"So, ready for the new chapter of your life?"
Serin's message appeared quietly on Ren's phone screen —soft white letters glowing in the dark.
He stared at it for a moment.
He didn't smile.
He didn't reply.
He just blinked.
Turning eighteen was supposed to mean something.
But all it meant today was, A few texts. Mostly dry. Mostly from people who only
remembered him after he destroyed Ishikawa in front of the whole class.
Not friends. Just people who thought he was cool for the moment.
But serin,
she's more like something he can't leave, just like oxygen.
And in a moment of quiet gratitude, Ren hit call.
Bzzzz. Bzzzz.
It rang twice before she picked up. And there she was — in the warm light of her kitchen, standing by an induction cooker. Making ramen.
"Hey babe!" she chirped, her face glowing with a casual joy that made his chest ache in ways he didn't expect.
"Hey..."he exhaled. "Thank you. Really… for all this. For trying."
"Chill, baby boy. I'm your girlfriend. This is, like, the bare minimum i could do, right ?"
"But still, I don't know. It feels weird… like I don't deserve it."
She stirred the ramen and turned, smiling.
"I wanted to gift you something. Like, a T-shirt or whatever. But it's hard… under these conditions of secret love."
Ren chuckled softly."Shhh. You're my girlfriend. That's the gift.
The universe already gave me you. What more could I possibly ask?"
His voice cracked. His throat tightened. Tears blurred his vision, just slightly.
Serin blushed. And then—
A small head popped onto the screen. Wide eyes. Thin lips. Hair cut short, ears peeking out. She ducked immediately.
"Wait—who's that?"
"Oh… that's my lil' sister. Remi."
"She knows about us?"
"Yeah… kinda. She doesn't support it, but she doesn't stop me either."
"Why?"
"Because I trust her. And if there's anyone in this house who could understand my inner feelings and pain — it's her."
Ren leaned forward and waved at the screen. "Hi, Remi!"
She peeked again. Just her eyes. Then pulled back. "She's shy," Serin whispered.
"If Dad catches us calling, there'll be a war."
Remi advised her, in front of ren to make it obvious she doesn't like him at all.
They managed to hold a small, cautious two-minute chat. Ren tried cracking a joke.
Remi gave a shy smile. Then silence again.
The fear in her posture was louder than words.
But there was something sacred in that moment —Three souls trying to stay connected across distance and danger.
3:00 AM.
Outside, the sky was a soft watercolor wash — pink, violet, streaked with silver stars.
Serin looked out the window for a second and then—
Her eyes widened.
"OH NO. OH MY GOD."
"What?! Are you OK?!"
"Shit shit shit shit—"
She hung up.
Ren blinked.
He opened their chat. And then he saw it.
Her story.
The love story.
It wasn't shared to Close Friends.
It was PUBLIC !
600 people.
All of them now know.
His name.
Their love.
Their story.
She spammed the chat with screenshots. Her DM box was flooded.
"YOU'RE DATING REN???"
"When did this start??"
"Wait, that Ren??"
"Girl. He's a PLAYBOY. 💀"
"I feel bad for you."
Most weren't even insulting. Just… mocking.
They didn't know what Ren had been through. Didn't see how much he'd changed.
They just saw a name and made it a meme.
"FML."
"What if my brother sees it??"
That made Ren sit up. Her brother. That monster, who made even Ren's knees buckle with fear.
"What have we done?"
"It's official. It's out. They all know."
She kept texting him.
"I'm so sorry."
"I feel like I ruined everything."
"I never wanted it to be this way."
And then —She went offline.
Ren placed his phone face down. Stared at the ceiling .Stars blinked back at him like silent gods.
"Am I really… worth all this pain?"he whispered.
"She's risking everything. And I can't even give her peace."
But the silence didn't answer him. Only the past did.
A memory. A window. And a girl standing outside in the rain.
Hayane.
Her hair was wet. Her smile trembling.
A letter in her hand — folded and wrinkled, like her last piece of hope.
She waited outside that day, believing in him.
And he never came.
His friends laughed in the classroom.
He laughed with them. Not because he wanted to —but because he was too scared to leave them and choose her.
And when he finally looked outside, the space was empty.
All that remained was the letter, soaked in rain, clinging to the bench.
"You're not the person I thought you were." That was the last line. He remembered it even now.
The guilt never left.
And tonight — with Serin gone quiet, with another girl starting to fade from his life —
He wondered if this was his curse.
To be loved. And to ruin it. Every time.
That night, he barely slept. It wasn't the kind of tiredness that puts you to bed.
It was the kind that drains you until there's nothing left to sleep with.
Morning.
No birds. No sunlight. Just a stillness that crept into the room like fog.
"MOMMMMMMM!" he yelled.
She came running.
He looked half-dead.
Eyes blurry,
half opened - half closed.
"I'm not going today. I can't even speak—"
"You look like a corpse.
Stay home.
I know you were studying all night."
"Yeah… studying…"
He fell back asleep.
9:00 AM.
Ren opened his eyes.
But it didn't feel like waking up.
It felt like surviving another version of yesterday.
No dreams. No rest. Just fog.
He peaked through his door to the dining hall, He was alone !
"YESSSS!" he jumped out of bed. "Let's goooo ! Home alone! I can finally talk to Serin all day!"
But—
" Wait ! Is she at school or at home ? "
he opened Instagram,
Instagram: Still offline. Since last night.
He collapsed back on the bed.
"What have I done…"
He walked to the mirror. Shirtless. Hair messy. His body still had the lines of discipline — but his soul was losing grip.
He spun in his dining chair, trying to distract himself.
DMs were filled with birthday wishes. And one stood out.
Airi: "Happy Birthday, Ren 🌸"
He replied with a simple:
"Thanks Airi."
That's when he remembered, She'd looked tense yesterday.
"You okay? You looked off yesterday."
"Yup! All good. Haha."
"Come on. Just say it."
"I'm okay fr!"
"Can I call you?"
"Huh? Why?"
"Just wanna ask something about Serin."
"Okay… sure."
He tapped the call button.
The phone rang once. Twice.
Then—click.
Airi picked up.
"Yo," she said casually, but there was a slight rasp in her voice.
"Yo ," Ren smiled. "Caught you mid-snack or mid-nap?"
"I wish. I was literally just staring at the ceiling. Thinking about pasta."
"Pasta. Of course." Ren chuckled.
"Excuse you!"she gasped. "There's Nothing More tastier than PASTAAA "
The camera tilted slightly. Behind Airi, her room looked like an explosion of colors and chaos. Sketchbooks scattered on the floor.
Plushies on the bed.
Posters of retro anime girls punching aliens in the face. A lava lamp bubbled lazily beside a half-finished chocolate bar.
Ren smiled. That room… that energy… it was so her.
Their talk stayed light. About Serin. Her quirks. Her obsession with mismatched socks. Her awful singing in voice notes.
And in the cracks of conversation — they laughed. And laughed harder. And then laughed until it hurt.
Not romantic. Not wrong. Just real.
"Damn, Airi. You're actually fun to talk to."
"Oh, wow. What a revelation. Should I be offended or honored?"
"Little bit of both."
They laughed again. Anime jokes. Bad teachers. Memories.
It wasn't a bond forged in fire. It was a bond born in the quiet, between disasters.
Evening.
Still no message from Serin.
As the time Hit 5 PM,
her message.
"Ren… we have a problem."
"What?? Are you okay?"
"I think we… might break up."
Silence.
Time shattered.
His phone slipped from his hands.
His chest was a war zone.
His breath froze.
His lips moved — but no sound came out.
Just one word in his mind:
No.