The words felt suffocating.
Hikaru gave a small, reluctant nod.
All of this — Ren saw from where he stood.
Miyu was saying something beside him, but he wasn't listening anymore.
His eyes were fixed on Hikaru's slumped shoulders and Daiki's hand gripping Hikaru's wrist too tightly.
Something ugly twisted inside him.
Something he didn't recognize.
Hikaru had a secret.
Whenever things felt too heavy, he would sneak to the old empty music room at the back of the school — a place no one visited anymore — and sing.
It wasn't for anyone else.
It was just for himself.
His soft voice, full of pure emotion, filled the dusty air with a fragile beauty.
---
Meanwhile, in the school garden, Ren sat under a tree, lost in his thoughts.
Miyu found him there — and without warning, she hugged him from behind.
Ren stiffened, surprised, but said nothing as she slid onto his lap, trying to flirt with him, caressing his cheek and smiling seductively.
Usually, Miyu had the whole school at her feet.
Everyone wanted to date her.
But Ren...
He barely reacted.
Her touch felt empty.
Frustrated, Miyu pulled his face toward her and snapped, "Babe, what are you doing? Why are you ignoring me lately? Are you dating someone else? Are you cheating on me?!"
Ren sighed heavily, dragging a hand through his hair.
"No, baby... it's not that. I just need some space."
"Space?!" Miyu's voice rose sharply, catching the attention of a few nearby students.
"Fine! If you need space, I'll give you all the space you want. Don't come near me again, Ren!"
Before he could explain, she stormed off, leaving him alone under the gray sky.
---
Restless and irritated, Ren walked to the back of the school building, lighting a cigarette to calm his nerves.
The first drag burned his throat, but he didn't care.
That's when he heard it —
a voice.
Soft, clear, and aching with raw emotion.
Someone was singing.
Curious despite himself, Ren followed the sound.
Peeking through a cracked door, he froze.
There he was.
Hikaru.
Alone, eyes closed, pouring his heart into the song.
He looked... different.
Free. Happy. Alive.
For the first time in a long while, Ren felt his lips curl into a small, helpless smile.
He quickly shook his head and turned away.
It's not like I care, he thought stubbornly.
He's just... pathetic. That's all. Pity. Whatever.
But for the rest of the day, that voice haunted him.
During class, he found himself stealing glances at the boy sitting quietly by the window, lost in his own world.
---
After school, the hallways were crowded with students rushing to leave.
Ren walked lazily with Miyu clinging to his arm, her anger from earlier seemingly forgotten.
Behind them, Hikaru trailed silently, trying not to look.
He wanted to escape, to erase the scene burning into his eyes.
But in the chaos, someone bumped into Hikaru hard —
and he stumbled forward, losing balance.
"Ah—!"
He fell — directly onto Ren.
In an instant, Hikaru landed on top of him, faces inches apart.
For a second, the world stopped.
Hikaru's cheeks flamed red, his heart hammering so loud he thought Ren could hear it.
Being this close to him, seeing his sharp, beautiful eyes up close... it was almost too much.
Ren pushed him off roughly, standing up and brushing off his clothes.
He hesitated for a moment, glancing down at Hikaru still sitting stunned on the floor.
Part of him — a very small, very stupid part — wanted to reach out.
But then Miyu grabbed his hand, pulling him away.
Without looking back, Ren let himself be dragged out of the building, leaving Hikaru alone in the middle of the hallway.
Hikaru's walk home:
The sky was darkening when Hikaru finally left the school gates.
His clothes were still damp from the rain earlier, and the heavy bag on his back felt like nothing compared to the weight inside his chest.
Why... why does it always hurt so much?
Just seeing him like that... with her...
He dragged his feet along the sidewalk, the puddles reflecting the streetlights like tiny broken mirrors.
He clutched the strap of his bag tighter.
No matter how much he told himself he shouldn't care —
No matter how invisible he tried to become —
his heart always betrayed him.
The moment their eyes met earlier —
the brief, soft gaze before Ren turned away —
it was enough to make his heart soar and shatter all at once.
He kicked a pebble across the road and smiled bitterly.
I'm so pathetic... aren't I?
But still, he whispered into the cold night air:
"Ren..."
The name felt warm on his tongue, even as the cold seeped into his bones.
He walked home slowly, not wanting the night to end, not wanting to let go of the tiny fragments of Ren he'd managed to gather.
---
Ren's restless night:
Ren lay sprawled across his bed, one arm covering his eyes.
The ceiling fan spun lazily above him, but his mind was racing too fast to find any peace.
That voice...
That stupid voice...
He could still hear Hikaru's singing — soft, beautiful, vulnerable — echoing inside him like a stubborn ghost.
It wasn't just the voice.
It was the way Hikaru's whole face lit up when he sang, as if nothing else in the world mattered.
It was so raw.
So real.
Ren shifted restlessly, running a hand through his messy hair.
Why did it bother him so much?
Why did he feel... guilty for leaving him on the floor earlier?
Why did Hikaru's disappointed gaze cling to his heart like a thorn?
Tch. Whatever.
He closed his eyes tightly, willing himself to forget.
But the more he fought it, the clearer it became:
Hikaru's flushed cheeks, wide brown eyes, trembling lips...
The feeling of his hand brushing against Ren's chest when he fell...
The stupidly fast beating of his own heart.
Ren let out a frustrated groan and buried his face in the pillow.
I don't care.
I don't care.
I don't care.
But no matter how many times he repeated it...
he knew he was lying.