1
00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:03,400
Some melodies return long after 
the moment they were written, 

2
00:00:04,000 --> 00:00:07,760
not as a promise, but as a 
memory the world wasn't ready to

3
00:00:07,760 --> 00:00:10,400
release. 
There are winters that take from

4
00:00:10,400 --> 00:00:14,560
us, and winters that give back 
in ways we never expected. 

5
00:00:15,000 --> 00:00:19,440
A name spoken in a cold room, a 
box held carefully and shaking 

6
00:00:19,440 --> 00:00:22,000
hands. 
Two men who once walked beside 

7
00:00:22,000 --> 00:00:25,440
him, now standing in the quiet 
he left behind. 

8
00:00:26,000 --> 00:00:28,000
Grief moves differently when 
shared. 

9
00:00:28,360 --> 00:00:32,080
It softens at the edges. 
It finds room to breathe. 

10
00:00:32,400 --> 00:00:35,360
It let the choose rise between 
people who never thought they 

11
00:00:35,360 --> 00:00:37,880
would meet. 
And somewhere in the stillness, 

12
00:00:38,520 --> 00:00:43,800
a small melody waits, 
unfinished, unresolved, holding 

13
00:00:43,800 --> 00:00:46,360
the echo of the boy who shaped 
all their winters. 

14
00:00:46,960 --> 00:00:50,160
This is Winter's last melody. 
Chapter 5. 

15
00:00:51,000 --> 00:00:56,040
The melody that belonged to him.
The quiet inside Wren's workshop

16
00:00:56,040 --> 00:00:59,320
settled slowly, like snow 
choosing where to lend. 

17
00:00:59,640 --> 00:01:02,880
The door had been closed for a 
while, the heater clicking 

18
00:01:02,880 --> 00:01:07,800
softly as it thought the cold. 
Two men, both shaken in 

19
00:01:07,800 --> 00:01:11,520
different corners of the same 
room, tried to steady themselves

20
00:01:11,520 --> 00:01:13,480
again. 
Wren remained near the 

21
00:01:13,480 --> 00:01:16,520
workbench, hands braced on the 
wood he trusted. 

22
00:01:17,120 --> 00:01:21,120
Across the room, Isuki wiped the
last trace of tears from his 

23
00:01:21,120 --> 00:01:26,360
face before speaking to his 
boss, apologetic restraint, 

24
00:01:27,000 --> 00:01:29,160
explaining the flights were 
suspended. 

25
00:01:29,720 --> 00:01:32,120
When he hung up, neither man 
spoke. 

26
00:01:32,600 --> 00:01:36,680
The silence between them was not
uncomfortable, it was simply 

27
00:01:37,080 --> 00:01:40,720
delicate. 
Isuki finally set his phone down

28
00:01:41,120 --> 00:01:45,360
and reached into his travel bag.
His movements were careful, 

29
00:01:45,800 --> 00:01:48,720
deliberate. 
Wrapped in a soft claws. 

30
00:01:49,160 --> 00:01:52,880
He drew out a small wooden 
object, the music box he had 

31
00:01:52,880 --> 00:01:55,880
carried for years. 
Wren's eyes shifted the moment 

32
00:01:55,880 --> 00:02:00,760
it touched the workbench. 
Recognition flickered the 

33
00:02:00,760 --> 00:02:04,160
stubborn way Harrow's early work
always held, tiny imperfections 

34
00:02:04,160 --> 00:02:07,440
like the fingerprints. 
Issuki unwrapped the claws 

35
00:02:07,440 --> 00:02:10,639
fully. 
It broke a while ago, he said 

36
00:02:10,639 --> 00:02:14,120
quietly. 
Wren reached forward, fingertips

37
00:02:14,120 --> 00:02:17,520
brushing the cranked hinge, the 
loosened gears. 

38
00:02:18,240 --> 00:02:21,800
Wren excelled once, the sound 
small, almost warm. 

39
00:02:22,400 --> 00:02:26,640
I can't fix it, he said. 
The relief in Izuki's postures 

40
00:02:26,640 --> 00:02:30,440
was subtle but clear. 
He nodded, stepping closer to 

41
00:02:30,440 --> 00:02:32,480
watch Ren examine the inner 
mechanism. 

42
00:02:32,920 --> 00:02:38,480
Haru gave it to me, Izuki said. 
Ren paused only a breath, and 

43
00:02:38,480 --> 00:02:42,240
then nodded once, gently. 
The workshop light soften over 

44
00:02:42,240 --> 00:02:45,120
the broken box. 
Snow pressed lightly against the

45
00:02:45,120 --> 00:02:48,400
window as R.E.M. 
Began to work, and the silence 

46
00:02:48,400 --> 00:02:53,600
between the two men shifted, no 
longer heavy, simply shared. 

47
00:02:55,000 --> 00:03:00,240
Wren worked in silence at first,
not out of avoidance, but 

48
00:03:00,240 --> 00:03:04,160
because the music box demanded a
kind of attention that left no 

49
00:03:04,160 --> 00:03:07,360
room for haste. 
He spread a clean cloth across 

50
00:03:07,360 --> 00:03:12,360
the workbench, placed each tool 
in a precise line, then lifted 

51
00:03:12,360 --> 00:03:16,240
the lid again with a gentleness 
that made Itzuki's press ease. 

52
00:03:16,240 --> 00:03:19,800
Without him meaning to, the 
gears inside were shifted. 

53
00:03:20,440 --> 00:03:22,680
One screw had nearly worn 
through its threat. 

54
00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:27,040
The hinge had split cleanly at 
the seam, a break that set more 

55
00:03:27,040 --> 00:03:30,480
about years than neglect. 
Isuki watched quietly from the 

56
00:03:30,480 --> 00:03:34,400
opposite side of the workbench, 
hands folded in front of him, 

57
00:03:35,200 --> 00:03:37,680
his trouble coat still hanging 
off 1's shoulder. 

58
00:03:38,080 --> 00:03:43,200
He didn't lean close or hover. 
He just stood there, as if 

59
00:03:43,200 --> 00:03:45,720
staying still might keep the 
memory from slipping. 

60
00:03:46,400 --> 00:03:51,080
Wren lifted the hinge, tested 
the GIF, then reach for a fine 

61
00:03:51,080 --> 00:03:54,120
headed screwdriver. 
We were in the same club. 

62
00:03:54,560 --> 00:03:58,080
Ren said. 
Kraftwerk instruments. 

63
00:03:58,360 --> 00:04:02,320
He stayed late a lot, tried too 
hard most days. 

64
00:04:03,240 --> 00:04:06,560
Isuki absorbed that slowly, just
listening. 

65
00:04:07,480 --> 00:04:11,840
Rena just did the tiny gear, 
rotated the axle and set it 

66
00:04:11,840 --> 00:04:13,920
down. 
He gave you this? 

67
00:04:14,400 --> 00:04:16,519
He asked. 
Isuki nodded. 

68
00:04:17,079 --> 00:04:20,640
A long time ago. 
Ren's hands still for a moment, 

69
00:04:21,240 --> 00:04:25,200
barely a pause before he 
continued soothing the worn edge

70
00:04:25,200 --> 00:04:28,880
of the wood. 
Another silence followed, softer

71
00:04:28,880 --> 00:04:32,280
this time. 
Ren straightened, lifted the lid

72
00:04:32,280 --> 00:04:35,840
gently and tested the tension of
the repair trench. 

73
00:04:36,800 --> 00:04:40,200
It held Issuki let out of breast
he didn't realise he'd been 

74
00:04:40,200 --> 00:04:43,320
holding. 
Ren didn't smile, but something 

75
00:04:43,320 --> 00:04:48,120
eased in his shoulders. 
Thank you, Issuki said quietly. 

76
00:04:48,560 --> 00:04:53,480
Ren simply nodded, 2 men sending
over the same memory, letting 

77
00:04:53,480 --> 00:04:55,920
the room warm around them inch 
by inch. 

78
00:04:57,360 --> 00:05:01,400
Isuki sat down first, the 
repaired music box resting in 

79
00:05:01,400 --> 00:05:04,400
his hands as if it were still 
fragile. 

80
00:05:04,880 --> 00:05:08,760
Ren joined him a moment later, 
the heater soft Tom filling the 

81
00:05:08,760 --> 00:05:11,800
room with a steady muted warms. 
Neither spoke. 

82
00:05:12,200 --> 00:05:17,600
Isuki brushed his thumb over the
lid once, lightly, then lifted 

83
00:05:17,600 --> 00:05:20,200
it. 
The first note was small, 

84
00:05:20,800 --> 00:05:25,360
tentative, almost shy, a thin 
child that wavered as though 

85
00:05:25,360 --> 00:05:29,400
remembering how to exist. 
The sake field Cup set a touch 

86
00:05:29,400 --> 00:05:34,640
beside them when reach for One 
Cup paused, then look at Itsuki.

87
00:05:35,200 --> 00:05:37,880
You want to finish the sake? 
He asked. 

88
00:05:38,360 --> 00:05:42,080
Isuki let out of breath, A small
one, almost. 

89
00:05:42,080 --> 00:05:47,680
The laugh was out, the sound. 
Yeah, he said, I think I do, 

90
00:05:48,160 --> 00:05:52,520
rampoured slowly. 
Their first sip was quiet, the 

91
00:05:52,520 --> 00:05:55,240
warm spreading gently through 
the cold edges of the room. 

92
00:05:56,160 --> 00:06:01,120
For a while they said nothing, 
not out of discomfort, but 

93
00:06:01,120 --> 00:06:03,160
because the knight didn't ask 
for noise. 

94
00:06:04,160 --> 00:06:05,800
You took. 
Your fingers drifted back to the

95
00:06:05,800 --> 00:06:09,080
music box, tracing the smooth 
edge of the lid. 

96
00:06:09,440 --> 00:06:13,400
He hesitated. 
You knew him well, he said 

97
00:06:13,400 --> 00:06:17,120
quietly. 
Ren sat his cup down, fingers 

98
00:06:17,160 --> 00:06:21,440
brushing the wood off the table,
grounding himself, studying the 

99
00:06:21,440 --> 00:06:23,320
place where memory threatened to
rise. 

100
00:06:24,040 --> 00:06:26,440
And in a voice just above a 
whisper, he spoke. 

101
00:06:27,120 --> 00:06:31,320
There was a time when Haru and I
were close, and the night 

102
00:06:31,320 --> 00:06:35,800
finally began to open. 
The sake warmed slowly between 

103
00:06:35,800 --> 00:06:39,240
them, thinning the cold that had
clung to their shoulders since 

104
00:06:39,240 --> 00:06:42,120
the funeral. 
Pieces of their story surfaced 

105
00:06:42,120 --> 00:06:45,920
gradually, the quiet way Izuki's
gaze lingered on the box, 

106
00:06:46,520 --> 00:06:51,320
remembering a time when Haru had
placed it in his hands, that 

107
00:06:51,320 --> 00:06:53,320
they had known Haru in different
time. 

108
00:06:53,720 --> 00:06:57,880
Ren's memories came from use, 
long hours in workshop rooms at 

109
00:06:57,880 --> 00:07:02,480
the university, Haru frustrated 
with tools he barely understood,

110
00:07:03,080 --> 00:07:06,440
the brightness that drew people 
in before he ever realized it. 

111
00:07:06,960 --> 00:07:12,080
Izuki carried a later version, a
steadier Haru, softened by 

112
00:07:12,080 --> 00:07:16,720
experience, more deliberate in 
his warmth, less unsure of where

113
00:07:16,720 --> 00:07:21,000
to place his affection. 2 
separate histories never meant 

114
00:07:21,000 --> 00:07:25,360
to overlap, now sitting side by 
side in a quiet winter workshop.

115
00:07:26,000 --> 00:07:28,280
The sake moved them closer to 
the truce. 

116
00:07:28,560 --> 00:07:33,160
Haru had changed between their 
lives, and yet somehow he had 

117
00:07:33,160 --> 00:07:37,080
remained himself. 
It was an exchange of stories. 

118
00:07:37,760 --> 00:07:41,680
It was a quiet alignment, a 
winter truce settling into 

119
00:07:41,680 --> 00:07:45,680
place. 
Morning came quietly, as if 

120
00:07:45,680 --> 00:07:48,600
unsure whether to touch the 
night they had left behind. 

121
00:07:49,040 --> 00:07:52,680
The storm had blown itself out 
in the early hours, leaving 

122
00:07:52,680 --> 00:07:55,520
Otaro wrapped in a soft blue 
white stillness. 

123
00:07:55,920 --> 00:07:58,520
Snow clung thick against the 
workshop windows. 

124
00:07:59,160 --> 00:08:03,000
Ren stepped out first, boots 
sinking into a new snow with a 

125
00:08:03,000 --> 00:08:05,960
muffled sound. 
The cold met him cleanly. 

126
00:08:06,480 --> 00:08:09,800
He excelled, breast turning 
white in the morning air. 

127
00:08:10,240 --> 00:08:14,280
Isuki followed a moment later, 
pulling his coat tighter around 

128
00:08:14,280 --> 00:08:17,000
himself. 
His eyes scanned the pale sky, 

129
00:08:17,600 --> 00:08:20,920
the thin line of sun lifting 
slowly over the distant houses. 

130
00:08:21,560 --> 00:08:23,880
The world felt quieter than the 
night before. 

131
00:08:24,680 --> 00:08:28,280
A small radio near the door 
murmured weather updates from 

132
00:08:28,280 --> 00:08:29,480
the inside. 
The workshop. 

133
00:08:29,920 --> 00:08:34,919
Roads partially cleared, buses 
running again, trains expected 

134
00:08:34,919 --> 00:08:38,400
to resume by afternoon, Airports
still closed. 

135
00:08:38,799 --> 00:08:42,640
Isuki listened without reacting.
He had already accepted he 

136
00:08:42,640 --> 00:08:46,320
wasn't returning to Tokyo today.
Ran close the workshop door, 

137
00:08:46,320 --> 00:08:50,320
gently locking it. 
The repaired music box was 

138
00:08:50,320 --> 00:08:55,520
wrapped carefully and tucked in 
Izuki's bag, resting between 

139
00:08:55,520 --> 00:08:58,520
spare closes and a few crumpled 
papers. 

140
00:08:59,200 --> 00:09:02,520
A memory in that hall again, 
waiting for its place. 

141
00:09:02,800 --> 00:09:05,960
Izuki looked toward the street, 
toward the snow covered car 

142
00:09:05,960 --> 00:09:09,680
waiting under a soft drift. 
Shall we say hello to Haru? 

143
00:09:10,040 --> 00:09:13,400
Ran nodded once. 
There was no hesitation in 

144
00:09:13,480 --> 00:09:16,320
either of them. 
Not in the way they moved toward

145
00:09:16,320 --> 00:09:19,520
the car, not in the way R.E.M. 
brushed the snow from the 

146
00:09:19,520 --> 00:09:23,080
windshield, not in the way 
Itsuki held the back a little 

147
00:09:23,080 --> 00:09:26,080
closer, as if aware of its 
gravity. 

148
00:09:26,480 --> 00:09:28,360
They weren't returning for 
themselves. 

149
00:09:28,960 --> 00:09:30,800
They weren't returning 
foreclosure. 

150
00:09:31,480 --> 00:09:34,440
They were returning because 
Haru's memory asked for it. 

151
00:09:35,440 --> 00:09:39,360
Rent started the engine. 
Isuki settled into the passenger

152
00:09:39,360 --> 00:09:43,040
seat. 
The drive was almost soundless. 

153
00:09:43,480 --> 00:09:46,800
The heater filled the car with 
muted warmth, but neither Wren 

154
00:09:46,800 --> 00:09:50,200
nor Isuki spoke. 
The morning seemed to ask for 

155
00:09:50,200 --> 00:09:54,080
quiet, and they honoured it. 
They passed a turn toward the 

156
00:09:54,080 --> 00:09:57,800
temple district. 
Isuki noticed, but didn't 

157
00:09:57,800 --> 00:10:01,960
question it. 
He understood intuitively the 

158
00:10:01,960 --> 00:10:05,960
way one recognized the truth was
outwards, that the funeral 

159
00:10:05,960 --> 00:10:07,800
wasn't the place for what they 
carried. 

160
00:10:08,520 --> 00:10:11,040
Funeral were for farewell, 
spoken in public. 

161
00:10:11,560 --> 00:10:15,280
What they held was in public. 
Haru's body lay a temple for 

162
00:10:15,280 --> 00:10:21,480
visitors, condolences, rituals. 
But his life, the peace that 

163
00:10:21,480 --> 00:10:26,720
shaped the boy they each knew, 
lived in BA, in the fields, in 

164
00:10:26,720 --> 00:10:29,680
the farmhouse, in the quiet 
corners of BA. 

165
00:10:29,680 --> 00:10:33,960
He had never stopped returning 
to snowfields offered on both 

166
00:10:33,960 --> 00:10:37,440
sides of the road. 
Red had driven these passes in 

167
00:10:37,440 --> 00:10:41,280
younger years, back when Haru 
would insist on taking the long 

168
00:10:41,280 --> 00:10:45,160
route so they could talk about 
nothing and everything at once. 

169
00:10:45,520 --> 00:10:49,760
Isuki had never been to BA, but 
the landscape felt strangely 

170
00:10:49,760 --> 00:10:53,520
honest, as if it held something 
Haru had never been able to say 

171
00:10:53,520 --> 00:10:56,000
aloud. 
Ren slowed the car as they 

172
00:10:56,000 --> 00:10:59,680
approached the familiar wooden 
fence, the farmhouse still still

173
00:10:59,680 --> 00:11:03,400
in the morning light, a thin 
trail of smoke rising from the 

174
00:11:03,400 --> 00:11:07,920
chimney, the fields stretching 
wide and untouched behind it. 

175
00:11:08,480 --> 00:11:12,280
They stepped out into the cold. 
Itsuki stood cell for a moment, 

176
00:11:12,600 --> 00:11:15,240
taking in the quiet. 
They didn't walk toward the 

177
00:11:15,240 --> 00:11:18,640
house right away. 
Instead, they wandered the 

178
00:11:18,640 --> 00:11:22,880
grounds, following the shape of 
fences, the storage shed. 

179
00:11:23,800 --> 00:11:28,000
Ren walked ahead at first, boots
sinking into snow with a muted 

180
00:11:28,000 --> 00:11:30,400
crunch. 
Isuki trailed a few steps 

181
00:11:30,400 --> 00:11:35,160
behind, his gaze drifting across
the field as if trying to 

182
00:11:35,160 --> 00:11:38,080
imagine Haru's footsteps layer 
beneath the snow. 

183
00:11:38,640 --> 00:11:42,640
The farm held its own kind of 
silence, not mournful but 

184
00:11:42,640 --> 00:11:46,680
familiar, like a place that had 
waded through many winters for 

185
00:11:46,680 --> 00:11:49,040
someone to return every now and 
then. 

186
00:11:49,040 --> 00:11:50,680
Ran paused to look over the 
land. 

187
00:11:51,520 --> 00:11:55,760
Isuki stopped near the old swing
frame, half buried in snow, its 

188
00:11:55,760 --> 00:12:00,280
ropes stiff with frost. 
He didn't touch it, only watch 

189
00:12:00,280 --> 00:12:03,920
how the light landed on the 
seat, wondering if Haru had once

190
00:12:03,920 --> 00:12:07,400
set their legs, kicking forward 
under the summer skies. 

191
00:12:07,760 --> 00:12:11,240
It felt right to walk first, to 
breathe this air. 

192
00:12:12,040 --> 00:12:16,000
They rounded the side of the 
house, boots leaving thin trails

193
00:12:16,000 --> 00:12:18,800
behind them. 
The snow muffled everything, 

194
00:12:19,360 --> 00:12:24,160
their steps, their breath, the 
soft Creek of distant branches, 

195
00:12:24,640 --> 00:12:26,920
until the silence fell, almost 
protective. 

196
00:12:28,120 --> 00:12:30,280
Only then did the farmhouse door
open. 

197
00:12:30,680 --> 00:12:34,320
A farm worker stepped out, 
bundled in a thick jacket, 

198
00:12:34,960 --> 00:12:38,480
rubbing his hands for warms. 
He looked surprised to see 

199
00:12:38,480 --> 00:12:40,920
visitors, scanning them for a 
moment. 

200
00:12:41,640 --> 00:12:45,800
Red lifted a hand in greeting. 
We're Haru's friends, he said 

201
00:12:45,800 --> 00:12:48,560
quietly. 
The workers expression shifted, 

202
00:12:49,040 --> 00:12:53,480
not shocked, but softened by 
recognition of the funeral of 

203
00:12:53,480 --> 00:12:57,280
the few who might come today. 
Yes, please come in. 

204
00:12:57,880 --> 00:13:01,320
He stepped aside, holding the 
door open against the colt. 

205
00:13:01,640 --> 00:13:04,760
The family is still at the 
funeral hall, he said gently. 

206
00:13:05,520 --> 00:13:09,880
But they told me if any of 
Haru's friends came by, you're 

207
00:13:09,880 --> 00:13:12,960
welcome to look around, 
especially his room. 

208
00:13:13,440 --> 00:13:17,680
Isuki lowered his head, a quiet 
thank you forming in the small 

209
00:13:17,680 --> 00:13:21,560
movement. 
Ren nodded once, breeze drifting

210
00:13:21,560 --> 00:13:24,200
in the cold air. 
They followed the work across 

211
00:13:24,200 --> 00:13:28,640
the porch toward the warm light 
spilling from inside, toward the

212
00:13:28,640 --> 00:13:32,560
place where Haru had lived. 
The door closed softly behind 

213
00:13:32,560 --> 00:13:35,760
them. 
The farmhouse interior held the 

214
00:13:35,760 --> 00:13:39,440
warmth of a place used daily. 
The worker LED them to a short 

215
00:13:39,440 --> 00:13:43,080
hallway and stepped back, 
nodding toward the second door. 

216
00:13:43,560 --> 00:13:46,120
That's Haru's room, he said 
softly. 

217
00:13:46,480 --> 00:13:50,120
Everything says he left it. 
Then he returned to his chores, 

218
00:13:50,560 --> 00:13:53,920
leaving Yitsuki, and ran alone. 
R.E.M. pushed the door open 

219
00:13:53,920 --> 00:13:56,440
first. 
Haru's room was the room of a 

220
00:13:56,440 --> 00:14:00,400
man who had settled into a 
quieter season of life, the life

221
00:14:00,400 --> 00:14:02,200
he chose after years of 
drifting. 

222
00:14:02,600 --> 00:14:06,360
The bed was neatly made, blanket
corners tucked with a habit 

223
00:14:06,360 --> 00:14:09,080
formed through a routine rather 
than careful appearance. 

224
00:14:09,400 --> 00:14:14,240
A single pillow slightly 
indented A folded sweater at the

225
00:14:14,240 --> 00:14:17,800
foot of the bed. 
Isuki stepped inside slowly. 

226
00:14:18,440 --> 00:14:19,880
I. 
Scanning the space was a 

227
00:14:19,880 --> 00:14:23,160
reverence that came from seeing 
the version of Haru he never 

228
00:14:23,160 --> 00:14:25,680
fully knew. 
The Haru returned to his 

229
00:14:25,680 --> 00:14:29,480
farmhouse year after year, until
it became where he stayed. 

230
00:14:30,240 --> 00:14:33,960
Rensky found the bedside table 
almost immediately, The music 

231
00:14:33,960 --> 00:14:38,920
box, the odd, uneven sculpture 
like Peace he had crafted in 

232
00:14:38,920 --> 00:14:43,320
university, sat there, a thin 
layer of dust softening its 

233
00:14:43,320 --> 00:14:46,400
edges. 
Rent didn't touch it, but his 

234
00:14:46,400 --> 00:14:49,280
breast shifted, quiet and 
contained. 

235
00:14:49,600 --> 00:14:51,480
Isuki paused near the wooden 
rack. 

236
00:14:52,160 --> 00:14:56,040
A familiar winter coat hung 
there, the one he had sent Haru 

237
00:14:56,040 --> 00:15:00,720
during a cold Tokyo season. 
Not new anymore, the Cubs 

238
00:15:00,720 --> 00:15:03,680
slightly worn, the colour muted 
from use. 

239
00:15:04,000 --> 00:15:08,560
Haru had worn it often. 
Everything spoke quietly, of 

240
00:15:08,560 --> 00:15:11,840
life in motion. 
One Haru had been living fully, 

241
00:15:12,440 --> 00:15:15,640
even if gently, even if 
privately. 

242
00:15:16,240 --> 00:15:18,480
Red took a slow step deeper into
the room. 

243
00:15:19,280 --> 00:15:23,320
Isuki stayed near the doorway, 
each taking a different side of 

244
00:15:23,320 --> 00:15:26,960
her life Haru had built after 
drifting out of theirs. 

245
00:15:27,320 --> 00:15:31,280
There was no dramatic 
realization, no tears, only a 

246
00:15:31,280 --> 00:15:34,880
room that felt real, immediate 
and warm. 

247
00:15:35,760 --> 00:15:39,600
A space that made Haru absence, 
sharper and yet strangely 

248
00:15:39,600 --> 00:15:42,320
comforting. 
This was the version of Haru the

249
00:15:42,320 --> 00:15:46,840
world saw last, the version who 
had finally chosen a home, a 

250
00:15:46,840 --> 00:15:51,720
rhythm, a steadiness, a man 
neither of them fully knew, but 

251
00:15:51,720 --> 00:15:55,720
both recognized. 
Wren's shoulder seized, Itsuki's

252
00:15:55,760 --> 00:15:58,920
breast steadied. 
The room didn't feel empty. 

253
00:15:59,560 --> 00:16:04,240
It fell, paused. 
Haru's room held them gently, 

254
00:16:04,720 --> 00:16:08,640
the way quiet places sometimes 
hold grief for people who don't 

255
00:16:08,640 --> 00:16:12,000
know how to place it. 
Wren stood near the bedside 

256
00:16:12,000 --> 00:16:17,200
table, Itzuki near the desk, 
neither rushing, neither trying 

257
00:16:17,200 --> 00:16:20,920
to fill the space with words. 
It felt wrong to move too 

258
00:16:20,920 --> 00:16:23,600
quickly, and equally wrong to 
linger. 

259
00:16:23,920 --> 00:16:28,240
Itzuki reached into his back and
lifted the repaired music box, 

260
00:16:28,840 --> 00:16:31,920
wrapped still in the class Wren 
had used the night before. 

261
00:16:32,880 --> 00:16:37,760
His hands were steady, not 
trembling, not unsure, simply 

262
00:16:37,760 --> 00:16:41,160
respectful. 
He crossed a small room, each 

263
00:16:41,160 --> 00:16:44,920
step soft against the worm 
wooden floor, and stopped at 

264
00:16:44,920 --> 00:16:47,920
Haru's desk. 
There was enough space cleared 

265
00:16:47,920 --> 00:16:51,520
at the center, a natural gap 
among the notebook and the farm 

266
00:16:51,520 --> 00:16:55,160
locks, as if this was where Haru
might have placed something he 

267
00:16:55,160 --> 00:16:58,400
meant to return to. 
Yizuki kept his hands on the 

268
00:16:58,400 --> 00:17:03,120
cloth for a moment before 
letting it fall open and placed 

269
00:17:03,120 --> 00:17:05,599
it in the desk. 
He stepped aside. 

270
00:17:05,920 --> 00:17:09,880
Ren watched from a few steps 
away, breast slowing in a soft, 

271
00:17:09,880 --> 00:17:12,760
steady rhythm. 
The gesture didn't startle him. 

272
00:17:13,400 --> 00:17:17,440
It felt right, as though the box
had finally found its way back 

273
00:17:17,440 --> 00:17:20,160
to the place it had been meant 
to rest. 

274
00:17:20,359 --> 00:17:23,480
Ren approached then. 
He didn't reach for the box 

275
00:17:23,560 --> 00:17:27,440
either, he only stood close 
enough that the melody seemed as

276
00:17:27,440 --> 00:17:30,120
if it could rise if either of 
them wanted it. 

277
00:17:30,640 --> 00:17:35,400
Wren lowered his head slightly, 
a gesture small yet full, as if 

278
00:17:35,400 --> 00:17:39,120
acknowledging the years between 
the boy he once knew and the men

279
00:17:39,120 --> 00:17:42,120
who lived in this room. 
Yizuki gazed, soft and at the 

280
00:17:42,120 --> 00:17:47,880
coat hanging, worn, used, loved 
in a way he'd never been told 

281
00:17:48,400 --> 00:17:52,560
but could now plainly see. 
For a long moment they simply 

282
00:17:52,560 --> 00:17:57,680
stood there, not remembering the
same Haru, not grieving him the 

283
00:17:57,680 --> 00:18:02,360
same way, but honouring him side
by side in the space he last 

284
00:18:02,360 --> 00:18:04,840
called home. 
When they finally stepped back 

285
00:18:04,840 --> 00:18:09,280
from the desk, the room stayed 
warm, as though Haru was still 

286
00:18:09,280 --> 00:18:12,640
walking it's edges. 
They stepped out of the 

287
00:18:12,640 --> 00:18:15,960
farmhouse together, boots 
meeting the cold with a soft, 

288
00:18:15,960 --> 00:18:19,120
steady crunch. 
The door clicked shut behind 

289
00:18:19,120 --> 00:18:21,480
them. 
The winter felt different now. 

290
00:18:21,880 --> 00:18:25,040
Not harsh, not biting, just 
clean. 

291
00:18:25,840 --> 00:18:28,000
The kind of cold that met you 
was clarity. 

292
00:18:28,000 --> 00:18:31,200
Rather than wait, R.E.M. pulled 
on his gloves while Izuki 

293
00:18:31,200 --> 00:18:35,120
adjusted the strap of his back, 
their movements unhurried, 

294
00:18:35,720 --> 00:18:38,480
shaped by a calm that had 
settled into them only minutes 

295
00:18:38,480 --> 00:18:41,000
earlier. 
The yard stretch open before 

296
00:18:41,000 --> 00:18:43,920
them, covered in a thin layer of
fresh snow. 

297
00:18:44,240 --> 00:18:47,320
Their earlier footprints crossed
the ground in wavering lines, 

298
00:18:48,000 --> 00:18:51,400
looping around the barn and the 
side paths where they had walked

299
00:18:51,400 --> 00:18:54,960
before being invited inside. 
They started toward the car at 

300
00:18:54,960 --> 00:18:57,600
the same time the snow under 
foot grew. 

301
00:18:57,600 --> 00:19:01,000
Farmer near the parked car. 
I can take you to Supero 

302
00:19:01,000 --> 00:19:03,160
Station. 
Isuki nodded. 

303
00:19:04,120 --> 00:19:07,800
Thank you, that would help. 
Ran open the door. 

304
00:19:08,600 --> 00:19:11,000
The heater humped softly as the 
engine started. 

305
00:19:11,720 --> 00:19:15,360
Snow shifted beneath the tires 
as they pulled onto the narrow 

306
00:19:15,360 --> 00:19:18,080
farm Rd. 
The farmhouse shrank behind 

307
00:19:18,080 --> 00:19:23,440
them, becoming a warm square of 
light in the white, and slowly, 

308
00:19:24,000 --> 00:19:27,600
gently, the snowfall erased 
their footprints. 

309
00:19:29,360 --> 00:19:32,760
Some melodies don't end when the
hands that made them are gone. 

310
00:19:33,480 --> 00:19:37,880
They stay in the room they once 
filled, in the people who 

311
00:19:37,880 --> 00:19:41,840
carried them forward in the 
quiet place where love was left 

312
00:19:41,840 --> 00:19:45,240
unfinished. 
A winter can hold many stories. 

313
00:19:45,520 --> 00:19:49,200
The ones we shared, the ones we 
were too young to understand, 

314
00:19:49,680 --> 00:19:52,520
and the ones we've returned to 
only when the world grows still 

315
00:19:52,520 --> 00:19:56,640
enough to listen. 
For Ren and Izuki, this winter 

316
00:19:56,640 --> 00:19:59,760
was not a beginning and not a 
second chance. 

317
00:20:00,040 --> 00:20:04,200
It was a soft, unbroken truce 
that loving someone leaves a 

318
00:20:04,200 --> 00:20:08,480
shape in US, and carrying the 
shape is its own kind of grace. 

319
00:20:08,800 --> 00:20:12,120
The snow will fade, the roads 
will open. 

320
00:20:12,880 --> 00:20:16,800
Their lives will move again. 
This was Winter's last melody, 

321
00:20:17,320 --> 00:20:20,960
Chapter 5, the melody that 
belonged to him. 

322
00:20:22,040 --> 00:20:25,840
And though this story closes 
here, more stories will be on 

323
00:20:25,840 --> 00:20:29,040
this winter. 
Please like the video and 

324
00:20:29,040 --> 00:20:32,200
subscribe to gay Audio books. 
Thank you.