For the next three weeks, Lulu lived in a world of split-screen reality.
In one reality, she was the "Sweet Lulu," the girl who sat at the dinner table and listened to Shay talk about his dreams of opening a gym once they were stable. In that world, Yuto was a silent, stoic sentinel—a name mentioned with reverent trust by her brother.
In the other reality, she was a rebel. She was the girl who met a boy behind the old school gym during the fifteen-minute break between periods. She was the girl who exchanged handwritten notes tucked inside the pages of borrowed textbooks, where the margins were filled with Yuto’s surprisingly poetic thoughts on the stars.
The Hidden Map
"Five minutes," Yuto whispered, pulling her into the narrow gap between the equipment shed and the brick wall of the music wing.
The air was hot and smelled of cut grass. Lulu leaned her back against the cool bricks as Yuto stepped into her space, his dark hoodie shielding her from the view of the second-floor windows.
"I hate this," Lulu breathed, her fingers tangling in the violet-streaked hair at the nape of his neck. "I hate having to time our smiles by the school bell."
Yuto sighed, resting his forehead against hers. "I know. Every time I see Shay in the hallway and he gives me that nod—that 'thanks for watching her' look—I feel like a virus. Like I’m rotting him from the inside out."
"You’re not," Lulu insisted, pulling him closer. "You’re loving me. That’s not a crime."
"To Shay, it is," Yuto murmured. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small piece of paper. It was a hand-drawn map. "Meet me at the old terminal station tonight at 8:00. Shay is working the double shift at the warehouse, right?"
Lulu nodded. "He won't be back until midnight."
"Good. I found a place where we don't have to be 'The Shadow and the Sister.' Just for a few hours."
He kissed her—a quick, fierce pressure that left her breathless—before stepping back and resuming his "guard" stance just as a group of students rounded the corner. To them, it looked like Yuto was simply doing his job, patrolling the perimeter of Lulu’s life.
The Terminal Date
The old terminal station was a graveyard of rusted trains and overgrown tracks, located on the edge of the city where the streetlights were few and far between. It was a place for outcasts, which made it perfect for them.
Yuto had set up a small lantern inside an abandoned passenger car. He’d brought a bag of cheap convenience store snacks, but to Lulu, it felt like a five-star banquet.
For the first time, they didn't talk about Shay. They talked about the things that made them who they were. Yuto spoke about the orphanage—the coldness of the rooms and how he used to draw wings on the walls with stolen chalk, dreaming of flying away.
"I never had a family," Yuto said, looking at the silver ring on the chain around his neck. "Shay was the first person to ever treat me like I belonged somewhere. That’s why the guilt is so heavy, Lulu. He gave me a home, and I’m lying to him in the middle of it."
Lulu moved to sit beside him, resting her head on his shoulder. "We’ll tell him. When the time is right."
"When is the time right to tell your best friend you're in love with the person he values most in the world?" Yuto asked, his voice cracking.
Lulu didn't have an answer. She just held his hand, their fingers interlaced in the dim light of the lantern.
The Close Call
The walk back was a gamble. They stayed in the shadows, moving through the alleyways. When they reached the corner of the Gardner’s apartment complex, Yuto stopped.
"Go ahead," he said. "I’ll wait here until I see the light in your window go on."
Lulu reached out to touch his cheek, but a sudden sound made them both freeze.
The roar of a motorcycle engine.
Shay.
He wasn't supposed to be home for another two hours. The headlight of the bike cut through the darkness of the street like a searchlight.
"Run!" Yuto hissed, pushing Lulu toward the back entrance of the building.
Lulu scrambled behind a row of industrial trash bins just as Shay’s bike skidded to a halt at the front curb. She held her breath, her heart drumming against her ribs.
Through a gap in the bins, she saw Shay climb off his bike. He looked exhausted, his shoulders slumped. He looked around the quiet street, his eyes lingering on the very shadow where Yuto was hiding.
"Yuto?" Shay called out, his voice echoing in the midnight air. "That you?"
A long silence followed. Lulu felt like she was going to faint.
Yuto stepped out from the darkness, his hands in his pockets, his expression perfectly unreadable. "Couldn't sleep, Shay. Thought I'd do one last lap around the block."
Shay let out a rough laugh, walking over and clapping Yuto on the back. "Man, you’re too dedicated. I told you to watch her, not lose sleep over it. Come on, I’ve got some leftover dumplings in the fridge. Join me?"
Lulu watched from the darkness as her brother and her secret boyfriend walked into the building together, side-by-side.
She waited five minutes, her body shaking from the adrenaline. When she finally snuck into the apartment through the fire escape and into her room, she heard their voices in the kitchen.
"You're a lifesaver, Yuto," she heard Shay say. "I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have someone I could trust this much."
Lulu collapsed onto her bed, pulling her pillow over her face to muffle a sob. The double life wasn't just a secret anymore. It was a ticking time bomb, and the fuse was getting shorter every single day.
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and then Add to home screen.