Kei unlocked the door to his house, his mind still drifting back to the conversation with Mia. He regretted the harsh words he'd let slip earlier. He hadn't wanted to reveal everything to Haru—especially what Mia had done—but doing nothing would make him complicit, as bad as she was becoming.
He trudged down the hallway, still a bit unsteady, until the familiar sound of giggles pulled him away from his dark thoughts. His younger siblings were hiding beneath his bed.
"Akane, Arata, your big brother's tired and needs some sleep. Come on out," he called, his voice softening.
Both of them crawled out from under the bed.
"You never play with us anymore!" Akane whined, her tone a mix of pout and playful protest.
"I did, just two days ago," Kei chuckled as he ruffled her hair.
"Yeah, but that was forever ago!" Arata exaggerated dramatically.
"How about after I get some rest, we can play together?" he offered.
"Okay!" They both squealed with joy.
Seeing them so light and happy stirred something in Kei. He only remembered his siblings as teenagers—so to see them as children again made him long for the time they'd lost. In his previous life, he'd been so busy with college and work that they had drifted apart. He promised himself he wouldn't repeat that mistake. But lately, his mind had been preoccupied with Mia and her never-ending schemes, and it weighed heavily on him.
Before the afternoon slipped away, Kei retreated to his room and pulled out his old leather diary—the same diary that held the secrets of his previous life. The same diary that helped him remember what had happened in the future, and the same diary that contained the painful reasons why Mia despised Sakura. He scribbled down every detail of the day, hoping that the act of recording might ease the relentless churn of his thoughts.
After a few minutes of writing, he set the diary aside and picked up his phone. With a deep breath, he dialed Haru's number.
A groggy "Hello?" came through on the other end.
"Hi, Haru, it's Kei. It's well past noon—why are you still asleep?" Kei asked, concern edging his tone.
There was a long, hushed pause as Haru mumbled something inaudible. Interrupting the silence, Kei pressed, "Why are you whispering?"
After another brief pause, Haru's voice returned in a low murmur, "Because Sakura's still sleeping."
The words struck Kei like a jolt. "Oh my god! Did you two—" he blurted out before catching himself, his mind momentarily racing with a foolish assumption.
A silence followed, and then Haru's voice, now noticeably embarrassed and stuttering, replied, "N-no, Kei. Nothing like that." He exhaled sharply before continuing, "After everything that happened yesterday, I went with Sakura to her house. She was scared to death—she had a full-blown panic attack in the middle of the night because of Kenji. When she woke up, she was trembling, so she asked me to stay with her. I couldn't leave her like that."
Kei's heart sank as the absurdity of his earlier assumption clashed with the painful truth in Haru's words. Eager to share more about the tangled mess that was Mia's influence, he asked, "Is she still traumatised by what happened?"
"It looks like it," Haru replied softly. "Last night, while she was sleeping, I even heard her mumbling something about me marrying Mia." His voice dropped to a whisper, laden with uncertainty.
Kei's eyes widened in disbelief. Does Sakura remember what happened in the future too? he wondered silently. Struggling to rein in his curiosity, he pressed further, "You said she was mumbling in her sleep about you marrying Mia?"
"Yeah," Haru confirmed, "she must've been dreaming after what that bastard did to her." His tone was bitter, and for a moment, Kei's mind began to spin out of control. If Sakura held memories from the future—and if either her or Mia found out the other did—it could only lead to chaos. Especially if Mia ever found out that Sakura remembered, too.
"So, what did you call me for?" Haru asked, interrupting Kei's spiraling thoughts.
Suddenly, Kei hesitated. He wasn't sure he should reveal anything about Mia now. If Haru told Sakura what Kei told him, then Sakura would find out that Mia remembered everything—and she would confront her. And that was the last thing Kei wanted.
His jaw tightened as he stared at the floor, his thoughts racing. He was trying to rewrite his past, to shape a future unburdened by the weight of another lifetime. Why shouldn't—no, why couldn't Mia do the same? If she kept clinging to those memories, she'd never find happiness. She'd keep blaming Sakura, keep justifying every cruel thing she did. And if Sakura confronted her, it would only feed into that cycle. Kei had seen who Mia had become when she let anger consume her. He didn't want to worsen it.
Kei exhaled sharply. He just wanted Mia to forget. To let go, the way he was trying to. But a quiet, nagging voice in his mind asked—was he really doing this for her? Or was he afraid that if she held onto the past, she'd make a choice that didn't include him?
"I—uh, I forgot," Kei lied lamely.
You forgot?" Haru repeated, his voice laced with doubt. "You just called me out of nowhere, acting all serious, and now you suddenly forgot?"
Kei swallowed. His grip on the phone tightened. "I guess I just wanted to check on Sakura," he said, forcing nonchalance into his voice. "Bye."
"Wait—"
Kei hung up before Haru could press further. His pulse pounded as he shut his phone, exhaling sharply. He could already imagine Haru frowning at his screen, knowing something was off.
Then a thought hit him:What would happen if Haru remembered?