Several minutes later, they were already outside the café. They thanked each other for the togetherness they enjoyed that day. Kyoko followed Sakura as she and Haruki parted ways.

Sakura asked Kyoko curiously, "What do you think? He's not as horrible as you imagine, right?"

"He's not that bad although he's quite dull. Still, who knows that sometimes he could be so clumsy?" Kyoko replied, looking at Haruki's bag that he accidentally left inside the café.

They took the bag from the café and went to the nearest station as their first attempt to find him. They found him walked towards a ticket machine. Kyoko rushed towards him with his bag on her shoulder. However, Sakura pulled her hand and instructed her to approach him silently. They walked soundlessly until they found themselves standing behind him, spying him from behind his back. He still didn't realize that his bag wasn't with him since he had prepared the money he needed to purchase his ticket inside his pocket. After they found out how much the ticket price he purchased, they hid somewhere close to that spot, so they could keep themselves unseen by him.

"What are you trying to do?" Kyoko asked her best friend.

Sakura didn't say anything. She just smiled. Kyoko tried to guess and she was sure she knew the answer. "Trying to find out where his house is? Am I right?"

She just smiled, again.

"What is the meaning of this? You wanna come into his house?"

"Perhaps, you are the one who wanna come inside."

"What? No way!"

"Just kidding!"

After they had their tickets on hand, they continued to put a tail on him. The three of them stood at the same platform, stepped into the same train, got off at the same station, and strolled on the same streets, heading to the same destination. Eventually, Sakura and Kyoko stopped in front of a house which was smaller in size compared to Sakura's.

Haruki was sliding the door when Sakura surprised him by saying, "Nice house."

He turned back and noticed them. "Since when have you…" He stopped speaking when he noticed the thing Kyoko carried. He took back his bag and spoke, "I'm really sorry for making you come here to return this to me. Thank you very much."

"You're welcome." After a few seconds, she opened her mouth again, asking for permission, "Sorry, can I use the toilet?"

He answered, "Sure. It's on the right side."

"Thank you!"

Haruki's mother welcomed Kyoko once she entered the house. She rushed directly to the toilet. Just after she shut the toilet door, Haruki's mother smiled to her son who stood before her. "I knew you will bring a girl home sometime, but I never expected that you bring her today. Are you two going out?"

"No. We're just friends."

She pointed to the other girl outside the house who was busy with her cellphone. "Who is she?"

"Remember the girl in the toilet? She's her best friend."

She asked her son again, tempting him in a playful way, "What a cute girl she is. Are you in love with her?"

Kyoko overheard their conversation from the other side of the toilet door. She was eagerly waiting for his answer to that crucial question. However, Haruki's answer wasn't as wonderful as she and his mother expected. He admitted, "No. She's just… a good friend of mine."

"Good friend, eh? That's alright, I'm glad to hear it. It's better than not having any friend at all."

Kyoko came out and thanked the hosts for allowing her to use their toilet. She walked towards Sakura after saying goodbye to them.

Sakura giggled as she said, "At the end, it was you who entered his house instead of me."

Kyoko got a little upset. "I was just using his toilet! To be honest, I really had to or I would embarrass myself!"

Sakura admitted her mistake, "Sorry, sorry. I didn't mean to tease you that badly. I will also feel awkward if I have to go in there. However, in your shoes, I would definitely do the same."

"Fine. Buy me a popsicle or anything on the way home. You're okay with that?"

"Got it."

Haruki stepped out of his house and approached them. "Thanks again for returning my bag. Please forgive my carelessness."

"No need to apologize," Sakura responded. "You have extended my time with Kyoko today. I'm very thankful for that."

He smiled and looked at their foreheads since he wasn't dare enough to stare directly at their eyes. "I hope you enjoy your time together."

The words he just uttered made Sakura laughed once more. Kyoko and Haruki didn't understand why she suddenly laughed like that. "You said it as if Kyoko abducts me from you!"

"That's not what I meant," he denied calmly.

"I know! You reminded me of a movie character who said it. Unlike you, he was ruthless and extremely possessive."

"Oh, I see. Be careful on your way home."

"Whom are you talking to?" Sakura asked, showing him a weird face expression, much like a smug face.

"Both of you."

"Alright, see ya!" Sakura spoke cheerfully. Kyoko only waved her hand as they walked away from his house.

Haruki went upstairs and checked his cellphone in his room. There was a new message from Sakura.

"Do you still want me to fulfill my promise to take you to the beach? I couldn't talk about it back then, or Kyoko would be mad at you.

Oh, I have a new wish. On this year's late fall, I wanna see winter cherry blossoms with you!"

He replied,

"It's up to you. You only reacted to the situation, I also did the same.

That's a nice wish. It's all I can say."