Crossroads

"But wait!" Ayaka murmured.

"What's wrong?" Sakura tilted her head to the side.

"Our personal info is kept confidential, and I don't know his exact address!" she exclaimed. "I only know the directions. Should I ask him about it? I don't want you to get lost-"

"If you ask for his exact address, then he'd wonder why you're asking for it?"

Ayaka pressed her lips together before speaking again, "Right… But still-"

Sakura chuckled softly, "Don't worry, Ayaka! I can manage. I'm a strong and independent woman, you know."

"After all you've been through, I'm sure you are," Ayaka then gasped. "Ahhh! I'm sorry if I sounded too nosy!"

"It's alright!" she smiled wistfully and lowered her head down. Little did they know, she's gone through a lot, and her breakup with Ruki was just the tip of the iceberg; an iceberg that could break any moment. But this wasn't the right time to think about what happened in the past, so she shook her head and looked at the barista.

"Let me get you a cup of coffee and draw the directions for a sec," Ayaka excitedly walked back to the counter and started brewing the ground coffee beans in the espresso machine.

Sakura, on the other hand, pulled a stool and sat in front of the coffee bar. As she waited, she placed the bento bags on the bar and enjoyed listening to 'Hug' by BOL4 while watching Ayaka, who was humming along to the song.

The barista poured the shot of espresso and the mocha sauce into a tall glass, stirring these together. Then, she gently poured the frothed milk until the glass was almost full before putting in the ice cubes. She topped it off with whipped cream and chocolate syrup afterward.

"Iced caffe mocha for Sakura," Ayaka said as she served Sakura her drink. "It's on the house."

A smile formed on Sakura's lips as she stirred the drink and blended the cream and the mocha together before tasting it, "Mmm… this is so good! Thank you for this!"

"Haru bought it the last time for you-"

"He did?" Sakura blinked, licking the cream off of her lips before taking another sip of the beverage.

"Not only that but also chicken panini," the barista's brows furrowed and wondered why she seemed unaware of it. Finally, she remembered what Nana narrated after visiting Sakura's place and thought of not talking about the other details any further.

Sakura's eyes just widened in surprise since Haru didn't mention it. 'What else did he do while I was asleep?' she thought while tapping the glass with her forefinger.

Ayaka giggled upon seeing the speechless customer and took out her notepad and her phone from her apron. "Let me ask Nana and Kiyoshi if they know Haru's address," she then messaged the two through LINE and checked it from time to time.

After a few minutes of enjoying her iced caffe mocha, Sakura snapped out of her thoughts. "Oh! By the way, this is for Nana," she took out the bento lunch box she prepared for Nana, "And this is for you and your colleagues. This is simple though. I only have tamagoyaki and gyoza, but I hope you like these," and she got another bento from the bag and placed the lunch boxes on the bar.

Ayaka dropped the pen she was holding and stared at the cedar wood round bento boxes in front of her, "Oh my! You cooked these? And please, it's not simple! You need skills to make these!" She peeked inside of one of the lunch boxes and beamed, "These look so good. I want to cry now!"

Sakura chuckled. "I'm really glad you like my simple gift!"

"I told you, it's not simple!" Ayaka rolled her eyes jokingly and laughed softly. "Oh geez, I'm not yet done with my sketch," she held the pen again and continued drawing. "Unfortunately, they also do not know his exact address. But if you take the train and walk out of the station, you will see a konbini on the third block, just at the intersection. If you see that, then it means you're already near his place," she gave the note to Sakura afterward.

Sakura nodded as she listened to her.

"I also indicated my number, so just call or text me if you need help," Ayaka grinned. "I'm certain Haru would love the bento you made!"

"Thank you, and I hope so, too!" Sakura scanned the sketch first before keeping the note in the front pocket of one of the bento bags.

Ayaka checked her phone one last time, "Can we also take a picture together? Nana and Kiyoshi want to see you!"

Sakura cheerfully agreed and Ayaka stood beside her before taking a selfie together. Ayaka then led the customer outside the café after Sakura finished the beverage she made for her. "Let me know once you get there, alright? Gaaah~ I'm so excited, but I'm also a bit worried about my drawing. Haru might kill me if you get lost or something..."

"I will send you a message once I get there," Sakura smiled reassuringly. "Too bad I wasn't able to meet Nana, but let me know what you think about the bento I made."

"Will do and good luck!" Ayaka beamed. "Take care and hope to see you again soon!"

Sakura returned the gesture and waved goodbye. She made her way to the train station, which was a few minutes walk from the café, and passed by the Italian restaurant where she first met Haru. She recalled their first meeting while glancing at the cherry blossom trees, then at the beautiful bushes of pink camellia flowers along the way. It was an embarrassing moment, but it still brought a smile to her face.

She reached the train station moments later and travelled for about 15 minutes. Upon her arrival at the designated station, she could not believe herself from only realizing that Haru's place was opposite to hers. What's more was he lied about this when she asked if he was just living nearby!

"I really couldn't believe him! He's got a lot of talking to do," she talked under her breath as she went out of the station. She took the notepad inside the front pocket of the bento bag and walked along the street, following Ayaka's illustration.

Shortly, Sakura caught a glimpse of the konbini after passing by the second block and a mini ice cream shop, and stood within the white line at the intersection whilst looking at the piece of paper she was holding. Ayaka only drew three boxes, crossed the middle box, and wrote 'Haru's house - black gate' on the notepad.

'Hmm... how would I know if it's his house if there are other houses with black gates?' she thought, scratching her cheek.

She continued contemplating and since she was too occupied thinking about the location of his house, she didn't notice the lad who was speeding off with his bike to cross the intersection.

As she was about to cross the pedestrian, the man yelled, "MISS!! GET OUT OF THE WAY!!"

Sakura turned her head to where the voice was coming from and her eyes widened in shock. She froze in place and her heart pounded so fast; her memories from the past started flashing at the back of her eyes.

And as the lad was about to hit Sakura with the bike's handlebar, someone grabbed her wrist and pulled her close to his body.