( when silence screams arc )
In the classroom—the rustle of books, the clatter of chairs, and little murmurs of conversation among students.
Hina sat at her bench with her friends, twirling her pen along the edge of her notebook, but most of her attention was on her friend Miko, who seemed unusually restless today.
Miko suddenly turned toward her, voice pitched a little high with tension—exactly her style.
"Hina, you're my best friend, right?"
Hina looked a little confused. "Yeah."
"You'll help me, right?"
"Yeah," Hina replied, still not understanding a thing.
Miko suddenly hugged her tightly, but in that warmth, Hina could smell the faint scent of selfishness. She smiled anyway.
"You're my only best friend," Miko said warmly.
Then Hina, a little more serious now, asked, "But tell me—why do you need my help?"
Looking guilty, Miko confessed, "I've been watching anime and playing games… and I haven't done a single assignment."
Hina's tone turned nagging. "I've told you so many times not to waste time on useless things like that."
Miko grabbed her hand in promise. "Please help me this time. I'll be careful from now on, promise."
Hina smiled a little. "Fine. Come over to my place tomorrow."
Miko grinned. "Okay."
---
Haruki and Hina had just returned from the hospital.
Hina stepped out of the taxi and went inside the house—yet it was clear that Haruki's mind was still on her.
Paying the driver, he slowly walked toward the stairs.
Haruki quietly entered, and Hina handed him a glass of water. They sat in front of the TV, watching some light show—a perfectly normal evening, but there was a strange sense of comfort between them.
Haruki asked hesitantly, "Hina, can I ask you something? You won't get mad, will you?"
Hina smiled. "Go ahead."
Haruki, nervously: "What are all these novels doing in your house? I've never seen you read them."
Hina smiled faintly. "Oh, these were my dad's. After he passed, there was no one to read them, so I just put them up there."
Haruki was a little surprised. "So you don't like reading novels?"
Hina replied, "I do, but I never really had the time."
She then asked, with a trace of nervousness, "Do you like reading novels?"
Haruki answered honestly, "I do, but they're expensive, so I never bought any."
Hina smiled. "In that case, you can read my dad's novels if you want."
Haruki was shocked. "Really?!"
"Of course," she smiled.
"You're sure you don't mind?" he asked cautiously.
Hina, slightly annoyed, replied, "If I minded, would I even say it, idiot?"
"Okay, okay, I get it," Haruki said quickly.
---
Curious, Hina asked, "So, what kind of novels do you like?"
Haruki, a little shy, replied, "I like horror stories the most."
Hina, slightly uneasy: "Don't you get scared reading them?"
Haruki said seriously, "What could be scarier than my own life?"
Concerned, Hina asked, "What happened to you?"
He brushed it off. "Never mind, I'm talking nonsense. Just give me whatever you think."
Hina stood on her chair to reach the bookshelf. "Ah, got it." She grabbed a novel, but as she turned, her balance slipped.
"Oh no!" Hina gasped. "I am not going back to the hospital again!" she screamed in panic.
Haruki caught her just in time. "Hinaaaa!"
They fell onto each other—time seemed to freeze for a moment.
Hina was on top of Haruki.
"You okay?" he asked, worried.
"Yeah… I'm fine," she replied, still looking into his eyes.
Her cheeks turned pink, and in the charged silence, something electric passed between them.
Haruki gently brushed her hair back from her face. She leaned closer.
Their lips were just about to meet—when the door burst open and Miko walked in.
---
"Sorry, I'm late!" Miko panted.
The two quickly moved apart, the air thick with awkwardness.
Miko, in a mock-shocked tone: "Maybe I came a bit too early?"
Hina, flustered: "No, no, you came right on time."
"Don't mind me," Miko smirked. "Continue whatever you were doing. I'll just come back later."
Hina protested, "It's not what you think."
Miko folded her arms. "Oh really? Then what was I seeing?"
Hina calmly explained, "You saw right, but you understood wrong. Haruki wanted to read a novel, I climbed up to get it, slipped, and he caught me. We both fell, that's it."
Miko was silent for a second, then said, "Oh… so that's it."
"Exactly," both Hina and Haruki said together in relief.
Miko teased again, "And what about what you were about to do?"
"We weren't doing anything! Believe us!" they said in unison, exasperated.
"Fine, whatever. I don't care. Just help me with my studies," Miko grumbled.
The tension eased, and they all got back to work.
---
But soon Haruki, sitting with the TV, had the volume too loud.
"Haruki, turn it down," Hina said.
He didn't respond.
"Haruki, I said turn it down!" she repeated.
Still no reply.
Hina lost her temper. "Are you deaf?!" she yelled.
Haruki jumped in shock. "D-did you say something?"
"I said, turn the sound down, or I'll make your sound louder," she warned.
Without even looking, Haruki turned the TV volume off completely.
They returned to studying, but a little later Haruki burst out laughing at a funny scene.
"Is he crazy?" Miko muttered.
"Probably lost his screws," Hina smirked.
Annoyed, Miko said, "Do something about him. He's disturbing me."
Hina rolled a book and playfully smacked Haruki.
"Haruki," she said with a mischievous smile.
He looked at her nervously.
"Are you hungry?" she teased.
"No, not at all," he denied.
"But I think you're starving," she pressed.
"Nope," he insisted.
"Then just watch TV quietly, or for lunch, you'll only get a beating," she warned.
Haruki instantly put tape over his mouth.
"What's this madness now?" Hina frowned.
He mumbled something behind the tape.
"Come here," she said.
"No way," he shook his head.
"I said come here," she ordered.
He crawled over on his knees. She pulled off the tape.
"Now speak."
"You told me to be quiet," he said, gasping.
"I told you to be quiet—not to tape your mouth shut!" she scolded, giving him a playful punch.
He rubbed his head. "Sorry."
She patted him. "Why do you keep doing things that make me hit you?"
Haruki grinned. "Sorry, won't happen again."
"Good. Now go watch TV."
---
Miko shook her head. "Do you two do this all day?"
"I didn't know Hina was so comfortable with him," she thought. "Or maybe… so happy."
Later, Haruki said, "I'm going to the grocery store."
"Okay, come back soon," Hina replied.
Miko teased, "Does he always act like this, or just when I'm around?"
"No, he always annoys me like this," Hina laughed, "and always ends up getting hit."
"And he doesn't mind?" Miko asked.
"Why would he? He's… innocent. Sure, he makes mistakes, but even his mistakes seem endearing now. When he gets scared, his face looks so cute, I just want to pull his cheeks," she smiled.
---
Haruki returned. "I'm back."
"Welcome home," Hina said warmly.
He went to the kitchen and began cooking.
"Wait, Haruki cooks?!" Miko exclaimed.
"Yeah, he won't let me cook. If I try, he gets upset," Hina explained.
"Well, well," Miko teased, "You're getting wife treatment without the work."
Blushing, Hina said, "It's not like that."
"Mmhmm, sure," Miko smirked.
Packing up her books, Miko said, "Anyway, I'll go now."
Hina glanced at the clock. "We still have time to study."
"I know, but my favorite show's coming on soon," Hina admitted.
"If you keep this up, you'll definitely fail," Miko warned.
"Bye," she waved, leaving.
The house was quiet again.
Hina went back to studying until Haruki called, "Dinner's ready."
They sat at the table and ate together.
Once done, Hina grinned. "Game time? We planned this for the weekend."
She grabbed the TV remote.
A small, friendly competition was about to begin.
"Okay, let's start."
To be continued… 👀