"I said: impossible. I will not let you leave me."

  Jun just let out a dry, indifferent ugh. He reached for the handle and pulled the library door open.

  "Are you pnning to run?" Haruka’s question made him stop in his tracks.

  She stared at his back, her eyes filled with a terrifying, self-aware desperation.

  Perhaps he and I are fated to be tangled together in all the wrong ways, she thought sadly.

  _____

  "What if I am?"

  Outside, the rain was hammering the trees so hard it was stripping the soil from the roots, carving a miniature river down the hillside behind the manor.

  Jun turned to face the girl. Her face was dark with a look he had never seen on her before—a mix of cold calcution and raw grief.

  "What tools do you have left to control me, Mochizuki?" Jun stepped toward her. She wasn't short, but her head barely reached his chin.

  "The Mochizuki family isn't omnipotent. You have influence in Tokyo, sure. But if I vanish to the snowy wilds of Hokkaido or the forests of Aomori, what can you actually do to stop me?"

  "And let me remind you: the person who drove me here expects a call when I get home. In this weather, if she doesn't hear from me, do you want to guess how long it takes for her to call the police?"

  Another woman, Haruka noted with a prickle of annoyance.

  "Besides," Jun continued, "Aunt Hana promised me the orphanage's funding is secure. You have no leverage."

  "Your aunt is a good person. If something happens to her and she actually needs my help, tell her to call me. I’ll be there for her."

  Haruka looked up at him, her vision blurring. Her voice broke into a small, wounded sob.

  "Am I... am I really the vilin in your story?"

  Jun didn't flinch at her fragility. Her pain wasn't his responsibility.

  "Staying near you is a liability. I have no way of knowing when you’ll try to cage me again. I don't have the time or the energy to spend my life second-guessing your every move. It’s better for both of us if I just stay far away."

  The distance in his voice snapped the st string of her restraint.

  "THEN WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO?!" Haruka lunged at him, grabbing his colr and pressing herself against him. "Am I supposed to tell you, the second we meet, that I spent a lifetime in a dream loving you? That I loved you until it felt like dying, then hated you until I was empty?"

  "Am I supposed to ask why you aren't the man from my dreams? The one who looked at me with warmth instead of this... this wall of ice?"

  "Looking at your 'perfect' student mask makes me wish I had never closed my eyes! I’ve never even had a first love in the real world, so why do I have these memories?! Why do I remember the warmth, the sweetness, and the absolute torture of being abandoned by you?!"

  Haruka’s mind was a storm more violent than the one outside.

  "I didn't want to tell the 'real' you that you were never my aunt’s savior... you were mine!!"

  She had finally said it.

  A crack of thunder shook the entire manor, sounding like the sky was being ripped in half. Unlike the sudden rain, Haruka’s tears had been building for years. They finally broke, streaming down her face in a silent flood.

  "So you have a System after all," Jun said. He wasn't surprised in the least.

  "SO WHAT IF I DO?!" Haruka swung her arms out, letting the tears fall. The rain was deafening, yet the sound of her tears hitting the floor felt impossibly clear.

  She turned her head away, refusing to let this "vile man" see any more of her weakness.

  Jun pulled a pack of tissues from his pocket and held one out.

  "I don't want your fake kindness!" she snapped, though her voice cked conviction.

  "Fair enough. Old habits die hard." Jun chuckled and tucked the tissues back into his pocket.

  Even in her state of hysterical grief and regret, Haruka was stunned by the move.

  "Is your heart actually made of stone?"

  "You said you didn't want them," Jun said, his expression perfectly natural.

  "GIVE THEM TO ME!" She held out her hand.

  "Mochizuki," Jun said, handing her the tissue, "one piece of advice before I say goodbye. A person as conflicted as you should learn to just say what you feel in the moment. It’s much more efficient."

  "So you’re still leaving?" Her face darkened again.

  "Did you think a few tears would make me stay?" Jun smiled. He had seen enough "rejected girl" tears to fill a reservoir. "You were on the roof when I talked to Tomatsu. You heard everything."

  "If you know the truth about Yuka, you know I feel zero guilt for what 'Jun' did in a simution. The System is the culprit, not me. Get your facts straight."

  Seeing that she had stabilized, Jun turned for the door. Haruka grabbed his arm again.

  "The rain is too heavy. Even if I ordered a car, you wouldn't make it out of the district. Just... wait until it lets up."

  They sat back down by the library windows. This time, Haruka sat beneath the bck, churning clouds, while Jun sat beneath the swaying pines.

  Think, Haruka. Think. She had to find a way to keep him. She couldn't imagine a world where he was in Hokkaido, beyond her reach.

  This is the end of the line. I have to do it now. She had never wanted to succeed at anything more in her life.

  Jun pulled out his phone to call the Director and check on the Home. When he hung up, Haruka spoke.

  "You're going to stay in Mitaka."

  Her tone was absolute.

  "I love saying 'no' to girls who act that confident," Jun said, scrolling through his phone.

  "No, you won't say no to this." Her voice was quiet but carried the weight of an empire. She had found the only leverage that mattered.

  "I’m going to give you a reason you can't refuse."

  Jun put his phone down, all ears.

  "If you stay within my reach, I will provide the Children’s Home with the best medical and educational resources money can buy." She sat across from him, her eyes burning with a sharp, new light.

  "Most of them go to the worst public schools in the city, right? And many of those kids have chronic health issues from their pasts—things that require specialists and expensive medication. Am I wrong?"

  "Stay by my side, and I will fix all of it. I’ll guarantee that standard for as long as the Home exists."

  Downstairs, Hana was sipping tea, unaware that her niece had just awakened the Mochizuki business blood. Haruka had just made the most important trade of her life.

  Jun had to admit: the bait was perfect. He needed time to process.

  Haruka watched him, her heart hammering against her ribs as she waited for his verdict. This was the first time in the real world she had truly looked at his face without a mask.

  The story has already started so badly, she thought bitterly. Maybe the real world will be even more tragic than the dream.

  Jun finally looked up.

  "Even if I agree, I won't be your puppet. I’ll keep working, and I’ll leave Mitaka whenever I please for my own business. If I catch even a hint of you trying to 'manage' me again, I won't say a word—I’ll just vanish. And I promise you, with the skills I’ve learned, you will never find me."

  "Deal. I won't interfere with your personal life," Haruka agreed instantly. As long as there was a contract, there was hope. The rest could be handled ter.

  "And don't expect me to be 'nice' to you. This is a business transaction. Nothing more."

  "That’s fine. I prefer you without the fake smile anyway," Haruka said, convincing herself it was a win.

  Jun looked at her, surprised she had folded so completely.

  "One st thing," Jun added. "In this dynamic, I’m not the one staying with you. You’re the one following me. Understand?"

  Haruka gave him a radiant smile—the first sunshine after the storm.

  ___

  "Since this is a transaction, let’s be clear about your requirements," Jun said, stirring a spoonful of sugar into a fresh cup of tea.

  Haruka had ordered two cups of Earl Grey; she needed the caffeine to steady her nerves. This time, Jun's tea was at a perfectly drinkable temperature.

  Jun watched the elegant line of her throat as she drank. She didn't use a spoon, just cradled the porcein cup in both hands.

  When she finished, she wiped the st of the tear tracks from her eyes with her wrist and spoke.

  "One: I will use my resources to monitor your location and ensure your safety. As long as it doesn't disrupt your daily life, you cannot object."

  "The right to define 'disruption' belongs solely to me," Jun interrupted.

  Haruka opened her mouth to argue, then saw the look in his eyes and shut it. She hadn't reached her main point yet.

  "Two: If anything happens to my aunt... if the tragedy I saw... if it happens..."

  She couldn't say the word 'death.' The fear was too primal.

  "If that happens, you must come to me immediately. You will take full responsibility for my psychological well-being. You have to keep me from falling apart."

  "Why not just hire a world-css therapist?" Jun asked. "They’d be more qualified."

  "NO!" Haruka stood up, pressing her hands onto the table.

  "Only you have done it before. Since you succeeded in the dream, I have no reason to trust anyone else."

  "So... I have nothing to do with your aunt?" Jun felt a strange, fleeting sense of disappointment.

  "I told you: you're my savior." Her tone was a mix of embarrassment and defensive anger.

  Admitting that to his face is basically like saying he's the center of my universe, she thought, her ears turning pink.

  "This is the most important term. Even though I know what’s coming, I won't be able to handle it alone. You have to be the one to pull me out of the dark."

  "If I lose my mind, I can't fulfill my end of the deal for the orphanage, can I?" she added pointedly.

  "What exactly happened to you in that simution?" Jun asked, genuinely curious now.

  Haruka gave him a look so complex it was impossible to decode.

  "That look... did I cheat on you? Was it with your best friend?" Jun mused. Gd I rejected the System; sounds like high-drama.

  "I’m never telling you." She knew he wasn't asking out of concern, just morbid curiosity.

  "Just be warned: when it happens, I might become... difficult. I might lose the will to live. You can't give up on me. You have to drag me back. Promise me."

  This sounds like a full-time job, Jun thought. I might be getting underpaid for this.

  Noticing his hesitation, Haruka spoke faster. "Don't you dare think this isn't a fair trade! Improving the medical and educational standards for dozens of kids is a fortune in capital. My employees' children don't even get these benefits. How long would it take the 'Hustle King' to earn that kind of money on his own?"

  Jun shot her a look. She was right, but he made a mental note: She just looked down on the King. Debt added.

  "You're very talkative today," Jun noted.

  "..." The coldness in his voice reminded her of the man who had walked away from her in the dream.

  "We have a deal then," she said, reverting to her stoic mask. "Do you need a formal contract? A legal guarantee?"

  "I don't trust paper, especially when there’s a power imbance. Just remember, Mochizuki: the moment I feel a leash around my neck, I vanish. That is your only guarantee."

  Jun finally took a long, satisfying sip of his tea. After all the drama, he was finally hydrated.

  "Understood." Haruka was getting tired of the warnings.

  The Mochizuki name isn't big enough, she thought bitterly. I need to grow our influence until he has nowhere left to run. Then we’ll see who’s following who.

  With the business concluded, they sat in silence as the rain continued to roar. Jun had no interest in exploring the rest of the castle, so he just stared out at the grey ndscape, waiting for the squall to end.

  Knock, knock.

  The library door opened a crack. Hana poked her head out from behind a bookshelf, looking like a teenager spying on her older sister.

  "Auntie! You already knocked, why are you lurking?" Haruka sighed.

  "I didn't want to walk in if you two were doing something... scandalous," Hana teased. Both teenagers rolled their eyes in unison.

  "How are we doing?" Hana walked over, but her smile vanished the moment she saw Haruka’s face. She rushed over. "Haruka! You’ve been crying!"

  Hana sat on the edge of the chair, cupping Haruka’s face and gently wiping the red marks from her eyes. The contrast was striking: the mature, regal aunt and the fragile, grieving niece.

  Jun didn't linger on the scene. He stood up and moved toward the bookshelves, pretending to browse. If the mood turned into a "Family vs. Outsider" interrogation, he was ready to bolt.

  "He bullied me!" Haruka pouted, pointing a finger at Jun through the shelves.

  Jun was already halfway to the door.

  Hana let out a melodious ugh. "Then bully him back! Isn't that how you kids py?"

  Hana felt relieved. If her niece could compin about being bullied, the problem wasn't serious. If she had been silent and staring, then Hana would have worried.

  Jun rexed. He decided to throw a counter-punch.

  "Actually, Ma'am," Jun said, looking at Hana, "Haruka just told me she’s been tired of your fairy tales for years. She said she only listens to be polite."