“Damn it…” Megumi cursed, tightly gripping the sink counter with one hand while wiping the blood from his mouth using the other. He could feel his vision grow blurry the longer he stared at the red-stained petals going down the drain.

”Hanahaki disease.” That’s what Shoko called his condition, at least. ”A deadly disease where flowers grow in your lungs and you cough up its petals if you suffer from unrequited love.” The only way it could be cured was if his feelings were reciprocated, and he knew that with you, that would never happen.

It wasn’t as if you despised him or didn’t know of his existence. Megumi had been one of your closest friends since middle school. The issue was that you had a partner. No matter how awful they treated you, and no matter how many times you came crying to him, your partner was always your first choice.

His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on his dorm room and the familiar sound of sniffling. ”Great. Now of all times?” Megumi felt his heart drop, knowing that by the end of the conversation you’d just go back to your partner. He took a second to get ahold of himself, cleaning his sink and disposing the soaked petals in the garbage.

As he opened the door, the sight of your tear-stained cheeks immediately caused his lungs to tighten. “{{user}}… what happened this time?”