Here After

Happy Birthday

"Haru-kun."

Haru slightly turned his head toward the passenger seat behind, while eyes kept focus staring at the road ahead.

It was early in the morning, but they already on their way to Chiba for a meeting.

"Do you know about this place?"

A phone was showed up to Haru from behind. He tried to glanced; to see the picture his boss wanted him to see.

"I'm not sure," Haru hesitantly answered. "What about it, Sasuke-san?"

Sasuke was nodding his head; he retreated his phone into the inside pocket of his suit, "A Yatai bar near Todai Hospital Centre, I was impressed with their concept and the bartender's skill. I thought maybe you know."

"Wow, when did you have time for that? It must be a nice place."

Sasuke smirked, "If all the meetings went smooth, let's have a drink there, Haru-kun. What do you think?"

"I'd love to, Sir." Haru smile from ear to ear. Never had he expected the stoic Uchiha Sasuke would ask him just that.

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h E R e • a F t E R

11.

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Tokyo, 2021
Spring. The 28th March

Sakura stared pensively to the door with her chin rested on her left hand.

"Are you okay?" Asked the foreign guy right next to her.

Sakura forced a smile. She had just been caught up for blatantly ignoring her date.

"A headache," Sakura lied to him, "honestly, I don't drink that much and it's been ages since I came to this place."

The deafening sound of strange clubbing musics, not to mention the dim lighted room made her eyes squinted all night; Sakura wished she say no to Mai and her idea of having 'A blast' for Sakura's birthday.

Indeed, it looked like a blast for Mai; in which she was busy hitting the dance floor with her boyfriend whose body was fit enough to be an athlete or a bodybuilder. Sakura sulked on her seat, not because Mai was making the best of her time, but—

"You wanna go home then?" Another query with the strange tone from the matched brownish hair and eyes guy.

Sakura raised one of her pinkish brow.

At the exact moment, from the corner of her eyes Sakura saw the huge familiar man who was walking past her toward the exit door. He was on his phone while scrunching his nose uncomfortably.

"Excuse me, I need some fresh air." Sakura answered curtly. She did not tell lie. She needed the fresh air, and she couldn't stand her curiosity either. So, she walked to the exit door.

Juugo. Sakura remembered his name when she followed him outside the building. Sakura observed from afar when Juugo was crossing the street toward Kabukicho district.