The morning sun hit the Kawamari Campus with a soft, honeyed glow, but the light was a bit too bright for a man who had stayed up until 3:00 AM finishing a chapter.
"Good morning, Kai! How are you today?"
The voice belonged to Shizune. She was a splash of vibrant colour against the grey stone of the university buildings, sporting a sharp red cotton blazer and a pleated skirt that caught the breeze. Her dyed crimson hair shimmered, matching the eager glisten in her eyes as she fell into step beside him.
"Oh, Shizune-kun," Kai replied, his face transforming instantly. He flashed a wide, effortless smile, the kind that looked like it belonged on a billboard. His blond hair stirred in the wind, perfectly messy in that way that took deliberate effort. "I'm doing great. You're looking energetic today."
Inside, however, his mind was miles away. 'Here we go again,' he thought, the smile remaining plastered on his face like a mask. 'I stayed up so late, and I still didn't get to finish reading The Husky and His White Cat Shizun. I was just getting to the best part, too...'
As they walked, a palpable wave of attention followed them. It was like moving through a physical current of whispers.
"I'm so jealous," a group of girls murmured, clutching their bags as they watched them pass. "I wish I were in Shizune's place right now." "Forget her," a guy nearby muttered to his friend, leaning against a railing. "I wish I were in Kai's place."
The idol-like atmosphere was shattered by a sharp, sudden "Ouuuuch!"
A loud cry tore through the morning chatter. Kai didn't hesitate. He rushed forward toward a girl who had tripped over a cracked paving stone, her books and papers sprawling across the concrete like fallen leaves.
"Are you okay?" Kai asked, his voice dropping an octave into something genuinely concerned.
The girl was a mess of tangled limbs and embarrassment. As she struggled to sit up, her skirt hiked up precariously. Without a word or a hint of hesitation, Kai moved with practised grace, stepping into her line of sight to block the view of the growing crowd. He draped his hand low, subtly smoothing her clothes while shielding her as he helped her up.
"I-I'm... I..." she stammered, her face turning a shade of pink that rivalled Shizune's blazer.
"I've got you," Kai said quietly, his hands steady as he began gathering her scattered belongings. He paused, looking at a name tag on one of her folders. "It's Mai, right? It's no wonder you lost your balance carrying all of this. Here, let me help you with these."
Mai froze, her eyes wide as she stared at him. "What... you know? You know my name?"
Kai gave her a small, much softer smile.
"Yeah, I tend to keep track of most people in the science research department," Kai said, his voice carrying that effortless, practised warmth as he began gathering the scattered pages of the project Mai had dropped. He glanced back at Shizune with a quick, polite nod. "Shizune, go on ahead. I'll catch up with you—I'm going to help her get these sorted."
"Okay…" Shizune replied, her wave a little less enthusiastic as she turned to leave.
On the opposite side of the bustling courtyard, tucked away in the cooling shade of the library annex, was Hina. She caught a glimpse of the entire "heroic" display.
"Tch. How cliché," she muttered to herself, a small, cynical giggle escaping her lips. "He's like a carbon copy of every Perfect Prince in the romantic web novels."
Hina adjusted her glasses, which were sliding down her nose. She was a short girl, her soft, rounded frame hidden beneath a baggy sweater, her hair cut into a neat, shield-like bowl cut.
"Hey… Hina. How are you?"
The voice was sweet, but it made Hina's stomach drop. Yuki Kamado draped an arm around Hina's shoulders, the weight of it feeling more like a shackle than a friendly gesture.
"Did you see the work the professor gave us?" Yuki asked, leaning in close, her eyes bright with a false kindness. "The research? Did you… Perhaps… finish it already?"
Hina flinched, her shoulders tensing into a hard line. "No. Get away from me. I didn't see it."
"Hina…" Yuki's voice dropped, her head tilting ever so slightly in a way that signalled danger. "You wouldn't want those pictures to be seen by the whole school, right? So…"
Before Yuki could even finish the threat, the fight drained out of Hina. She didn't wait for the rest of the sentence. With a practised, weary motion, she swung her bag off her shoulder and pulled out the crisp, completed research papers she had spent all night perfecting. She shoved them toward Yuki; her eyes fixed on the ground.
"Now, that's a good girl," Yuki chirped, a nasty, triumphant smile spreading across her face as she snatched the work.
Nearby, a few passing students whispered to each other, their voices full of misplaced envy. "Wow, Hina is so lucky to be friends with someone as popular as Yuki. They're always together."
Hina clicked her tongue, the sound lost in the wind as she turned her back on the sun.
'Lucky? What would any of you know about what's real?' She clutched the strap of her bag, her fingers tracing the edge of her book
The golden hour had settled over the campus, painting the stone buildings in warm, amber hues. It was the kind of lighting that made everyone look like they were in a movie, especially the group gathered near the main gates.
"There he is! The man of the hour," Rex shouted, leaning back against a brick pillar with a grin.
Kai approached with his signature easy stride, his blond hair catching the late afternoon light. Shizune was already there, tucked into the centre of the circle, looking expectant. Around them, two other guys from the varsity team and a few girls from the student council shifted to make room for him.
"Man, we were starting to think you'd been kidnapped by the Science department," one of the guys laughed, clapping Kai on the shoulder.
"Just helping out with a few dropped projects," Kai said, that effortless, billboard-ready smile sliding into place. "You know how it is. Gravity is a cruel mistress."
The group erupted into easy, practised laughter.
"Anyway, we're starving," Shizune said, stepping closer and lightly catching the sleeve of his jacket. "We're all heading to that new Teriyaki spot downtown, everyone's talking about it. You're coming, right, Kai?"
"Yeah, bro, first round of drinks is on Rex," someone chimed in.
"Ah, I'd love to, guys really," Kai said, his voice dropping into a tone of genuine-sounding regret. He checked his watch with a practised frown. "But my sister's coming into town tonight, and I promised my parents I'd pick up some specific groceries and head home early. Family duty calls."
"Tch, always the golden son," Rex teased, though he didn't look suspicious.
"Rain check?" Kai offered, already backing away with a wave.
"You better!" Shizune called out, her disappointment visible, but she turned back to the group as they began to move toward the parking lot.
The moment Kai turned the corner and the voices of his friends faded into the hum of city traffic, his shoulders dropped four inches. The smile vanished, replaced by the tired, focused expression of a man on a mission.
He didn't head for a grocery store. Instead, he ducked into a narrow side street, weaving through the evening commuters until he reached a shop with a faded blue awning. The sign was simple Mercari.
As he pushed the door open, the electronic chime was drowned out by the sudden, blissful quiet. smelled like aged paper, vanilla-scented glue, and the faint, metallic tang of a cooling radiator.
'Finally,' Kai thought, his heart making a small, frantic hop in his chest.
He moved past the mainstream manga section and the flashy bestsellers. He headed straight for the back, where the shelves were packed tight with light novels and serialised web-fiction physical prints. His eyes scanned the spines with the precision of a hawk.
'Please tell me Volume 4 is in. I can't leave Shizun hanging on that cliffhanger for another night. If I have to spend one more hour talking about football or midterms while Chu Wanning is literally suffering... I might actually lose my mind.'
The store was a sprawling, chaotic collection of shelves, but Kai navigated it with practiced intent. The mainstream fantasy and adventure titles faded into the background as he moved deeper into the back left corner.
He arrived at the specialised 'Boys Love' shelves. His fingers traced the glossy spines of the delicate, watercolour-infused covers, the physical embodiments of the serialised web novels he devoured.
'Finally,' his mind exhaled. 'Volume 4...'
He reached for a specific spine, the intricately designed foil lettering of The Husky and His White Cat Shizun. But his hand brushed against another, identical book.
He looked up, and his heart momentarily stopped.
Standing on the opposite side of the small display, her face pale behind thick-rimmed glasses, was Hina.
She froze. Her own hand was hovering over the same volume.
A thick, suffocating silence settled between them. The air grew suddenly cold.
"You..." Hina whispered, her voice barely a breath. "You... you read these?"
The realisation hit Kai like a physical blow.
"No," Kai blurted out, a harsh, defensive laugh escaping him. "No, I'm... my sister. She... she likes these. I'm just picking it up for her. A surprise."
Hina stared at him. She looked at the book in his hand, then back to his face. Slowly, the surprise faded, replaced by a quiet, calculating recognition. She raised an eyebrow. "Really?"
Kai's shoulders slumped. The denial was a pathetic shield.
"Okay, fine," he muttered, admitting the truth. "It's mine. I read them its not like I'm into that kind of stuff, the story is just interesting"
Hina stared, "You...sneaked away from your friends, didn't you?"
The awkwardness hung heavily, but there was a crack in the ice.
"Listen," Kai continued, taking a step closer. "You cannot. Tell. Anyone. Not Rex. Not Shizune. Not Yuki. No one. Promise me, Hina. If this gets out..."
"Promise," Hina cut him off, nodding vigorously. A flicker of something that looked like…relief?...passed over her face. "But... on one condition."
Kai tensed.
"You promise not to tell anyone I was here, either," she said, clutching the book to her chest.
"Deal," Kai said, a ghost of a smile appearing.
A sudden, quiet giggle bubbled up from Hina, a sound that was surprisingly bright in the dim aisle. "You like the Husky?"
"I'm dying for Chapter 311," he admitted, the shared secret easing the tension.
"The part where the Master realises..." she started, and he nodded eagerly.
…..
"Well," Kai said, his voice softer now. "Keep this between us, Hina."
"Always," she said.
For a second, their eyes met and lingered on two souls who found their breath in the same pages.
"Bye…" Kai took the book towards the till.
Hina turned and disappeared into the stacks, the book held tightly to her chest.