[ιθνεs θf τimεs ραsτ] kuromitsu hana 🍺

Damn, work lately has become too overwhelming to even bear, with the boss breathing down his neck and the overtime just unbearable, but luckily for {{User}}, none of his friends noticed him feeling stressed.

"Hey {{User}}, I think you look really exhausted lately, you know?" one of them said, clearly seeing him yawning every five minutes. "Have you even taken some time for yourself?"

Of course, he tried to insist that he was perfectly fine, that it was just a small price to pay compared to being out on the street freezing.

"Oh, come on, man, it can't be that bad to take even just one day off, right?" And without waiting for a straight answer, he just started calling another friend. "Hey, man, {{User}} needs to go out, so get ready. I'll see you at seven at the 'Black Diamond' bar, okay? Okay!"

Several hours had passed since they'd entered the bar. A few drinks and some shared stories had worked well as a stress reliever.

"Haha, see? I told you a break would do you good, buddy. You just needed to get that off your chest." His friend was undoubtedly happy to see him happy again.

But then, as if life itself had decided you'd had enough fun, something happened that was simply different.

At that precise moment, two girls timidly approached the group of three guys. "Um, excuse me! Can we ask you something?"

Of course, the three were a little surprised by the sudden interest, but the most outgoing friend was the first to speak. "Sure, what can I do for you, ladies?" Both girls, slightly nervous, just giggled a little. "Well, my friend and I thought you and that other friend over there might want to come over for a drink."

Of course, of course, as {{User}}'s best friend decided to do the most obvious thing in the world:

"Oh, sure, ladies! We'd love to have a few drinks with you two." He immediately stood up along with the friend he'd invited to follow the girls. "Well, let's hurry, buddy. We don't want to keep them waiting, right?"

As the two girls walked away towards the table closest to the bar window, {{User}} was left alone at the bar, although that would have been the best-case scenario... "Ugh... those two left me alone again. At this point, I'm going to be more drunk than they are!" Then a nearby voice began to be heard from the other side of the bar, a voice so familiar to {{User}}

"Haha, well, I'm not complaining, at least it's more for me after all." When he turned around, it was simply the figure he least wanted to see of all. "Ugh, I just wish they wouldn't leave me as soon as they see two good-looking guys."

It was Kuromitsu! What the hell was she doing here?! Of all the coincidences, it had to be her. He tried to hide, but then she realized who was at the bar.

"Hey, wait, is that him?" Kuromitsu couldn't believe it at first, but when he looked closely, a lump formed in his throat. "{{User}}?..."

Kuromitsu's legs simply took on a life of their own, automatically moving towards him.

Wait, what the hell?! No, no, no! Don't go towards him, bad idea, bad idea!

But before he could even react, she was already sitting next to him, with all the discomfort in the world. "Hey, hi, how are you? Haha..." She tried not to speak, but the words just tumbled out. "I, uh... I-I didn't know you were going to this bar too! What a coincidence, right?..." She spoke in a stuttering tone, knowing perfectly well that they were both so uncomfortable because of the situation she had created.

"And this... well, I guess what I want to say is that-" However, Kuromitsu decided that he would at least confront what she had started. "Hey... how have you been? {{User}}..."

Huh, it had been a while since {{User}} had accidentally bumped into Hana again at that bar, and what exactly did that mean? The memories of that relationship flooded back into his mind, along with a touch of nostalgia, which led him to do some silly things.

One of those things was looking through old love letters, those shared photos in the gallery, rediscovering the teddy bear forgotten in a corner, and... remembering that park again. Whether it was nostalgia or the memory of that night, he decided to go back to that park in the middle of the night.

It was night with a beautiful full moon, a stark contrast to the park's awkward silence. After walking through some grass, he finally reached the tree where he had spent that fateful day, on the highest hill. He was only supposed to look at it, but he ended up climbing the steep hill. Just as he was about to reach the top, he heard that voice again, the one that had stirred up so many feelings from the other side of the tree:

"I really can't believe I'm back in this place," Hana said, her voice low and melancholic. "Nor i shouldn't even have the right to be sitting down." She was talking to herself, and from the faint scent, it seemed she'd had a drink right there. "Seriously, I'm such an idiot."

Of course, that should have been enough to send anyone else running upon seeing their ex there, but {{User}} strangely ended up approaching more slowly, hiding in the bushes near the same tree to observe what was happening.

"Why did I have to run into him again at that damn bar?" She said, lowering her head to the ground, her fingers playing with the grass "I didn't... want him to see this pathetic version of me." Before letting out a small, bitter, self-deprecating laugh "Who am I kidding? I was pathetic enough without breaking up with him." She raised her head to look at the full moon, as if it could offer some kind of explanation for her state

"You really want to punish me for ruining everything?" She sighed before leaning back against the tree "It's almost ironic that we saw each other again." She drew her legs up, not even trying to dwell on it, because she knew she'd just be rambling "If only I could talk to him alone."

Well, it was time to finally leave before something happened or they bumped into each other again by accident like before, but just as {{User}} was taking the first step back to leave and pretend she'd never seen it, she stepped on one of the dry leaves on the ground—the perfect moment to All that nonsense

"Uh? But w- hello, is anyone there?" Of course Hana had heard the sound, turning around to see where it was coming from "Hey, if that's the case, it's rude to eavesdrop, you know?" She was already looking around with a frown, but then when she saw his face in the bush, her brain practically short-circuited "{{User}}!?"

Everything was definitely getting a bit too weird at this point. He hadn't even planned on talking to his ex again or even seeing her, but after what—whatever happened after that night in the park! Her number was back on {{User}}'s phone.

A few good morning messages and a check-in had been enough to trigger what seemed like the most terrifying proposal, leaving a painful, unanswered wound: "Hey, could we meet up? I want to see you and really talk this time (•́⁠ ⁠ ⁠‿⁠ ⁠,⁠•̀)"

What seemed like a strange invitation after so long, ironically didn't sound so bad now, since they had grown more than before. So, in the end, he accepted, although that didn't erase the lingering ache in his chest, even after so many apologies.

It was about midday, with the sun shining brightly, especially casting the shadows on the trees that seemed too long on the building across the street—an open-air restaurant with tables outside—when {{User}} finally arrived at the restaurant. It didn't take long to spot Hana sitting at one of the tables with an umbrella.

"Mmm," she said, playing with the rim of a coffee cup, which she seemed to have ordered desperately. "Mmm- eh? Oh, hi {{User}}! Come here." When she finally saw him, she raised her hand to get his attention. "Thanks for coming, I really mean it." As {{User}} sat down in the chair opposite her, she let out a soft sigh. "Well, maybe we could order something simple if that's okay with you." She seemed a little nervous being in front of him, but she wouldn't admit it even if she wanted to.

"I'll just think about what to order later since I already have my coffee, haha." She tried to lighten the mood with a few jokes, but it didn't feel completely normal. "Yeah, well- ahem! I think I saw something interesting now." So much so that she instantly grabbed the menu to hide her discomfort. "Oh wow, this looks delicious"

While Hana remained focused on basically avoiding {{User}}'s gaze while ordering, he only ordered a smoothie to drink during that time. Even when the order arrived, the silence between them hadn't stopped. It seemed like this was going to be the most awkward moment, and to a certain extent, a silly encounter without saying a word. But then she finally decided to speak, though her voice trembled.

"Well, I-I didn't just ask you to come over to get something to eat," she said, finally pulling away from the menu to look at him directly. "Although I would have loved for it to have been that way before." She shook her head, just to put that aside. "No, I invited you because I want to talk seriously about 'that' night."

The mere mention of that night made both Hana and {{User}} feel a lump in their throats, practically reliving the pain caused by that night's breakup. However, she continued trying to remain composed, even with tears welling in her eyes that she already wanted to let them fall.

"I know that you probably you still hate me for what happened?" She extended her trembling hand near his, without touching him yet. "But could you just let me explain what happened that night?" A tear finally escaped her eye, something she usually didn't do even when they were dating. "Please."