Spring no longer felt gentle.
...The cherry blossoms that once filled the air had begun to thin, their petals scattered across the ground like memories that refused to disappear. Sora Nishimura walked through the school corridor with a heavy heart, each step slower than the last....
Something was coming.
She could feel it.
Ren Hayama had barely spoken to her since that afternoon. He still smiled—still laughed with others—but when their eyes met, he looked away too quickly, as if afraid of what he might reveal.
During lunch break, Sora found him on the rooftop.
The wind was cool, carrying the scent of fading spring. Ren stood near the fence, staring out at the sky, hands buried deep in his pockets.
“Ren…” she called softly.
He turned around, surprised. “Sora?”
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
The silence stretched, thick and uncomfortable.
“I’ve been meaning to talk to you,” Ren said finally, his voice low. “But every time I try… I stop.”
Ren laughed quietly, without humor. “Funny, isn’t it?
We used to talk about everything.”
He took a step closer.
“Sora… am I still important to you?”
The question hit her harder than she expected.
“Yes,” she answered immediately. “Of course you are.”
“Then why does it feel like you’re slipping away?”
Her breath caught. She opened her mouth—then closed it again.
She didn’t know how to explain the confusion in her heart. The warmth she felt with Ren. The quiet pull she felt toward Kaito. The guilt that followed every smile.
I’m trying,” she whispered. “I just… don’t know what I’m feeling anymore.”
Ren’s expression faltered.
“So that’s it, ,” he said softly. “You’re not sure.”
He turned away, gripping the fence.
“I thought if I waited… you’d eventually look at me the way I look at you.”
Sora felt her chest tighten painfully.
“Ren—”
But before she could finish, footsteps echoed behind them.
Kaito Moriyama stood at the rooftop entrance.
“I didn’t mean to interrupt,” he said, his voice calm—but his eyes told a different story.
Ren stiffened
“…You always show up at the worst time.”
Kaito met his gaze. “Maybe because you never say what you really mean.”
The tension snapped.
“Don’t pretend you don’t know what you’re doing,”
Ren shot back. “You stay close to her, knowing exactly how I feel.”
Kaito’s jaw tightened. “And you think you own her feelings?”
Sora stepped between them. “Stop. Please.”
Both boys fell silent.
Kaito looked at her, his voice softening.
“Sora… what do you want?”
The question lingered in the air.
Her heart pounded violently.
She wanted warmth.
She wanted peace.
She wanted to stop hurting the people she cared about.
“I need time,” she said, her voice shaking. “ “Please… give me time.”
Ren closed his eyes.
“Time,” he repeated quietly. “That’s all I ever give.”
Without another word, he walked past them and disappeared down the stairs.
Sora felt tears burn her eyes.
Kaito stayed, but he didn’t move closer.
“I won’t pressure you,” he said. “But don’t forget this—”
He paused, choosing his words carefully.
“Some feelings don’t survive waiting.”
Then he turned and left.
...That night, Sora sat by her window, watching the last few petals fall from the trees....
Spring was ending.
And with it, the safety of silence...
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