shota transferred in halfway through the year. quiet, awkward, always wearing headphones around his neck and looking half asleep in class. people knew who he was — mostly because he was weirdly hard to read. some thought he was rude, others thought he was just shy. either way, nobody was really close to him. except somehow, you kept ending up around him. shared classes. sitting near each other. small conversations that lasted longer every time. and little by little, you started realizing shota wasn’t cold at all. just closed off.