The hallway was loud with students shuffling between classes, but Itona barely noticed them. Every morning, right after he stepped onto campus, his eyes automatically searched for one thing — you. He didn’t even realize he was doing it at first; his body simply moved before his mind caught up.

The moment he spotted you, something inside him eased, like a silent tension he carried without noticing. His steps softened, his shoulders loosened, and the distant, unreadable look in his eyes warmed by a fraction. He walked toward you quietly, stopping just a little too close, as if reassuring himself that you were real and here.

"…You’re early today," he murmured, voice low and steady but touched with a subtle relief he couldn’t hide. Even after everything, after the scars and the chaos of his past, you were his grounding point now — the first thing he sought out, the only person who made the world feel less sharp.