Out in the hallway, Ren slowed his pace.
Behind him he could still hear faint laughter from the council room.
Ahead, the corridor stretched empty and quiet again. He glanced once toward the windows, the sky beginning to turn.
Arata and Mei caught up a few steps later.
They reached the shoe lockers near the entrance. The corridor smelled faintly of polish and the warm air drifting in through open windows.
Arata crouched to pull off his indoor slippers. "Well, that's over. I thought they'd never let us go."
Mei opened her locker, careful with the latch. "It wasn't… too bad, right?" she said, her tone light but unsure.
Arata switched into his sneakers. "You call that good? Akira-senpai looked ready to draft us by force."
Mei gave a small laugh, half-nervous. "She seemed nice though… in a serious kind of way."
Ren placed his slippers neatly inside the cubby. "That's one way to describe it."
Mei turned a little toward him. "You think she's scary?"
"Persistent," Ren said.
"Oh. Yeah, that too." She smiled a little, as if conceding the point.
Arata tightened his laces. "Anyway, I'm heading to the gym before practice."
"Okay, see you," Mei said quickly, almost too politely.
Arata lifted a hand in a lazy wave and jogged off down the corridor.
Mei watched him go, then brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "He's… kind of loud, huh?"
Ren shut his locker door. "That's one word."
She laughed under her breath. "I mean it in a good way. I think."
Ren looked at her briefly, then back toward the exit. "You're still deciding?"
"Maybe," she said, smiling faintly. "Anyway, um… I should get going too. See you around, Ren-kun."
He gave a small nod. "Yeah."
Mei slipped into her outdoor shoes and stepped toward the doors. The sunlight pooled across the floor, catching the edge of her hair before she disappeared into it.
Ren followed a moment later, the quiet sound of his shoes clicking against the tile as the day's last voices drifted through the hall.
The sun was already dipping behind the school gates when Ren stepped outside.
The sky had turned a warm shade of gold, the kind that blurred the edges of buildings and made even the ordinary look softer.
He adjusted his bag and put it in his shoulder and started walking down the road leading away from Seiryu High.
The streets were quieter now — just a few students ahead, some chatting, others heading to the station in pairs.
Ren walked alone, the rhythm of his steps steady against the gentle hum of the city.
His mind wandered back in today's events — the student council room, the calm but sharp vice president, the humorous secretary and the quiet tension that filled the air when they were asked to join.
He could still hear Haruto's composed voice:
"We'd be lucky to have students like you representing the first years."
Then Arata's easy refusal. Mei's polite decline.
And his own, quiet "No."
Ren sighed softly. "Persistent people," he murmured to himself.
He replayed a few moments in his head — Mei's calm tone, Arata's confident smirk, Shun's laughter at lunch, even Rika's bright grin.
I didn't expect to talk to that many people in one day…
His thoughts faded as the road curved toward a quiet residential street lined with cherry trees.
Petals drifted lazily in the air, catching the orange light.
He was lost in thought when—
"Ah—!"
A soft impact hit his shoulder. A girl stumbled slightly in front of him, clutching her bag.
"I'm so sorry! I wasn't looking!" she said quickly, bowing her head.
Ren blinked, steadying himself. "It's fine."
She looked up — her uniform was the same as his, Seiryu High's crest visible on her sleeve. Her hair was tied in a low ponytail, her face framed by gentle bangs.
"Oh—you're from Seiryu too," she said, straightening up, a bit embarrassed. "I was just… trying to catch the bus."
Ren glanced down the street where a bus had just pulled away.
"You missed it," he said plainly.
She sighed, shoulders slumping. "Yeah. What an unlucky day!"
There was a small pause — the kind that would've been awkward for most people, but Ren didn't seem to mind it.
The girl smiled weakly. "Well, at least I bumped into someone calm-looking. I'd die of embarrassment if it was anyone from my class."
Ren tilted his head slightly. "Which class?"
"1-C," she said. "You?"
"1-A."
"Ah, the top class," she said half-teasingly, half-impressed. "You must be smart."
Ren's reply was quiet. "Just got lucky."
That earned a small laugh from her. "You sound like my brother."
The traffic light turned green, washing them in a brief glow.
"I'm really sorry again," she said, bowing slightly. "I'll get going before I'm late for dinner. See you around, um—"
"Hayashi," he said. "Hayashi Ren"
She smiled, waving lightly as she turned down the street. "Got it. See you, Hayashi-kun."
Ren watched her go for a moment, the evening breeze brushing against his uniform.
He blinked once, as if something just crossed his mind.
"I forgot to ask her name," he murmured.
A short pause. Then, with a faint exhale,
"Well… it's not like she'll remember my name after this anyway"
He put his bag in his shoulder again and kept walking, his expression unreadable —
though, just for a moment, a quiet hint of curiosity flickered behind his calm eyes.
He put his bag on his shoulder again and kept walking, his expression unreadable —though, just for a moment, a quiet hint of curiosity flickered behind his calm eyes.
Meanwhile, a few streets away, the girl had slowed her pace, walking under the soft glow of the streetlights. Her mind replayed the brief encounter, and a small smile tugged at her lips. Hayashi Ren-kun, huh…
She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, the name lingering in her thoughts as if she were testing its sound.