Where Were You?

Thirty Minutes Earlier

"Wanna go get a drink?" Reina suggested, tossing her long black hair over her shoulder.

"Sure. I've actually never had alcohol before," Sakura admitted.

"I'm not surprised." Reina smirked. "Let's see if you can hold your liquor.

"No one is better at that than Reina," Miyu giggled. "Last time, she got me so drunk I swore I'd never be her drinking buddy again."

"So you better make up for it!" Reina declared, dramatically pointing a finger at Sakura like she was sentencing her to a challenge.

"I will do my best!" Sakura saluted, making the girls burst into laughter before heading toward the bar.

The truth was, Sakura could hold her liquor just fine. In her past life, she had moved to Osaka after graduating and spent more than a few nights drowning in alcohol. But of course she couldn't tell them that.

"I'll take one large beer," Reina told the bartender.

"Same here," Sakura added without hesitation.

Reina raised a brow. "Are you sure? I don't want you passing out on me or anything."

Sakura was about to respond when a familiar voice sliced through the air like a blade.

"Sure looks like you're having fun."

The lightness in Sakura's expression vanished. That voice. That damn voice.

Slowly, she turned around, her fingers already curling into a fist at her side.

Mia.

Dressed as a fairy. How fitting. A deceitful little creature pretending to be something sweet, when in reality, she was nothing but poison.

Sakura barely registered the bartender setting their drinks down. The world around her blurred, the pulsing music fading into the background. The only thing she could see was Mia's smug, unwelcome face.

And then, before she could think—before she could hesitate—Sakura grabbed the glass of beer and hurled it straight at Mia.

A loud gasp rippled through the crowd as the cold liquid drenched Mia's dress, making the plastic wings on her back droop.

Mia shrieked, staggering back in shock. The club fell silent. Even the music had cut off.

All eyes were on them.

Then, footsteps. Fast, urgent.

Haru.

Kei.

Both of them pushing through the stunned onlookers, their faces tense with worry after they heard a scream, assuming it was Sakura's.

"Sakura, what the hell—" Mia sputtered, wiping beer from her face.

But Sakura had no patience for her words. The anger inside her was like a dam breaking open, a month's of betrayal and pent-up resentment flooding through.

"Where were you?!" she demanded, her voice raw, trembling with fury.

Mia blinked. "Huh?"

Sakura's chest heaved as she stepped forward, eyes burning with unshed tears. "Where the hell were you after I—your best friend—was sexually assaulted by Kenji?!"

Her voice cracked, but she didn't care. "You weren't there at college when it happened. You didn't come to my house. You didn't even bother to call me!"

Mia's lips parted, her expression flickering with something—guilt? Fear? Then, weakly, she muttered, "I was busy."

Kei scoffed under his breath. Haru's jaw tightened.

"Busy doing what?" Sakura's voice was a deadly whisper. "Fucking around with Haru's older brother?"

The air in the club turned suffocating.

Gasps erupted from the crowd. Someone audibly choked on their drink.

Mia's face drained of colour. Her entire body went rigid, like a deer caught in headlights. "W-What are you talking about—"

"A-also Sakura, you were mad at me," she stammered. "I didn't know what to do!"

"You should've apologised!" Sakura shot back, her voice sharp with pain. "And even if you didn't want to apologise for how shitty you were at the mixer, you should have at least been there for me!"

"Why should I?!" Mia screamed suddenly, her voice shrill. "It was something so trivial. Why couldn't you just let it go?!"

Sakura exhaled shakily, a bitter smile curling her lips.

"Because you did the same thing again," she whispered, a single tear slipping down her cheek. "You abandoned me, just like you did after that stupid mixer you begged me to go to. Just like you did when Kenji and Ryo were pressuring me."

The crowd was no longer silent.

They were whispering.

"Oh my god. You know this is mostly her fault that Sakura was assaulted, right?"

"Yeah, and she didn't even apologise?"

"If Sakura hadn't went to that mixer, she wouldn't have met Kenji."

"Bitch."

Mia's hands clenched into fists at her sides. The murmurs wrapped around her like chains, suffocating, inescapable.

Then, suddenly, she snapped.

"I DON'T GET IT!" she screamed, eyes wild with frustration. "Why do you get to have Haru?!"

Sakura barely had time to react before Mia lunged, arm swinging.

But before her hand could land, Haru caught it.

Mia froze. A strangled gasp left her lips as Haru's fingers tightened around her wrist.

His face was shadowed with fury, his eyes cold and sharp as a blade.

"I thought Aoi was your boyfriend," he said icily. "Why the hell do you care who I'm with when you're dating my brother?"

More gasps. More whispers. The weight of the revelation crashing down on the room.

Mia let out a choked sound, struggling in his grip. "H-Haru, you're hurting me—"

Haru's jaw clenched, his fingers pressing just enough to make her wince.

Then—

"Let her go, Haru."

Sakura's voice was quiet but firm.

"She's not worth it."

Haru's fingers slowly uncurled. Mia stumbled back, rubbing her wrist, but the damage was already done. The entire club had turned against her.

Without another word, Haru took Sakura's hand and led her away.

The whispers followed Mia like a curse.

And for the first time, she had no way to escape them.