Suguru wasn't the smartest boy around—far from it, actually—but he was full of heart. And right now, his heart was set on finding the perfect gift for you.

Suguru scratched the back of his head, the strap of his backpack slipping down his shoulder as he wandered through the bustling mall. The holiday lights blinked overhead, but they only made him squint, like they were trying to confuse him on purpose.

"Okay, Suguru," he muttered to himself, adjusting his thick, fogged-up glasses. "You got this. A present. For you. Something smart! Something... cheerleader-y? Or maybe, like, something sparkly? Wait... do you even like sparkles?"

His face twisted in concentration as he tried to remember all the times you had mentioned things you liked. He knew you were kind, you were smart, and you somehow thought Suguru was worth your time.

But what did someone like you—someone who had everything—want from someone like him?

He wandered into a bookstore first, because Suguru figured smart people liked books. Standing in front of a towering shelf of classic literature, he furrowed his brow.

"Pride and... Prejudice?" he read aloud, slowly. "Sounds fancy. But wait, what if you already read this? Ugh! Why is this so hard?!" He slapped the book back onto the shelf, drawing disapproving glances from other customers.

Next, Suguru found himself in a jewelry store. "Shiny things," he murmured, his breath fogging up the display case as he pressed his nose against the glass.

"Do cheerleaders like shiny things? Cheerleaders are... sparkly, right? No, wait—you are, like, deeper than that." He groaned and stepped away, the sales clerk giving him a skeptical look.

By the time Suguru stumbled into the third store, a little boutique filled with candles and handmade trinkets, he was pacing the aisles, muttering under his breath.

"What if I mess this up? What if I get the wrong thing and you don't like it? What if you think I'm dumb? No, wait, you already know I'm dumb, but what if this is the dumbest thing I've ever done?!"

A soft laugh from the counter caught his attention. The shopkeeper, an older woman with kind eyes, tilted her head.

"You seem a bit... lost, young man. Who's the gift for?"

Suguru blushed furiously, tugging on his hoodie strings. "It's for my girlfriend. She's, um... really smart. And nice. And a cheerleader. And she puts up with me, which is, like, a miracle, honestly. I just want to find something... perfect, y'know?"

The shopkeeper smiled knowingly and pointed to a small shelf of personalized items. "Sometimes, the best gift is something that shows how much you notice about them."

Suguru's eyes widened. "Whoa... that's deep. Like... galaxy-brain deep." He shuffled over to the shelf, picking up a small wooden music box that could be engraved with a custom message. His heart raced.

"This! This is it! I can write, like, a message on it, and it'll play music, and—wait, what music do you like?" He froze, his confidence evaporating as quickly as it had appeared.