The rooftop should have been peaceful. Sunlight. Warm breeze. The distant hum of the city.
Instead, four students sat in a configuration of barely controlled chaos.
Riko and Hikari had finally managed to calm their racing hearts. The initial shock of being on Kaito's private sanctuary had faded into something almost manageable. They could breathe again. They could think.
And now, they could listen.
Kaito and Yuki were talking like old friends—which they were. Their conversation flowed easily, naturally, filled with the shorthand of people who had shared years of history. Riko found herself fascinated by this version of Kaito: warmer, more relaxed, almost human.
Then Yuki's voice rose with mischievous excitement.
"Oh! Oh! I have to tell them!" She turned to Riko and Hikari, her eyes sparkling with impending chaos. "You know what's the funniest thing about Kaito-san?"
Kaito's chopsticks paused mid-air. "Yuki. Don't."
She ignored him completely. "This handsome, smart, genius, perfect guy—" she gestured at Kaito dramatically "—has never dated anyone in his entire life! Not once! He's a total virgin when it comes to romance!"
She burst into laughter, loud and unrestrained, the sound echoing across the rooftop.
Riko's face went scarlet. Hikari choked on her rice.
Kaito's expression flattened. "Yuki."
"And get this!" Yuki continued, tears forming at the corners of her eyes. "He's so clueless that in middle school, a girl gave him a love letter and he thought it was a book report! He wrote back with corrections!"
Riko pressed her hand to her mouth. Hikari's shoulders were shaking.
Kaito set down his chopsticks with deliberate calm. His voice, when it came, was ice wrapped in steel. "Since we're sharing personal information, Yuki."
Yuki's laughter cut off abruptly. "Uh oh."
"You once tripped on stage during the school play and rolled into the orchestra pit." Kaito's voice was perfectly flat. "The video went viral in our school for three years."
Yuki's face went red. "That was ONE time—"
"You also confessed to a boy in fifth grade by throwing a love letter at his head and running away." Kaito tilted his head. "He didn't even know it was a confession. He thought you were angry at him and avoided you for six months."
Riko's jaw dropped. Then a laugh escaped her.
Hikari snorted.
Yuki sputtered. "I—that's—how do you even remember that?!"
"I have an excellent memory." Kaito's tone remained neutral. "Would you like me to continue? Because I also remember the incident with the swimming pool and the lost swimsuit—"
"OKAY OKAY YOU WIN!" Yuki waved her hands frantically, her face now the color of a tomato.
But Kaito wasn't finished. He turned to Riko, his eyes glinting. "Riko-san. You mentioned my eight-year friend-making timeline. Let's discuss your sports festival incident."
Riko's composure shattered. "That was an accident!"
"A student was in the infirmary for three hours." Kaito's voice was calm. "The teachers now call that event 'The Aoyama Incident' and use it as a safety example."
"She ran into my fist!"
"From across the field?"
Yuki was howling again, tears streaming down her face. Riko looked ready to combust.
Kaito turned to Hikari. "And you—"
"I didn't do anything!" Hikari raised her hands defensively.
"You slept through an entire fire drill last year. They had to carry you out."
Hikari's mouth opened. Closed. Opened again. No words came.
The rooftop erupted.
Yuki was on the ground, literally crying with laughter. Riko was laughing despite herself, her polished composure completely destroyed. Hikari was laughing too, a rare, genuine sound that seemed to surprise even herself.
And Kaito—Kaito Sato, the Ice Prince, the cold fortress—was smiling. Actually smiling. A small, genuine curve of his lips that transformed his entire face.
The chaos continued. More stories emerged. More embarrassing moments unearthed. The rooftop that had always been a sanctuary of silence became a stage for something none of them had expected: laughter, friendship, and the quiet beginning of something more.
(End of Chapter 60)