September 18, Sunday.
Fans of 'White Album 2' were already gathering in front of their TVs ahead of time, waiting eagerly for the twelfth episode to air.
After all, the show had announced a week ago that today's episode would mark the end of the University Arc.
Ever since episode six, Kazusa Touma hadn't appeared again—not even once. The plot had entirely focused on the emotional healing and reconciliation between Haruki Kitahara and Setsuna Ogiso.
From the developments last week, it seemed pretty clear: this week, Haruki and Setsuna were finally going to shake off the lingering shadow left by Kazusa and move toward a new beginning.
Qin Jiayi, a die-hard 'White Album 2' fan, had been sitting in front of the TV early, waiting.
She'd been really satisfied with how the plot had gone these past few weeks. Without Kazusa showing up to stir the pot, WA2 had been… perfect.
Sure, Haruki was still a major scumbag—but at least he'd realized his mistakes, repented, overcome his inner demons, and committed to moving forward with Setsuna.
Because of this arc, Haruki's reputation among viewers had slightly rebounded.
Taking a bite of her cake, Qin Jiayi took a deep breath.
She just hoped the show would end like this: Haruki and Setsuna making peace and moving on.
No more love triangles, please. She couldn't take it anymore. Her emotional threshold was too low for another gut-punch.
The final episode of the University Arc began.
The opening theme hadn't changed, but the montage that played with it had.
Qin Jiayi's focus immediately locked onto the plot.
Over the course of two whole episodes, Haruki and Setsuna had slowly begun to resolve their issues. And now, they once again stood on stage at a university event to perform the song The Love That Couldn't Be Conveyed.
Unlike the trio performance three years ago during high school, Kazusa was missing.
Only Haruki's guitar remained for accompaniment.
"Finally, we made it to this part."
"Setsuna and Haruki finally got back together. Do you know how close I was to losing it during episode ten? They were literally one step away—in a hotel room—and they still blew it because of a magazine article Haruki wrote praising Kazusa?"
"This has to be the end of the triangle, right?"
"But didn't director Jing Yu hint recently that Kazusa might still appear?"
"So what if she does? They haven't seen each other in years. There's no way Haruki would betray Setsuna again at this point."
"Teacher Jing Yu probably just means Kazusa will get a little cameo at the end—not that she's coming back to wreck their relationship."
"By the way, isn't this the twelfth episode already? That should mean the Fall season's ending and 'White Album 2' is wrapping up too, right?"
"Not necessarily. I've seen a lot of people say that the show isn't just High School Arc and University Arc—there's supposed to be another major arc. If it follows the previous format of six episodes per arc… that's six more episodes?"
After the school festival, the plot gave fans a little gift.
Haruki and Setsuna, after three long years since that night of betrayal in high school, had finally repaired their relationship as a couple. And… they finally took that step on a certain night.
Even though Qin Jiayi was a girl, she still got pretty excited watching it.
But the scene barely lasted 10–20 seconds.
Just when she was starting to feel the hype, the screen jumped to the next morning.
"The cameraman can go eat poop with the dog tonight."
"Do I look like I care about the film industry? Couldn't they at least shoot a little more of that scene? Ten seconds—are you kidding me?"
"I've watched all twelve episodes just for that moment, and you give us a rushed fadeout?"
"Still… I kind of teared up. From 'My Tomorrow, Your Yesterday' to 'Your Lie in April', and now to WA2… I finally got to see these two actors have a happy ending in a show."
"Same. As much as Haruki's character pisses me off, I still really respect Teacher Jing Yu. Looks like he finally decided not to mess with the fans this time."
"But I'm seriously curious—if there are more episodes, what will they even show?"
"Who cares? Just show Haruki and Setsuna's daily life, them being cute and happy together, ending up married or whatever. Look at other shows—by the final episodes, it's just nonstop couple fluff. Even if WA2 does the same for six episodes, the ratings will still be fine. Worst case? Kazusa stans rage-quit. But we, Setsuna fans, can carry this show by ourselves."
Across various fan groups, Kazusa hadn't appeared in a while, and her fans had basically gone silent. Meanwhile, Setsuna's fans were getting more hyped by the minute.
Haruki even met with Setsuna's parents and younger brother. With their emotional walls broken down, the couple's romantic gestures slowly returned to normal.
The entire episode had a calm, warm tone. No surprises.
Ratings were about the same as the previous week—not higher, but definitely not lower.
Qin Jiayi checked the time. The episode was nearly over.
In the final scene, Takeya Iizuka, Io Mizusawa, Haruki Kitahara, and Kazusa Touma were shown celebrating together in a room.
The very last image of episode twelve was Haruki embracing Setsuna.
Then, the ending theme began to play.
"They're finally together. Damn."
"I feel kind of emotional. Thank God I didn't rage-quit after episode six."
"Haruki's still a piece of trash, but at least he ended up choosing Setsuna. Guess he wasn't completely blind."
"So what's next week's plot gonna be? If 'White Album 2' really ends here, I'm not worried—but I swear, if Teacher Jing Yu pulls something crazy next week, this whole thing could fall apart."
"Don't jinx it! Look at how far the plot's come—you think Kazusa has any shot now? I've never seen a show where the male and female leads sleep together and then the guy cheats after. That'd be a death sentence."
"Uhh… but didn't Haruki sleep with Kazusa before, too? And now he's with Setsuna."
"Uh."
"Yeah…"
"...That's… kinda true."
"Stop overthinking it. No way the writers would dare piss off all of us Setsuna fans."
As the ending theme played, Qin Jiayi typed away on her phone, chatting in the WA2 fan group.
But just after she hit send, something felt off.
Episode twelve had ended, but there was no usual Jinhui TV station logo or commercial.
Instead, a new scene began playing right after the ending song.
Qin Jiayi squinted at the screen. A narrator's text described the setting: time, place, and characters.
A full year had passed since Haruki and Setsuna got back together. Both had graduated from college.
Due to a business trip, Haruki had flown to a foreign city. He was currently on a call with Setsuna.
"What the heck? Bonus scenes after the ending?" Qin Jiayi muttered, curiosity piqued.
Even the fan group chat had gone eerily quiet.
Haruki took a taxi to a hotel he had already booked, where he planned to wait for Setsuna's arrival.
Even though it was technically a work trip, he brought his girlfriend over to make it a mini-vacation. Of course, he'd also prepared a beautifully crafted ring for her.
Qin Jiayi watched this, feeling an odd sense of déjà vu.
Back in the High School Arc, during that same winter season, Haruki had also bought a ring for Setsuna. But then he found out Kazusa was planning to study abroad. So he bailed on the date and rushed off to see her instead.
"Is this… the author trying to fix that regret? This time, is he finally going to give the ring to Setsuna?"
Qin Jiayi thought to herself.