Aftermath

They retreated to the small room Kana had reserved for her and were immediately greeted by mountains of cans and food wrappers. Rather than being embarrassed, she just kicked them under the bed. Sakuya laughed.

“I’m sorry to ask, but do you still have the agreement they made you sign?” Jun asked.

“You know of it?” Kana wondered.

“Yuto-san was kind enough to fill me in.”

“I told you to drop the title,” Yuto said. “I don’t like being called -san by a person after having the life kissed out of me by them.”

“Yes, yes.”

“I still have it, but I don’t keep it at home. It’s in a lockbox at the bank together with the purchase contracts for the cafe,” she said.

“I suppose we can handle this without you,” Sakuya said. “If you’d rather stay here in the meantime.”

“No. I want to be there. I’m not leaving you again.”

Sakuya smiled as he hugged Kana closer. Jun looked at them happily, then held his phone out.

“I think we should give Haruki a taste of his own medicine first. I’ll upload the video to my social accounts. That way, he has less credit with whoever he’s talking to right now. It’ll buy us time,” Jun said.

“Your personal account? I can’t make you do that,” Kana countered.

“You’re not making me do it. I offered it. Besides, who will find the thing on a burner account? This way I can give it the credentials it needs to be believed.”

“Jun…”

“It also means the end of our trio,” he said. “While we’ve agreed to that in private, that will make it unretractable for the public. Are you okay with that, Sakuya?”

“I’ll make it work. I’m all in on this.”

“Alright. Let me just cut off the part where Kana punches him… it’s a PR video after all.”

Kana laid back against Sakuya, while Jun and Yuto fussed over the upload. She drew his arms around her even tighter and accepted a kiss on her cheek.

“Thank you for looking for me,” she whispered. “I had hoped you would.”

“Is that why you came here?”

“I think so. I didn’t realise it at first, but then I stood on the same beach again. I didn’t want to send you away earlier. I was just…”

“I know. It’s alright now. I won’t let you go again.”

Kana leaned her head against Sakuya’s to enjoy the warm closeness, so different from the lonely days she had spent in this room.

“They look good together,” she said.

“I can’t believe Jun got a boyfriend out of this,” Sakuya mumbled.

“I’m happy for him. And for Yuto. He deserves the world. I love him so much.”

“He does,” Sakuya agreed.

“I heard that,” Yuto said.

“You were supposed to, idiot,” Kana replied.

“I’m ready to post. Do you want to comment on the video?” Jun asked.

“I’ll reply to it,” Sakuya confirmed.

[Everything you see in the video is real. Despite Ito Haruki’s harassment, Takagi Kana stepped in to solve ‘Candy Apple’s stalker case. Haruki exposed Kana out of malice. I won’t explain more, just watch the video. Kana, myself and Jun are alright and safe now. I want to apologise to the fans of ‘Candy Apple’, who were looking forward to seeing us together on stage, but I cannot stand side by side with a man, who has a pattern of deceit and abuse. I will stand by Takagi Kana.]

It didn’t take a minute after the post for their manager to call. Kana and Yuto excused themselves to leave the remaining members of the band discussing the issue. They stepped outside into a warm sunset. Overlooking the beach, Yuto put an arm around Kana’s shoulder.

“Never do that to me again.”

“I didn’t do it specifically to you.”

“Kana…”

“I promise. I won’t.”

“Good.”

“I thought I was safe alone. But since you’re all here, I feel much safer. Thank you.”

“Three years ago you bawled your eyes out over the same thing. Was it so easy to forget?”

Kana shook her head. “I think I never forgot. But the fear was stronger.”

“Sakuya is a good person. I got to know him over the last few days. I believe you can trust him.”

“I’m willing to try. So are we all staying here tonight to lie low?”

Yuto smiled. “Maybe we should get a second room. I don’t want to be in the way of your reconciliation.”

“You just want to be alone with Jun. Wait here. I’ll go to the front to ask if they still have rooms with just one bed.”

“You’re the best.”

“I know.”

——

The return to Tokyo wasn’t as easy. While Sakuya rented them a car to make the trip, both the agency and Cafe Adagio were flanked by so many people, they couldn’t risk going there while the situation with Haruki was ongoing. Since their manager told them that Haruki had locked himself into the dorm rooms, those were also out of the question. In the end, they decided to spend the time in a small rental apartment together.

Of course ‘Candy Apple’s manager was furious. Scratch that. All of the agency was. They told Sakuya and Jun to stay silent until the issue was solved. Yet only hours into their exile, the tide turned.

The first person to speak up was an ex-trainee of the same agency. She posted on her socials about Haruki, and how he had molested her repeatedly during her training time. Kana stared at the post, mostly mad at herself how she could’ve fallen for Haruki in the first place. But she soon realised it hadn’t been her fault. Many others came forward, breaking the silence. Some had been coerced to stay quiet, some had been too afraid to speak and most thought that no one would believe them in the first place.

But with the video evidence of his aggression out there, the floodgates had been opened.

Public opinion turned on him so fast it was like a perfect storm. The agency couldn’t contain it. And so couldn’t the people who had backed Haruki until then, since Sakuya took that moment to forward the evidence of bought votes to his management. At the same time he posted it publicly, so it couldn’t be ignored. The agency had no choice but to let Haruki go. It was a relatively minor punishment for his misdeeds, even with the lawsuit for fraud following him.

Kana’s case couldn’t be reopened, since she had signed the agreement back then, but they all knew that Haruki’s career as an idol, as a public figure, was over. He was forcibly removed from the dorms, so Sakuya and Jun could finally return. Yet when they came back, they found their belongings utterly destroyed, clothes ripped, everything in the kitchen smashed, even the mirror in pieces. In the middle of it all sat their manager with an apology—and an offer.

“They want you to continue as a duo?” Kana blurted out. “How is that possible?”

“The fans have made it clear that dropping us completely would have massive repercussions for them,” Jun said.

They were sitting together in Cafe Adagio, which had reopened after weeks of Kana’s absence. The welcome she had received from her regulars had moved her to tears.

“So the fans can do something good too?” Yuto mused.

“I never said all of them are bad. Most of them are very decent. It takes only one bad actor to poison the water,” Sakuya said.

Kana pulled the lever on the machine and another rush of coffee-flavoured steam filled the air, making her feel calm and safe.

“I found a stack of letters in front of the cafe when I returned,” she said. “They were all put in a box, together with flowers, keychains and other small gifts. I didn’t know there were still Decodol fans.”

“Here’s one,” Sakuya said.

“Two,” Jun added.

“If anyone is number one, it’s me. I’ve been a fan since high school,” Yuto pouted.

“What did the letters say?” Sakuya asked.

“Mostly solidarity. Apologies. Well-wishes. Asking me for a comeback.”

“Will you?” Sakuya asked.

“I don’t think so. I’ve had enough of that world for now. But if you ever need uncredited back-up vocals for a track, I wouldn’t say no.”