(Japanese title: 彼女が僕を見た日)
---
The world didn't notice me.
And I made sure of it.
In the back corner of Class 2-B, second seat from the window, I stayed quiet. Forgettable. Average.
That wasn't weakness. That was survival.
Because if anyone ever really saw me—
I wouldn't be able to disappear again.
---
I could get perfect scores.
I solved equations faster than teachers could explain them.
My essays once got mistaken for university-level writing.
But I never showed it.
Math: 66. English: 71. History: 69.
Safe numbers. Just enough to escape notice.
---
They didn't know I lived alone.
Not in some cramped apartment—but in a luxury penthouse overlooking the city.
My mother was a world-renowned architect.
My father was a global investment leader.
They were madly in love, still flirted after 20 years, and called me every evening like clockwork.
They trusted me to live freely.
And I chose to live quietly.
---
I woke at 5 a.m. every morning.
One hour of weight training. Forty-five minutes of HIIT. Cold shower. Green smoothie.
I was stronger, faster, and more athletic than anyone in this school.
But I wore oversized clothes and slouched on purpose.
I could dominate any sport—tennis, soccer, judo, basketball.
But I never joined a single team.
Because talent gets attention.
And attention invites expectations.
---
And my face…
That was the worst part.
I was born with a face people would call "beautiful."
Symmetrical features. Clear skin. Sharp jawline. Calm, icy eyes.
But I kept my hair long and messy. I wore my glasses low. Never styled anything.
I wasn't hiding because I hated myself.
I was hiding because I hated the way people changed when they saw the real me.
But then...
She looked at me.
---
It was a cloudy Tuesday.
I was writing in my notebook—another scene for the fantasy story I never let anyone read.
When I felt it—
A calm, steady stare.
I glanced up.
Airi Tachibana.
The girl everyone adored.
And she was looking right at me.
---
She didn't look confused.
Or judgmental.
She smiled.
Then—she waved.
I blinked. Looked behind me. No one there.
Back to her—still smiling.
> "Hi," she mouthed silently.
My chest tightened. I quickly looked away.
Why was she looking at me?
---
Later, during lunch, she approached.
> Airi: "Kurose-kun… right?"
> Ren: "...Yeah."
> Airi: "You're always writing something. Is it a story?"
> Ren: "Just ideas. For myself."
She tilted her head.
> Airi: "I think that's cool. You seem like someone who's hiding more than people realize."
That line struck deeper than I expected.
I didn't answer. But I didn't push her away either.
---
That night, I sat on my apartment balcony.
Shirtless, exhausted, silent.
City lights blinked across the skyline.
My muscles ached from training.
My mind… from her.
I opened my notebook and wrote one line:
> "She saw through the masks I wore... and smiled anyway."