—Naoaki's POV—
The umbrella Ren gave me is still sitting by the door. I haven't returned it.
I tell myself I forgot. But I didn't. Not really.
It's just—if I return it, then that moment ends.
The shared silence. The too-close walk. The way his shoulder stayed next to mine like… maybe he didn't hate me.
But he probably does. I mean—he said it. Almost.
[Scene: At School – The Day After]
"Still ignoring you?" Kazuma asked as he plopped down next to me.
I gave a non-committal shrug.
Across the classroom, Ren was laughing at something one of the girls said. Not a forced laugh either. A real one. The kind that reached his eyes.
He hadn't laughed like that with me. Not even close.
"I don't get it," I muttered. "I don't even know what I did."
Kazuma leaned closer. "Maybe it's not you. Maybe he's just one of those 'I hate everyone' guys."
"Yeah. But he doesn't hate them."
I shouldn't care this much.
I shouldn't be watching him like this.
But I do. And I am.
[Scene: Paired Project – After School]
"I printed out the article for the history section," I said as I sat across from him.
Ren didn't answer, didn't even nod.
He just kept highlighting something, lips slightly parted, jaw tight.
"…You're seriously mad at me, huh?"
His pen stopped mid-sentence.
He looked up.
His eyes met mine. Cold, clear, and somehow tired.
"I'm not mad," he said flatly.
I frowned. "Then what are you?"
"I just don't want to talk to someone who doesn't mean it."
That confused me. "Mean what?"
Ren stood up abruptly, tossing his pen onto the table.
"It doesn't matter."
Before I could stop him, he was gone.
[Later That Night – Naoaki Alone]
I sat on my bed scrolling through old photos. Not of him—there weren't any.
But I kept thinking about the first day I saw him.
His face felt familiar.
His voice, familiar.
His sadness, familiar.
Like something I'd dreamed once and forgotten when I woke up.
Like I used to know him, once upon a time, in a life I wasn't allowed to remember.
But I didn't.
Did I?
[Quick Cut to Ren's POV – That Same Night]
> He said my name once like it tasted familiar on his tongue.
Like he remembered me by accident.
But then he blinked and it was gone.
I hate this version of him.
He's so close to being the boy I loved.
And so far, it breaks me.