Episode 3

The Shockwaves

By the time Yuki reached the main road, the adrenaline that had carried him forward began to fade.

The world felt strangely quiet.

Cars passed, pedestrians moved along their own paths, completely unaware that inside the grand church behind him a carefully arranged marriage had just collapsed. For everyone else, it was an ordinary day. For Yuki, everything had changed.

He loosened the collar of his suit slightly, taking a slow breath.

His phone vibrated.

Once.

Then again.

And again.

Messages flooded in rapidly — family members, acquaintances, curious friends, and likely reporters who had already caught wind of the scandal. He didn’t need to read them to know what they said.

How could you do this?

Are you insane?

What happened?

He silenced the device without opening any of them.

For once, he refused to let other people’s expectations control his decisions.

A black car slowed beside him.

The window rolled down, revealing his elder brother, Daichi.

“Get in,” Daichi said calmly.

Yuki hesitated but obeyed. The moment the door closed, the outside noise disappeared, replaced by a heavy silence.

Daichi drove without speaking for several minutes. His expression remained composed, but the tight grip on the steering wheel betrayed his tension.

“Father is furious,” he said finally.

“I know.”

“The Fujimoto family is demanding an explanation.”

Yuki looked out the window. “They won’t get one.”

Daichi glanced at him briefly, surprise flickering across his face. “You’ve changed.”

Maybe he had.

Or maybe he was simply seeing things clearly for the first time.

“You insisted on marrying Masaki back then,” Daichi continued. “You fought everyone for it. So why stop now?”

Yuki remained quiet for a moment.

How could he explain something that sounded impossible? How could he describe the weight of regret, the certainty that if he walked down that aisle, everything would end exactly as before?

“I just realized I was wrong,” he said instead.

Daichi didn’t press further.

The car turned into a familiar street leading toward the Aizawa estate. Yuki felt tension return to his shoulders. Facing the world was one thing; facing his family would be another battle entirely.

As they approached the gate, Yuki noticed another car parked nearby.

He recognized it immediately.

Haruto Takahashi stood beside it, leaning casually against the door as if he had been waiting.

Yuki’s heartbeat skipped.

Haruto’s presence felt unexpected yet strangely inevitable, like a quiet constant that had always existed just outside his awareness.

Daichi slowed the car.

“You have a visitor,” he said, mildly curious.

Yuki didn’t respond.

Haruto straightened as the car stopped, his gaze calm, unwavering. He didn’t rush forward or demand explanations. He simply waited.

When Yuki stepped out, the air between them felt charged with unspoken words.

“You left,” Haruto said quietly.

It wasn’t a question.