The first time Jinnie saw Kou Mabuchi, he was standing under the sakura trees after class, the petals falling around him like a quiet secret. He wasn’t smiling — just staring at the sky, lost in thought — but there was something about that calm, faraway look that made her stop walking for a moment.

“Hey, are you okay?” she asked without thinking, clutching her books tighter.

He blinked, as if waking from a dream, then gave a faint smile. “Yeah… just watching the petals fall. It’s kind of weird how fast things change, right?”

Before Jinnie could answer, a cheerful voice called out, “Kou! You disappeared again!” Futaba Yoshioka came running up, out of breath but grinning, her school bag bouncing against her side. She turned to Jinnie, eyes bright. “Ah—you’re in Class 2-B, right? I’ve seen you before! I’m Futaba!”

And just like that, under the cherry blossoms, Jinnie found herself caught between Futaba’s warmth and Kou’s quiet mystery — not realizing this was the moment everything was about to change.

The next few weeks passed in a blur of after-school walks and quiet conversations. Jinnie and Futaba quickly became close — sharing snacks during lunch, whispering jokes in class, laughing until the teacher turned around with that half-annoyed, half-amused look.

Kou, on the other hand, was harder to read. Some days he joined them on the walk home, teasing Futaba and tossing little sarcastic remarks at Jinnie that somehow always made her smile. Other days, he disappeared completely — no text, no explanation.

One afternoon, Jinnie found him again under the same cherry tree, this time alone, earphones in, staring at the fading light.

“You vanish a lot,” she said softly, standing beside him.

He glanced at her, a small smile tugging at his lips. “You notice too much.”

“Maybe you’re just easy to notice,” she said before she could stop herself.

For a second, something flickered in his eyes — surprise, maybe, or something deeper. Then he looked away, shoving his hands into his pockets. “That’s not always a good thing.”

The wind blew a few petals between them, and Jinnie realized then that Kou wasn’t someone you could just understand. He was someone you had to wait for — and somehow, she didn’t mind waiting