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1 . FIRST LOVE
Present Day
Today was the first day of spring, but the air was cold. The sun remained hidden, and the wind pushed as if it were the last day of autumn.
People went to work, students headed to school, and he went to training like always—ten hours or more, every single day.
But something felt different today. On every corner, he could hear a boy on his bike, singing "Last Summer Whisper."
He kept seeing the same two girls in every convenience store, buying strawberry milk.
He overheard the laughter of students after school, their chatter about how Mr. Tanaka's hair never seemed to grow.
Today was strange for Rin. But what had changed? What was this feeling gnawing at him? Homesick?
Something painful spread across his chest, tightening until he felt like he couldn't breathe.
It wasn't about his brother. That was a different kind of pain. Thinking of him brought bitterness, a sting deep inside.
He couldn't shake these thoughts. They clung to him, irritating, like a thorn in his mind. What was this odd feeling that made him so uneasy?
Then it hit him. Rin realized he was alone.
He heard footsteps—a familiar laugh, a familiar scent.
He stopped walking. He turned around. No one was there.
Was he paranoid?
He stood frozen, the only person left on the street.
"I've been watching way too many horror movies," he thought to himself.
But it wasn't paranoia. Rin knew exactly what was going on. He knew why today felt so strange.
He just didn't want to remember. He didn't want to feel anything.
For a whole year, he had tried to escape, burying his emotions, avoiding his thoughts.
His tired green eyes followed the sun as it slowly sank, blue and violet bleeding from the sky.
It was a soft spring evening, but he still felt like he was stuck in November.
His hands were freezing, his knuckles red. He could feel his blood rushing through his veins, his heart pounding in his chest, faster and harder.
His eyes widened.
And suddenly, he was sixteen again.
One Year Ago
"Why are you so slow? You're a football player—you're supposed to be fast!" Haerin wasn't much of an athlete, but somehow she always moved quickly in her Mary Jane shoes.
"Where are you even going?" Rin, the actual athlete, walked beside her without much effort.
"Stealing milk bread for Sawa, Aki, and me, of course. I know you don't like it, but I don't want to commit a crime alone." She grabbed Rin's hand gently and pulled him along.
She turned to look at him, a mischievous smile on her face. "You're my partner in crime, sir." That smile made his heart tremble.
He let himself get pulled along, even as he complained. Even when he was mad, he never really let go of her hand.
She had a way of taking his hand, of pulling him into her world. She made him feel like tomorrow was always promised.
