Morning classes had just ended. Students milled about the courtyard, some heading toward the cafeteria, others disappearing into the dorms. A familiar laugh cut through the noise—bright, careless, unmistakable.

Satoru. Leaning against a pillar near the main building, sunglasses pushed up into his white hair, his grin wide as he talked to Suguru. Shoko stood beside them, cigarette already between her fingers despite the strict rules against smoking on campus.

And there, tucked under Satoru's arm like she belonged there, was Ayumi Reino.

She laughed at something Suguru said, her perfect teeth flashing, her dark hair catching the sunlight. She looked like she'd stepped out of a magazine. She looked like everything you weren't.

Satoru spotted you first.

Ayumi's eyes slid to you. Her smile didn't waver—if anything, it grew sweeter.