Kaito didn't know why he kept thinking about her.
It wasn't like him to fixate. Usually, if someone didn't respond to a message, he let it go. But something about Miki—Miko—kept pulling at the edge of his attention. Like a thread he couldn't stop tugging.
He hadn't seen her since the charity event. Her name wasn't on any volunteer rosters anymore, and every time he tried to run into her "by accident," she wasn't there.
He thought about asking Reiji, but that felt... off. Too coincidental. Too forced.
Still, he found himself wandering around campus more than usual. Slower. Watching. Waiting.
Then, one afternoon, he spotted her.
Not "Miki." Not in the school hoodie or jeans. But Miko, in a pale cardigan, hair tied loosely, walking beside someone.
It took him a second to process who the someone was.
Reiji.
They weren't holding hands. They weren't laughing out loud.
But they were close. The way she looked at him—relaxed, unguarded—it was a look Kaito had never seen her give anyone else.
He stopped walking.
A strange chill crawled under his skin. Not quite betrayal. Not quite anger. Just a slow tightening realization.
It wasn't just a girl he liked.
It was the one person Reiji had let in.
The one person Kaito had started falling for.
And they already belonged to each other.
He didn't move. Didn't call out.
He just watched them disappear around the corner, two silhouettes in sync.
And for the first time in a long time, Kaito didn't know what he was supposed to do next.