Chapter 53: A Promise Before Sleep

The rain softened outside, leaving the apartment wrapped in a gentle quiet. The warmth from the tea lingered in Hanami’s hands, but the weight of the past hour still sat in her chest. Opening that suitcase, seeing years of memories laid out so carefully, had shaken her more than she expected.

Kosuke noticed the way she kept touching her sleeve, the way her eyes drifted toward the past instead of the present.

“You should rest,” he said softly. “It’s already late.”

Hanami looked at him. “What about you?”

“I’ll sleep on the floor,” he replied with a small smile, already grabbing a blanket. “Don’t worry. I’m used to rougher places.”

“But this is your house.”

“And you’re my guest.”

She hesitated. Something about seeing him take the floor made her chest tighten. She wanted to say no, wanted to tell him to take the bed, wanted to stay close enough to hear his breathing so she didn’t feel like she would float away again.

But she didn’t say any of that.

“Alright,” she whispered.

He laid out a thin mattress beside the bed, arranging it with quiet, precise movements. Hanami climbed onto the bed slowly, still wearing his hoodie. It smelled like laundry soap and something faintly familiar—something that felt like safety.

She pulled the blanket over herself and took out her phone. The screen lit up her face in the dark.

Kosuke laughed softly. “Still working?”

“Not working. Searching.”

“For what?”

She puffed her cheeks in a small pout. “A perfect match.”

“For who?”

“You,” she said without hesitation.

Kosuke blinked. “Me?”

Hanami nodded. “You said you haven’t dated anyone… and I want you to find someone nice. Someone who won’t hurt you.”

Her voice softened at the end, almost disappearing.

Kosuke lay on his side, looking up at her from the floor. “You don’t have to do that.”

“I want to,” she said quietly. “Let me do this much for you.”

He chuckled under his breath. “You think anyone would get along with me?”

“Yes,” she answered. Her tone was firm, but her smile wavered slightly. “You’re stubborn, but you’re a good man. You always were.”

He didn’t reply. Not right away.

Hanami turned her phone toward him. A newly opened dating app blinked on the screen.

“I’ll find someone who will love you,” she said. “Someone who won’t disappear from your life. Someone who won’t break your heart.”

Her voice trembled, but she kept her smile steady.

Kosuke watched her, his eyes soft, almost sad. He didn’t have the heart to tell her that everything she was describing—he once wanted it with her.

“Is this really what you want to do?” he asked gently.

“Yes.”

Her answer came too quick. Too practiced. Like she needed to say it before she changed her mind.

Kosuke stretched out on the floor, folding his arms under his head. “Alright then. I trust you.”

Hanami’s shoulders relaxed slightly.

“I’ll find someone perfect,” she whispered, more to convince herself than him. “Someone who will stay by your side.”

Kosuke smiled faintly at the ceiling. “As long as they’re not annoying.”

Hanami giggled, the softness returning to her voice. “I’ll filter them.”

She swiped through profiles, scrunching her nose at each one. “No… no… definitely no… what is that haircut… no…”

Kosuke shook his head, amused. “You’re rejecting them too fast.”

“I have standards,” she said, lowering her phone. “Only the best for you.”

Her voice broke a little near the end.

He heard it. He always heard her too well.

“Hanami,” he called quietly.

She looked down at him.

“Get some sleep,” he said. “You don’t have to rush anything.”

She hesitated, then slowly set her phone aside. “Alright.”

She lay back, her hair spreading against the pillow. She pulled the blanket to her chin, curling slightly.

Kosuke turned off the lamp.

The room slipped into darkness, only the rain tapping lightly against the window.

Hanami whispered into the quiet, “Kosuke… are you still awake?”

“Yeah.”

“Thank you… for today.”

He closed his eyes. “I should be the one saying that.”

Silence stretched, soft and warm.

Just before sleep took her, Hanami whispered a promise so faint he almost missed it.

“I’ll find you someone who will love you more than I ever could.”

Kosuke’s eyes opened in the dark.

But he didn’t answer.

He only smiled a little. A tired, sad, grateful smile.

And let her drift off.