It had been two hours since we arrived at the library. There were surprisingly a lot of students, especially for the summer. Maybe it was just me, but I always thought that people my age would rather spend their summers working or hanging out with friends. But ever since I started going to the library, I slowly realized that people actually went to places like this during their free time.
Maybe that was common knowledge to some people, but to me—who never set foot in a library outside of school—it came as quite the shock.
Since we'd gotten here, Yuka and I had been studying nonstop. And after much complaining from her, we finally decided to take a break.
Currently, Yuka was out getting herself some sort of fancy caffeinated drink. She asked if I wanted to come along, but I politely declined. It wasn't that I thought they tasted bad; I just thought they were overpriced—and I didn't feel like reciting those overly long names.
I was always more into boba personally. Sadly, there were no boba shops nearby.
So, as I waited for Yuka to come back, I stayed at our desk and scrolled on my phone. Recently, I'd really been into villainess-type stories. They were all the same thing: the main character gets treated poorly, finds a hot man and makes people jealous, gets transported into some sort of novel, and it turns out she wasn't the villainess all along, and it was her half-sister from her Dad's new marriage. While I'd seen it play out at least a hundred times by now, I never got tired of seeing a pretty female lead being so forward.
As I was in the middle of my little reading session, I noticed someone standing at the corner of the table, just at the edge of my vision.
At first, I simply ignored them. They could've been on their phone, waiting for a friend, or just looking around. It wasn't that uncommon an occurrence. But as time passed, and I scrolled through panel after panel, the person never left.
Noticing this, I sighed internally—but I didn't stop scrolling.
Not very slick now, are you?
I wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone right now—much less a stranger. So, hoping they would take a hint, I continued reading through the chapter as if they didn't exist.
Instead of leaving, however, the person decided to come closer—until they were standing right in front of me. From this distance, it was impossible to pretend like I hadn't noticed them.
With no other option left, I lifted my head and studied them with a polite smile.
It was a boy, and from the looks of it, he was older than me—but not older than my Brother. He had wavy black hair, was pretty tall, and had a somewhat muscular frame. You'd think someone like this would be intimidating, but the look on his face said otherwise.
He looked almost… cute? Sweet? Innocent? Something along those lines.
Based on appearances alone, he didn't strike me as bad in any way. But based on the fact that he'd ignored all my attempts to ignore him, I was already a little skeptical.
Still, it was too early to judge his character entirely. Even if I was fairly certain that he was hitting on me, I'd entertain the conversation for a little bit. It was too egotistical to reject him outright if I didn't actually know why he was here.
"Did you need something?" I asked, my tone carrying an air of formality and grace.
Upon hearing my voice, he flinched, a faint red touching his ears. He looked away from me, shyly rubbing the back of his neck.
Yeah, can't blame 'em. I know I'm pretty and everything—but could you hurry up and answer? I'm trying to tell you to leave so I can read. But I kept those thoughts away from my perfect, graceful face.
"No, it's nothing. I was just wondering what you were reading," he said, pointing to the phone in my hand.
Ah. So that's your angle.
Trying to start a conversation by getting a girl to talk about her interests first. Smart.
"Oh, this?" I lifted my phone and showed him the screen. "I was just reading a villainess manhwa. I've really been into this series recently!"
"Oh?"
He casually leaned in closer, like he wanted a better look. But I knew better. I leaned back, putting distance between him and me.
He didn't seem to notice my movement as his face suddenly lit up. "Ohhh, I've had this on my to-read list for a while. This is the one that just came out, right?"
I felt the urge to scoff, but I kept it inside.
If by "just came out" you mean fifty chapters ago, then sure. I guess it "just came out."
I pulled my phone back and took a glance at the time. Yuka had already been gone for five minutes. And from how busy the café always was, I doubted she would be coming back any time soon. Which meant that I was all on my own.
Stupid Yuka! Why'd you have to leave me?! I should've just gone with you!!!
"Say," the boy said, pulling me back to the conversation. "Is this seat taken?"
He pointed to the seat beside me, the one Yuka had been occupying before she left. It was a stupid question, considering you could clearly see her notebooks scattered across the surface. But maybe he thought those were mine.
I let out a small, girlish laugh. "Haha. Sorry, but my fri–"
Before I could even finish, he pulled out Yuka's chair and sat down. My heart went cold in an instant, and this terrible sense of premonition—that something bad was happening—settled in my chest.
…What?
He stuck his hand out toward me with a shy smile. "Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Rei. What's yours?"
Maybe to anyone else, he looked like the same sweet, innocent boy from a few seconds ago. But to me, right now, his face was covered in an ominous shadow, warping the features underneath.
He looked like the very things Mom always warned me about.
Why isn't he backing off?
Why did he cut me off?
What is he going to do to me?
What should I do?
Should I run?
Should I call for help?
I tried to open my mouth, to say something—anything—but the words failed to come out. It was as if my airways had shut down, isolating me with this man.
He lowered his head until his warped face was level with mine. "Hey, are you okay? You don't look so good. Do you want some water? I can give you some of mine if you'd like."
Such kind words. Such words of sincerity. Surely, these words were only meant to help me. But in my ears—they landed like a threat.
Mom always told me not to accept anything from a stranger. And that if I ever went to a party, I should never drink anything.
As if concerned by my silence, he slowly reached a hand toward me.
Maybe it was out of concern, or maybe there was another reason. I didn't have time to think of his motives. Just seeing his hand inching toward me gripped me in absolute fear.
Someone… please… help me.
Yuka…
Dad…
Big Brother…
Anyone…!
I lowered my head, letting my hair obscure my face and shut my eyes, doing what little I could to avoid him.
It felt like I'd been sitting there forever, but eventually, a familiar voice pulled me back.
"Hey."
Suddenly, a hand landed on my shoulder, and with it, I felt myself pressed into the seat, like an immeasurable weight was pushing me down.
In a panic, I opened my eyes. But that was when something didn't add up. Rei still had his hand held out toward me, and he was still in his seat. He wasn't touching me at all.
But then… who was?
I slowly looked up. When I did, the weight seemed to vanish—even though it was undoubtedly still there. After all, he just sucked at holding back his strength.
But that was fine. Just by seeing him, a wide, involuntary grin broke across my face.
"It's been a while, Yu!"
Yu let go of my shoulder and gently ruffled my hair. It ruined all the hard work I'd put in this morning, but I didn't care right now.
"Yeah! It's been a while, Little Hoshino!"
I had plenty of questions I wanted to ask him—what he was doing here, for starters. And I was sure he had just as many. But instead of asking, he looked at me—then at the boy in front of me.
As soon as he did, like he'd drawn the conclusion in his head, his eyes narrowed, and he pointed to the seat Rei was in.
"Hey," he said, his voice dropping several octaves compared to how it had been with me.
A chill ran down my spine at the sound of it. In my mind, despite how menacing he looked, Yu was always so… happy. But right now—he was nothing like the Yu I knew.
"That seat… you do know it's occupied, right?"
"Wh–"
Before Rei could get a word out, Yu's hand shot forward in a blur and gripped his mouth. His hands were pretty big, so they covered half of Rei's face with ease. The veins on the back of his hand bulged forward as he clamped Rei's jaw shut.
"Listen, I don't know who you are. And to be honest? I don't give a shit. Stay away from my friend's sister. It doesn't take much to realize that she's scared. And if I figured that out in two seconds—that means you should be able to, too. But…"
Yu pulled him closer, his voice dropping to a whisper. Except… I could hear him even from where I sat.
"You ignored it. And because of that, I won't let you go—nor will I forgive you. Nod once if you understand: leave my friend's sister alone. Got it?"
Rei gave him a single, terrified nod, tears forming in the corner of his eyes. Seeing it, Yu's happy smile returned, and he let go.
"Perfect!" Yu gave him a playful tap on the shoulder. Well, it was a Yu tap—which meant it sent Rei flying off the seat.
"Well, don't linger too long. Scram. I need to talk with my friend over here. And I'd like to do so in private if you don't mind."
"Y-yes, sir!"
At Yu's command, Rei scrambled up off the floor and bolted off to who knows where. Watching him leave the library, Yu turned back to me with the same wide, happy grin.
"Anyway, it's been a long time since I've seen you, Little Hoshino! How are you doing?"
Seeing the way he acted now compared to two seconds ago, I couldn't help but let out a wry chuckle.
Noted. I'll never get on your bad side!