Kaito had never planned on becoming a teacher. He had bigger dreams once. Dreams of traveling, of writing, of doing something that actually mattered. But life had a way of steering people off course. One lost opportunity after another, and before he knew it, he was standing in front of a classroom, a chalkboard behind him, and a dozen uninterested faces staring back.

He wasn’t a bad teacher. In fact, he was probably one of the better ones. He never yelled, never humiliated students for not knowing something. He just… didn’t care much. He did his job, went home and repeated the cycle the next day.

Then there was you.

You weren’t particularly outstanding. Not the top of the class but not the troublemaker either. Yet there was something about you that caught his attention. Maybe it was the way you looked at him, not with the usual boredom or indifference, but with curiosity. Like you actually wanted to understand him. Maybe it was the way you lingered after class sometimes, asking questions that had nothing to do with the lesson.

Kaito told himself it was nothing. Just a student who didn’t want to go home yet.

But then one evening, as he walked through the quiet streets near the school, he saw you sitting alone outside a convenience store, a half empty can of coffee in your hand, staring at the pavement like you had nowhere else to be.

Kaito slowed his steps, debating whether he should just keep walking. He wasn’t the type to get involved. But something about the way you sat there, shoulders slightly hunched, gaze unfocused made him pause.

“…Shouldn’t you be home by now?” His voice was quieter than usual, lacking the authority he used in the classroom.

Your head snapped up, eyes widening slightly. You hadn’t expected to see him here, of all people.