Overthinking, no no... that's not it.
'You know, I used to tell myself I was just overthinking things.'
'Always the same line, the same excuse—Rimeru, you're thinking too much again.'
'But now I've realized something. Something sharp. Bitter.'
'After seeing the woman I love drape her arm around another man's neck and walk away... not even a glance back. No goodbye. Nothing.'
'My overthinking? It was never paranoia. It was my brain screaming at me, begging me to stop deluding myself.'
'And I never listened.'
'Not until it was too late.'
How easy it is for the nicest person to become the coldest one in the room... all in a matter of seconds.
'They all see me as nothing. Maybe... they're right.'
'After all, I am just Rimeru—boring old Rimeru.'
'Average grades, average job, average looks, average love life. A man of mediocrity. A pebble in this vast ocean of people.'
'No one would care if I lived. No one would cry if I died. I'd be just another name scratched off the attendance sheet of existence.'
'Maybe I will die alone.'
Rimeru stared at the ground beneath his soaked shoes. A shallow puddle mirrored his slouched figure, catching the trail of rain that trickled from his face. His clothes clung tightly to his skin, thoroughly drenched. He had no umbrella. Leaving work this late—it had become a routine of his empty life.
The roads were nearly deserted, the world around him dim and grey.
'Most stores are already closed. The last train is gone...'
He bit his lower lip, pressing his frozen hands into his pockets. The only thing he looked forward to anymore was gaming with his online friends, his so-called "boys." But tonight... it seemed even that was slipping away.
'What am I going to tell the boys?' he wondered bleakly. 'They were counting on me tonight...'
With a tired sigh, Rimeru stepped out from the small concrete shelter he'd taken refuge under. The cold roof no longer shielded him. He began to run.
Rain beat down like falling glass—loud, relentless, and heavy.
'Good. Something to drown the noise in my head.'
He tightened his grasp on the black briefcase in his hand, teeth clenched as memories of her resurfaced.
'Why does love always end like this? I gave her my all... when she was shattered. I stayed even when she pushed me away.'
'And now she leaves me for someone else, like I was nothing more than a placeholder. Why?'
His nails dug into his palms as he walked faster.
But even in his bitterness, something in him resisted.
'No... no more. I won't think about her.'
'Keep positive, Rimeru. When you get home, you're going to have a big bowl of ramen.'
The thought of steaming noodles, a hot bath, and shutting out the world behind a headset brought a small warmth to his frozen chest.
'Yeah, a hot shower and ramen—'
SLAM!!!
---
'What is this...?'
'Where am I...?'
'I can't see anything. Everything is black. No... I can feel... I can hear. Water... is that rain?'
'Why can't I see? Why can't I move?'
'I can feel something solid. Am I on the ground?'
A chill spread through his chest.
'Did I get knocked out?'
No, that wasn't it.
Then came the voice.
"Holy shit! No no no no! That bastard just jumped into the road—how was I supposed to see him?!"
Panic. Pure, uncontrolled panic.
Rimeru's heartbeat raced in the black void.
'Someone's panicking…'
"I crushed him! Fuck—"
And then the unmistakable sound of an engine revving.
Tires screeched across wet asphalt, and the car vanished into the night.
Gone.
Just like that.
Now it was clear.
'Oh... shit.'
'I was hit by a truck.'
Realization didn't come with fear. It came with a slow descent. A dark wave pulling him deeper.
He could feel it—his blood, warm and flowing, leaking from his body like sand in an hourglass.
Time was running out.
'This is it...'
Regrets flooded his mind.
He hated her.
He wanted their relationship to fall apart. For her to feel what he felt.
But even that twisted wish meant nothing now.
It was over.
Everything was over.
His vision—if he had any—darkened. His senses dulled.
But one thought lingered.
'If only...'
'If only I could have lived a better life.'
'Been born in a family that mattered. Had money. A purpose. A name that turned heads.'
'If only I had another chance.'
'Just one more shot...'
And then everything went silent.
Only the rain remained.
Pouring endlessly on the lifeless body of a man no one waited for.
Rimeru.
Just average Rimeru.
Or so he thought...