My Girlfriend Wanted an Open Relationship, So I Broke Up with Her and Found a Sweet Yandere - Chapter 20

[Haruka’s POV — 36 Hours Ago]

The apartment felt smaller in the morning.

Haruka stood barefoot on the cold tile, her cardigan draped loosely over her shoulders, eyes scanning the floor for the third time. She crouched, peered under the low table, then straightened with a quiet sigh.

Nothing.

“Did you check the sofa again?” Daiki-senpai asked from the kitchen.

She did anyway. Fingers slipped between cushions, brushed against crumbs and lint. Still nothing.

Her phone was gone.

Not misplaced in the usual way—not tucked between sheets or forgotten on the counter. Gone enough to make the air feel wrong.

“I had it last night,” Haruka said, more to herself than him. Her voice was calm, almost practiced. “I remember checking the time.”

Daiki leaned against the counter, arms crossed, watching her with mild curiosity rather than concern.

“Maybe you left it in the taxi,” he said. “Or dropped it somewhere.”

“I wouldn’t,” she replied quickly. Then slower, less certain, “I think.”

She moved to the bedroom, opened drawers that didn’t belong to her, lifted clothes she hadn’t worn. The bed was already made. Too neat. As if nothing had happened there at all.

That irritated her more than it should have.

She paused, sitting on the edge of the mattress, fingers curling into the fabric.

Yuuta hadn’t texted her yet.

—or maybe he had.

The thought came unbidden, sharp enough to sting.

She swallowed it down.

He probably had. He always did.

“Senpai,” she said, standing again. “Can you call the taxi company?”

Daiki glanced at the clock. “We don’t really have time.”

Her head snapped up. “What?”

He gestured vaguely. “Flight’s soon. Taxi’s downstairs already.”

Her stomach tightened.

“But my phone—”

“I’ll text my house help,” he interrupted smoothly, already typing on his own device. “They’ll look again. Thoroughly.”

He smiled as he said it, easy and confident. Like it was already solved.

“That doesn’t help me now,” she muttered.

She wanted to text Yuuta.

Not because she missed him—no, that wasn’t it.

Even she didn’t know why she was that desperate but it has been always like that, he’s the person whom she calls first in the morning and it just hit her now.

He didn’t call to ask if she reached home- or he did but she was dead sleep?

Questions…to many questions.

“Relax,” Daiki said, slipping his phone back into his pocket. “Worst case, I’ll buy you a new one when we land. Latest model.”

He said it lightly. Casually. Like he was offering candy.

Money, not concern.

Haruka nodded anyway.

She was good at nodding.

—

The airport was loud in a different way—bright, alive, buzzing with energy. The kind of place where doubts felt smaller, swallowed by motion.

Karen spotted her first.

“Harukaaa!” she called, waving both arms, sunglasses perched on her head. “Over here!”

Sana was beside her, already laughing at something one of the guys said. There were so many of them—tall, toned, well-dressed. Sun-kissed smiles and open shirts. The kind of people who looked like they belonged on an island.

Karen grabbed Haruka’s hand immediately.

“You look stiff,” she said, grinning. “Loosen up! This is supposed to be fun.”

Haruka managed a smile. “I just… lost my phone.”

Karen blinked. Then shrugged. “That’s it?”

“That’s it?” Haruka echoed.

Karen laughed. “Please. I get rid of mine on purpose sometimes.”

She pulled her own phone out, screen lighting up with a flood of notifications.

“See?” she said, scrolling exaggeratedly. “Hundreds of missed calls.”

A name flashed again and again.

She blocked it without hesitation.

“God, he’s exhausting,” Karen said, rolling her eyes. “Acts like I owe him updates every five minutes. Total simp.”

The group laughed.

Haruka laughed too—half a beat late.

She glanced at Daiki. He wasn’t watching her. He was talking to someone else, relaxed, confident, already belonging.

…cooler.

She was still disappointed by last night but on trip she thought of giving Daiki another chance to do better, if not then there were other guys too.

Karen leaned in, lowering her voice conspiratorially. “Isn’t it nice?” she whispered. “Not having to worry about explaining yourself. No guilt. No babysitting someone else’s feelings.”

“Once I’m done with college, I’ll marry this fool see… I’m gonna make him dance on my time.” Karen giggled to herself, thinking way ahead from present.

Haruka hesitated.

Yuuta’s face flickered at the edge of her thoughts. Not clearly. More like a shadow behind frosted glass.

She pushed it away.

“He’ll understand,” she said, mostly to herself. “He loves me.”

Karen’s smile widened. “Exactly.”

Sana looped an arm around her shoulders. “Come on, Haru. We’re young. Pretty. You don’t need to chain yourself to one guy forever.”

Forever.

The word felt dramatic. Heavy. Unreal to other maybe…but Haruka?

Yuuta was…is forever.

He is stable. Safe. He is… home.

This—this was just a trip.

Just experience.

Just fun.

The boarding announcement echoed overhead.

Daiki returned, placing a hand lightly on her lower back, guiding her forward without asking.

“You coming?” he asked.

She looked once, instinctively, toward her empty bag. Toward the space where her phone should’ve been.

Yuuta would forgive her.

He always did.

He loved her. That wouldn’t change because of a few days. Because of curiosity.

She stepped forward.

The line moved.

The gate swallowed them.

As the plane doors closed behind her, Haruka felt a small, thrilling knot tighten in her chest.

Excitement.

Anticipation.

Freedom.

And far beneath it all—quiet, buried deep enough not to matter yet—a certainty:

Yuuta would still be there when she came back.

‘I just have return before some bitch lays a finger on him.’

Because for Haruka… this is a open relationship, open on both sides and she wants to have her cake and eat it too.