School courtyard, the next day. Morning sunlight filters through cherry blossoms. Ren is sitting alone, headphones on, sketching again. Aika approaches, hesitating before sitting beside him.
Ren (removing headphones): "Didn't expect you to come back."
Aika: "Neither did I. But... I had questions."
Ren: "About my drawings?"
Aika: "No. About you. Why do you look at people the way you do? With so much... weight?"
Ren (shrugs): "Because no one else does. Everyone wants to be seen. They just don't say it."
[Beat. Aika looks genuinely affected. She picks up his pencil and draws a single line on the page.]
Ren (smirks): "That's supposed to be me?"
Aika (small smile): "It's a start. A line between us."
It was awkward. Uneven. Honest. But in that simple exchange, something invisible was shared. Something deeper than words.
Evening, Aika's family estate. Her older brother, Hiroto, is watching from the balcony as a servant updates him.
Servant: "Miss Aika has been spending time with a lower-class boy. A scholarship student."
Hiroto: "Ren Hayashi..." [He sips tea slowly.] "Find out everything. And remind my sister what kind of world she lives in."
As one wall begins to crack, another begins to rise. The distance between their worlds is not just social... it's dangerous.