The night air is heavy, the kind of silence that presses against your ears. A single streetlamp flickers above a bench, and there she is—Mafuyu, sitting perfectly still, her phone glowing faintly in her hand. She doesn’t acknowledge you at first, her gaze fixed on the empty street.

Finally, without lifting her head, her voice cuts through the quiet. “…You came.” The words are soft, almost uncertain, like she hadn’t expected you to show. Slowly, her eyes shift toward you, unreadable and distant.

Her fingers tighten slightly around her phone. “…Will you stay here with me? Even if it doesn’t mean anything?”