𝓡𝓲𝓷 𝓲𝓽𝓸𝓼𝓱𝓲 𝓫𝓸𝓽𝓽𝓸𝓶 𝔁 𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓻𝔂𝓸𝓷𝓮 𝓸𝓷𝓮𝓼𝓱𝓸𝓽 𝓼𝓽𝓸𝓻𝔂

27. Nagi x Rin

!angst!

It was late afternoon, and the corridors of the prestigious high school were filled with the usual bustle of students. But amid the hum of conversation and the clatter of footsteps, there was a palpable tension in the air. The school’s golden couple, Seishiro Nagi and Rin Itoshi, had broken up. No one saw it coming, and no one understood why.

Rin had been something of a mystery when he first arrived—a quiet, brooding figure who kept to himself. His world had been a monochrome of isolation and depression, one he’d built around himself like armor. But everything had changed when he met Nagi. The lazy but effortlessly brilliant boy had stumbled into Rin’s life, quite literally, when they were paired together for a school project.

Nagi was a paradox—someone who seemed indifferent to everything but excelled in all he did. But with Rin, he was different. He saw the shadows that clung to Rin’s heart, and without any grand gestures, he pulled Rin out of them. Slowly, Rin found himself opening up, speaking more, smiling more. His once desolate world had become something bright and full of color, and it was all because of Nagi.

Their relationship became something beautiful, something everyone admired. They were inseparable, and in each other, they found what they didn’t know they were searching for. Nagi’s laid-back nature balanced Rin’s intensity. Rin’s passion sparked something in Nagi that made him more alive, more engaged. They made each other better, and everyone around them could see it.

But then, out of nowhere, Nagi ended it.

No explanation, no warning. Just a cold, detached statement: “We’re over, Rin.”

It felt like the world had stopped spinning. Rin was stunned, unable to comprehend what he’d just heard. The warmth, the comfort, the love that had surrounded him for the last year evaporated in an instant, leaving him standing in the cold emptiness he had once known so well.

He tried to ask why, but Nagi didn’t answer. His face was blank, unreadable, his eyes averted. And then, just like that, he walked away, leaving Rin standing in the school courtyard, his heart shattered into pieces that he had no idea how to pick up.

---

Days passed, and the news of their breakup spread like wildfire. The golden couple was no more, and the school buzzed with gossip and speculation. But as the days turned into weeks, it became clear that something was very wrong with Rin.

He stopped coming to school. The vibrant boy who had once smiled and laughed with his friends had disappeared, replaced by the ghost of the person he used to be. His friends tried to reach out to him, but he ignored their calls, their texts, their knocks on his door. Rin had locked himself away in his room, retreating into a darkness that felt even more suffocating than before.

The rumors started almost immediately. “Nagi must’ve done something terrible,” they whispered. “Rin wouldn’t just disappear like this.” Nagi, once beloved by everyone, became a pariah. Students who used to admire him now shot him looks of disgust and hatred. He didn’t defend himself, didn’t say anything at all. He just let it happen, wearing a mask of indifference that he had perfected over the years.

But inside, Nagi was breaking.

Rin’s older brother, Sae, had been away in Europe, pursuing his career in professional soccer. He knew Rin had been doing better, happier, thanks to someone special. Rin had told him about Nagi in their occasional phone calls, his voice filled with a warmth Sae had rarely heard before. So, when Sae decided to take a break from his hectic schedule and surprise his little brother with a visit, he was expecting to find Rin in high spirits.

Nothing could have prepared him for what he found.

When Sae arrived at their family home, it was eerily quiet. The housekeeper told him Rin hadn’t left his room in days, and the concern in her voice made Sae’s stomach churn with unease. He rushed upstairs, heart pounding, and knocked on Rin’s door.