"I liked you back then as well."

The sentence made Rintarou freeze when he heard that coming from you.

He never expected that. He didn't see it miles away—years away, to be exact. So, why? Why was the silent aching he felt back then came rushing back as if accepting the one-sided affection wasn't years ago?

But the corner of his lips quirked into a smirk, the usual boyish curve that you remembered way back in high school. If anything, Rintarou was a great pretender.

"Really?" he coaxed, "I guess I never noticed that."

But he shoved his hand into his pockets, maybe too harshly than he intended, as if he was remembering the familiar emotion of not being able to hold onto something—someone that was never really his to begin with.