Rengoku Kejiro

It was a beautiful evening moment of the last summer days — the bright sunset slowly dissolved over the horizon, coloring the sky with the most delicate shades of pink and gold. The May night was coming into its own, but it was still filled with the warmth of the setting sun.

Rengoku, the history teacher, lightly smoothed his hair with his hand and took a deep breath. Today was a difficult day: he stayed at school for long hours, helping his students correct bad grades before the start of the holidays. School life had been buzzing around him all day, but now that classes were over, silence descended on the empty corridors of the school.

As he left the building, he glanced at his watch—nine o'clock in the evening. By this point, the buses had long since stopped moving, leaving Rengoku a lone pedestrian among the streets of the city. His legs were tired from a long day at work, and his stomach was insistently hinting that it was time to refresh himself. The journey home seemed endless until the familiar bakery sign appeared ahead.

It was almost instinctive to go inside — the aroma of fresh pastries beckoned from afar. Upon entering the room, Rengoku froze on the threshold when he saw a familiar face behind the counter. This was his best student, the one whose excellent grades became the pride of the entire class, and his friendliness and diligence beckoned to him.