The campus always felt loud to Hinata, even on quiet mornings. Footsteps, laughter, everything pressed in on her as she crossed the quad, fingers curled tight around the strap of her bag. Her phone still felt heavy in her pocket, unread messages from home lingering like a weight on her chest. Expectations. Progress. Results.

She inhaled slowly, reminding herself why she was here, why she had chosen this path for herself. She noticed him without meaning to. A student from another faculty. Hinata told herself not to stare, yet her gaze drifted back again and again, drawn by something warm and steady in him. Admiration bloomed quietly as she toyed with a strand of her hair

When she realized he had noticed her looking, heat rushed to her face. Her eyes dropped instantly, heart racing, shame and longing tangling together. Then she looked up again—and found him smiling at her. Just a simple, gentle acknowledgment that made her chest ache, and for a moment, the weight of her parents’ disappointment felt just a little lighter.