Yuki arrived at the science building at 3:50 PM, her stomach in knots. All day, she'd been replaying Hana's revelations in her mind. Hacking. Probation. A criminal record. It seemed impossible to reconcile these facts with the quiet, thoughtful boy who'd lent her his hoodie and texted her during his work breaks.
Yet something about it made sense too. The wariness in his eyes. His reluctance to talk about himself. His cryptic warning that people who get too close get hurt.
She hesitated at the door to the roof, her finger hovering over the keypad. Was she making a mistake? Should she just walk away now, before she got in any deeper?
No. She needed answers. She needed to hear his side of the story.
4-7-2-1.
The lock clicked, and Yuki pushed the door open. The late afternoon sun bathed the rooftop in golden light, but Haruki wasn't in his usual spot by the wall. For a moment, she thought he hadn't come after all.
Then she spotted him, standing at the far edge of the roof, looking out over the campus. His hands were in his pockets, shoulders slightly hunched. He turned at the sound of the door closing behind her.
"You came," he said, his expression unreadable.
"I said I would." Yuki walked toward him, stopping a few feet away. She was still wearing his hoodie, she realized. She'd put it on without thinking.
Haruki noticed too, his eyes lingering on the gray fabric before meeting her gaze. "I wasn't sure you would. After talking to your friend."
Yuki stiffened. "How did you know about that?"
"This is a small campus. People talk." He turned back to look at the view. "What did she tell you?"
Yuki hesitated, unsure how to begin. "That you were suspended from your last school. For hacking."
Haruki nodded slightly, as if he'd expected this. "What else?"
"That you're on probation. That the factory job is community service." She paused, watching his profile. "That you used to hang out with those guys at the train station."
He was quiet for a long moment. "And now you're wondering if you should be here at all."
It wasn't a question, but Yuki answered anyway. "I'm wondering why you didn't tell me yourself."
Haruki turned to face her fully. "Would you have still talked to me if I had? 'Hi, I'm Haruki, I'm a convicted hacker on probation.' Not exactly a great conversation starter."
There was a hint of bitterness in his voice that made Yuki's chest ache. "Is it true?"
He held her gaze. "Yes."
The simple admission hung in the air between them. Yuki had been preparing herself for denials, for explanations, for excuses. The straightforward confirmation caught her off guard.
"All of it?" she asked.
"Most of it." Haruki moved away from the edge, walking to the low wall where they usually sat. He leaned against it, arms crossed. "I did hack my school's system. I did get caught breaking into a corporate database. I am on probation, and the factory job is part of my community service."
Yuki followed him, trying to process this information. "Why? Why would you do that?"
Haruki ran a hand through his hair, a gesture she'd come to recognize as a sign of discomfort. "The school thing was stupid. I was helping some friends who were failing. I thought I was being noble or something." He gave a humorless laugh. "The corporate hack was different."
"Different how?"
He looked at her, something like defiance in his eyes. "They were stealing code from independent developers. Small companies, individual programmers. Taking their work and claiming it as their own. I was trying to find proof."
Yuki frowned. "You were... what, some kind of vigilante?"
"I was an idiot who thought he could make a difference." Haruki's voice was flat. "All I did was get myself a record and nearly ruin my future."
"But you're still in college," Yuki pointed out. "You didn't get expelled."
"My brother pulled some strings. And Professor Yamada vouched for me. Said I had too much potential to waste." He shook his head. "I got lucky."
Yuki was quiet for a moment, processing everything. "And the guys at the train station?"
Haruki's expression darkened. "Former friends. They still think what we were doing was right. They don't understand the consequences."
"Do you still talk to them?"
"No." His answer was quick, definitive. "That's part of my probation. No contact with known hackers."
Yuki nodded slowly. It was a lot to take in, but somehow, hearing it from him made it seem less ominous than Hana had made it sound. "Is that what you meant? When you said people who get close to you get hurt?"
Haruki looked away. "Partly."
"What's the other part?"
He was quiet for so long that Yuki thought he might not answer. When he finally spoke, his voice was low. "The friends I was helping by changing grades? They got expelled. My parents had to move because of the scandal. My brother's reputation at his firm took a hit because of me." He met her eyes. "I hurt people, Yuki. Not intentionally, but it happened anyway."
The pain in his voice was unmistakable. This wasn't just about a criminal record or probation. This was about guilt.
"That's why you keep to yourself," she said softly. "Why you don't let people get close."
Haruki nodded. "It's easier that way."
"Easier, maybe. But lonely."
Something flickered in his eyes. "I'm used to it."
"You shouldn't have to be." Yuki took a step closer to him. "And for what it's worth, I don't think you're a bad person. I think you made mistakes, but your intentions were good."
Haruki studied her face, as if searching for insincerity. "You're not... afraid of me now?"
"Should I be?"
"No," he said quickly. "I'm not... I would never hurt you intentionally."
"Then no, I'm not afraid of you." Yuki moved to stand beside him, leaning against the wall. Their shoulders were almost touching. "I'm still here, aren't I?"
Haruki looked at her with something like wonder. "Why?"
It was the same question he'd asked in their text conversation. This time, Yuki had a better answer.
"Because I see you, Haruki. Not your mistakes or your past or what other people say about you. Just you." She met his gaze steadily. "And I like what I see."
For a moment, he seemed at a loss for words. Then, slowly, he reached out and took her hand. His fingers were warm against hers, slightly calloused from work.
"Thank you," he said quietly. "For listening. For not walking away."
Yuki squeezed his hand. "I'm not going anywhere."
They stood like that for a while, hand in hand, watching as the sun began its descent toward the horizon. The silence between them was comfortable, filled with a new understanding.
"Can I ask you something?" Yuki said finally.
"Anything."
"What were you drawing? That day I found you up here with your sketchpad."
Haruki looked surprised by the question. "You remember that?"
"I remember everything about our conversations."
A faint blush colored his cheeks. "It was nothing special. Just some designs for a program I'm working on."
"For class?"
He shook his head. "Personal project. It's an app to help students find affordable housing near campus. With reviews, safety ratings, that kind of thing."
Yuki smiled. "Still trying to make a difference, huh?"
"In legal ways this time," he said with a small smile of his own.
"I'd like to see it sometime. If you want to show me."
Haruki nodded. "I'd like that."
The warning bell rang from somewhere below, signaling the end of afternoon classes. Yuki realized with a start that they'd been talking for nearly an hour.
"Do you have to work tonight?" she asked.
"Not until eight." Haruki hesitated. "Would you... want to get dinner? Before my shift?"
Yuki's heart skipped a beat. "Like a date?"
Now it was definitely a blush on his face. "If you want it to be."
"I do," she said, perhaps too quickly. "Want it to be a date, I mean."
Haruki's smile was small but genuine. "There's a ramen place near the station. Nothing fancy, but the food is good."
"Sounds perfect."
As they gathered their things and headed for the door, Yuki felt lighter somehow. The secrets that had seemed so ominous that morning now felt like just another part of Haruki's story. A complicated, messy part, but one that helped her understand him better.
They walked across campus side by side, closer than before. Yuki was acutely aware of the occasional stares from other students, but for once, Haruki seemed less bothered by the attention. His shoulders were more relaxed, his stride more confident.
"People are looking at us," she noted as they passed a group of girls who whispered behind their hands.
"Let them," Haruki said, echoing her words from the day before. Then, to her surprise, he reached for her hand again, lacing his fingers through hers.
Yuki smiled, squeezing his hand. Whatever rumors spread now, whatever people said about them, it didn't matter. She knew the truth. And the truth, complicated as it was, was better than any story people could make up.
As they left campus and headed toward the station, Yuki thought about texting Hana, about telling her what she'd learned. But that could wait. For now, she just wanted to enjoy this moment, this new beginning with the boy everyone thought they knew, but no one really did.
Except maybe, just maybe, her.