[ 23hrs ago]
Puff
A swirl of smoke curled into the air as Hans took a drag from his cigar, his leather-clad frame leaning against the alley wall. His dark hair, slightly tousled but perfectly in place, caught the light whenever he moved, giving him that effortlessly cool look people admired.
Cutting him off from his thoughts was the voice of a young girl.
"I saw the messages, Hans."
Sayu's voice was flat. Her phone trembled slightly in her hand, the screen still lit with his chat logs.
Hans didn't even flinch. He leaned back against the alleyway's wall, arms crossed, expression unreadable. "So what?"
"So what?" she repeated, blinking. "You called her 'your peace.' You told her you missed her."
"It wasn't like that." He rolled his eyes. "You always overreact."
"I'm overreacting?" Her voice cracked. "You've been flirting with another girl for months and I'm the problem?"
"It was just texting. Stop making this into a drama."
"Unbelievable," she muttered, turning away. "You never take responsibility for anything."
Five years. Five years since high school, since whispered promises under bleachers and shared fries in the cafeteria. Now? All that remained was the ghost of a boy she'd loved and the hollow man in front of her.
But she still believed she shouldn't say anything, for the sake of their long-term relationship, she at least wanted to stay a bit more patient—at least until now.
Hans stepped forward. "Don't walk away."
"Why not?" she snapped. "So, you can keep lying to my face?"
"I'm tired, Sayu. Tired of your constant accusations. Tired of you treating me like some villain—"
"You slapped me with lies and now you want pity?"
"I didn't cheat." Hans said.
"Then what would you call it?" she barked, spinning around. "Saying 'I wish you were here in my bed'? Sending hearts at 3am?! How stupid do you think I am?"
Hans's eyes darkened. "Careful with your tone."
"Why? Scared someone will hear the truth?" Sayu spat angrily. "You alwa—"
Slap
Silence swept the hallway.
Sayu staggered back, a hot sting blooming across her cheek.
Her ears rang.
She stared at him, frozen.
She didn't say anything—no, she couldn't.
How could she? The man she knew and loved for five years was no longer there.
He didn't say a word. Just looked at his own hand like it had betrayed him—then turned and stormed off, leaving her in the dim hallway, alone.
Behind her, a vending machine hummed. Someone laughed down the hall. The world didn't pause.
But something inside Sayu did.
****
~Knock-Knock~
Sayu's knuckles rapped weakly against Rin's door, then her hands slipped back to cover her face with her hoodie as she waited.
A faint red mark throbbed beneath the fabric.
"Coming~!"
A squeaky, cute voice called from behind the door.
Click.
The door swung open, revealing Rin—Sayu's best friend in the world.
Rin was wrapped in a towel, from chest to knees, another towel twisted atop her head, hiding her long velvet-pink hair that must have been freshly washed.
It looked like she had just stepped out of the shower.
"Oh, Sayu? I was just about to call you!"
"Call me? W-why—?" Sayu started, but Rin pulled her inside before she could finish.
"I called you so many times! Why weren't you answering?" Rin asked, drying her hair with the towel.
"Oh… I—I ran out of battery," Sayu replied with an awkward chuckle, hiding her face and real feelings under her hoodie. After the argument with Hans, she didn't want to talk to anyone and had switched her phone off.
Even now, she came to Rin because she was the only person she trusted to be there during hard times.
Rin sighed as she applied some makeup on her hand.
"Hm? There's more going on, isn't there? And why are you hiding under that hoodie? You look like a fugitive on the run—take it off!"
"Oh-h, I think the weather's cold. I'll just keep it o—"
Before Sayu could finish her weak excuse, Rin had already moved. With no hesitation, she pulled back the hoodie herself.
The soft fabric slid down, and there it was — the faint red mark still blooming across Sayu's cheek.
Rin froze.
"W-What happened to your face?"
Sayu's hand shot back up to cover it again, yanking the hoodie into place like it could erase what Rin had seen.
"N-Nothing," she mumbled. "I just had a… an allergy reaction."
It was a terrible lie. Even she wouldn't have believed it if their roles were reversed.
But Rin didn't push her.
She just stepped forward, wrapped her arms around Sayu, and held her tightly.
No questions. No pressure. Just a quiet hug—and that was what Sayu wanted. Not someone to ask her 'What happened? Are you Okay?', but someone to just be there for her. And Rin was.
Sayu stood there in silence as Rin gently patted her back. And for the first time that evening, she felt the knot in her chest loosen — just a little.
Sayu didn't know how long they stayed like that — one frozen, one firm — but eventually, Rin pulled back with that familiar glint in her eyes.
"Alright," she said, smoothing Sayu's hoodie down. "Time to fix your soul with the ancient cure."
Sayu blinked. "...What?"
"Dumb boys and emotional trauma require one thing." Rin turned dramatically toward her closet. "A party. Music. Lights. Hot people. Distractions."
Sayu groaned. "No. No way. You're not dragging me to some dumb party with—"
Rin whirled around with a devilish grin. "Too late. I already RSVP'd the girls we're coming."
Sayu's eyes widened. "You what?!"
"You were radio silent, and I knew something was wrong." Rin tossed the dress at her. "Lucky for you, you've got the world's best BFF."
Sayu opened her mouth to protest—then sighed. A night alone with her thoughts sounded worse than Rin's chaos.
"Fine. But I'm not wearing that dress."
Rin grinned. "Tonight, we're going all out."
"Yeah, yeah…" Sayu muttered, forcing a smile and trying to match her BFF's party vibe.
'Come on Sayu!' she thought to herself. 'It's just a party.'
(Spoiler: It was not just a party.)