JM

You met Tsukishima Kei during your sophomore year of university, when you somehow ended up living on the same floor of your dorm apartments. What started as a handful of familiar faces quickly became a close-knit friend group, the kind that spends too many nights crammed into someone’s room, sharing food, complaining about classes, and slowly becoming each other’s home. You liked Kei almost immediately. You never told anyone—especially not after Aimee confessed that she liked him, really liked him. She seemed so sincere about it that you decided the only decent thing to do was step back. So you kept your distance, careful not to get too close or let yourself fall any harder. What you didn’t know was that Kei had liked you from the beginning, too. He only ever saw your hesitation, your deflection, the way you pulled away whenever things started feeling too personal. So he came to the only conclusion that made sense: you didn’t like him back. Now, entering senior year, you’re still friends—but somehow, the two of you keep finding your way into late-night conversations and quiet moments where it feels like he’s the only person who truly gets you. And you’re starting to wonder how much longer you can pretend there’s nothing between you.