Episode 2

The heavy church doors slammed shut behind Yuki as he stepped into the open air.

The sudden quiet felt unreal after the chaos he had left behind. The distant sounds of raised voices and hurried footsteps echoed faintly from inside, but he didn’t stop moving. His polished shoes struck against the stone pathway in quick, steady rhythms.

He had done it.

He had really walked away.

A strange mix of relief and tension settled in his chest. The wedding suit felt suffocating now, the fabric heavy against his skin as if it carried the weight of a future he had just abandoned.

Behind him, the doors opened again.

“Yuki!”

He stopped instinctively but didn’t turn around immediately. Masaki’s voice was calm, controlled — not desperate, not heartbroken. Just irritated.

Yuki let out a slow breath before facing him.

Masaki approached with measured steps, his expression cold but composed. Even after being publicly rejected, he looked more concerned about appearances than emotions.

“You’re making things difficult,” Masaki said quietly. “Do you realize how today looks to everyone watching?”

Yuki almost laughed.

“That’s exactly why I ended it now,” he replied.

Masaki frowned. “You were the one who insisted on this marriage from the beginning. You pushed for it. And now you walk away without explanation?”

Yuki studied his face carefully.

Handsome. Perfect. Untouchable.

And completely empty.

“I don’t need to explain,” Yuki said softly.

Masaki’s jaw tightened. “This is not only about you. Our families—”

“Our families will survive,” Yuki interrupted.

Silence fell between them.

For a brief moment, Masaki seemed as if he wanted to say something more, but whatever it was never came. Instead, he adjusted his cuffs, regaining his usual composure.

“You’re being irrational,” he said at last.

Maybe he was. But for the first time, Yuki didn’t care how he appeared.

He stepped back, creating distance between them.

“I won’t change my mind.”

Masaki’s gaze hardened, but he didn’t try to stop him again.

Yuki turned and continued walking, leaving the wedding venue behind him.

The wind lifted slightly, carrying the scent of flowers and the distant murmur of guests still processing what had just happened.

As he reached the outer courtyard, he slowed.

Someone stood beneath the shade of a tall tree near the entrance.

Haruto Takahashi.

He wasn’t part of the chaos, wasn’t rushing or questioning. He simply watched, his posture relaxed, his eyes calm yet focused entirely on Yuki.

There was no judgment in his gaze. No surprise either — almost as if he had expected this outcome all along.

Yuki hesitated for only a second.

Their eyes met.

Something unspoken passed between them, quiet and steady, like the beginning of a story neither had yet acknowledged.

Haruto didn’t approach. He didn’t speak.

But his presence felt grounding — solid in a way Yuki hadn’t realized he needed.

Yuki looked away first and continued walking past him, heart beating faster for reasons he couldn’t yet name.

Behind him, the church bells rang again, marking the end of a ceremony that never truly happened.

Ahead of him stretched an uncertain future.

But for the first time, it was his own.

E p I s o d e. I s s h o r t

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