Unraveling The Past

**Episode 4: Unraveling the Past**

The tension in the small dorm room was palpable as Akemi closed the door behind Haru. She wasn’t sure what to expect—this wasn’t something she had prepared herself for. Haru stood by the window, his gaze distant as he looked out at the glowing lights of the city below.

“Sorry for just showing up like this,” he began softly, still not looking at her. “But… I feel like there’s a lot we haven’t talked about.”

Akemi took a deep breath, trying to steady her racing thoughts. She had known this conversation was inevitable, but it didn’t make it any easier. “It’s okay,” she replied, moving to sit on the edge of her bed. “I guess… there’s a lot I’ve been wondering about too.”

Haru finally turned to face her, his expression unreadable. There was something in his eyes—an intensity that she wasn’t used to seeing from him. It made her feel both vulnerable and exposed.

“I’ve been thinking a lot lately,” he said, walking over to sit in the chair by her desk. “About us. About everything that happened back then.”

Akemi stayed silent, giving him the space to continue.

“When I left, I didn’t really get the chance to say goodbye. I didn’t think it would affect you as much as it did,” Haru admitted, his voice low. “I thought I’d come back eventually, but things got complicated… and the years just slipped away.”

Akemi looked down at her hands, fidgeting with the edge of her sleeve. She remembered how painful it had been, not knowing where he went or why he had left so suddenly. It had taken her a long time to come to terms with his absence.

“I understand why you had to leave, Haru,” she said quietly, lifting her gaze to meet his. “Your family needed you. But… I was your friend. You could’ve at least told me.”

“I know,” Haru sighed, running a hand through his hair. “I was young, and I didn’t handle it well. I didn’t realize how much I was leaving behind until it was too late.”

There was a long pause as both of them sat in silence, the weight of their shared history pressing down on them.

“Do you ever think about what would’ve happened if things had been different?” Akemi asked, her voice barely above a whisper. “If you had stayed?”

Haru’s eyes softened, and he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “I think about it all the time,” he admitted. “I wonder if we would’ve stayed as close as we were… if we’d still be best friends.”

Akemi felt a lump form in her throat. Best friends. That’s what they had been—inseparable in their youth, bound by a friendship that had seemed unbreakable. But life had taken them in different directions, and now… now she wasn’t sure what they were anymore.

“Things have changed,” she said, her voice steady despite the emotions swirling inside her. “We’ve changed.”

Haru nodded, a sad smile tugging at the corners of his lips. “Yeah, we have.”

Another silence settled between them, but this time it was less heavy, more reflective. They both knew they couldn’t go back to the way things had been, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t move forward—together, in some way.

“I just don’t want you to think I forgot about you,” Haru said suddenly, his voice filled with an urgency that caught Akemi off guard. “You were always on my mind, Akemi. Even when I was miles away.”

Akemi’s breath hitched at his words. She wasn’t sure how to respond. The emotions she had buried for so long were surfacing, and she wasn’t sure if she could handle them all at once. She had spent so many years convincing herself that Haru’s departure hadn’t affected her as deeply as it did, but hearing him say that he hadn’t forgotten her made something inside her unravel.

“I missed you,” she admitted, her voice small and fragile. “I missed you so much, Haru.”

Haru’s eyes darkened with an emotion she couldn’t quite place. “I missed you too,” he said, his voice thick with sincerity. “More than you’ll ever know.”

The air between them shifted, and for the first time since their reunion, Akemi allowed herself to acknowledge the feelings she had kept buried for so long. The anger, the hurt, the longing—it all flooded back in an overwhelming wave. But beneath all of that, there was something else too. Something that had always been there, just beneath the surface, waiting for the right moment to emerge.

Before she could stop herself, she spoke again, her words coming out in a rush. “Do you ever wonder if we… could’ve been more than just friends?”

The question hung in the air between them, heavy and loaded with meaning.

Haru looked at her, his eyes searching hers for something—an answer, maybe, or permission to speak the truth. He hesitated for a long moment before he finally answered.

“I think about that all the time,” he confessed, his voice barely above a whisper. “I think about how I felt back then, but I was too young, too focused on other things. I didn’t know what it was at the time… but now I do.”

Akemi’s heart raced. She wasn’t sure what she had been expecting him to say, but his honesty took her by surprise. She had always assumed that whatever feelings they might have had were buried in the past, but hearing Haru admit that he had thought about it too made everything feel more real.

“And what do you feel now?” she asked, her voice shaking slightly.

Haru stood up from his seat, walking over to stand in front of her. His presence was overwhelming, and for a moment, Akemi felt like she couldn’t breathe. He knelt down so that they were eye level, his expression serious, almost vulnerable.

“I feel like I want to make up for lost time,” he said, his voice soft but steady. “I don’t know where this will go, but I want to try… with you.”

Akemi’s heart pounded in her chest. The room felt impossibly small, the space between them almost nonexistent. She could feel the warmth radiating from him, and it made her feel both excited and terrified at the same time.

She opened her mouth to say something, but the words wouldn’t come. Instead, she did the only thing that felt right in that moment—she leaned forward, closing the gap between them.

Their lips met in a soft, tentative kiss. It was nothing like the dramatic, passionate kisses she had seen in movies. It was gentle, almost shy, as if they were both testing the waters, unsure of where this new chapter would take them.

When they finally pulled away, Haru looked at her with a softness she hadn’t seen before.

“Is this okay?” he asked, his voice barely a whisper.

Akemi nodded, her heart swelling with emotions she could no longer ignore. “Yeah,” she said softly. “It’s okay.”

For the first time in what felt like forever, Akemi allowed herself to feel hopeful about the future. She didn’t know what would happen next, but for now, it didn’t matter. What mattered was that they had found their way back to each other, and whatever came next, they would face it together.

---

The next few days passed in a blur. Akemi and Haru hadn’t officially labeled whatever was happening between them, but something had shifted. They spent more time together, both in and outside of class, and there was a new sense of intimacy between them that hadn’t been there before.

Aiko, of course, noticed immediately.

“You two are acting weird,” she said one afternoon as they sat in the cafeteria together. Shota was sitting beside her, looking equally suspicious.

Akemi felt her cheeks flush. “We’re not acting weird.”

Aiko raised an eyebrow. “Oh, come on. You and Haru have been glued to each other lately. Spill it.”

Shota, ever the playful instigator, grinned. “Yeah, you’re not hiding anything from us, Akemi. Just admit it already.”

Akemi exchanged a glance with Haru, who was sitting across from her, his expression amused. She wasn’t sure if she was ready to tell her friends what was going on, but Aiko and Shota were relentless.

After a long pause, Akemi finally sighed. “Okay, fine. Haru and I… we’re figuring things out.”

Aiko’s eyes widened in excitement. “Wait, are you two… like, together?”

Akemi glanced at Haru, who gave a small nod, confirming what they had both been feeling.

“We’re taking it slow,” Haru said, his voice calm and reassuring. “But yeah, we’re… something.”

Aiko let out a squeal of excitement, practically bouncing in her seat. “Finally! I’ve been waiting for this moment for years!”

Shota laughed, clapping Haru on the back. “Took you long enough, man.”

Akemi couldn’t help but laugh at her friends’ reactions. It felt good to finally let them in on the secret, and even better to see how supportive they were.

As they sat together, laughing and joking like old times, Akemi realized that for the first time in a long time, she felt at peace. The uncertainty of the past was behind them, and whatever the future held, she knew she could face it with the people she cared about most.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***