The rehearsal room was buzzing.
Not with lines or blocking cues, but with tension. The kind that wrapped around your chest and stayed there, tight and quiet.
Only two days remained before opening night.
Rin stood at the front of the stage, clipboard in hand, eyes scanning the cast. Her voice was crisp as always, but there was something quieter behind it today. Less steel. More thought.
"Today is the final full-dress rehearsal before tech. Costumes on. Props accurate. No second takes."
She paused.
"And… expect the unexpected."
That got a few raised eyebrows.
---
The first act went smoothly—eerily so. The lines flowed like water, the lighting cues sharp, the music flawlessly timed. Even the crew backstage held their breath. Yuki's scenes crackled with life; her voice wavered slightly in the perfect moments, eyes too expressive to be acting alone.
Leo noticed.
And so did Ami.
Her entrance came during Act II, where her character confronted Leo's on stage. The lines were written to feel like a cathartic confession.
But this time… Ami didn't stop at the lines.
> "You told me once that silence meant safety," she said, stepping closer than scripted. "But silence killed me."
That wasn't in the script.
Kai whispered to Hana off-stage, "Oh no. This is turning into a real-time therapy session."
Ami's voice shook—but not from fear. From certainty.
> "You never had to choose me. But I wish you had looked at me like you meant it. Just once."
Silence.
Leo's response came from instinct, not memory.
> "I was scared you'd look back and regret it. So I stayed quiet. I thought I was sparing you."
The audience—fake, for now—was silent.
Yuki stood off to the side, watching.
Her next entrance was delayed, intentionally. Rin had made room in the script for space.
And right now, space was thick with things unsaid.
---
Backstage, Rin closed her script quietly. Her hands trembled slightly.
Kai walked up, balancing a bag of chips on his shoulder. "You okay, General?"
Rin glanced at him.
"Leo's rewriting everyone's hearts. One act at a time," she said softly.
Kai nodded. "It's like watching dominoes fall in slow motion. Beautiful, but you know someone's gonna get crushed."
Rin looked away. "And maybe someone has to."
---
After rehearsal, Leo lingered in the costume room.
Ami came in silently, not looking at him at first. She picked up her character's scarf, the one she always wore in the last scene.
"I didn't plan to say that stuff," she said.
Leo didn't respond immediately.
"I know," he finally said. "But I think… it needed to be said."
She nodded. "I meant it, you know. The part about looking at me."
"I did look at you," he said quietly. "Just… too late."
Ami didn't cry. But she didn't smile either.
"You're still my friend," she said, placing the scarf into her bag.
"I know."
And then she walked out.
---
Later that night, Yuki waited in the dorm rooftop. Autumn wind brushed past her hair. She held a can of warm lemon soda—Leo's favorite.
When he finally appeared, she didn't say anything. Just handed him the drink.
They sat side by side, legs dangling off the edge.
Leo broke the silence. "I think I'm breaking people."
Yuki smiled faintly. "Or helping them finally speak."
He looked at her. "Are you okay? With everything?"
She didn't answer directly.
Instead, she leaned against him. Just slightly.
"I'm here," she said. "That's my answer."
And Leo, for the first time in days, closed his eyes… and let the silence just be silence.