Determined to win Sayuri over and make her his, Kenji knew he would have to face an inevitable obstacle: Jun.He knew his best friend better than anyone. He knew Jun had feelings for her, even if he would never admit it, and that made everything more complicated. Maybe their friendship wouldn't come out of this intact.
"We need to talk. See you at the studio at 6 PM."Kenji
Jun found it strange. The tone was too serious, but he chose not to think too much about it, especially if it had anything to do with Sayuri. For him, there was nothing to be said.
Later, Jun arrived at the studio. He sat on the couch, relaxed on the outside, restless on the inside. Minutes later, Kenji walked in.
"Hey… how are you?" he said, tossing a beer to him.
Jun caught it.
"Good. And you? Anything new?"
"Nothing… everything's fine," he replied, opening his beer. "It's been a while since we talked like this."
Jun gave a half-smile.
"I've been busy… but just say it. What was so urgent?"
Kenji sat beside him, took a sip, and let out a deep breath.
"So, Jun…" he started, running a hand through his hair. "I stopped that game."
Jun frowned slightly.
"Game?"
"You know…" Kenji let out a short laugh. "That whole 'winning Sayuri over' thing."
A brief silence settled between them.
"I don't think I want to do that anymore."
Jun turned his head, looking at him from the side.
"And why is that?"
Kenji exhaled slowly.
"Because things changed."
Another sip.
Jun didn't like where this was going.
"Changed how?"
"I got involved."
"Involved… how?"
"Emotionally," he answered directly. "I realized I actually like her."
The air grew heavy. Jun looked down and replied coldly:
"And… what does that have to do with me?"
Kenji watched him, trying to read him.
"I just wanted to be honest with you, for the sake of our friendship. From now on, I don't want to hide anything, and I'm going to take her seriously."
Jun took a sip of his beer as if it meant nothing.
"Okay."
"Okay…? That's it?"
"Yeah," he shrugged. "You don't need my permission for anything."
The words came out too easily. As if they were true… but they weren't.
"So… it's all good?"
Jun finally looked at him and smiled.
"It's all good. Go ahead… don't worry about me, I won't get in your way."
But the way he tightened his grip on the can made it clear he was lying.
He placed the can on the table and stood up.
"I'm heading out. I'm way too tired. See you around. If you need anything, call me."
"Hey, want to rehearse tomorrow? We haven't played in a while," Kenji insisted.
Jun hesitated.
"…Sure. See you tomorrow."
Kenji stayed alone in the studio. Part of him felt bad, and the other part just wanted to run to her.
The night was cold, silent, and far from comforting. Sayuri stared at the bouquet of flowers beside her bed. Beautiful and perfect… but it wasn't from him, and maybe that was why it didn't fill the emptiness inside her.
Even though she had promised to forget Jun, the tears always came, especially at night, when the silence seemed to amplify every memory.
The next morning, she woke up weak. Her throat burned and her body felt unbearably heavy. When she went downstairs, her mother immediately noticed.
"You're not going to class today."
"But Mom…"
"Sayuri," she said firmly. "You have a fever. Go back to bed, I'll bring your breakfast."
With the house quiet and a light drizzle falling outside, Sayuri slept the entire morning.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
"Who could that be…?" she murmured, slowly getting up.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
"I'm coming…"
She opened the door… and froze.
"What are you doing here, Jun?"
"My grandma asked me to bring this for your mom."
She tried to respond, but a cough interrupted her.
"Are you okay?" he asked, concern in his voice.
"I'm… you can leave it… I'll give it to her…"
But as she turned, everything spun.
"Hey," he said, catching her. "Careful."
"I'm fine…"
"No, you're not."
He held her firmly and immediately noticed the fever.
"You're burning up. Come on."
"You don't have to…"
"Stop being stubborn."
He led her to her room, covered her carefully, and then went to the kitchen.
"Where's the tea…?"
He looked around but couldn't find anything.
So he went out, bought what he needed, and came back quickly.
He prepared everything and brought it to her.
"Here… this will help."
Sayuri held the cup with trembling hands.
"It's good… what is it?"
"Lemon and ginger. My grandma used to make it when I was sick."
"Thank you… Jun…"
Their eyes met, and suddenly everything was still there, alive and even stronger. He gently moved a strand of her hair away from her face.
"I think I should go…"
"No… stay," she whispered.
"Sayuri…"
"Please…"
He tried to step away, but she held onto him. In the movement, he lost his balance and fell over her.
They both froze.
They were too close. Their breaths mixed. Their hearts raced. There was no space left for reason.
He didn't pull away.
He gave in and kissed her.
A deep, intense kiss after so long, as if everything he had been denying escaped in that moment.
"I… shouldn't…" he murmured against her lips. "But I can't…"
And he kissed her again.
And again.
Until he finally stopped.
Breathing heavily.
"I need to go…"
He pulled away, looked at her, bit his lip. He didn't want to leave… but he had to.
So he left without looking back.
"Jun…" she whispered.
Later, Kenji arrived, worried about her. He brought several medications.
"Can I come in?"
"Come in…"
As he entered, he noticed a bag of medicine already there.
"I guess… you've already been well taken care of. Want me to make you some tea?"
"Thanks, but I already had some… lemon and ginger. It was really good."
Kenji stayed silent for a moment but didn't comment. He sat beside her, trying to cheer her up with jokes and stories, but the more he tried, the more he noticed she was distant.
Sayuri smiled and sighed, as if lost somewhere else.
"I think I should go… I have something to do today."
He held her hand.
"Sayuri… when you get better, I want to take you out."
"Like… a date?"
"Yes. The first of many."
"Kenji… I…"
"You don't have to answer now," he said quickly. "Just give me a chance."
She looked at him, confused. She had just experienced something intense and magical with Jun and didn't want to hurt him. She didn't know what to say, but she was too tired to come up with an excuse.
"…Okay."
He smiled and kissed her forehead.
"Good night."
"Good night Kenji and thank you"
Later, at the studio, Kenji arrived slightly out of breath.
"Sorry I'm late, I was with Sayuri."
Jun missed a chord.
"You should've said something."
"You know how it is… when I'm with her, time flies."
Jun didn't respond.
"Jun… I've never felt like this before. It feels so good to like someone…"
Jun looked at him.
"So… are you two dating?"
"Not yet… but soon."
"Funny," Jun said coldly. "You talk like it's your first relationship."
"It's not my first, but this one is different. I know it."
"How so?"
"I don't think you'd understand… you've never been in a relationship."
Jun stepped closer.
"But I've kissed her."
The atmosphere shifted instantly.
Kenji let out a nervous laugh.
"Who said I haven't?" he said, even though it wasn't true.
"Enough of this," Jun cut him off. "Let's start"
During the songs, Jun constantly got the lyrics and chords wrong.
"Damn it!"
"Focus, Jun!"
"Damn it! I need a break. I'm a little rusty."
He walked out and sat down on the sidewalk, looking up at the sky, frustrated.
Kenji followed him.
"Are you okay? We just need to get back into the rhythm."
"That's not it. I'm messing up too much. I never mess up like this… we need to practice more…"
"Tomorrow I'm going out with Say, but we can play at night."
Silence.
"A date?"
"Our first date. Official."
Jun replied without looking:
"I hope you enjoy it."
He sounded like he didn't care, but inside something was burning.
"Let's practice a little more then," he said, standing up.