The bell rang.
Students scattered into their classrooms like waves being pulled back into the ocean.
Serin and Airi stood still for a second longer.
No more words were said.
But Serin walked into the building a little heavier than she had earlier.
Not sad.
Not broken.
Just… aware.
Aware that her heart now had someone else living inside it.
And she didn't know if her life had room for that yet.
But she wanted it to.
So badly.
Back in Ren's world, Everything felt… different.
The hallways didn't feel like prison walls anymore.
The sunlight through the windows didn't feel harsh, it felt golden.
Like spotlight on a boy who had never realized he could be seen.
He walked in, earbuds in, music low.
Not to escape.
But to stay present.
Each footstep felt… lighter.
Each breath was fuller.
His shoulders weren't hunched the way they usually were, like he was trying to fold himself smaller so no one noticed him.
No.
Today, Ren walked like he belonged.
Like someone out there loved him, and that reason was enough.
He passed a group of girls by the lockers.
One of them giggled.
He didn't hear what they said.
But he smiled anyway, polite, warm, unaware of how many hearts he just disarmed by doing something as simple as smiling.
" Yo, silent boy ."
Ishikawa walked beside him like nothing had changed.
But something had.
Ren's vibe was different.
Not flashy.
Not loud.
But still… magnetic.
" Let me guess, U got a GF ?"
Ren didn't reply.
Just smiled.
Ishikawa laughed. " Bro. You're not even denying it? You're actually Something. You did cooked, huh ?!."
"Is that bad?" Ren asked, head tilting slightly.
"Nah. You are cool."
They walked together down the hall.
"Remember when you used to talk like twice a month?"
"I mean...I still do."
"Yeah but now your words got some weight in them."
They both chuckled.
A small group of classmates peeked out from a classroom.
"Is that Ren?"
"Wait—he's actually not scowling for once."
"He looks kinda… cute?"
" He's kinda weird "
Ren heard them.
He didn't say anything.
But the smile lingered.
He wasn't used to being noticed.
And it scared him a little.
But somewhere inside, he hoped, just a little that Serin could see him now.
As the classes ended,
Both of em rushed to their own homes.
Serin's Room,
She stepped inside and quietly shut the door behind her.
The house was quiet, but not peaceful.
It was the kind of quiet where any wrong step could echo too loud.
She slipped her phone under the pillow, just in case.
Then walked to the mirror.
Stared.
It wasn't vanity.
It wasn't insecurity.
It was confusion.
She raised a hand and touched her reflection.
"Who even are you right now?"
" What's this feeling ?"
She wanted to smile.
But it didn't come.
Her fingers grazed the soft skin of her cheek.
The one he called "mochi."
The one he kissed.
Her heart did that weird flutter again.
And then?
It sank.
Because behind the warm thoughts of Ren…
Was fear.
Meanwhile, Ren...
He was still sitting on the edge of his bed.
Legs stretched.
Back against the wall.
Phone clutched in both hands like it was holy.
The screen was dark now.
No new messages.
No typing bubbles.
Just silence.
He glanced at the time.
6:44 PM.
He smiled at nothing.
Brushed his hair back with his fingers.
Then whispered into the room like she could hear it,
"…don't overthink it, Ren. Just be you."
The silence answered with nothing.
But it didn't scare him.
He could wait.
For her? He'd wait forever.
There was a few noticable changes in him because of Serin.
Her name lit up the screen.
Ren's thumb hovered.
Then— click.
"Hey…"
Her voice was soft, like a breeze just before a thunderstorm.
"Hi…"
He smiled.
But she didn't.
Not yet.
There was a silence.
Not awkward.
Just… real.
A silence that held weight.
Ren broke it.
"You okay ?"
"I… I don't know."
He leaned back, head hitting the wall, eyes staring up at the ceiling like it could translate what she meant.
"You sound weird ," he said quietly.
" I just…" she exhaled, " I had this moment, Ren. Like, I was looking at myself and I didn't recognize who I was becoming."
" You mean… happy? "
A small laugh escaped her.
Sad.
But sweet.
" Yeah… maybe."
Another pause.
He could hear her breathing, the way her breath trembled.
Then she whispered it:
" You make me feel things I didn't think I deserved to feel."
That single sentence,
Ren froze.
His throat tightened.
His hand clenched the bedsheet.
"Serin…"
"I'm scared," she continued, barely audible. "Not because of you. But because this is my first time… really loving someone. And it feels so big. Like I'm too small for it."
He swallowed.
"I've… never done this either. I mean, I've been with a lot girls. But none of them stayed in my head like you do."
Silence.
But not empty.
It was full of heartbeats.
Of things unsaid.
She broke it again.
"My parents would kill me if they knew."
"I know."
"Like… kill me. You don't understand how strict they are. Love isn't even in the vocabulary in my house. It's just… studies, manners, expectations. There's no space for feelings."
Her voice cracked on that last word.
Ren closed his eyes.
Imagining her, in her bathroom, hiding her phone, crying into the mirror like it was the only thing allowed to know the truth.
"Then we make space for it," he said, soft but steady. "In secret. In cracks. In whispers. We carve it out, little by little."
She didn't respond.
So he continued.
"You don't have to be perfect, Serin. You're not supposed to be. You're supposed to be you. That's enough for me."
Tears welled in her eyes.
She bit her lower lip to stop them.
But it was too late.
They fell.
Soft, slow, quiet.
Like the petals of a cherry blossom surrendering to spring.
" I hate that I have to hide you," she confessed. "You're the only thing I don't want to hide."
"I don't care if the world knows," Ren said. "Just promise me you won't hide yourself from me."
She smiled.
Through tears.
"I won't."
He smiled too.
And then…
"…Can you stay on the call a little longer ?" she asked.
"Yeah."
"Like… just until I fall asleep?"
"I'll stay all night if you want."
"Okay…"
Her voice was fading.
She tucked herself under the blanket, phone beside her pillow.
Ren placed his phone on his chest and lay back down too.
No more words.
Just their breathing.
A soft rhythm of safety, of presence.
Of two hearts learning how to love in secret.
SLAM
A loud thud on the door.
"Serin! Why are you still in your uniform?! Bring out your laundry!"
Her heart dropped.
Like a vase cracked in her chest.
She panicked.
In a heartbeat, click.
She hung up the call and flung her phone under the bed, as if it were a grenade she had to hide.
" Coming, Mom ! "
Her voice was sharp, too sharp, fake calm trying to blanket a real storm.
She grabbed her towel, opened the door halfway, handed her uniform out like a soldier surrendering a weapon, then shut the door again.
The moment it closed, silence returned.
But it wasn't the comforting kind.
It was the kind that echoed.
Serin stepped into bathroom.
Locked the door.
The hum of the exhaust fan buzzed above, but it couldn't mask the sound of her heartbeat.
She stood in front of the mirror.
Still.
Frozen.
Fog began to rise on the glass.
But her reflection was still there.
Her own eyes stared back, wide, scared, tired.
She reached for her collar. Her fingers trembled as she unbuttoned the shirt.
Her breath was shaky.
She removed her uniform piece by piece, her shoulders bare now, skin catching the cold air.
She was no longer the confident girl who called him drama prince.
No longer the radiant sunbeam who made jokes on the bus.
She was Serin.
Just Serin.
A girl falling in love for the first time.
And scared that love would cost her everything.
She stared at the mirror.
Her cheeks weren't mochi anymore.
They were pale.
Her lips quivered.
Tears threatened.
And then… they won.
One drop.
Then another.
They ran down her cheeks, carving a path through a face that always held back.
Now it didn't.
Now it couldn't.
She whispered to the mirror:
"Why do I feel like I don't deserve this?"
More tears.
"Why do I feel like I'm too broken… too me… to be loved?"
She gripped the sink.
Knuckles white.
"He's so good. So kind. So warm. Like the kind of person you want to keep forever in your pocket."
Her voice cracked again.
"But what if I break him?"
"I'm not skinny. I'm not perfect. I'm awkward and loud and my parents will never understand me."
"I'm scared."
She looked down.
"I'm scared he'll realize he deserves better."
Silence.
She pressed her palm against the mirror, forehead leaning against the cold glass.
"He's the only one who's ever made my world bloom…"
She sniffled.
"I just… I just want to be enough."
Her phone buzzed under the bed.
A message.
From Ren.
"I'm waiting. For you. No matter how long it takes. You're worth it."
She gasped softly.
It wasn't a message.
It was a promise.
The kind of words you want to wrap around your soul when everything feels like it's falling apart.
And in that moment, she didn't feel like a burden.
She felt… loved.
She wiped her tears.
Took a deep breath.
And whispered to herself:
"I'm not perfect…"
Beat.
"But maybe… just maybe… I'm perfect for him."
She had a sigh of relief.
She felt safe with him.
A soft and sweet smile escaped her mochi cheeks.
Then—
SLAM !
A second knock on the door.
Much harder.
Much louder.
" SERIN !! WHO WERE YOU TALKING TO JUST NOW ?!"
It was her mother.
She froze.
Her legs went numb.
She opened her mouth, but no sound came out.
Her eyes widened.
Tears turned to panic.
Her phone was under the bed.
Unlocked.
Their call history still open.
Her heart thundered.
" IS THIS IT ? AM I CAUGHT ? AM I DEAD ? "