Standing bathed in the morning light.
"Oh! What a coincidence!"
Yuna seemed almost too bright to look at directly. The glare made me narrow my eyes, but even after they adjusted, she still seemed to stand out among everyone else around her.
"Elian! Rael!"
Her short ginger hair, threaded with soft caramel-blonde, bounced slightly as she called out to us. A ribbon tied at the back swayed with her movement, while her golden eyes rested on us with an unmistakable warmth.
Maybe it was the way she carried herself. There was nothing particularly dramatic about her appearance or the way she moved, yet she possessed a presence that naturally drew attention.
She started walking toward us.
I suddenly found the route map above the train doors very interesting.
Beside me, Elian lurched forward again, hurriedly bringing the plastic bag back to his mouth. He retched, but once again, nothing came out.
"Hey, stop ignoring me!"
I glanced back, caught somewhere between embarrassment and pretending I hadn't been doing exactly that.
Yuna was already standing in front of us, looking between the two of us with an amused frown. Elian slowly lifted his head, his face still pale, though the sudden appearance of Yuna made him even more tense.
"Oh... hi, Yuna."
His voice came out quieter than usual.
Yuna tilted her head before taking the empty seat right beside him. She leaned slightly toward him, her expression shifting from amusement to genuine concern.
"Are you okay?"
"No, no, I'm fine..." Elian quickly replied, though the way he avoided her eyes made the answer less convincing than he probably intended.
Yuna studied him for a moment, her eyes moving over his pale face as if she were trying to decide whether to believe him.
"Really?"
"Yeah."
Her eyes narrowed slightly. She tilted her head, then moved closer and pressed the back of her hand against his forehead.
Elian froze.
His shoulders stiffened, and his face seemed to grow even warmer despite how pale he'd been moments ago.
Wow. This was almost painfully cliché.
And somehow, I was the one feeling envious.
Apparently satisfied, Yuna pulled her hand away. "You're not sick. I'm glad," her smile returned almost immediately, bright as before.
Elian barely had time to respond before he suddenly turned away and retched into the plastic bag again.
Yuna blinked, her puzzled expression displaying more than her innocent smile she'd worn moments earlier.
"But why are you throwing up?"
She didn't ask about the plastic bag. She already knew what it was for. The problem was that Elian didn't have anything left to throw up.
"Well..."
He hesitated, his fingers clamping around the plastic bag as he searched for an answer.
Of course. Many people probably wouldn't want their crush finding out about a weakness like this. It would be embarrassing—
"It's motion sickness."
Oh.
That was straightforward.
I guess I was wrong again.
"Is that so?" Yuna asked, leaning slightly closer as she looked him over. Then, almost immediately, her voice brightened again.
"Okay, then!"
She reached into her bag and began searching through it.
Elian and I watched her for a moment.
Then another.
The sound of zippers opening and closing continued beside us as she dug through notebooks, pouches, and whatever else she'd managed to fit inside. Every now and then, she'd pull something out, inspect it, and quietly put it back.
Five minutes passed.
I eventually gave up watching and let my head rest against the seat. Elian wasn't doing much better. His eyes had already begun to droop, his exhaustion finally catching up with him.
The train continued along its route, filled with the low hum of conversation and the occasional rattle of the carriage.
Then—
"I found it!"
Yuna triumphantly pulled out something from the depths of her bag, raising it high as though she'd just found something priceless. Whatever it was, it was tiny enough to disappear between her fingers, making her five-minute search all the more ridiculous. Her sudden excitement flew across the carriage before she seemed to realize how loud she'd been.
Several passengers immediately turned their heads toward us. A few raised fingers to their lips, while someone near the doors gave Yuna a pointed look.
Yuna's excitement vanished the moment she realized how loud she'd been. Her shoulders drew in, and she quickly glanced around the carriage, suddenly aware of all the eyes on her.
"...Sorry."
I wanted to disappear. Please get me out of here. I was dying of second—no, third-hand embarrassment.
Beside me, Elian had gone completely pale. Judging by the look on his face, he wasn't surviving this any better than I was.
And it took her five minutes just finding one item?
"Here! Try this!"
Yuna held the tiny bottle out toward Elian. He hesitated before taking it from her, turning it between his fingers as he examined it. It was a small chamomile inhaler, barely the size of a fingernail. So that was what she'd spent five minutes digging through her bag for.
"What's this?"
"It's a chamomile inhaler. I use it whenever I start feeling nauseous." Her eyes lit up with a little confidence. "It works ninety-nine percent of the time!"
Just make it one hundred at that point.
Elian looked down at the little bottle, then back at her, turning it over once more in his fingers as though he still wasn't quite sure what to make of it.
"You carry this around with you?"
Yuna nodded, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Just in case. You never know when you'll need it."
Elian opened the tiny bottle and brought it toward his nose. Before using it, though, he caught Yuna watching him. She was still beaming, almost expectantly, as if she genuinely believed the little thing might help.
He hesitated.
Then Elian gave up, bringing the plastic bag back to his face as though he were about to retch again. Nothing happened. He lowered it a moment later and simply stared into the empty bag.
"It didn't work?" Yuna asked, her voice softening as she glanced between the inhaler and the plastic bag, a little bewilderment settling into her face.
He didn't. He just folded.
Before either of them could say anything else, the train's speaker announced our arrival at Shinjuku Station.
Elian immediately began gathering his things. He adjusted the strap of his duffel bag and kept his attention fixed ahead, looking like he was already preparing his escape from the situation.
The train slowed to a stop.
The doors unlocked with a soft chime.
Elian shifted forward.
And just before the doors opened—
Yuna reached over and took his hand.
For a moment, everything seemed to lose its speed.
The noise of the carriage faded into the background. Even the movement of the passengers around us felt distant, as though the train had somehow forgotten to move.
You're lucky, Elian.
I envy you. Not everyone gets to have someone who reaches for them like that.
It was rare for me to feel what someone else was feeling so clearly. For a moment, even time seemed to slow down with them.
It felt like I was watching a play unfold right in front of me, except there was no stage and no script to tell me how it would end.
"We're going first, Rael!"
Elian looked back at me over his shoulder, his face completely red as Yuna pulled him toward the opening doors. There was something almost pleading in his expression, like he was silently asking me to save him from whatever was happening.
I followed them off the train and through the gates, only to find the two of them already running ahead. Yuna moved with an easy, almost carefree pace, while Elian struggled to keep up, his duffel bag bouncing against his side with every hurried step.
I watched them disappear into the crowd at the station, and I couldn't help but find the whole thing a little amusing.
I hope you win her.
***
8:27 A.M.
I headed toward our homeroom classroom. I already knew the room by now, but our homeroom teacher hadn't been present during our first week. Today would be the first time I'd actually meet him.
By the time I reached the classroom, it was still fairly empty. Only about seven students had arrived so far, leaving most of the desks untouched.
"It took you ten whole minutes to catch up. You're really slow, Rael!"
I turned toward the voice.
Yuna was standing in the hallway with that smug little grin on her face, as though she'd been waiting for the perfect moment to call me out.
I narrowed my eyes at her, mildly bothered by her smugness. "I'm not exactly going to run when I'm still thirty minutes early."
She only grinned wider.
I noticed a small daisy tucked just above her left ear.
"Where did that flower come from?"
Yuna reached up and touched it, her fingers brushing lightly against the petals as though she'd only just remembered she was wearing it.
"Oh, this?"
Heh. I bet Elian gave you that—
"Serena gave me this."
What?
Before I could process that, two maple leaves drifted down from somewhere above and caught in Yuna's hair, one on either side of her head. With the way they sat, they almost looked like a pair of little fox ears.
I stared, mildly bewildered by the sight.
Somehow, she looked even more pleased with herself.
"You know, Rael, you really should've seen your face just now." A playful glint flickered in her eyes, clearly enjoying the reaction she'd gotten out of me.
"I didn't even do anything," I said, though the sight of those leaves in her hair made that defense feel increasingly difficult to maintain.
Yuna burst out laughing, finally breaking the silence. Another laugh joined hers from behind.
I turned toward the sound and found Serena standing directly behind Yuna, a few maple leaves still gathered in her hands as she tried to hide her laughter behind them.
I sighed.
"I'm going to report the two of you for coordinated harassment."
Serena lowered the leaves just enough to look at me, still struggling not to laugh. Yuna only chuckled harder.
"What were you two even doing?" I asked, curiosity getting the better of me. They weren't just wandering around the courtyard, were they?
"Oh—we were just wandering around."
And there goes my wrong assumption.
Yuna's posture stiffened slightly as she answered. Serena noticed and glanced at her, looking far more eager than puzzled.
"You should tell him."
Before Yuna could object, Serena grabbed her by the shoulders and gave her a playful shake. Yuna groaned, trying to pull herself free as her hesitation grew more obvious.
"Okay, fine, fine!"
She finally gave in, lowering her voice.
"I'm actually..." She glanced away, her fingers fidgeting with the hem of her sleeve as a faint flush crept across her cheeks. "...practicing my speech in the garden."
I wondered what kind of speech she had been practicing. It sounded too deliberate to be for an ordinary presentation.
"It's just... something I'll have to say later."
If I remembered correctly, our homeroom teacher had mentioned through the class group chat last week that we'd be electing our class representatives soon. So she was probably practicing for the election.
"And it has something to do with our class—Hey! Are you even listening?"
Honestly, it wasn't hard to imagine Yuna going for it. She had a way of drawing people's attention without seeming to ask for it.
Suddenly, two maple leaves appeared in my vision, waving up and down.
I blinked, finally getting back to my senses.
Shit.
I dozed off again.
I could feel my face turning red as I realized I'd been completely lost in my own thoughts while they were talking.
"Oh! He's back!" Serena said, a small laugh slipping into her voice as she seemed to enjoy watching me come back to reality.
"Do I have to repeat what I said again?" Yuna asked, her tone edged with mild impatience.
"I'm... sorry..." I muttered, rubbing the back of my neck.
Yuna sighed and repeated herself, this time without a trace of her earlier embarrassment.
"Listen, my—"
"Your speech for the class election, right?"
"I thought you weren't listening."
"I wasn't..."
"Huh?"
I stepped into the classroom, satisfied with the explanation I'd already pieced together. A small, satisfied grin tugged at my face.
Consider that payback for her little tease earlier.
"Hey! I'm not done yet!" Yuna protested from behind me, her voice carrying a touch more indignation than I'd expected.
I glanced back at her, catching the frustrated look on her face.
"I'll look forward to it," I said with a smile, unable to hide the small satisfaction in my voice.
Yuna was left speechless, her cheeks puffing slightly as she sulked. Even in her frustration, there was something almost sunny about her, as though being angry only made her brightness more noticeable.
"Good luck with the class election later," I added, giving her an encouraging nod.
After all, you're the person Elian has been admiring for.
Yuna stared at me for a moment, her expression slowly shifting from confusion to disbelief.
"Serena, is this what people call ragebait?"
Serena continued giggling behind her.
***
Half an hour later, the classroom was finally filled, bustling with murmurs and conversations.
And somehow—
"I believe a class representative should be someone who listens to their classmates, takes responsibility, and—most importantly—makes sure everyone's voice is heard."
I was sitting in front of Yuna, and I found myself listening to her practice her speech.
She continued speaking with surprising confidence, gesturing as though she were addressing an entire auditorium rather than just me and Serena.
Half an hour ago, I had barely exchanged more than a few words with Yuna.
Now I was sitting here, listening to her rehearse as though this were something we'd been doing all morning.
"If you choose me as your class representative, I'll do my best to make sure everyone's voice is heard. I'll listen to your concerns, help keep our class organized, and—"
Somehow, she'd already become my friend.
And honestly, she was supposed to be practicing a speech.
But this felt more like attending a campaign rally.
Why did it turn out like this?