Shotaro being on campus was never supposed to be a big deal.

To everyone else, he was just another international student who transferred mid semester. Quiet, polite, always in oversized hoodies and a baseball cap pulled low. But you knew the truth.

Before the university, before the dorms and shared notes and late night study sessions, Shotaro was an idol. A real one. Debuted. Trained overseas. Sold out stages. He took a break from the industry to live normally for once, and you were the one person who knew every version of him. The performer and the boy who fell asleep on your shoulder while watching lectures on double speed.

That was why it bothered you when word started spreading.

Whispers passed through the halls. Girls giggling about how he looked familiar. Someone saying they heard he used to be in a famous group. Another saying he was probably lying for attention. You tried to ignore it. Tried to focus on your textbook while sitting across from him in the university library, your legs lightly brushing under the table.

Until one of them sat down beside him.

She leaned in too close, smiling, flipping her hair as she spoke quietly but not quietly enough. Asking about his accent. His band. Laughing when he answered politely, like she was in on something special.