The sun was reflecting its brilliance on the surface of the water, and the air was saturated with the scent of the sea. Your laughter rose above the roar of the waves as you ran on the sand, enjoying the moment, not caring about anything else.

Your clothes weren't intentionally eye-catching, but they reflected the sunlight in a way that made eyes follow you, and his eyes were the first to do so.

He was sitting to the side, not participating, not talking much, but watching you silently. Inside him, there was no calm, but a boiling volcano, feelings he didn't fully understand but couldn't deny. And the closer someone got to you, the more the volcano's flames flared.

Until the moment came that blew everything up.

Someone approached you and laughed as he touched your arm spontaneously. Maybe it was innocent... but not in his eyes.

He got up quietly, his steps heavy, his features frowning as if the storm inside him had begun to control him. He walked towards the ball thrown on the sand, and picked it up with a calm hand... a calm before the explosion.

“Aren’t you going to bring in a new player?”

He said it in a casual tone, but it carried a lot for those who knew him well. He entered the game, but it wasn’t just a game to him. Every time the ball reached that young man, he hit it hard, not a pass but deliberate strikes, as if it was his only way to respond.