The warm hues of the setting sun spilled through the glass façade of Fujiwara Multimedia, casting long shadows across the marble floor. The office had thinned out—most employees already gone or chatting quietly in the lounge. Yume stood by the elevator, her canvas tote bag slung over one shoulder, a few manuscript papers still peeking out.
She glanced behind her once.
That world—the fast-paced, creative buzz of writers, editors, and hidden hierarchies—was where she'd lived as Yume, a simple intern chasing her dreams. No one here knew that her real name was Yumeha Mitsui. No one knew she belonged to a lineage of wealth, tradition, and quiet responsibility.
The elevator doors opened with a soft chime. She stepped inside, alone.
As the doors slid shut, her expression softened. The casual smile she wore at work faded slowly—replaced by something more serious. Distant. Heavier.
---
🚗 Scene: The Ride Home
The Mitsui family's sleek black car waited discreetly a block away. Yume settled into the back seat in silence. The driver, Mr. Kondo, greeted her politely.
Mr. Kondo:
"Welcome back, Ojou-sama."
She nodded faintly.
Yume:
"Thank you, Kondo-san."
The car pulled away. She leaned against the cool window, watching the city shift as the sky deepened into blue. The towering glass buildings of the business district gave way to quieter, tree-lined streets. Her phone buzzed once in her lap, and she glanced at it.
A message from Fushiguro Ren.
> Fushiguro:
"Did you make it out alive, or did Ayaka duel you in the parking lot?"
She exhaled a laugh through her nose, thumbs hovering over the keyboard... but she didn't reply yet. Not while her two worlds were still crossing over.
---
🏯 Scene: Arriving at the Mitsui Mansion
The car slowed through the private gate of the Mitsui estate, its grandeur veiled behind aged stone walls and cherry trees just beginning to bloom.
A steward opened the door for her. She stepped out—not as Yume the intern, but as Yumeha Mitsui, heiress to one of Japan's most influential families.
The cool air smelled of pine and quiet old money.
Inside the house, servants greeted her with slight bows. The interior was timeless—dark wood panels, calligraphy scrolls, and the sound of a waterfall echoing softly from the inner garden.
Her heels clicked against the polished floor as she ascended the stairs to her private wing.
---
🌸 Scene: Inside Her Room
Yume pushed open the sliding doors to her room and finally let her shoulders relax. A breeze stirred the sheer curtains, fluttering like whispers of a quieter life.
She slipped off her shoes and sat on the edge of her bed.
Gone was the bubbly smile. Her expression now was that of someone who carried two identities—each real, each incomplete on its own.
Sakura:
"…Okay, that's either an existential crisis or the flu. Do I call the family doctor or the gossip hotline?"
Yume (muffled into pillow):
"Neither. Call a priest. I need a spiritual reset."
Sakura (snorting):
"What did they do to my sweet, sweet Yumeha-turned-commoner today?"
Yume (rolling over, exhausted):
"Ayaka happened. At the coffee station. While I was just trying to exist and stir my milk like a peaceful citizen."
Sakura (eyes sparkling):
"Oh no. What did the demon queen say this time?"
Yume sat up dramatically, mimicking Ayaka's smug tone with over-the-top flair.
Yume (mocking):
"'You're cute when you're idealistic… but don't mistake idealism for talent.' And then she actually said—I swear on my red-thread heart—'This industry eats girls like you for breakfast.'"
Sakura (gasps theatrically):
"AND YOU DIDN'T THROW YOUR LATTE IN HER FACE?! I would've done a full monologue and ended with a dramatic hair flip!"
Yume:
"I panicked, okay?! I just stood there like a soggy rice cracker."
Sakura (grabbing a pillow and hitting her with it):
"Ugh, pathetic. You are the hidden heiress of the Mitsui family. Your ancestors are crying into their gold."
Yume laughed helplessly, the day's tension finally cracking into a smile.
Yume (softly):
"…Then fushiguro showed up."
Sakura (suddenly serious):
"Fushiguro ?"
Yume (nodding):
"Yeah. He just—appeared. Said something cool and dry and totally devastating to Ayaka. Like he'd been rehearsing it in the mirror."
Sakura (sitting upright):
"No, no, no. This is how dramas start. Stoic office man saves our undercover heiress. Cue OST and slow-motion eye contact."
Yume (laughing):
"It wasn't like that…"
Sakura (squinting):
"Did your heart do that annoying fluttery thing it does when you talk about books or koi fish?"
Yume looked down at her tea. She didn't answer right away.
Yume (quietly):
"…Yeah. Maybe."
Sakura (clutching her heart dramatically):
"We're DOOMED. This is a K-drama. I knew it. Ren's secretly a chaebol too, isn't he? You two are going to find out your parents arranged your marriage before you were born."
Yume (giggling):
"Sakura, please."
Sakura (pointing at her sternly):
"I will be your maid of honor. I'm already designing the dress code. No muted neutrals. This is our love story now."
Suddenly, Yume's phone buzzed on the nightstand.
Sakura:
"Speak of the emotionally repressed devil…"
Yume peeked at the screen and blushed.
Sakura (without looking up):
"Was that a work text, or did someone just text you like a poetic weather app?"
Yume (glancing away, calm):
"Just someone."
Sakura (finally peeking over her magazine, mischievous):
"Oh-ho. Just someone, she says. Let me guess. Mr. Quiet Intern who looks like he walked out of a moody music video?"
Yume (with a small smile):
"I'm not sure what he looks like. He doesn't talk much."
Sakura (grinning):
"But he texts you while it rains. Yume-chan, are we falling in love with a poetic ghost?"
Yume (teasing):
"No. Maybe I just… like talking to someone who doesn't expect anything from me."
(playfully gasping):
"OH! So mysterious! So minimalist! Should I start writing wedding invitations addressed to 'Mr. and Mrs. Low-Key Emotional Damage'?"
Yume (laughing, cheeks tinted pink):
"It's not like that."
> Yume [9:45 PM]:
It's raining here too. But I think I like it. The city feels a bit quieter when it rains.
---
🐉 Somewhere Across Town – fujiwada mansion
Ren is in his room, leaning back against the headboard with a book on his lap and his phone in hand. A small desk lamp flickers beside him, casting a warm halo of light.
He reads Yume's message and allows a faint smile to touch his lips.
> Fushiguro Ren [9:47 PM]:
Or maybe everyone's just inside, pretending the world isn't spinning too fast.
It's a good night to write.
He's about to type another message—
Reo (barging in):
"Hyuuung! I lost my earbuds and I'm going to emotionally collapse without music!"
Ren (without looking up):
"They're in your hoodie pocket."
Reo (pauses, checks, finds them):
"…You're a scary man. Are you texting someone?"
Ren (flatly):
"No."
Reo (teasing):
"Then why are you typing like you're solving world peace through metaphors?"
Ren (deadpan):
"Don't you have homework?"
Reo (sprawling on the bed dramatically):
"I'm too young to be crushed by responsibilities. Who is she? Is it that quiet girl from work you keep denying you notice?"
Ren:
"I don't notice anyone."
> Yume [9:48 PM]:
Maybe that's why I write. So even when I'm quiet, something still speaks.
He stares at her message for a moment longer, then replies.
> Fushiguro Ren [9:49 PM]:
Then you write the way some people breathe. Like it's the only way they survive.
Reo (suspicious):
"You're too poetic for a spreadsheet intern. Are you secretly a tortured soul?"
Ren (shoving a pillow into Reo's face):
"Get out before I tell Dad you want to become a lyricist."
Reo (muffled under the pillow):
"Fine! But don't think this conversation's over, Loverboy!"
---
🌸 Mitsui Mansion – Yume's Room
Sakura (peeking over Yume's shoulder again):
"He just texted again, didn't he?"
Yume (lightly smiling):
"…He talks like he's always thinking two layers deeper. Like… there's something he's hiding, too."
Sakura (knowingly):
"Girl. You're talking about each other like you're looking into mirrors in dim lighting. Spooky, romantic mirrors."
Yume (softly):
"I don't know who he really is."
Sakura (grinning):
"Maybe that's the best part. Two secrets just orbiting each other."
"But ever since the day I married your brother and came to this house, I have thought of you as my own sister."
Yume (calmly and in a very soft voice.)
"I know, sister, that's why I never thought of you as a stranger. I have always thought of you as the closest person to me, my best friend.
Sakura ( funny way)
" Don't be so emotional, you still have a lot to think about in life.
Don't think about me, think about that mysterious intern coworker of yours."
Yume (irritate)
"You are very bad, you know that.Go, go to your room, big bro is waiting for you. Don't irritate me"
Sakura ( laughing)
Yes, yes, I'll leave now, what else do you need me for now? You need fushiguro the most now, right?
Saying that, Sakura left.
And yume kept thinking all night about fushiguro and how her sister in law Sakura was irritating her by talking about fushiguro .