Because of what happened, Kaede snapped. He couldn't believe he had gone back in time—ten years into the past. At first, he didn't notice, since his apartment still looked exactly the same as it did in high school. He was never the type to fix or organize things, so nothing had changed.
Now that he knew he had traveled back in time, Kaede thought to himself, "Why did this happen? How did I go back to this past? Whose voice was that?" So many questions filled his mind.
"Hey!!! Kaede! Breakfast is ready! Come here, let's eat! Are you done putting your uniform on?!"
The girl called from the kitchen.
Kaede was heared her voice and immediately went to the dining room to eat. But deep down, he still didn't trust what was happening. It all felt too strange.
"Hey Kaede, have you done your assignment yet?" the girl asked. Kaede blinked and stared at her.
"Why are you looking at me like that?!" she said.
"Oh, don't tell me… you didn't do it, did you?! I knew it!!!" she pouted angrily, but in a cute way.
"Ahhh, what a pain! Here, take my notebook. Just copy it!" she said, handing it to him.
Kaede took the notebook and looked at the assignment. He remembered—this was the assignment he never submitted. It was the reason he failed one subject in high school, even though Yumi had given it to him.
"Oh… this is the one I ignored. Our teacher failed me because of this. Yumi even tried to talk to the teacher, giving so many reasons just to help me pass. She went through so much because of me…"
Yumi—his childhood best friend—had left for another country not long after. One year from this moment, she would go through a lot of pain because of him. She had been bullied, mocked for defending him. People called her "the girl who's obsessed with Kaede," saying she acted like a dog for him.
Yumi didn't mind at all. She really loved her best friend Kaede. They had grown up together, inseparable. But over time, Kaede kept doing reckless things. He never realized how much it hurt Yumi.
Her parents scolded her constantly for always covering up Kaede's mistakes. She even blamed herself for things she didn't do to help kaede so that kaede didn't get much scolding. Her grades dropped, and her parents finally made a decision: they would take her abroad to study—and to get away from Kaede.
Kaede always thought Yumi left because she hated him. But the truth was, she never wanted to leave. Even after moving to another country, she still thought about him every day. But she had no choice. She just followed what her parents told her to do.
Kaede quickly finished the assignment. Then the two of them left the house, locked the door, and got ready for school. They were already late, but thankfully their first class was canceled because the teacher had a cold.
They ran to the train station, barely making it in time before the doors closed. After a while, they arrived at school.
Kaede was feeling a mix of emotions—uneasy, confused, worried.
"Is this really happening?" he thought. He didn't know what to feel, so he kept his expression neutral and serious.
As they walked through the school gate, someone called out to him from a distance.
"Yo, Kaede! Bro, have you seen the new arcade game?!" shouted an excited boy.
Kaede looked up and saw his old friend, Lary. Lary ran up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder as they walked.
"Hey bro, did you hear me?" Lary asked.
Kaede replied coldly, and Lary was a bit confused.
"Hey, you seem kinda weird today, Kaede. Just the other day you were so full of energy! What happened? Did someone break your heart?" Lary joked, smirking.
"Don't overthink it, bro! You've still got Yumi, right?" Lary added before walking away.
Yumi looked at Kaede, puzzled but calm.
"Is Kaede always like this? When did he become so quiet and serious? Usually when he sees Lary, he jumps on him and they skip class to go to the arcade if there's a new game. But today… he seems different." she thought.
They kept walking until they reached their classroom.
Kaede felt a wave of nostalgia—it was like time froze for a moment when he stepped into the classroom again for the first time.
His eyes welled up, and a tear escaped. His classmates looked at him with confusion.
"Kaede...? Are you crying...?" Yumi asked.
Kaede quickly shook his head. "No," he said, continuing to walk. But he forgot where his seat was. He tried to sit down, but it was the wrong seat.
A few moments later, a short-haired girl in an oversized jacket walked up to where Kaede was sitting. They stared at each other. The girl looked nervous, almost scared, and asked in a soft, hesitant voice, "Umm... th-this is my seat, Ka—Mr. Smith..." She looked away, clearly uncomfortable.
All their classmates stared in confusion.
"What's Kaede doing in Shina's seat?"
"Does Kaede have a crush on Shina?"
The murmurs spread through the classroom. Yumi, chatting with her friends, also noticed.
"Hey, look at Kaede. Why is he in Shina's chair?"
"Umm, I'm sorry..." Kaede said, standing up and giving the seat back to her.
"Thank you... Ka—Mr. Smith," Shina replied quietly.
Everyone went silent. They were shocked to see Kaede being kind.
"Why is Kaede acting like this? He seems like a totally different person," someone muttered.
Kaede looked around for an empty seat. As he scanned the room, he finally remembered—his seat was at the back near the window, next to his best friend Yumi, and in front of Lary's seat.
Everyone returned to their seats just as the teacher arrived.
While the teacher wrote on the board, Yumi leaned toward Kaede and whispered, "Hey, what was that earlier? Why were you sitting in Shina's seat?"
Kaede whispered back, "I forgot where my seat was, that's all..."
Yumi burst into laughter for exactly 0.58 seconds, then quickly covered her mouth. Some classmates turned to look, but she kept laughing while trying to keep quiet.
Kaede looked away, embarrassed.
His thoughts wandered: "Is Yumi always like this? It's been a long time since I saw her. I… I kinda missed her, to be honest."
After class, Kaede and Yumi were about to go home, but her friends called her over.
"Kaede! Go home first, I'm gonna try the new cake at the shop in the city! Don't worry, I'll buy you some! I'm sleeping at your apartment again later!" Yumi said with a cheerful smile.
Kaede nodded and walked down the hallway, thinking, "Oh yeah… Yumi used to sleep over often. I remember now. But… isn't it weird for a high school girl to stay at my apartment?"
"Oh, right. We're the same age now, but I went back in time. I'm mentally 27, physically 17."
Deep in thought, Kaede didn't notice where he was going—and accidentally bumped into Shina, knocking her to the ground.
"Ouch..." she said softly.
Kaede blinked in surprise. "Oh—I'm sorry. I wasn't looking." He quickly bowed and reached out his hand to help her up.
Shina took his hand, her expression a mix of confusion and surprise.
"Are you okay?" Kaede asked.
"Y-Yes... um, th-thank you... Ka—Mr. Smith..."
"No need to be formal. You can just call me Kaede," he said with a smile. "I'm the one at fault anyway."
Shina simply nodded, still too stunned to speak. Kaede continued walking out of the school.
Shina stood still, her thoughts racing:
"Why...? Is that really Kaede? What happened to him? He seems… different. Why is he being kind? He was the one who told me to call him Mr. Smith before. And I've never heard him say sorry—not once. He used to be reckless and self-centered, so full of energy… but now, he seems mature. What is happening to him…?"