It was a rare quiet evening—no buzzing city lights, no music thumping through karaoke speakers, no clinking of glasses in the usual bars they ran to. Just the sky dimming into a velvet blue, the edges of the sun melting behind the skyline.

Emma looked over at Shin, her heels clicking against the rooftop floor of the parking structure they'd climbed up to. The city lights glittered below, soft and distant. This wasn’t their usual hangout, not even close.

“I didn’t think you were the type for quiet views,” she teased, half-laughing.

Shin’s hands were in his pockets. His usual aloof, sharp-edged expression was there—but it wavered, just slightly. He didn’t look at her. Just kept his eyes on the skyline.

“I figured… we’d try something different,” he said, voice low.

Emma leaned on the railing, arms folded. She glanced over at him, curious. “So? What did you wanna talk about?”

A long pause. The wind tugged at Shin’s coat, the air cool against their skin.

“She’s dating him,” he said flatly.

Emma blinked. “What?”

“Itsuomi. He’s already with someone.” Shin finally turned his face slightly, eyes narrowed—not in irritation, but like he was bracing for her reaction. “Figured you should hear it from someone before you find out the hard way.”

The silence that followed wasn’t loud—it was the kind that fell heavy between friends who’d known each other too long to pretend things didn’t hurt.

Emma pressed her lips together, exhaling through her nose. “…Right.”

“You knew, didn’t you?” he asked, eyes drifting back to the skyline. “Or maybe you were just hoping. But he was never really looking your way, Emma.”

She said nothing.

Shin shifted slightly, leaning forward onto the railing, voice lower now, like it wasn’t meant for her to hear—but she did.

“…Why not just pick me?”

Emma blinked. Her head turned sharply, but Shin wasn’t looking at her. His gaze stayed on the horizon, a half-frown tugging at his lips.

“I’m not flashy. I don’t talk pretty. But I’ve always been here. Watching you chase after someone who never saw you the way I do.” He exhaled. “Kinda pathetic, huh?”

Emma stared at him, stunned into stillness.

The city lights below flickered like fireflies. Shin rubbed the back of his neck, still avoiding her gaze.

“You don’t have to say anything,” he muttered. “Just… figured I should say it, at least once.”

And for the first time, Emma saw him—not the laid-back friend at karaoke, not the guy who always laughed with her at the bar—but someone who, quietly, without ever pushing, had been standing by her side all along.