Chapter 61 — Is This Really a Date?
Scene 1
The next afternoon, sunlight streamed gently through the curtains of Haruya's room as he sat on the edge of his bed, checking the time on his phone. It was exactly 2:59 PM.
A new email notification caught his attention. The sender was listed simply as "Miss Miyahara Yume's Secretary." Haruya opened it with mild curiosity.
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Subject: Pickup Arrangement for Haruya-sama
If you are reading this email, we apologize for contacting you in this manner. As per the invitation you received yesterday, we have prepared a special car to pick you up near Hanma Studio at your convenience.
Please let us know when you are ready.
— Miss Miyahara Yume's Secretary
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Haruya read the message twice, a small, thoughtful frown forming on his face. He set the phone down on his lap and exhaled slowly, running a hand through his black hair.
*How am I going to explain this to Mom?* he thought. *If I say I'm going out to meet someone — especially a woman — she'll definitely get worried. Or worse, she might not let me go at all.*
He stood up and paced around his room for a moment, trying to come up with a convincing but harmless reason. Telling the full truth felt risky. His mother's protectiveness had grown even stronger since the tournament. The memory of her calm but terrifying statement — that the girl who "attacked" him wouldn't have left the stadium alive — still lingered in his mind.
After a few minutes of mental rehearsal, Haruya took a deep breath and headed downstairs.
He found his mother in the living room, gracefully arranging fresh flowers in a vase. When he explained that he had been invited by someone who supported him during the tournament and wanted to thank them in person, Akaya listened carefully, her eyes sharp and searching. Surprisingly, she agreed — though with strict conditions. He had to return before 6:00 PM and wear the new emergency watch she had given him. If anything felt even slightly wrong, he was to press the button or send a message immediately.
Haruya was quietly relieved. He hadn't expected her to agree so easily.
Sence shift near to hanma studio...
A short while later, he stepped into the sleek black car sent by Yume's team.
As the vehicle glided smoothly through the city streets toward the designated pickup point near Hanma Studio, Haruya leaned back against the seat and gazed out the window.
*Mom really let me go without much resistance this time,* he thought with a small, private smile. *But I still have to be back early and keep this watch on…
What Haruya didn't know was that his mother had quietly arranged for a discreet spy to follow him wherever he went. In this world, no mother with a son as precious as Haruya would ever let him wander completely unsupervised — especially not to meet a famous actress who is woman.
Meanwhile, inside Miyahara Yume's luxurious penthouse, the atmosphere was anything but calm.
Yume had been pacing restlessly for the past hour, her heart beating faster every time she imagined Haruya arriving. The usually confident and commanding top actress was a bundle of nerves. She had bought an entire luxury restaurant a short distance from her penthouse just to create the perfect "casual treat" excuse, all in the hopes of getting closer to him and pulling ahead of the girls who surrounded him during the match.
She kept muttering to herself, trying to rehearse what she would say when he arrived. Every possible line sounded either too forward or too awkward in her head.
The sound of the car arriving outside finally pulled her out of her anxious spiral.
Haruya stepped out of the vehicle, and the driver respectfully opened the door for him. As he looked around, he was met with an unexpected sight: several servants kneeling neatly in a line on both sides of a rich red carpet that had been rolled out just for him.
Haruya blinked, slightly bewildered by the grand welcome.
The head secretary stepped forward with a professional smile and guided him inside the penthouse, speaking softly into her earpiece to update her boss.
"Haruya-sama has arrived. He is now in the VIP guest room."
Yume, who had been waiting anxiously in another room, straightened up immediately. Her hands trembled slightly as she whispered to herself, "The time has come… What should I say when I see him? Should I just ask him directly to go to the restaurant with me? No… that would sound too weird. Should I ask my secretary again?"
She took a deep breath, trying to steady her racing heart.
Scene 2
The VIP guest room was quiet and elegantly furnished, filled with soft natural light pouring in through tall windows. Haruya sat on a plush couch, taking in his surroundings with quiet curiosity. The space felt incredibly luxurious — expensive vases, antique furniture, and carefully chosen artworks that gave the room a refined, almost museum-like atmosphere.
"Don't know that an actress like yume also has such cool hobbies," he murmured to himself, standing up to get a better look at one particularly striking vase displayed on a side table. It was beautifully crafted, with intricate patterns that caught the light perfectly. Haruya leaned closer, admiring the fine detailing.
At that exact moment, the door opened.
Yume stepped into the room.
The sudden movement startled Haruya. His hand jerked slightly, and the priceless vase slipped from his fingers. It fell to the floor and shattered into dozens of expensive pieces with a loud, crystalline crash.
Haruya's face went pale. He immediately dropped to his knees, panic clear in his eyes.
"I'm so sorry!" he exclaimed, voice full of genuine distress. "I didn't mean to — it was my fault. I'll repay the full price, I promise. Please tell me how much it costs."
Yume stood frozen for a second, staring at the broken pieces. Then she quickly waved her hands, trying to calm him down.
"It's okay, Haruya-sama! It's really not a big deal. You don't have to pay anything. It's just a vase."
Haruya looked up at her, still kneeling among the shards. "Please, tell me the price. I was the one who broke it. I have to take responsibility."
Yume hesitated, then said softly, "It was… around seventy million yen. But really, you don't need to worry about it. I can buy another one easily."
Haruya's eyes widened in shock.
*Seventy million…?* he thought, feeling a wave of dizziness. *How could I possibly repay something that expensive?*
Even so, he remained determined. "If you're forgiving me for this mistake, I still want to find some way to make it right."
Yume's heart fluttered at his sincere apology. She had been struggling for the right moment to invite him to dinner, but the situation had thrown her off completely. Through the hidden earbud, her secretary was frantically whispering suggestions.
"Haruya-sama…" Yume began, her voice slightly shaky, "since you're here… would you like to go to a restaurant with me? I want to treat you properly — to celebrate your victory in the tournament. It's nothing special… just a small treat and forgot about the vase forgive you already for that."
Haruya, still feeling guilty about the vase, nodded without hesitation. "Okay. Let's go."
Yume's mind went blank for a moment. *That was… easier than I expected, I thought it will take time*
In the monitoring room, her secretary stared at the screen with wide eyes, equally stunned.
"WTF just I have seen right now, he just say okay that easily"
Meanwhile, in the servant quarters downstairs, a few maids were whispering excitedly among themselves.
"Did you see the boy when he stepped out of the car?" one whispered. "He was so gorgeous… it was really hard not to run over and kiss him right there."
"You did well holding back," another replied. "If you had lost control, Miss Yume's temper would have been terrifying."
"I'm so envious of Miss Yume," a third sighed. "She gets to spend time with a boy like that…"
One of the older servants shook her head. "Even rich women struggle to get and keep a boy these days. You have to pay a huge amount, take care of him constantly, and be extremely careful not to anger him. And if a divorce ever happens, the woman loses almost everything — 90% of her property and the house."
The maids sighed in unison. "Being single forever… life really is unfair."
Back at the restaurant Yume had privately reserved, the atmosphere was tense in a different way. Every female member of the staff kept stealing glances at Haruya, their eyes filled with open admiration and longing.
Yume's mind burned with jealousy. *Fuck you all… who gave you permission to stare at my love like that? You're ruining my precious time with him. I'll deal with you all later.*
Haruya, sitting across from her, noticed she was barely touching her food. She seemed distracted, almost like she was having a silent conversation with herself.
"Are you not eating?" he asked gently.
Yume startled. "N-no, I'm eating!"
Inside her head, she was panicking again. *What should I say? How do I ask for his contact information? Secretary, where are you?*
Through the earbud, her secretary's voice finally came through: "Boss, calm down. Listen carefully. You can say — 'Haruya-sama…'"
Yume froze. *I have to say that?! I don't have the courage…*
Meanwhile, Haruya was thinking quietly. *She looks really troubled. Maybe I should just give her my number. After breaking her expensive vase and letting her treat me to this restaurant and stop me to pay anything for, it's the least I can do.*
Before Yume could work up the nerve, Haruya spoke first.
"By the way," he said kindly, taking out his phone, "here's my contact information. If you ever want to message me, feel free."
Both Yume and her secretary reacted at the exact same time — complete shock written across their faces. Σ(●ㅁ●)
Yume's mind erupted into chaos. An angel and devil appeared on her shoulders in her imagination.
Angel: "Don't do it, Yume! This is wrong. Maintain your dignity as a woman! taking boy number like this is very shameless act"
Devil: "Fuck you bitch! Fuck that ACT! Take it right now! You won't get another chance like this!"
Her secretary, watching from afar, could only think: *What the hell is my boss waiting for? This is an incredible opportunity! Even big Politication don't get opportunity like this, literally my boss is little moron*
After a long internal struggle, Yume finally reached out and saved Haruya's number in her phone with trembling fingers.
In yume mind *Now this phone is more important than anything else in the world…*
To be continued…
Author note 📝
Tell me reader, how was the chapter.
If you have any problem understanding what this mean, Or why he/she did it feel free to ask
—king_fuzu_