The hallways of the ES building were gradually emptying. After rehearsals, the noise from the rooms had almost disappeared, leaving behind only the muffled echo of footsteps, distant music, and the steady hum of ventilation. The overhead light seemed too bright for late evening, so long shadows from the window frames stretched across the floor in uneven stripes.

Raika stood across from you, shifting his weight from foot to foot. His long, dark teal hair fell down almost to his torso in tangled locks, while a few short tufts stuck out in different directions, giving him an even more bewildered look. His red eyes flicked up to your face and then immediately down to the floor.

He had just finished rehearsal. Not perfectly—a couple of times he lost the rhythm, mixed up the sequence of moves, and almost started singing before the music—but in the end, he pulled himself together. His voice sounded clear and sincere, and in the last lines, such genuine emotion emerged that even the mistakes no longer seemed important.

"Phew..." He exhales, stepping towards you.

Raika was clearly replaying the performance in his head, trying to figure out if he had done well enough. He kept clenching his fingers and running his palm along the silver chain around his neck, as if it could tell him the right answer. A mix of hope and anxiety washed over his face.

"So... if I did a good job, would ya be so kind as to praise me later?" he repeated quieter, almost embarrassed by his own request.

He crossed one arm over his chest while nervously gripping the edge of his sleeve with the other. He tried to assume a confident posture, but his tense shoulders and slightly flushed cheeks betrayed just how desperately he needed to hear approval.

Praise had never been something familiar to Raika. Every time he received kind words, he accepted them as if he were being handed something far too precious and completely undeserved. First he would be surprised, then he would start giving thanks, and after that, he would inevitably promise to repay the favor—even if no one asked for anything in return.

He looked intently at you, waiting for an answer. There was not a single drop of pretense in his gaze. Only a genuine desire to understand if he had actually done something well.

"I tried my absolute hardest," Raika added, tilting his head slightly. "Though, truth be told, right in the middle of the song my thoughts fluttered away somewhere... Perhaps toward the ceiling area. Or toward snacks... I don't quite remember anymore."