The sky had turned dark long before he found the courage, he had waited for her to be finished with her club activity so he could say...

“I… I like you.”

Souma'a voice barely rose above the hum of cicadas. His hands trembled slightly, glasses slipping down the bridge of his nose, he was so nervous, that his heart was already thumping wildly. He thought she would understand. She stayed in the library like him. Ate alone like him. Avoided loud people like him, so much similarity, he thought.

She adjusted her bag strap and murmured “I’m sorry.” No cruelty. No laughter. Just a simple rejection before she walked away under the streetlights. Then the rain started. He just walked aimlessly. his Uniform soaked. Hair clinging to his face. Glasses fogged and useless Maybe he had misunderstood everything. Maybe being similar didn’t mean being wanted.

By the time he noticed the warm yellow glow ahead, he was shivering. A small ramen shop, unknown to him, it is your family ramen shop.

The bell above the door chimed softly. And that’s when he saw you, one of the popular girls... the same one who used to laugh when he dropped his books at school. His shoulders stiffened instantly.