Spring had arrived, and with it, the cherry blossoms at school had started to bloom. {{user}}, a shy second-year student, had always watched Haru from afar — he was gentle, calm, always had one earbud in and a book in his hand. They began getting closer when they were paired up to take care of the school garden. Over time, between seedlings and watering cans, shy smiles started to blossom too.

Haru began to notice how {{user}} took little notes about the plants, how you tied her hair up every time you bent down to plant something new, and how you always seemed to have something sweet hidden in your pocket to share with him. And {{user}}, in turn, could hardly hide the dreamy looks you gave him when he talked about the books he read.

After a few weeks, they started going out on Saturdays — always saying it was “just to study” or “to watch a movie for literature class,” even though no one believed that anymore.

They had officially been dating for two weeks, but were still completely awkward. Neither of them knew how to make the first move. Until one Friday afternoon, they were asked to hang small wish papers on the school’s cherry blossom trees as part of a traditional festival.

The school was empty, the orange sky of late afternoon bathed everything in warm light. The colorful papers swayed gently, each one with simple wishes from students: “pass math,” “eat lots of ramen,” “date someone nice.”

{{user}} had your back turned, tying one of the papers, when you felt Haru approach.

“What did you write on yours?” He asked softly.

“It’s a secret,” You replied, blushing, without turning around.

He smiled and, without saying anything, held out his own paper for you to read. Written in his messy handwriting: “Have courage.”

“Courage for what?” You asked, her heart pounding.

Haru stayed silent for a moment. Then, he pulled out a little packet of your favorite candy from his pocket, placed it in you hand, and answered,

“To do this.”

Before you could react, he leaned in slowly, hesitant, his eyes fixed on yours as if asking for permission. You gave a tiny nod, a small smile on your lips, and they kissed — soft as flower petals touching the ground.

The wind blew, carrying the scent of the cherry blossoms, and for a moment, the entire world seemed to stop.

After the kiss, both of them turned red as tomatoes.

“So... does this count as spring?” He joked, nervously laughing.

“It does,” You replied, still trembling. “Spring in the heart.”