Chapter 15 – Small Things That Matter

The shopping street was louder than Sakura remembered.

Wind chimes clinked above the storefronts, people laughed too freely, and the smell of roasted chestnuts drifted through the air. Haruto walked beside her, hands in his pockets, trying not to look like a man thinking too much.

He stopped in front of a small jewelry shop.

“Wait here a second,” he said.

Sakura raised an eyebrow. “That sounds suspicious.”

He disappeared inside before she could comment.

Sakura leaned against the railing outside, watching reflections move across the glass. She didn’t expect anything. She had learned long ago not to.

Inside, Haruto stared at the display case like it was a medical exam he hadn’t studied for.

Simple. Not flashy. Something that wouldn’t scream intention.

His eyes settled on a pair of small silver earrings. Nothing dramatic. Just enough to notice when the light hit them.

“These,” he said quietly.

When he stepped back outside, Sakura tilted her head. “You look nervous.”

He held out the small box. “I saw these and thought of you.”

She blinked. Once. Twice.

“For me?” she asked.

He nodded. “You don’t have to accept them.”

She opened the box slowly, then laughed. “You know giving earrings has meaning, right?”

Haruto stiffened. “I—”

“I’m kidding,” she said, grinning. “Relax.”

She took them anyway.

They walked again, the silence warmer this time.

After a while, Sakura spoke. “You asked me before. About my boyfriend.”

Haruto glanced at her. “You don’t have to—”

“I know,” she said. “But I want to.”

She stopped near a quiet corner of the street. “He wasn’t real. Not the way I said.”

Haruto didn’t interrupt.

“He liked the idea of me. Loud Sakura. Fun Sakura. But not the parts that scared him.” She laughed lightly. “So I scared him on purpose.”

“You pushed him away.”

She nodded. “Just like I tried with you.”

Haruto swallowed. “Why?”

Sakura looked at him then. Really looked.

“Because you stayed calm,” she said. “And that scared me more.”

He exhaled slowly. “I like you. Not because you’re easy. Because you’re honest, even when it’s messy.”

She smiled, bold as ever. “Careful. Say things like that and I might fall for you.”

“Would that be bad?”

She stepped closer. “Depends. Can you handle me?”

He smiled softly. “I think so.”

She leaned in and whispered, “Good. Because I don’t plan on behaving.”

They both laughed.

The street noise faded behind them.

And for the first time, neither of them felt like running.