...
The phone rang twice. No answer.
A third time—Haru’s thumb hesitated before pressing “call” again. His chest felt tight, breath shallow. Kai never ignores him this long.
He listened to the ringing, each tone cutting deeper, until finally—
“...Haru.”
Kai’s voice came through, low, rough, like he’d been crying for hours.
“Kai! Are you okay?
You didn’t reply. I was so—”
“I’m fine,” Kai interrupted softly. His tone didn’t sound fine at all. “Sorry, I just... needed some time.”
There was a quiet sound on the other end—something like a faint rattle.
Haru frowned. “You sound weird. What happened after—after your dad…?”
A dry laugh. “What happened? Nothing much. Just… realizing how small I am, Haru.”
“Don’t say that.”
“No, it’s true,” Kai whispered. “I can’t even choose who I love without hurting everyone. It’s like... maybe the world doesn’t want us together.”
Haru’s throat tightened. He didn’t know what to say, only that he wanted to run to him.
“Kai, please. Don’t talk like that. We’ll figure it out, okay? Just—stay where you are. I’ll—”
“Haru.”
That one word stopped him cold. There was something final in the way Kai said his name.
“Haru... you must know that I love you so much. I’ll risk anything for you.”
“Kai…” Haru’s voice cracked. “Why are you talking like this?”
A long silence. On the other side, Kai’s hand trembled as he stared at the open bottle of pills on his desk. Tears blurred his vision until everything turned into a smear of white and silver. He whispered:
“Then... say it for me. Please. Tell me you love me.”
Haru’s heart stuttered. He didn’t understand why his chest hurt so much, why the air suddenly felt heavy—but he obeyed, voice shaking:
“I love you, Kai. I really do.”
There was the sound of a breath hitching, and then—
“I love you too, Haru. I love you so much.” The words caught in his throat, trembling, breaking, fragile and wet with tears.
The line went quiet.
The phone slipped slowly from Kai's fingers, clattering softly against the floor — the sound of something inside him shattering. It was as if, in that moment, he was letting Haru go, tearing his soul in half.
His hands shook violently as he uncapped the bottle. The pills rattled out, scattering one by one — pale, small pieces, detached from each other, like fragments of his love for Haru now shattered beyond repair.
He stared at them for a long moment. Is this how love ends? In pieces?
Then, with a choked breath, Kai swallowed — not just the pills, but everything. Every piece of his love, every unsaid word, every dream he thought he could keep, thinking if he swallowed them, he could stitch those broken pieces back together, hide them deep inside himself, and bury the pain where no one could ever find it again.
One swallow. Then another.
The bitterness spread like fire, burning down his throat, into his chest. His tears blurred everything — the desk, the walls, the world.
The dizziness came, slow at first, then heavy and thick. His vision dimmed; the bottle rolled away from his hand. A wave that rose and rose, until the world swayed around him.
He whispered, barely audible, “Haru…”
Kai's voice cracking, his last breath carrying the name like a prayer — and a farewell.
*NOTE* this scene is necessary for the plot.
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