When Sayuri stepped back into the cabin, something felt off.
A strange fear grew inside her.
What if Jun really knew everything… and still said nothing while she was suffering?
She took a deep breath and slowly climbed the stairs, almost as if she was avoiding what was about to come.
"Hey, you're back? Where did you two go?"
Sayuri lowered her head.
"I'll tell you later, Yume. Do you know where Jun is?"
"He's not in his room."
Sayuri lifted her gaze immediately.
"He's not? Where is he? I need to talk to him."
"Why?"
"Please, Yume…"
Seeing how serious she was, Yume sighed.
"I don't know exactly… I just saw him take his guitar and go toward the forest trail."
Sayuri didn't say another word. She ran down the stairs and rushed toward the direction Yume had pointed.
Between the stone path and the tall trees, she began to hear it.
A guitar.
Soft notes… followed by his voice, calm and warm.
Her eyes slowly filled with tears.
She walked closer.
And there he was.
Sitting on a log.
She stopped.
"Jun…" she whispered.
She walked toward him and sat beside him. He smiled at her without stopping the song.
"So beautiful…" she murmured, her voice breaking.
When he leaned in to kiss her cheek, she turned away and stared ahead instead.
"What is it?" he asked, setting the guitar aside.
Sayuri didn't know how to start.
Maybe because she was afraid of the truth.
"Jun…"
"Hey…" he said gently, lifting her face. "Was the talk bad? What did he say?"
She finally looked into his eyes.
And a tear slipped down.
"You knew… it was all a game?"
Jun frowned.
"A game? What are you talking about, love?"
She took a shaky breath.
"You knew the whole time… that Kenji was playing with me?"
Jun froze.
"What?? No, love… playing?? Did he say that?"
"You really didn't know, Jun? That this was all some childish plan to bring us together? That according to him, this was helping us end up together?"
She looked at him with disappointment.
"Answer me, Jun…"
Jun understood immediately what she was referring to, but he looked genuinely confused. That was in the past… and Kenji had already abandoned that ridiculous idea.
"No… that wasn't his plan," Jun said carefully. "He gave up on that."
She cut him off immediately, tears in her eyes.
"My God… so it's true then… you knew everything…"
"Love… let me explain—" he reached for her hand.
"No, Jun! I can't believe that knowing everything… watching me suffer while hiding us from him and—"
"Sayuri!" he said firmly. "Listen to me."
A pause.
"That's not true."
"How is it not?" she let out a nervous, broken laugh. "You just confirmed it."
Jun ran a hand through his hair, frustrated.
"I didn't know he was pretending… I only knew he was trying to win you over. I thought it was just another stupid provocation. But later he told me he had feelings for you and wasn't playing anymore… that he wanted to take it seriously."
She shook her head.
"Then why did he tell me he didn't like me at all?"
"I don't know," Jun said, exhaling. "He never told me it was fake. Because it didn't look fake."
Jun looked at her again.
"But it doesn't matter what I say… you won't believe me."
Her voice softened, confused and shaken.
"I don't know who is telling the truth anymore…"
Jun picked up his guitar.
"In the end… you believed him before you believed me."
"Jun…"
"Funny…" he said with no humor at all. "The thing that hurt you the most was finding out he doesn't like you."
"That's not fair, Jun. Don't turn me into the villain here…"
"Of course…" he laughed bitterly. "I'm the wrong one. I'm always the villain."
He stood up and walked back toward the cabin without looking back.
When he arrived, he threw the guitar against the wall.
The sound shattered the silence and startled Yume.
"What was that?!"
Kenji came down the stairs.
"What's going on here?" he said, staring at the broken guitar on the floor.
Jun didn't hesitate.
Driven by anger, he punched Kenji.
"You…" he said, voice shaking, eyes filled with tears. "I hope you're satisfied."
He walked upstairs and slammed the door.
Yume stood frozen.
And Kenji remained still.
Blood slowly dripped from the corner of his mouth onto the wooden floor.