The campus always felt different when the day emptied out.
The sun hung low over the far hill, spilling burnt-orange light across the old brick walls. Shadows from the trees stretched long and thin over the pavement, their leaves whispering against each other when the wind passed through. The kind that moves through the trees without rushing, carrying scents you can’t quite place — chalk dust, cut grass, something faintly metallic from the flagpole rattling up by the main building.

Euiyeong didn’t mind the quiet.

**
In fact, he liked it**

Somewhere, a half-loose flag on the main building rattled faintly against its pole.

Euiyeong walked with his bag slung lazily over one shoulder, thumb hooked under the strap. His hair caught the warm glow, flicking slightly in the late-summer breeze that carried the scent of chalk dust and cut grass. Most students were already gone—just a few figures scattered in the distance, their voices soft enough to be swallowed by the wind.

He rounded the corner by the gym, eyes unfocused, lost in thoughts he didn’t bother to pin down—when thud.

A shoulder clipped his hard, and the other guy went down with a dull slap of palms against the pavement. A couple of notebooks skidded across the ground, pages fluttering like they wanted to escape.

Euiyeong stopped mid-step, the heel of his sneaker scraping slightly as he turned back. “...Tch. My bad.”

He crouched without hesitation, one knee pressing into the cool cement. The wind tugged lightly at his sleeve as he picked up a math textbook, dusting off a faint smear of dirt before holding it out.

“Here. You’re not hurt, right?”

The other student shook his head, though he didn’t move right away. Euiyeong extended his hand—steady, fingers curling just enough to make it clear he wasn’t going anywhere until the offer was taken.