Back to the present.
Satomi sat quietly in the executive office, legs crossed on the long leather couch.
Her fingers toyed absently with the delicate gold chain around her neck.
She smiled.
A faint, secret smile.
From that first experience...
Everything had changed.
They hadn't stopped there.
After school, she would sometimes find him waiting.
In the car. At the corner. Quiet, as always.
He would ask,
"Wanna go somewhere?"
And she'd always say yes.
They would go anywhere she liked.
Shops. Cafés. Parks. Private places.
And most nights…
They would end up doing it again.
And again.
It became their rhythm.
A secret they both shared.
A comfort she always returned to.
When Haruki confessed to her, she didn't hesitate.
She accepted it.
Because she wanted to try living that life too.
A normal life.
And her father—he never stopped her.
"You can choose the life you want," he told her.
"As long as you don't forget about me."
Then came the day Haruki proposed.
