1. The Courtyard Shifts
Monday morning felt sharper than usual.
Students weren't whispering anymore—
they were watching.
Some out of curiosity.
Some out of envy.
Some out of bitter longing
(the kind that comes from realizing people's feelings don't always match your hopes).
Eadlyn walked through the courtyard steady, expression calm, posture straight.
He didn't shrink. He didn't flinch. He didn't pretend nothing was happening.
But he didn't perform either.
And that steadiness…
was exactly what people noticed
Nino watched him from the bench near the vending machine, hugging her drink bottle with both hands. There was a softness in her eyes—not affection, but recognition. The kind you give someone who unknowingly carried pain you understood too well.
Rin leaned over the rail and whispered to Manami
"He's walking like a main character."
Manami smirked. "He kind of is."
Ken crossed his arms. "He better not trip. Would ruin the aura."
Ichigo (headphones on) sighed.
"He won't. He calculates his footsteps."
No one questioned how Ichigo knew that.
2. Hiroto's First Step
Hiroto arrived later than usual.
When he stepped onto campus, heads turned—not toward his perfection, but toward his silence.
He didn't glare at Eadlyn.
He didn't challenge him.
He didn't posture or threaten.
He simply walked past with a subdued nod—
the kind that meant:
I'm choosing dignity, not despair.
Students blinked.
Some whispered.
Some immediately recalculated whose "side" they should be on.
Some girls cried internally.
But more than anything—
the narrative shifted.
Because love triangles don't break when someone wins.
They break when someone matures.
And Hiroto had grown in one night
more than the rumors could keep up with.
3. Sayaka Observes the Change
Sayaka stood by the shoe lockers, organizing council forms with her usual grace.
But when she saw Hiroto's nod toward Eadlyn—
a slow, accepting gesture—
her fingers paused.
Just for one heartbeat.
She didn't know what conversation had happened behind the sports shed.
She didn't know her friends had been hiding in bushes like low-budget ninjas.
She didn't know a boy she once admired had finally let go of an unspoken dream.
But she understood the result.
She stepped toward Eadlyn.
"You handled something important," she said quietly.
He blinked. "You heard?"
"I didn't need to," she replied. "People's eyes speak loudly after they've let go."
Her gaze lingered—not romantically, not possessively,
but with a soft, perceptive respect.
"You didn't make an enemy," she added.
"You helped someone heal."
Eadlyn didn't smile. But his shoulders loosened.
She noticed that too.
4. Classroom Atmosphere
Inside 1A, Naomi-sensei watched her students with suspiciously sharp perception. Rumors had shifted, but she wasn't celebrating yet.
She tapped her chalk against the board.
"Everyone sit. Now.
Your teenage emotions can wait until lunch."
Rin snorted.
Manami hid a grin.
Ichigo didn't look up.
Eadlyn took his seat calmly.
But he felt it—
the eyes,
the tension,
the silent questions.
Who is he?
Why is he different?
What's between him and Sayaka?
Why isn't he panicking like everyone else would?
Naomi cleared her throat loudly.
"Stop staring at Greyson.
He's not going to transform into a romance protagonist in front of you."
Too late.
Some already thought he had.
5. The Four Behind-the-Scenes Idiots
At lunch, Eadlyn finally cornered the four conspirators near the baseball storage room.
"You recorded my conversation?" he asked.
Rin raised two fingers. "Evidence!"
Manami: "For rumor control!"
Ken: "Backup plan for emotional breakdowns!"
Ichigo: "I recorded audio, video, ambient sound, and reaction shots."
Everyone turned to him.
"…What?" he asked innocently.
"You… what?" Eadlyn repeated.
Ichigo shrugged.
"I might've overdone it."
Manami sighed. "He edited a whole documentary last night."
Ichigo pulled out his phone.
"I titled it:
'Two Kings Talking Under the Sakura Tree'
—Art film version.
8/10 lighting.
Needs a soundtrack."
Eadlyn stared at them.
"What were you planning to do with it?"
Rin brightened. "Upload it anonymously on the student forum!"
"No," Manami said quickly.
"We are not doing that."
Ken crossed his arms. "Okay but if anyone lies about the conversation—"
Ichigo finished:
"We annihilate them with truth."
Eadlyn rubbed his forehead.
They were idiots.
But they were his idiots.
6. A Shift in Eadlyn Himself
That evening, sitting on the engawa, Eadlyn looked out at the soft sky and finally allowed himself to breathe.
Not because the rumors disappeared.
But because something inside him had changed.
He wasn't responding anymore.
He was choosing.
When he opened his notebook, the words flowed easily.
Diary:
Healing is easier when people choose kindness
instead of ego.
Hiroto chose it.
Sayaka saw it.
My friends protected it.
And I…
I learned that strength isn't loud.
Sometimes it's just steady.
He closed the book with quiet satisfaction.
Rumors still existed.
But they no longer defined the day.
People did.
And for the first time since summer ended—
Eadlyn felt the story finally beginning to take shape.