It started raining during homeroom.
Not a soft drizzle—the kind that paints the world in gray—but a steady, deliberate downpour that soaked the windows and blurred the scenery beyond. The classroom lights reflected on the wet glass, making it feel like the world had turned into a watercolor painting.
Leo sat at his desk, chin propped on one hand, watching raindrops race each other down the windowpane.
His mind was a mess.
Ever since the rooftop conversation with Yuki, things between them had felt fragile. Like one wrong word could send everything spiraling.
He wasn't even sure what "everything" meant anymore.
Kai plopped into the seat beside him.
"You look like a tragic anime protagonist," he said cheerfully.
Leo didn't answer.
"…Okay, more than usual," Kai amended. "Is this about Yuki? Or Rin? Or Aira? Or that wild card Hana?"
Leo sighed. "It's not just about them. It's about me. I keep reacting instead of deciding. I feel like I'm just… floating through all of this."
Kai leaned back, thoughtful. "That's the most self-aware thing I've heard you say in weeks."
"I want to understand them. All of them. But the more I do, the more I realize… I don't know what I want."
Kai nodded. "Then maybe it's time you stop thinking like you're in a romance plot, and start thinking like someone who actually matters to these girls."
Leo turned to look at him.
"You're not a side character in their stories," Kai said. "You're you. You get to make choices too."
Leo opened his mouth to reply—but the bell rang.
---
Later that afternoon, the rain still hadn't stopped.
Students flooded the covered walkway between buildings, umbrellas clashing like awkward choreography.
Leo had forgotten his.
He ducked under a ledge, hoping to wait out the worst of it, when a voice called out.
"Leo?"
He turned—and froze.
Rin stood there, umbrella in hand, her expression as unreadable as ever.
She stepped closer, offering shelter under the canopy.
"You'll catch a cold."
Leo hesitated, then stepped beneath it. They were close. Too close. He could feel the tension between them like static.
They walked in silence for a while.
Then, just before reaching the club building—
"I saw you with Yuki the other day," Rin said softly.
Leo's heart skipped.
"…Are you upset?" he asked.
She didn't answer immediately.
"I used to think feelings were simple," she said instead. "You like someone. You tell them. But it's not like that, is it?"
"No," Leo admitted.
Rin stopped walking. The rain pattered around them like whispers.
"I used to think I could win, if I just stayed close to you. If I understood you better than anyone else. But maybe… maybe I was wrong."
Leo turned to her, surprised.
Rin's gaze was distant. "I'm not giving up. But I won't rush. If I lose, I want it to be fair. Real."
Leo didn't know what to say. So he said the only thing he could.
"…Thank you."
Rin blinked. Then she nodded.
And just like that, they continued walking.
---
After club meetings, the rain had finally lessened.
Leo walked out alone, but his heart felt lighter.
The path ahead was still unclear—but for the first time, he didn't feel like he was being pulled along.
He was walking it.
By choice.
One step at a time.