The next morning.
Haruto and Yuji walked to school beneath a dull, colorless sky. Haruto's lips moved as he spoke, but his words never reached Yuuri.
Suddenly, Haruto stopped walking.
"Yuji… what's wrong?"
Yuji halted as well, lowering his gaze. "Nothing," he muttered. "My head just… hurts."
Haruto looked away with a quiet sigh. "Ah… again," he murmured. "You're thinking about her." Haruto's voice softened.
"No matter how much I speak, your heart listens only to her. Even the sunrise can't reach you when your thoughts are still with her."
"No… I'm not thinking about her," Yuji said quietly. "I had a dream. A girl with a blurred face appeared beside me. She called herself my friend…
then vanished, leaving me with questions that hurt more than answers."
Haruto smiled faintly.
"That's the difference between dreams and reality.
Let it go… and live in the present."
They reached the classroom, and as usual, Yuji, Sakura, and Haruto took their seats together and opened their books. The room filled with the quiet scratching of pens.
One minute passed.
Haruto's eyes glazed over. He leaned back in his chair, took a deep breath, and opened his mouth to sing
"Ba--"
A thick textbook slammed shut right in front of his face.
Sakura lowered the book slowly, glaring at him.
"Not. A. Sound."
Haruto mumbled something from behind the pages, eyes watering, while Yuji quietly turned the page of his book as if nothing had happened.
Yuji heard a sharp shouting sound outside his classroom.
"La la… la laa la."
Yuji smiled. "It's Sachi Fujimoto."
Suddenly, a boy rushed into the classroom, went straight to Yuji's desk, and slammed his hand down on it.
"How many questions did you study?"
His orange hair fell over his pale face, hiding his blue eyes completely.
Yuji, Haruto, and Sakura all stared at him.
"I studied more than three questions," Yuji said proudly.
Sachi stared at Yuji for exactly one second, then turned toward Haruto. "Five questions."
Sachi then rotated toward Sakura. Sakura opened her mouth to speak.
"She studied."
The classroom temperature dropped.
Sakura's smile twitched.
Her eye trembled.
A dark aura appeared behind her like a final-boss awakening. "…Oh?"
Sakura slammed Haruto's head into the desk so hard the desks around them shook. "What did I do?!" Haruto screamed, his soul leaving his body for a brief moment.
Yuji instantly snapped open his textbook and began studying at godlike speed, flipping pages like his life was on the line.
Yukino looked at them. Her eyes lingered on the scattered desks, on Haruto rubbing his forehead, on Sakura's clenched fists, on Yuji pretending to read the same line again and again. She felt it settle in her chest, heavy and familiar, like a weight she had learned to carry without showing.
After the test was over, everyone began discussing how they did.
Ishida walked up to Yuji and Haruto.
"So?" he asked. "How did it go?"
"Fail…" Yuji replied, his face gloomy.
"I failed too," Haruto said.
Yuji's expression instantly brightened, and he smiled.
Ishida stared at them.
"If you guys had let me study, I would've gotten a hundred."
Yuji and Haruto laughed awkwardly, scratching their heads.
Yuji, Haruto, and Sakura headed home together.
By the time they reached their houses, the sky had already begun to darken.
Yuji finished his meal and went to his room. He lay down on his bed, exhaustion settling into his bones.
He took out his phone and sent a message to Yukino.
Yuji: How was the exam?
At Yukino's house, she lay on her bed, eyes fixed on the ceiling.
The room was quiet—too quiet—like time itself had stopped.
Her chest felt heavy, as if something important had slipped away, leaving only emptiness behind.
Then—
Buzz.
A notification broke the silence.
She slowly reached for her phone, the light from the screen reflected in her eyes. Her pupils widened slightly.
The emptiness in her chest wavered, replaced by a quiet warmth.
Her fingers moved slowly across the screen.
Yukino: I did better. How about you?
She sent the message, her breath shallow as the screen dimmed.
She reached for the pillow beside her and pulled it close, holding it against her chest as if it were the only thing anchoring her racing heart.
Slowly, she pressed her face into it, trying to hide the soft heat blooming across her cheeks.
A gentle smile curved her lips—small, sincere, and filled with longing.
Her eyes shone, pupils widened not with surprise, but with love she hadn't yet learned how to name.
After so long, a smile finally touched her lips—
soft and radiant, as if the world itself had paused to admire her.