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Haru watched with a twinge of pity as Yusuke attacked the pastry. He managed to wolf down half of it before remembering to breathe. His living conditions had taken a large turn for the worse recently, and it showed.
Some of the off-hand comments Yusuke made had always been worrying for everyone on the group chat. Stuff like only having only toast and daikon leaves for his daily meals, or how he had to ration his month’s groceries yet again. What horrified Haru in particular was just how casual he was about all of it, like he couldn’t even imagine that his life could be anything else. Poor thing couldn’t even afford hot water on a regular basis. The past month was especially bad. Toast and daikon leaves had become an increasingly common meal, with some days being spent just drinking tea.
The last straw was when he had messaged the chat saying that eating only every other day was “not as unpleasant as he had imagined,” and Haru messaged him privately later, asking if he wanted to go out for lunch.
Which is why she was sitting in a bakery in Kichijoji watching Yusuke devour a tray full of baked goods. Her own pastry sat quite forgotten.
Yusuke swallowed another bite and gulped down some coffee before speaking for the first time since they sat down.
“Mmm, simply magnificent,” he said. “Say Haru, was there a particular reason you called me out here?”
Haru sighed. “Yusuke,” she said, “we’re worried for you. The Thieves, I mean. It doesn't seem at all like you’re eating enough.”
Definitely the understatement of the year. Haru just couldn’t bear seeing one of her friends struggle with something so basic as feeding himself. Especially when she was sitting on a mountain of wealth that was more than enough to feed the both of them for the rest of their lives. It would be just so wrong to just look the other way, wouldn’t it?
Yusuke, for his part, just chuckled. “I have such wonderful friends,” he said.
They made small talk. Yusuke’s third year at Kosei was supposedly going well - which she had obvious reason to doubt - and Haru talked about her burgeoning café chain. It was all nothing important, but she was happy just to spend time with someone. The apartment near her college campus was incredibly lonely, and she never got to see the rest of the Thieves very often. It was nice to catch up.
“We should do this more often, Yusuke,” Haru said. “How about next week?”
“So soon?” Yusuke asked. He looked surprised. “Is that really alright with you?”
“Of course,” Haru said. “We can go anywhere you want!”
Something lit up in Yusuke’s eyes, like a child being promised a trip to Destinyland. It was probably the first spot of hope he’d seen in a long time. Hope that he wouldn’t have to just live day to day, but actually have something to look forward to. It broke Haru’s heart a little.
“Well, I certainly won’t say no. It will be nice to have some company every once in a while besides just my canvas and brush,” Yusuke said. Then with a slight chuckle, added, “Besides, given my current situation, I would be an idiot to refuse free food.”
Haru laughed outwardly, but inside, she felt her heart crack even further with his words.
The next week, over sushi, Haru began to wonder about Yusuke. She realized that she didn’t know much about his family situation barring what little the other Thieves told her. Was there truly no one who could help him survive?
When she asked, Yusuke set his chopsticks down and sighed, said, “There’s no one. I never knew my family.” He met Haru’s gaze. “I never told you about Madarame, did I?”
She shook her head. Of course, she had heard the basics, but not from him and not in any fine detail.
Yusuke looked down. There was something in his eyes akin to pain, but older and more tired.
“My mom died when I was three, and my dad died sometime before. Madarame was the only father I knew. You know how that turned out.” He smiled bitterly. “Actually, she might still be alive if it wasn’t for him. She had a seizure one day, and Madarame just let it happen. All so that he could take credit for her last painting.”
Haru’s hand clasped over her mouth.
“That’s terrible! Yusuke, I’m- I’m so sorry.”
“No, it’s alright,” he said with a wavering voice. “It’s old news.”
But it wasn’t alright. Not at all. It was written all over his face. Yusuke had been exploited, betrayed even, by the man he called father. Compassion swelled in Haru’s heart.
“Yusuke, I know exactly how you feel,” she said quietly. “I never knew my mother either, and my father…”
Abused her. Then died on her. Haru swallowed the lump in her throat. After all that time, it still hurt. She had desperately hoped to feel his loving embrace once again. But in the end, she got nothing. Not even a chance to say goodbye.
Yusuke looked at her, his eyes a deep sea of emotion. She could see the aftermath of Yusuke’s upbringing: sorrow, regret, anger, and so much more.
But Haru could make something else out too. Something akin to… understanding?
That stunned her. He understood. He really understood . For the past year, Haru simply never imagined that anyone could. But Yusuke knew what it was like to be left behind. To be unloved. To be used and exploited. To be alone . If Haru was to be honest with herself, it was quite a relief.
For a moment, they sat in silence, taking in the comfort of each other’s presence and companionship. To Haru, it was as if something clicked for her. That this was what she needed all along.
“Oh!” she gasped, realizing that they were still in the middle of dinner, “I’m sorry Yusuke. I didn’t mean to bring my troubles into this.”
“Not at all, Haru,” he replied. He put a hand on her shoulder. “We survivors must be there for each other, wouldn’t you agree?”
Yusuke gently smiled. It was warm and genuine, and it broke Haru’s sadness. She couldn’t help but smile herself, letting the happiness slowly melt away her sorrow until it gushed out. They’ll be alright. But of course he would be. He’s Yusuke. One of the strongest, most resilient people Haru had ever known. Even after all that life had thrown at him, he still carried on with a gentle grin that assured everyone around him that everything was going to be okay.
At least, that’s what Haru thought that warm, jittery feeling in her stomach was.
As their dinner conversation steered towards less heavy subjects, Haru couldn’t help but to think that she and Yusuke were kindred souls of a sort. As guilty as she felt about benefiting from a friend’s suffering, Haru also felt excited at the prospect of having someone who could fully understand her. And with all these Sunday dinner nights, she already had the perfect excuse to try and get to know him better.
Funny, it almost sounded like they were going on-
“Your check, ma’am”
The voice startled Haru. The waiter who had spoken put the check on their table.
“Thank you,” she said. She grabbed the little tray and placed her credit card on it.
“Again, Haru?” Yusuke asked.
“Of course, Yusuke. I couldn’t possibly ask you to pay a single yen,” Haru said. “Believe me, I’m very happy to do this for you.”
Frowning, Yusuke put up more resistance. “Haru, I don’t want to be, well, taking advantage of you.
She put her hand up to stop him. “Your company is payment enough, Yusuke.”
It was ramen the next week and Chinese the week after that. Before they knew it, it became a comfortable pattern. Every Sunday, Haru invited him somewhere nice, and they sat down and ate and got to know a little more about each other.
And during the weekday, texts and phone calls became a frequent occurrence between them. As it turned out, Yusuke was pretty lonely too now that the Phantom Thieves had all gone their separate ways. Kosei didn’t provide very many friends for him. All the students apparently wanted to keep their distance from the “strange art kid.”
Haru just couldn’t understand. How could anyone not want to spend their time with such an amazing human being? Yusuke was a kind and gentle boy, with a strong sense of justice to boot. His passion for his interests (or rather single interest) was charming, his voice was soothing, and even his little eccentricities, Haru thought, were rather adorable.
Yusuke always made her laugh. Yusuke always made her smile. He stuck with her through all her troubles. Once, when the burdens of balancing college and company work got too much, Yusuke sat with her for hours on the phone, just listening to her cry and vent.
His appearance was nothing to scoff at either. Haru often found herself lost in those peaceful eyes, those long eyelashes, that graceful, slender neck…
…Not that she was looking, of course.
“Haru-chan, can I actually have a word with you? In private?” Takakura asked her. They and the rest of the board members of Okumura Foods had just adjourned a meeting, and the others began to file out of the room. Some glanced back in curiosity.
“Of course,” Haru replied. She sat back down.
When the last board member had gone, Takakura opened his mouth to speak, but the words caught in his throat and stayed there.
“Haru-chan… I… well… you see…” he sputtered. Whatever he wanted to say was making him hesitant.
“Is something the matter, Takakura-san?” Haru asked. She was a little concerned now.
Takakura took a deep breath. “Look, Haru-chan,” he began, “who you spend your free time with is none of my business, but that boy that you’ve been seeing…”
“Hmm? Yusuke?” she asked. Funny how Takakura knew about him. It’s not like she ever talked about him up at work.
Takakura just sighed and reached into his bag to pull out a magazine. He briefly hesitated, looking once over the cover before handing it to her. The gaudy, cluttered front cover made it obvious that it was a trashy tabloid magazine. The images on the front featured several crying celebrities that Haru didn’t recognize. But that’s not what caught her eye. To her horror, one of the blurbs read “Okumura Food’s Heiress’ SECRET SUGAR BABY pg. 22.” She turned to the indicated page and was greeted with a low-res photograph of her and Yusuke sitting at a table outside a café that they visited some weeks ago. Haru skimmed over the article and vaguely wished for someone to shoot her.
Who is that special someone that Ms. Okumura’s been seeing? According to our sources, our mystery boy is apparently a student from K**** High. He’s an aspiring artist and the last student of the infamous Madarame, who was imprisoned a year ago for plagiarism and child abuse. As such, he’s been forced to live in his high school dorms, penniless.
It is unknown how he knows Ms. Okumura. Apparently, they could be seen in the same friend group last winter, around the same time Ms. Okumura’s father passed away, but they never seemed very close until now.
Is this a textbook case of gold digging, or a case of love transcending social classes?
“Hello?” Takakura’s voice called. “Earth to Haru-chan?”
“Oh! Yes?” Haru replied, unable to look him in the eyes. Heat crawled up her face. If the ground opened up and swallowed her whole, she would have been fine with that.
“Again, who you spend your time with is none of my business,” he said, raising a hand defensively. “I just wanted to let you know that as a public figure, your life is an open book. Keep that in mind, alright? For you and your, uh, boyfriend’s sake.”
Haru’s whole face lit up red as a tomato. “He’s not my boyfriend!” she squeaked, reaching an impressively high pitch.
Takakura’s other hand went up. “Okay, okay,” he murmured.
Fire. Her whole head was on fire. Haru felt like she was going to die. She couldn’t take anymore of this. Saying a quick goodbye to Takakura, she scooped up her bag and made for the exit.
“Hey didja hear? That weird art dude’s been hanging with Haru Okumura again.”
“Yeah, I heard. People have been saying that she’s taking him out for, what, a few months now?.”
“Every Sunday. That’s what they say. Saito-senpai actually saw them with his own two eyes.”
“I’m telling you, he’s a textbook sugar baby.”
“…Aren’t sugar babies usually women?”
“Whatever dude. The point is that Kitagawa is on a steady track to saying goodbye to dry cup ramen and hello to champagne, sports cars, and luxury.
“Lucky bastard. We’re gonna have to work our way to riches, and all he’s gotta do is get in her pants. Hey, you think they did it , yet?”
“Oh I bet they did.”
“Why’s she wasting her time on him, anyway? Wouldn’t she want a richer boy toy to mooch off of? You know, instead of letting some else mooch off her?
“Maybe she’s not looking for money. Maybe she’s feeling lonely. Or maybe she really likes him.”
“I dunno about that dude. I mean, when it comes to rich people, their intentions are never that pure, right?
“Yeah, you’re right. She probably just wants like a trophy husband or something. Speaking of which-”
The two continued to slander their schoolmate’s private life. From the other side of the door, Yusuke simply sighed and moved on.
Despite managing to beat a hasty retreat, Haru couldn’t shake the embarrassment from her conversation with Takakura. Did she and Yusuke really seem so close? No no, that was ridiculous. They were just friends.
She paced the floor of her apartment, hands pulling at her hair. If she was being honest with herself, she couldn’t quite understand why this had her so worked up. No one took those tabloid magazines seriously, anyway. But the thought of having one of those conversations with a curious colleague was enough to make her go blushing and stuttering all over again.
Haru stopped to calm down and gather her thoughts. Clearly, the frequent dinners seemed like romantic outings to outsiders. Okay, that was a reasonable assumption, she supposed. Well, the only thing for then it is to stop going out with Yusuke so often. Right?
…So why was she so against the idea? Haru shook her head. She shouldn’t be so selfish. Yusuke probably didn’t appreciate all of the rumors either. He’d probably want it to stop.
He’d want it… to… stop…
The thought of it was enough to send Haru into a panic all over again. Yusuke might seriously ask her to stop! But that can’t happen. She wouldn’t let it! No, that’s ridiculous. It should be up to him. Why was this even such a big deal to her? Yusuke was a good friend, true. The time she spent with him always gave her indescribable comfort, sure. And whenever Yusuke looked into her eyes and gave her one of his beautiful grins, her heart always felt so, so light and giddy…
Slowly, the realization dawned on her. It all made sense. No wonder Takakura’s prying had embarrassed her so much. He had unwittingly touched on the embarrassing truth hiding deep within her.
That Haru Okumura was in love with Yusuke Kitagawa.
She flopped onto her bed and stared at the ceiling above her. Lots of emotions coursed through her at that moment. But mostly, she just felt joy.
“Oh Yusuke,” she whispered. Her heart fluttered at the sound of his name.
The next Sunday, Haru received a message from Yusuke.
Rather not have dinner. I would like to talk, however. Can we meet somewhere quiet?
Haru’s heart nearly jumped out of her chest. With shaky hands, she typed a response. How about Inokashira Park? Is 6 pm okay?
Yes.
Haru found herself at the park at 5:50.
Sitting herself on a bench facing the pond, she twiddled her thumbs and waited anxiously for Yusuke’s arrival. The shimmering pond waters and cool, crisp evening air helped to calm her nerves.
She couldn’t help but wonder why Yusuke had called her out here all of a sudden. Though she tried to resist it, she entertained the idea that he had done so to dramatically declare his love for her. She sighed. Wouldn’t it be nice? Just the two of them with their feelings and the setting sun; no waiters interrupting them with the check, no nosy coworkers, and certainly no paparazzi with designs to publish their private life.
“Haru!” a voice called. She looked to her right, and there he was. Yusuke. She jumped to her feet.
Now that Haru actually allowed herself to think that way, she couldn’t help but to see just how beautiful he was. His hair swept over his face in just the right way, his eyes shone in just the right way, the sun illuminated him in just the right way, everything about him was just so right.
“H- Hello,” she stammered, “you called?”
He smiled, and it made Haru go weak in the knees. It was just so… so Yusuke .
“Hello, Haru,” he said. The smile faded from his face. “There’s something that I have to tell you.”
“Yes, of course!” she replied, perhaps somewhat too enthusiastically.
Yusuke opened his mouth to speak, but he froze up instead. His eyes narrowed at something behind Haru.
“Who’s that?”
Haru turned around just in time to see a camera before the person in question made a run for it. In the blink of an eye, they had run behind an enclosure of trees and vanished from their sight.
Yusuke huffed. “Paparazzi. That must be how everyone at my school found out.” He sat down on the bench. “Actually, that is why I asked to see you.”
Haru felt a vague sense of dread.
“People have been talking at Kosei,” he said. “They’re convinced that we’re, er, sleeping together .
Haru was taken aback.
“They believe what?!”
Yusuke shook his head. “Well, it gets worse. They’ve also been saying that I’m only doing this because there’s some financial benefit in it for me,” he said with a low voice. “In other words, I’m your sugar baby, among other things.”
Haru covered her face to hide the deep blush she felt coming on. “Actually… I’ve already heard that one,” she managed.
She all but collapsed on the bench. “To think that they would actually believe those magazines.”
Yusuke didn’t say anything, just sighed and took a seat on the bench next to her, and the two sat silently for a moment, wondering how on earth they managed to find themselves in this situation.
“Haru, now that you know, would you prefer to… not be with me anymore?”
She withdrew her face from her hands. Once again, Haru was taken aback.
“What? No, of course not!” she cried. “Why would you even think that?”
“It just feels like I’m more trouble to you than I’m worth,” he said, eyes downcast. “If we just quietly ‘break up,’ so to speak, then you might lose their interest.”
Haru shook her head in disbelief. If she was to be honest with herself, she was starting to feel pissed. Why couldn’t those gossip hounds leave them alone? Yusuke’s eyes remained downcast. This wonderful boy was feeling miserable, and it was all their fault.
“Yusuke,” she said firmly, “look at me.”
He did as she said. Haru saw the undeserved shame in his face. Emboldened by her love and a newfound protective instinct, she squashed down all her timidness and spoke.
“You will never be trouble to me, okay? I’m glad you called me here. I actually have something to tell you too.”
She reached out and took his hand with both of hers. The butterflies in her stomach went haywire, but she had to do this.
“I would never let something like silly tabloid slander stop me. You mean far too much to me.”
Yusuke’s eyes widened. Haru’s heart pounded in her chest.
“When I’m with you, all of my troubles go away. I forget that the name ‘Okumura’ has anything to do with me.”
She was on a roll. Taking a breath, she steeled herself for the big one.
“If it doesn’t bother you, I’d like for you to remain by my side. I… I love you.”
For what seemed like forever, Yusuke didn’t move, didn’t even breathe. Just stayed in that expression of shock. But it gave way. A grin slowly made its way onto those features, wide and beaming. And his eyes, a far cry from the embarrassment and resignation they showed a few moments ago, shined with joy. When he opened his mouth, Haru knew what he was going to say before he said it.
“I love you too.”
Thinking back to that moment, Haru couldn’t help but smile. She still wished the circumstances had been better, but it was what it was. And on nights like this, sitting on a bench at the seaside park with the love of her life and enjoying the city lights, Haru figured that it really went as well as one could ask for.
Yusuke framed the bridge and cityscape with his fingers, and Haru couldn’t help but chuckle a little.
“Are you thinking about painting it?”
Yusuke dropped his hands and smiled. “Perhaps one day. But for now, I’d just like to take it all in.”
But as he said it, he shifted his gaze onto Haru instead. Then something else caught his eye and his smile vanished.
“Haru-”
“I know. I noticed them a while ago,” she said.
“They seem insistent on getting a hot scoop,” Yusuke sighed.
Haru considered this for a second. Then a mischievous grin found its way onto her lips. “Then why don’t we give them something to write about?” she said coyly.
There was a moment’s pause. Then a truly fantastic blush formed on Yusuke’s cheeks.
“Are- are you sure?” he asked, his voice going an octave higher.
Haru nodded. “Positive.”
She cupped his face and slowly moved her face towards his.
“Smile for the camera,” she whispered.
Their lips met, and the rest of the world faded away… for about three seconds before Haru was pulled back to earth by the sounds of camera shuttering. Still, Yusuke’s mouth tasted sweet, his lips were soft, and his breath was warm. And when she broke off and saw the loving look in Yusuke’s eyes, she still found herself captivated all the same.
And no amount of gossip was going to ruin that for her.