Ren stood at the gate, clutching a small, neatly wrapped box of chocolates.
He looked at the nameplate, then at the paper in his hand just to double check. Again.
He wasn't used to this.
Visiting someone. Carrying gifts. Being nervous over nothing.
He adjusted the strap of his sling bag, exhaled quietly, and rang the doorbell.
The chime echoed faintly inside.
Moments later, the door opened.
A woman stood their gentle eyes, a calm face, and a towel still tossed over one shoulder. Probably just out of the kitchen.
She blinked once, then broke into a warm smile.
"Oh! You must be Ren-Kun. Airi told me about you!"
There was something casual but kind in her tone a mother who wasn't just polite, but pleased.
Before Ren could even say a word, she turned her head and called out inside:
"Airi! Your guest is here!"
Footsteps echoed on the stairs.
Ren looked up.
Airi appeared not too flashy, not too formal but noticeably more dressed up than usual. Her hair was combed gently, her hoodie replaced by a soft cardigan. She smiled brightly, slowing as she reached the last step.
Ren quietly:
"Hey…"
He stepped forward, and without a word, bent down slightly and handed the chocolate box not to Airi, but to the little boy peeking from behind their mother's leg.
The boy flinched slightly, then slowly accepted it with both hands like it was treasure.
Ren smiled softly.
"These are for you. Peace offering."
The boy looked up at his mother, unsure. She nodded encouragingly, and he darted off inside with the chocolates.
Airi tilted her head, amused.
"You brought bribes?"
Ren:
"I come in peace."
Airi:
"Wow. A boy with manners."
Behind her, her mother chuckled and leaned toward her daughter, just enough for Ren not to hear.
Mom whispering, teasing:
"He's sweet. Don't let this one go."
Airi's cheeks flushed pink for a second, but she rolled her eyes playfully.
She turned back to Ren and gestured toward the hallway.
"Come in. We're almost ready."
Ren stepped inside, shoes clicking lightly on the polished floor.
It smelled like miso soup and warm bread.
It felt like a house that was lived in with love.
He didn't say it, but some part of him felt it deeply
This... is what home should feel like.
They walked side by side down the city street, bathed in the late morning light.
Shops slowly opened, curtains drawn, the occasional hum of a passing bike or bell overhead.
The air was light. Not in temperature, but in feeling.
Ren kept his hands in his pockets, gaze drifting not lost, but quietly present.
Airi walked with a light bounce in her step, her cardigan sleeves slightly slipping past her wrists. She talked about her favourite café around the corner, something about a caramel pudding she swore was "made by actual angels."
Ren smiled softly, listening.
Then, he noticed it.
Her right shoelace dragging loosely across the sidewalk.
Without a word, he slowed down.
Airi kept walking for a few more steps before realizing he wasn't beside her anymore.
She turned and saw him crouched down.
Ren gently took the loose lace in his hands, his fingers moving with quiet precision. The city faded behind him this little act, in this little moment, felt louder than any grand gesture.
Airi blinked, surprised.
Airi genuinely:
"You're… full of surprises."
Ren tied the knot tight, checked it once, then looked up at her
not dramatically, just enough that their eyes met.
Ren calmly:
"And you're full of trouble."
Airi laughed.
Not loud. Just soft, and real.
She offered her hand instinctively to pull him up
and for once, Ren took it without hesitation.
For a moment, they stood still in the middle of the sidewalk
her eyes bright, his eyes clear.
Then they walked on.
One step closer.
To something neither of them could name yet.
Airi runs ahead, her footsteps light on the polished marble floor. She twirls once beneath a skylight that pours soft sunlight onto a sculpture of a swan mid-flight.
She turns back, smiling wide.
Airi
This place feels like magic!
Ren walks slowly, his hands in his pockets, letting her take the lead. He watches her move with such ease, like the world hasn't ever hurt her.
Airi stops at a painting a soft watercolour of a girl sitting alone on a bench, umbrella over her head, surrounded by rain.
Airi
(quietly, without turning)
This one's… a little sad.
Ren
...It's peaceful, though.
She looks at him.
Airi
You think sadness and peace can exist together?
Ren doesn't answer right away. He walks up beside her.
Ren
Maybe some sadness is gentle. The kind that doesn't break you. Just… softens the sharp edges.
Airi turns back to the painting. Nods slowly.
Airi
You're deep today.
Ren
mild smile
I'm always deep. You just talk too much to notice.
She playfully elbows him. He flinches a little.
They move on.
They reach a grand hall filled with huge abstract paintings colours splashed like chaos on canvas.
Ren looks up, expression unreadable.
Airi
You like this stuff?
Ren
I don't get it.
Airi
Same. But maybe… you're not supposed to get it. Maybe you're just supposed to feel it.
Ren tilts his head slightly, staring at the wild strokes. Then he looks at her reflection caught faintly in the polished floor.
Ren
Then I think I get it now.
Airi meets his gaze it holds longer than usual. Something unspoken passes between them.
Soft music echoes in the background. Their footsteps fall into rhythm as they walk side by side, unhurried.
Cut to:
A gentle wide shot two silhouettes under the light of an overhead chandelier, surrounded by art, colours, and calm.
The chaos in their hearts… paused for now.
Airi scrunches her nose, pretending to be offended.
Airi
Oh-Ho? Big words from someone who nearly tripped over a kid ten minutes ago.
Ren, unfazed, folds his arms and looks at the fossil.
Ren
That kid was like... two feet tall and moving at sonic speed. Not my fault.
Airi chuckles, then steps closer to the display. The towering fossil looms above them, casting long shadows.
Airi
softly
It's kinda crazy though, right? This thing lived millions of years ago... and now it's just bones.
Ren
Bones... but remembered.
Airi looks at him. He's not being poetic, just honest.
Airi
Would you want to be remembered like this?
Ren thinks for a moment.
Ren
Not for being big or scary. Just… real.
Airi smiles a quiet, knowing kind.
Airi
You are. Whether you admit it or not.
They both go silent. The air between them is light, but full of something unspoken.
Ren steps back, pretending to examine the fossil again.
Ren
Still think you look like this in the morning?
Airi
grinning
Worse. But with cuter pyjamas.
They both laugh not loudly, just enough to echo softly through the exhibit hall.
And for a moment, even time feels like it's watching them two people, alive, growing, laughing under the quiet gaze of something ancient.
They stand still.
The light from the gallery window falls gently across their faces golden and soft, like a fading memory or the beginning of one.
Ren's hand tenses for a moment in surprise… then relaxes.
He doesn't look away from the painting.
Airi's thumb brushes lightly across the back of his hand not fidgety, not awkward. Just present.
Around them, the quiet hum of the room continues murmurs of visitors, soft footsteps on wood, the faint echo of classical music down the hall. But none of it reaches them.
Airi
whispering, almost to herself
This one feels real… doesn't it?
Ren nods. Barely.
Ren
Not perfect. Just… true.
They stay like that not looking at each other, just existing side by side, fingers entwined like threads being stitched together.
For once, neither needs to fill the silence.
Because this, right here in the glow of an old painting and the quiet of a museum afternoon is enough.
Ren tenses, just a little. Not out of discomfort but unfamiliarity.
Airi's head is light, warm against him. Her breath is slow, calm.
Above them, the artificial stars twinkle galaxies spinning in silence, constellations drifting across the dome like quiet dreams.
For a moment, Ren doesn't breathe.
Airi
softly
"Maybe you don't need to know where you belong… maybe you just need someone to sit beside you while you figure it out."
Ren turns slightly. Just enough to glimpse her profile lit faintly by the projection of a nebula above.
She isn't looking at him. She's just… there. Present.
Ren
"…And you?"
Airi
still resting
"Me? I think I belong in moments like this."
He doesn't know what to say.
So, he says nothing.
He just shifts, ever so slightly, so her head rests more comfortably on his shoulder. His hand brushes hers on the seat.
And for the first time in a long time…
he doesn't feel lost.
The world moves gently around them cars pass, neon signs flicker to life, a soft breeze rustles Airi's skirt. But between them, there's only stillness. A quiet bubble untouched by the chaos of evening.
Airi's grip on his hand tightens for a second.
Airi
"Are you always like this? Quiet… kind of mysterious?"
Ren looks ahead, thinking.
Ren
"I wasn't. Not before."
Airi looks up at him, curious.
Airi
"What changed?"
He takes a moment. Then:
Ren
"Everything."
They reach the metro stop.
Airi leans against the railing, watching people come and go. Ren stands beside her, shoulders just brushing.
Airi
"Do you regret meeting me?"
Ren blinks, surprised by the question.
Ren
"No., I think… I was supposed to."
She smiles softly, eyes glimmering under the streetlight.
The train's lights appear in the distance growing closer.
Airi
"Tomorrow too?"
Ren
"Naturally."
The train pulls in.
This time, they board together. Side by side.
And for once, Ren doesn't stand near the door.
He stands in the middle.
Where people laugh, talk, and live.
And Airi still holding his hand looks at him like she's exactly where she belongs.
Airi stares at the screen, her heart skipping a beat.
She types… deletes.
Types again…
Airi:
"Are you always this smooth, or is it just with me?"
Ren typing pause, then reply
"Just you."
She hides her face in the pillow, grinning uncontrollably.
Airi:
"Stop it… I'm blushing like an anime girl."
Ren:
"Then don't stop."
Three dots. She doesn't reply immediately.
Then
Airi:
"…Goodnight, Ren."
Ren:
"Goodnight, Airi."
Both screens go dark.
But their faces stay softly lit by invisible smiles in the dark.
Each staring at the ceiling.
Hearts louder than silence.
The glow from Airi's screen reflects softly on her peaceful face.
She's curled up, one arm over her blanket, phone resting near her hand.
A faint smile lingers on her lips like her dreams picked up where the day left off.
Ren, meanwhile, lies awake.
The clock reads 12:07 AM.
He stares at the message he sent, watching the "Delivered" status sit unchanged.
He gently places the phone on his chest, eyes still open.
Ren thought
"Maybe tomorrow… I'll tell her more."
He closes his eyes.
Outside his window, a faint wind brushes past.
The city sleeps.
But in two small rooms, two quiet hearts are finally learning how to breathe again.
He puts his phone aside.
Turns to the ceiling.
Eyes tracing invisible shapes in the dark.
Whispers soft
"She's like sunlight…
...and I forgot what light felt like."
The silence swells around him not empty, but full.
Full of something new.
Something warm.
His breathing slows.
The glow of the streetlamp fades across the wall.
Blackout.
Only a heart still learning… how to hope.
Next Morning Clear blue sky, gentle breeze
Seagulls cry faintly in the distance. Beach umbrellas bloom across the coast, but Ren and Airi walk away from the crowds, closer to the water where the waves lap at their feet.
Wide sandy beach, soft waves hitting the shore.
Ren's shoes dangle from one hand. His other is in his pocket, brushing against something small the shell from yesterday.
Ren opens the door. Airi stands there, smiling but she's not alone.
A small white kitten with a red ribbon tied to its neck peeks out from her arms.
AIRI
"Tadaa~! Meet Mika."
Ren blinks, confused.
REN
"You… brought a cat?"
AIRI
(grinning)
"She needed a home. And you… you need someone who purrs when you don't talk."
Ren stares at the kitten. Mika blinks up at him innocently, then lets out a tiny meow.
AIRI
"She's a bit moody. Just like you. But she's warm and loyal. Just like... I hope you'll be."
She gently places Mika in his arms.
Ren holds the kitten awkwardly. Mika purrs softly.
He glances up. Airi's eyes are soft, sincere.
REN
"…Thank you."
AIRI
"Take care of her. She's not just a pet, okay? She's my gift… to the quietest person I've ever met."
Airi walks a few steps ahead, twirling. Her skirt dances with the wind, her joy almost unreal in its purity.
She suddenly bends down, scooping up something from the wet sand.
Airi grinning, holding it u
"Look at this one! It's shaped like a tiny heart!"
Ren steps closer, eyes narrowing slightly.
Ren dryly
"Looks broken."
Airi doesn't flinch. She giggles, brushing off the remaining sand.
Airi smiling
"Still beautiful. Just like people."
She walks up, gently places the shell into Ren's palm slow, as if sealing a message in silence. Her fingers linger for a moment.
Ren looks at it.
He doesn't reply.
But after a second, he quietly slides the shell into his pocket like it matters.
Airi doesn't comment. She just smiles, then breaks into a light jog ahead.
Airi calling out
"Race you to that rock!"
Ren exhales through a short laugh. Doesn't chase. But walks faster.
Behind them, their footprints blur gently in the tide
Two quiet souls leaving soft marks in a world too loud.
Close to the shoreline, early afternoon sun casting soft sparkles across the sea.
The waves are gentle curling and breaking with a whisper, brushing the wet sand like a shy visitor.
Airi runs ahead, her feet splashing lightly as she enters the shallow water. Her arms spread wide like wings.
Airi shouting playfully, laughing
"Come on, don't act old!"
Ren stands a few meters behind, hands in his pockets, watching her.
He takes a small step forward but pauses as the next wave reaches toward him.
Ren deadpan, but voice soft
"I don't like getting wet."
Airi turns, gives a mischievous grin then jogs back toward him. Without hesitation, she grabs his hand and gently tugs.
Their fingers brush… then clasp for a second too long.
Ren doesn't resist.
Instead, he takes one step into the water. The cold touches his skin he flinches, just a little.
Airi laughs, eyes shining in the sunlight.
Ren watches her then, for the first time that day, chuckles. It's small. Barely audible. But real.
Ren:
"You're really not scared of anything, are you?"
Airi grinning, squeezing his hand
"I'm scared of a boring life."
They both look at the horizon. The water sparkles. Their reflections ripple in the waves not quite clear, but together.
After some time
An empty patch of beach, tucked away from the shoreline.
The breeze is softer here, carrying the scent of salt and warmth. The only sounds distant waves and scattered seabirds.
Airi suddenly squats near the sand, using her finger to draw something. Ren stands a few steps away, watching in silence, hands still tucked into his pockets.
She finishes with a final flourish, then scoots aside, flashing a proud grin.
In the sand:
"Airi heart shape Ren just kidding lol"
Ren freezes. His eyes fix on the words. His brain stutters for a second too long.
Ren:
"…Why?"
Airi grinning
"Because your reactions are adorable."
Ren turns his face away, but his ears flush a light pink.
Airi chuckles knowingly.
He starts walking ahead, hands still deep in his pockets but the faintest smile now dances at the edge of his lips.
And Airi, behind him, watches with a victorious sparkle in her eyes.
They don't speak for a while.
They don't need to.
The beach wind dances past colourful umbrellas, fluttering them like lazy flags. Seagulls hover above a cozy beachside stall, where an old man hums while scooping ice cream.
Ren and Airi sit under one of the umbrellas, legs stretched out in the warm sand, holding ice cream cones that melt faster than they can eat.
Ren licks his vanilla slowly, eyes half-closed in peace.
Without warning, Airi leans over and takes a huge bite from his cone.