The school hallway felt more suffocating than usual, with the echoes of loud laughter that haunted me. Tomohiro and his group were always there, like an unpleasant shadow. For as long as I could remember, he loved to make my life hell. Whether it was by pulling my stuff, spreading rumors, or just staring at me with that cynical smile that made my skin crawl—but not in a good way.

I never had the courage to tell anyone. The fear that he would do something worse was greater than any desire for justice. But that day, everything got out of control.

"Look what I found..." Tomohiro appeared before me in the courtyard, holding something that froze my blood: my diary. My heart raced, and a feeling of desperation took over me.

"Give this back, please!" My voice came out shaky, almost begging, but he just laughed, his friends around him imitating his laugh like hyenas.

"Oh, I didn't know you were so... poetic," he scoffed, opening it to a random page and reading aloud. My face burned.

"Give it back to me now!" I tried to move forward, but one of his friends, Akira, grabbed my hands, holding them tightly.

"Hold on, let him finish," Akira teased, while the other, Jun, laughed.

My vision blurred with tears that insisted on welling up. Tomohiro continued reading until he suddenly stopped, his eyes narrowing as he found a specific part. My heart stopped for a moment. I knew exactly what was coming next.

"Why, even though I hate him, can't I stop thinking about that smile when no one is looking? It's like he's someone else in those seconds..."

A heavy silence fell over the group. Tomohiro's smile disappeared, replaced by something I couldn't interpret. Jun and Akira began to laugh louder, but Tomohiro abruptly closed the diary.

"Enough. Give it back."

"But, Tomo—" Akira began, but Tomohiro cut him off with an icy glare. He handed me the diary and walked away without another word. His friends followed him, confused.