Ci-N's voice followed dramatically.
"WE KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE."
"THEY CAN LITERALLY HEAR YOU," I hissed.
"They want us to hear them," Yuri replied calmly.
Why was he so calm???
Then came loud knocking.
Violent knocking.
The kind of knocking that sounded legally concerning.
"OPEN UP," Jayjay yelled dramatically.
"WE COME IN PEACE," Ci-N added.
A pause.
"…MOSTLY."
I buried my face into the nearest pillow immediately.
"This is my punishment for having friends."
Meanwhile Yuri looked way too entertained now.
Dangerous behavior.
The knocking continued.
"APRIL," Jayjay shouted again. "WHY WERE YOU QUIET AFTER SAYING YURI WAS IN THE CLOSET?"
"I HATE YOU."
"THAT SOUNDS GUILTY."
Ci-N gasped dramatically outside the door.
"WAIT."
Silence.
Then:
"ARE THEY KISSING?"
"CI-N?" Yuri finally spoke up loudly.
"Yes?"
"Leave."
"No."
I was actually about to pass away from whatever this was.
Actual death.
Funeral.
Goodbye world.
My phone buzzed again despite BOTH OF THEM BEING OUTSIDE THE DOOR.
girls only🫴🏻🙏🏻🥀
Jayjay:we heard silence in there 🤨
Mica:WAIT WHAT'S HAPPENING
Rakki:LIVE BROADCAST PLEASE
I wanted to evaporate.
Immediately.
Yuri finally stood up from the bed with the calmness of a man handling wild animals professionally.
"Don't open the door," I warned.
"Why?"
"Because they'll never leave."
Fair concern.
Very fair concern.
But before Yuri could even reach the door
It suddenly swung open halfway.
Because apparently a certain somebody forgot to lock it. (me T_T)
Which meant:
Jayjay stumbled inside first.
Ci-N directly behind her.
Both froze instantly.
Because there I was:
blanket wrapped around me surrounded by pastries holding cheesecake
While Yuri stood beside the bed, looking suspiciously composed.
The silence lasted exactly two seconds.
Then:
Ci-N pointed aggressively.
"I KNEW WE INTERRUPTED SOMETHING."
"NO, YOU DIDN'T, LET ME EXPLAIN"
Time to use my storywriting skills. XD
"SO, I GOT READY FIRST BECAUSE OUR RELATIONSHIP IS APPARENTLY BACKWARDS, AND I WAS EATING CHEESECAKE AND- oops."
Ci-N pounced on the bed and stole two of my chocolate rolls.
There goes my therapy.
Vanished.
Into Ci-N's black hole.
Rest in peace, therapy. Your siblings gave me enough therapy to be happy until this Japan trip.
Thank you for your contribution to the world.
Let me continue my rant.
"AND HE WAS IN THE WALK-IN CLOSET ABOUT WHICH I HAVE NO IDEA WHY HE WAS CHANGING THERE, AND I TEXTED AND-"
I ran out of breath.
"EXPLAIN YOURSELF!" Jayjay smirked.
UGHHH.
"AND HE CAME OUT, AND SAID MY BA- I mean.. UM HE SAID MY BAD I DIDN'T GET ANY"
I lied straight to their face.
"Hm.. seems convincing."
We had barely been gathered back into some kind of human shape when the house helper came up to the room and knocked softly on the door.
"Ma'am," she said politely, looking between all of us. "Mrs Hanamitchi mam said all of you should come downstairs now, and please take the things you're bringing for the Mount Fuji visit."
Oh.
Right.
Mount Fuji.
The part where we were supposed to act normal and cultured and not like escaped zoo animals.
Everyone immediately started moving at once.
Jayjay was the first one up, of course, already grabbing her bag like she was about to leave for battle instead of a scenic trip. Ci-N was checking pockets for absolutely no reason. Felix was asking if snacks counted as "things to bring." Yuri's dad had that calm, collected expression of someone who had planned everything in advance and was now watching teenagers turn into chaos.
And me?
I was still holding the cheesecake box.
Of course I was.
I opened it one last time and, without much dignity left in my system, stuffed half a cheesecake into my mouth in one go.
I was not proud.
I was, however, efficient.
Yuri looked at me with that exact expression he always had when he knew I was being ridiculous but had already accepted his fate.
"April."
"Mmm?" I said, because apparently chewing was now my main personality.
He exhaled through his nose, reached over, and gently closed the box for me.
Then, without making a scene, he set it aside somewhere safe so I couldn't continue committing crimes against my own appetite.
Traitor.
Loving traitor.
By the time we got downstairs, the whole house felt busier.
Footsteps.
Luggage being moved.
Soft voices in the hallway.
That kind of pre-outing energy where everyone's pretending not to forget anything while absolutely forgetting at least one important thing.
Jayjay was already scanning the downstairs area like she was looking for someone specific.
That alone told me trouble was coming.
"Where's Keifer?" she asked, turning to me immediately.
I blinked. "How would I know?"
"You know everything in this house," she said, very suspiciously.
"That is a criminally inaccurate statement."
"Still. Call him."
I sighed, pulled out my phone, and tapped his number.
He picked up almost immediately.
"Where are you?" I asked.
There was a small pause on the other end, then Keifer's voice came through, calm as ever.
"I'm just here… talking with Mr. Hanamitchi."
I frowned a little. "Oh?"
"Yeah. You come outside, I'll tell you and Yuri."
I looked up.
Jayjay was already staring at me with the eyes of a woman who had been waiting too long for answers.
So I tilted my phone slightly and said, with the deepest possible lack of innocence,
"Your girlfriend is searching for you, bro."
Silence.
Then:
"W-What?" Jayjay snapped, spinning toward me so fast I thought she might short-circuit on the spot. "GIRLFRIEND??"
I covered my mouth, already laughing.
Oh, this was too easy.
Jayjay pointed at me like I had committed a personal attack against her bloodline.
"Excuse me? What do you mean, girlfriend?"
I gave her my sweetest expression. "I mean exactly what I said."
"I do not," she started, then stopped, because she absolutely did not know how to finish that sentence without exposing herself.
Ci-N, naturally, looked delighted by the suffering.
Edrix gave a "damnnn" Felix was already smiling. Calix grinned.
Yuri's mouth twitched like he was trying not to laugh.
And me?
I was thriving.
Jayjay turned bright red and tried to recover her dignity.
"I was just looking for him."
"Mhm," I said.
"Just because I asked where he was does NOT make him my boyfriend."
"Didn't say boyfriend."
"April."
I grinned.
"You said girlfriend."
"That was sarcasm."
"Sure, sure."
At that exact moment, Keifer finally walked in from the side entrance, looking completely normal, completely calm, and completely unaware that he had just walked into a minefield.
Jayjay instantly froze.
He looked at her, then at me, then back at her.
And I swear his face changed by one millimeter when he realized what had happened.
Before anyone could say anything else, I waved my phone a little and called out, "Your girlfriend is looking for you, by the way."
Jayjay made a noise that was half outrage, half immediate nervous collapse.
"What is wrong with you?"
"Nothing," I said, far too innocently. "I'm helping."
Keifer leaned one shoulder against the wall and looked at Jayjay like he was trying not to laugh at the exact same time he was trying to stay serious.
Then he said, very casually:
"Tell my girlfriend I've got something special for her."
Oh.
Oh.
OH.
My brain basically stopped.
Because the way he said it: so easy, so natural, like it was already obvious to him.
It hit me all at once that this was real.
Not the teasing.
Not the running joke.
Not the "are they or aren't they" nonsense.
Real.
Keifer actually liked someone enough to say something like that.
And that someone was Jayjay.
My chest did that weird happy-squeezing thing.
Because for years, I had seen Keifer go through enough awkward, confusing, hopeless nonsense around girls that I had honestly started to think he was cursed by the universe.
And now here he was.
Standing there.
Calm.
Certain.
Saying it like it was nothing.
Like he had finally found someone worth smiling for.
I could have exploded on the spot.
Honestly, I nearly did.
Jayjay, meanwhile, looked like her soul had left her body and was considering whether to return.
"W-WHAT special thing?" she demanded, voice cracking just slightly.
Keifer's expression stayed maddeningly calm.
"You'll see."
That made her react even more, which made Ci-N howl with laughter, which made Felix lose it too, which made the entire downstairs basically become a live disaster.
And I?
I was internally celebrating so hard I think my brain briefly left Earth.
Then I felt a hand settle gently on my shoulder.
I looked up.
Yuri's mom.
She gave me the kind of quiet smile that somehow said a hundred things at once without making a scene.
Then, still holding her hand lightly on my shoulder, she guided me toward the elevator.
"Come on, April," she said softly. "Let's go outside first."
I turned automatically to look back.
Yuri was still there.
Still in the middle of the room.
Still with the others.
Still very much not being taken outside.
And for one weird second, he looked...
left out.
Just left behind in the chaos while I got pulled away.
It was such a tiny thing, but it hit me anyway.
Yuri had been with me all morning.
In the room.
At breakfast.
Through the teasing.
Through the snacks.
Through everything.
And now suddenly he was the one standing back while someone else took me out first.
His eyes flicked to mine for a second.
I almost felt bad.
Almost.
Why do I feel bad for such a simple thing?
Yuri's mom gave my shoulder a small squeeze as we stepped toward the elevator, and I realised she was probably doing that on purpose.
Not just taking me outside.
Separating us just enough to keep the day moving.
Just enough to let the next moment happen.
And behind me, from inside the house, Jayjay's voice carried faintly through the hallway:
"KEIFER I SWEAR TO GOD IF YOU'RE LYING—"
I covered my mouth so I wouldn't laugh too loudly.