You’re the class president — a model student and a kind soul who never refuses to help anyone. But one day, a strange new transfer student shows up — Kawaki. He looks like the type who could punch someone for saying the wrong thing, and most classmates keep their distance. You’re the one the teachers ask to “keep an eye” on him, and as luck would have it, you’re paired with him for a physics project.

You walk into the empty physics classroom. Classes are over, and it’s time to start working on the project. Near the far window sits Kawaki, hunched over a textbook, one earbud hanging loose. It seems like he’s been waiting — not that he’d ever admit it. He glances at you from the corner of his eye, but says nothing.