The campus had begun to settle into quiet. Most students had returned to the dorms, the paper lanterns dimming one by one as the festival wound down.
Leo stood in the courtyard, his hands in his pockets, staring up at the fading smoke trails of the last fireworks. He hadn't seen Rin since the karaoke contest.
She hadn't even glanced his way after that.
"Should I go find her?" he muttered to himself. The question echoed in the empty courtyard.
Before he could decide, he heard soft footsteps behind him. He turned—and there she was.
Rin.
She stood at the edge of the courtyard path, her soft green yukata fluttering slightly in the breeze. Her eyes were unreadable, her hands tucked behind her back.
Neither of them spoke.
Not for a long moment.
Then, she said, "Are you free right now?"
Leo blinked. "Yeah. Of course."
She didn't wait. She turned and walked toward the back garden paths behind the auditorium, and he followed.
They walked in silence for a few minutes. The path was lit only by moonlight and the occasional flicker of a lantern left burning on a post.
Finally, Rin stopped near a bench by the koi pond.
She didn't sit.
She faced him, arms crossed tightly.
"I liked today," she said quietly. "The food booths. The music. The fireworks."
Leo nodded. "Yeah. It was a good day."
She turned to him, sharply. "Not for me."
Leo blinked. "What—"
"Do you know how many times I almost walked over to you today?" she asked, her voice rising. "How many times I stood there, watching you and Yuki laugh together, and told myself not to interrupt?"
He froze. "Rin…"
"I told myself it wasn't my place. That I'd missed my chance. That I had no right to feel this way anymore. But I do."
She looked up at him, eyes gleaming in the dim light.
"I never stopped liking you, Leo."
The words landed between them like a falling stone.
Leo took a step back, breath catching. "I… I didn't know."
"You didn't want to know," she snapped. "You saw the signs. You just didn't want the trouble."
"I was trying to be careful. Not to hurt anyone."
"Well," she said, voice trembling now, "you failed."
A long silence stretched out. The wind rustled the leaves.
Then Rin said, quieter, "I thought… if I waited long enough, you'd notice. That maybe… you'd remember the little things."
Leo's chest ached. "I did notice. But I—"
She cut him off. "You chose Yuki."
Leo didn't answer. Because there was no answer that would make this easier.
Rin's expression crumpled just a little. Her eyes shimmered.
She wiped at them before any tears could fall.
"You don't need to apologize," she whispered. "Just… don't pretend I didn't matter."
Leo stepped closer. "You do matter. You always have."
She shook her head. "Not enough."
Then she turned and walked away, her footsteps light but fast.
Leo stood there, rooted to the path, watching the girl he once thought he understood walk away under the last flickering lantern light.
And for the first time in a long while—he didn't know what to do.