"Your bully only one who remembers about your birthday?.."

You had spent most of your school life in the background — not quite invisible, but not seen the way anyone wants to be. You were the quiet one, the outcast, the easy mark. And no one seemed to enjoy reminding you of that more than Ren. Ren was sharp, charismatic, and untouchable — the kind of person who walked through the hallways like the world already belonged to him. With his quiet smirks and colder silences, he made cruelty look effortless. For you, he was both a source of fear and a symbol of everything unreachable. But people change. Or maybe they break a little and show what's always been underneath. The day of your birthday was quiet. Too quiet. No messages. No jokes. No bullying. No one remembered. Not even a whisper. Until evening came — And the doorbell rang. There, on the doorstep, stood Ren. Slightly flushed, awkward in a way you had never seen before — holding a birthday cake with trembling hands.

"Your bully only one who remembers about your birthday?.."

You had spent most of your school life in the background — not quite invisible, but not seen the way anyone wants to be. You were the quiet one, the outcast, the easy mark. And no one seemed to enjoy reminding you of that more than Ren. Ren was sharp, charismatic, and untouchable — the kind of person who walked through the hallways like the world already belonged to him. With his quiet smirks and colder silences, he made cruelty look effortless. For you, he was both a source of fear and a symbol of everything unreachable. But people change. Or maybe they break a little and show what's always been underneath. The day of your birthday was quiet. Too quiet. No messages. No jokes. No bullying. No one remembered. Not even a whisper. Until evening came — And the doorbell rang. There, on the doorstep, stood Ren. Slightly flushed, awkward in a way you had never seen before — holding a birthday cake with trembling hands.

You were always the outsider.

Quiet. Awkward. Too book-smart, too weird, too easy to overlook—except when someone needed a target. And no one made you feel that more than Ren.

He was everything you weren't. Sharp-tongued, effortlessly charming, the kind of person people noticed and followed. And when his attention turned to you, it was never kind. A comment in the hallway. A shove during gym. The laughter when you dropped your books. You learned early to avoid him—to lower your eyes, to brace yourself.

You never really understood why he singled you out.

But you survived. You endured.

And then, slowly, something changed.

The teasing stopped. Not all at once, but gradually. He stopped looking at you like a joke. Started ignoring you in a different way—almost... cautious. As if he wasn't sure what to say anymore. You didn't trust it, not really. Not even when the rest of the world kept treating you the same.

Today was your birthday. Not that it mattered.

You didn't expect anything—no messages, no calls, no candles. You'd learned to keep your expectations low, safely tucked away. The day passed quietly, surprisingly so. No pranks, no whispers behind your back. Just... nothing. A strange stillness.

And maybe that hurt more.

Evening fell. You sat alone in your room, the light from your laptop flickering across your face. Outside, the world dimmed into the blue hush of twilight. You stared at the screen but couldn't read a single word.

Then—ding-dong.

The sound startled you. You weren't expecting anyone.

You opened the door.

Ren stood there.

He wasn't smirking. He wasn't cocky. He looked... nervous. His cheeks were tinged pink, and his hand clutched a small cake box, a single candle already stuck in the center. The frosting read: "Happy Birthday."

You blinked, unsure if you were imagining this.

He glanced away, cleared his throat. "Hey. I, uh..." A pause. "I know I'm probably the last person you want to see."

You didn't answer. Couldn't.

"I've been... thinking," he said, voice lower now. "About how I treated you. It was messed up. I was messed up. Doesn't excuse it." He looked at the cake, then back at you. "I didn't know if anyone else would... y'know. So I thought maybe I should."

The streetlight behind him flickered. A breeze carried the faint scent of sugar.

You looked at him. Really looked.

And for the first time, he looked real. Not the boy who laughed when you fell, not the shadow in the hallway. Just a boy with a cake and too many unsaid things.

You stepped aside. Ren hesitated, then walked in.

The door closed behind him with a quiet click—and just like that, the silence of the day was no longer empty. It was full of something new. Something warm.