The courtyard eventually emptied, but the weight of that girl's confession clung to the air like humidity before a storm.
Ren drifted through the hallways, his shoes scraping against the linoleum floor. His mind refused to quiet down.
"She… confessed to me. Just like that."
It should've been simple. Just a girl he barely knew blurting out her feelings. But the problem wasn't her—it was everyone else.
Every single glance, every single word from the girls who actually mattered to him had cut deeper than the confession itself.
In class, the tension was unbearable.
Yui sat two rows ahead, shoulders stiff. Normally she'd find some excuse to glance back, toss an insult, or roll her eyes at him. But today, she didn't look at him once. Instead, her pencil stabbed through the page as if it were Ren's face.
Rika didn't even try to hide her irritation. She leaned back in her chair, arms folded, whispering just loud enough for him to hear."Figures. The Ren Effect claims another victim. Should I start charging tuition for predicting this stuff?"
He wanted to tell her to shut up. He wanted to laugh it off. But the words stuck in his throat.
Haruka, who usually gave off an aloof, queen-like aura, felt different. Every time his gaze drifted her way, she shifted slightly, as if looking at him made her uncomfortable. When the bell rang, she left without a word, her bag slung tightly over her shoulder.
And Mei… Mei didn't even acknowledge him. She had closed her notebook with quiet finality and walked out. The sight of her back disappearing through the doorway replayed in his mind more than the confession itself.
It was Emi who found him later, when the hallways had grown quiet and the late-afternoon sun painted the windows in amber.
"You're sulking," she said softly, stepping beside him.
"I'm… I don't even know what I'm doing anymore," Ren admitted. His voice cracked in a way he hated.
Emi didn't mock him. Instead, she held out a folded handkerchief. "You're sweating again. Here."
He hesitated, then took it. "Thanks…"
She sat with him on the bench by the stairwell, the hum of cicadas outside the window filling the silence. For a long time, she just let him breathe.
"You don't have to feel guilty for being liked," she finally said. "But… you do have to face what it does to the rest of us."
Her words were calm, but they left a weight in his chest.
"Emi… do you hate me for this?"
She shook her head. "I don't hate you. I hate… waiting."
He looked at her, but she didn't meet his eyes. Instead, she rose, smoothing her skirt. "Think about what you want, Ren. Not what you're afraid of."
And then she was gone too.
He barely had time to collect himself before Asuka appeared.
She leaned against the opposite wall, arms crossed, smirk tugging at her lips. "You really are a menace. You just stand there, breathing, and girls lose their minds."
Ren groaned. "Please, not you too."
Asuka pushed off the wall and stepped closer. Her perfume—something sharp and floral—brushed his senses.
"You don't get it, do you? That girl today… she saw the same thing we all did. That warmth you can't turn off. It's the cruelest kind of charm."
Her voice dropped, lower, almost conspiratorial. "And the cruelest part is… you don't even want it. Which makes us want you more."
Ren swallowed hard. "That's not—"
She pressed a finger to his chest, stopping his words. "Don't argue. Just remember this: running only makes the chase longer."
Before he could reply, she walked away, her laughter echoing down the hall.
Ren slumped against the wall, dizzy.
And then, through the window, he saw her.
The girl from Class 1-B. The one with the blue-streaked hair. She was standing near the gate, clutching her bag, watching him from a distance.
The moment their eyes met, she flinched—and vanished again into the crowd of students leaving campus.
Ren exhaled slowly.
Today had shaken everyone.
But deep down, he knew—this was only the beginning of the spiral.