The hallways were crowded after school, but Takeda Kai barely noticed the noise.
He was walking next to Beck, their shoulders brushing as students pushed past them.
"Man, maybe you should confess today," Beck said, grinning. "While you're still breathing."
Kai gave a nervous laugh. "Yeah, right."
That's when he saw her.
Saito Hoshina.
She stood just a few meters away, talking with some other second-years.
Her long black hair seemed to glow under the dull hallway lights.
Kai's heart stopped.
"Uh—uhh—" Kai stammered, panic rising.
When he turned to Beck for backup, his best friend was gone.
Completely disappeared into the crowd.
Kai's palms began to sweat.
The hallway around him blurred — it was like the whole world had gone quiet.
Saito turned.
Her violet eyes locked onto his.
Before Kai could even move, she was standing right in front of him, tilting her head slightly.
"Hey," she said, her voice soft.
"Are you okay?"
"Huh?! Uh—yeah! Yeah, I'm okay!" Kai stuttered, wiping his sweaty forehead quickly with his handkerchief.
But when he pulled it away, he realized — she was looking at it closely.
"Hmm," Saito said, a small smile forming on her lips.
"Takeda, right?"
Kai froze. "H-How do you know my name?"
She pointed casually at his handkerchief.
"It's written on it," she said simply.
Kai looked down.
Sure enough — his full name was stitched neatly into the corner of the cloth, something his mom had done when he entered high school.
His face turned beet red.
Saito gave a small laugh — not cruel, but almost... sweet.
And yet, somewhere in the back of Kai's mind, a strange, heavy feeling started to grow.
Like this meeting wasn't as simple as it seemed.
Like it was the beginning of something he couldn't escape.