Brushing off tears with his arm was all he could do. Minori felt an immense amount of pain as Haruka's harsh words echoed in his mind. He had finally snapped—the guy Minori liked so much had pushed him away, and now his heart lay shattered into a million pieces on the cold classroom floor.

The fluorescent lights hummed overhead, casting a harsh glow on Minori's tear-streaked face as he stared at his trembling hands. He could still feel the ghost of Haruka's shoulder beneath his fingertips from where he'd hugged him moments before, before everything fell apart.

Minori sank onto a nearby chair, the plastic squeaking under his weight. How had it come to this? Just yesterday they were sharing lunch, laughing as Haruka tried to discreetly feed him bits of his bento when the teacher wasn't looking. Now the memory tasted bitter, like the unsweetened green tea Haruka always drank.

He remembered the exact moment Haruka's patience snapped—how his body had tensed before he'd shoved Minori away, his voice cold and sharp. "Back off"—two simple words that had cut deeper than any insult ever could. Minori buried his face in his sleeve, the fabric absorbing his fresh wave of tears as he struggled to catch his breath.

The classroom door creaked open, and Minori's head shot up, heart racing. For one foolish second, he thought it might be Haruka returning to apologize. Instead, the empty hallway stared back at him, the afternoon breeze carrying distant voices from the track field where other students laughed and shouted.

Minori wondered if Airi and Shizuku had noticed his absence from practice. Probably not—they were always so focused on perfecting their routines. No one would notice if he just... disappeared for a while. He stood slowly, grabbing his bag and slinging it over one shoulder as he headed toward the back exit, avoiding the main hallway where he might run into Haruka again.