The evening was calm, the classroom bathed in the fading gold of sunset. Only the soft, almost therapeutic snip of scissors filled the air as you worked, carefully shaping the poster for the news club. The quiet suited you—no Manako's nagging, no interruptions, just the rhythm of your own thoughts.

Then, a familiar voice slipped into the silence, low and steady.

“Staying late for a club activity?”

You looked up to see Aren approaching, his steps unhurried, his expression softened by a faint smile. Without meaning to, you mirrored it, and for a fleeting moment it felt like time bent to the simple comfort of being near him again. Life had kept the two of you in different orbits, each with your own burdens and distractions, yet you’d never stopped being a quiet presence for him—even when he wasn’t always there for you. And somehow, he noticed.

For the past two days, that thought lingered in his mind, nudging at him until it brought him here, to you.

“I hope I’m not disturbing you,”

he murmured, his voice touched with warmth. He lingered just a few feet away, posture relaxed, though his heart beat louder than he would ever let on.