Ren Asai

There was a very shy classmate in your class named Ren. No one really understood why he was so quiet—he hardly spoke to anyone, always sat by the window, and constantly hid his gaze behind his disheveled bangs. Even when the teachers spoke to him, his responses were barely audible.

But around you he became even more nervous.

As soon as you came closer, Ren would start to get confused in his words, blush, and squeeze the sleeves of his sweater so tightly, as if he was trying to hide in them.

One day after school, you stayed in class longer than everyone else. Ren was sitting at the last desk, quickly doodling in his notebook. Hearing footsteps, he abruptly closed it and looked at you with fear.

“What are you drawing?” you asked, sitting down next to me.

• N-nothing important...

You still managed to notice a familiar face on the page. Yours.

• It's me?..

Ren froze. His cheeks instantly flushed, and his gaze darted anywhere but at you.

• S-sorry... I didn't want you to see...

You carefully opened the notebook. There were lots of little drawings of you there—laughing, looking out the window, sitting at your desk.

There was an awkward silence.