Chapter 1: Youth Shines Like Early Summer
The cicadas were already singing in June. Outside the classroom window, the clouds drifted lazily by.
Reflected faintly in the glass was the face of a handsome boy—strikingly good-looking, yet utterly bored.
Sharp, clean features.
The kind of face that would normally belong to someone vibrant with youth.
But he looked... exhausted. As if something inside him had long since gone dim.
Tugging at the collar of his white school shirt, he tried to shake off the heavy heat of the season.
"So damn hot."
As the school bell finally rang, the classroom erupted into the usual chaos of the day's end—chatter, laughter, chairs scraping.
But just then—
"Yu—Yuzuki-kun!"
The anxious voice pulled the boy out of his daze.
Yuzuki Gen turned, eyes settling on a petite, round-faced girl nervously holding a folded letter in both trembling hands.
Her cheeks were flushed red. Her lashes trembled with the weight of emotion.
"You are...?"
Gen asked gently.
The classroom noise quieted slightly at her sudden appearance. Curious glances turned their way. But Gen didn't let that pressure grow any heavier.
"I—I'm Kato Miko, from Class 4 next door! You probably don't know me... but I've been watching you for a while. This—this is how I feel. Please, accept it."
Her voice grew softer near the end, nearly swallowed by her own nerves.
The stares and whispers around her didn't help. But Gen just glanced around calmly—people weren't necessarily being cruel. Just curious. Human nature.
So, he stood up and received the letter with both hands.
"Thank you for your honesty," he said warmly. "But… I'm not thinking about that kind of thing right now."
"I know! I know someone like you would never like a girl like me. But… I'm transferring schools tomorrow. I'm going back to my hometown. I just didn't want to leave with regrets. I wanted to tell you, properly. Even if you only remember me just a little… just a little is enough!"
She lifted her head, eyes glistening, meeting his gaze.
She really was brave. But the cost of that bravery was the shimmer of unshed tears.
Gen's usual lazy smile softened into something gentler—like a breeze that cuts through a summer heatwave.
"I understand. Thank you, Kato-san. I hope everything goes well for you. Wishing you nothing but the best."
"Thank you."
There was sorrow in her eyes. But also… relief. Gratitude.
She turned, and with quick, light steps, disappeared from the room.
Gen knew.
Just like so many brief encounters in life… he'd probably never see her again.
And yet—how many years from now would this memory suddenly return?
He grabbed his bag.
"Yuzuki-kun is so kind," someone murmured.
He smiled faintly but said nothing as he headed for the door.
"You sure are popular," a voice grumbled as he reached the doorway.
He turned.
A girl had been waiting outside, deliberately standing back until he came out.
She was tall—around 170cm, especially striking by Japanese standards.
Sun-kissed energy, delicate features, and a beauty that didn't need embellishment.
Her long legs, hugged by thigh-high black socks, carried an elegance that made even her gym shoes seem like they'd smell like perfume after a marathon.
"Oh? Are you jealous, Kazama-san?"
Gen asked with a playful smile.
The radiant girl scrunched her nose and flicked her long hair proudly.
"Please. I get more confessions than I can count. I could fill a whole trash bin with the love letters I get in my shoe locker."
"Throwing people's heartfelt confessions in the trash? That's cold."
Kazama Sakura huffed.
"Better than putting on a fake nice-guy act like you did. Just because someone likes me doesn't mean I owe them something. Their feelings aren't my responsibility."
The two walked down the hallway, descending a spiral staircase, steps echoing under the glow of the setting sun.
Without realizing it, their footsteps had synced.
Gen didn't seem to notice how she kept stealing glances at him—his profile, the line of his jaw, the slightly loosened collar of his shirt.
He always wore a gentle smile.
But somehow, it felt distant. As if it kept everyone at arm's length.
"What's wrong with being a little fake?" he said softly. "Treating every emotion seriously might be tiring… but having genuine feelings brushed off—now that's truly sad."
"Like that girl just now? Were you being kind because you pitied her?"
"Saying that would be arrogant. I just… wanted her to keep believing in the courage it takes to love someone."
"If you ever fall for someone, you'll learn how useless that fake kindness really is."
Kazama Sakura clearly wasn't impressed by the boy's teasing words.
As they stepped off the last stair of Building One, the western sky looked like it was on fire. Orange light spilled across Yuzuki Gen's white shirt, lighting up his shoulders in a way that made her want to take a picture and keep that moment forever.
Right then, he turned back to her and asked,
"What if… I confessed to you, Kazama-san?"
"To m—What? You—you—you—what kind of joke is that?!"
"Relax."
Seeing her cheeks flush to her ears, Gen casually waved his hand.
"I'm not the type to confess to anyone, remember? So don't worry—it's not going to happen. But if you were to confess your deep feelings to me… I might be a little troubled, you know?"
"As if! Don't flatter yourself!"
"Really? I just thought you were staring so hard earlier because you were jealous of that girl. But I guess not. Kinda disappointing."
Then at least show a disappointed face, you jerk!
Sakura stared at his turned-away smirk. His lips were clearly curled up. She suddenly had the violent urge to kick him.
Her reaction might've been… a little too dramatic.
Now she regretted it.
"I wasn't jealous, okay? And what's with that 'never confessing' nonsense? What about Asagiri Rin? Everyone knows you liked her. Don't change the subject to me."
They reached the school gate and paused.
A sleek black car waited by the curb. A girl, effortlessly graceful, handed her school bag to a chauffeur with practiced poise.
Long hair. Flawless figure. Even the partial glimpse of her face looked like it belonged in the Louvre.[1]
Sakura's gaze was fixed on her.
Part of her hoped the girl would turn around.
And see her standing there—beside him.
But another part was terrified.
Because when the ugly duckling stands beside the real swan… its feathers start to show.
The girl didn't turn back. She slipped into the car and was gone in seconds, leaving only a trail of dust behind.
"You know," Gen said beside her, "I've never liked her. Would you believe me if I said that?"
Sakura blinked in surprise.
"Is that even possible? She's stunning, has a great aura… even her family background—"
"Oh, I see. So I'm supposed to like her."
"You—!"
Humans are strange. We chase confirmation of bad hunches, and then we get mad when we're proven right.
But she quickly caught sight of Gen's trademark smirk.
"If I don't like someone, I just don't. Why should I? And honestly… between her and you, I think you look better. You're kinder. More genuine. No princess complex. You're the real swan here."
I'm… the swan?
Her face turned red, her eyes glassy.
"Then what is she?"
"A crow in designer heels."
"Pfft—! You can't say that! If she heard you, she'd explode!"
"Not my problem. I said it to make you smile."
So he said that just to cheer me up?
This guy… He's a smooth-talking menace.
She huffed.
"I'm not smiling just because you complimented me… Anyway, wanna go get a parfait?"
She fought hard to keep her mouth from curling into a smile, but it looked more like she was suppressing a facial spasm.
Gen, the tall, lazy-looking boy who somehow always made slouching seem cool, replied:
"Can't. I've got a part-time job."
"Wait, what? You know school rules forbid part-time work, right?"
"So what? Is Kazama-san going to report me to the teachers, get me punished, maybe even expelled, and then I'd have to leave this school—the one you're in?"
"You—!!"
She bit her lip. This boy was the worst. Especially that mix of sly intelligence and selective cluelessness.
"If you really need money, I could lend you some."
But he was already walking away.
"No plans to live off your kindness just yet. If I hit rock bottom, I'll consider it."
"Ugh! Starve for all I care, jerk!"
"I don't mind being a jerk—just promise you'll stay this cute forever, Kazama-san. Bye~"
His wave looked like something from a dream—far off, like it belonged on the edge of the world, or maybe just between the fingers covering her burning cheeks.
Only after he was gone did she lower her hands, the blush finally beginning to fade.
She was… happy. Inexplicably, foolishly happy.
It was like a little deer had taken root in her chest, prancing and nudging her heart every time she was with him.
She probably understood what was happening.
But it felt hopelessly out of her control.
Taking out her phone, she opened the camera and stared into the lens.
"Am I really cuter than her?"
"He's totally lying."
"But if he doesn't like her… why did that rumor spread in the first place?"
"Ugh. I really don't want to go home."
She wasn't some carefree girl skipping home under the sunset.
Her thoughts were anything but light.
---
30 minutes later...
The boy who said he was going to his part-time job...
He leaned forward, eyes sharp.
Slap!
"Ron! Kokushi Musou! 32,000 points!"
...
[1] The famous museum in Paris, the Louvre Museum, also known as the Musée du Louvre in French.