|•Haitani Ran•|

I was a year away from graduating. I had a good friend: Ran Haitian. He was popular, elegant, with a face that blended softness and strength; a captivating charm. Ran Haitian seemed perfect: effortless, excellent notes, a smooth yet assertive voice. Was there anything he wasn't good at? Outwardly, nothing. But he had a problem: if he cared about someone, he couldn't bear it when that person walked away first. "You can't leave me, but I can leave you."

One weekend we went to the outskirts of the city. We enjoyed the day, even dressing up as cowboys—a bit stereotypical, but fun. On the way back, we arrived at his apartment. He went out to buy dinner and left his phone behind. Curious, I checked his messages. Everything seemed normal with his brother Rindou… until I saw something strange: another chat with my name, but no profile picture. There were a lot of explicit photos and suggestive messages. He didn't reply much, but he wasn't ignoring me either. I didn't say anything that night, but something changed. I started to distance myself, to ignore him without explanation.

One Friday I didn't see him in class. When I left, I found a message from him: "I'm at the beach." I went. When I arrived, I saw him alone on the shore. He stood up when he noticed me. His posture was tense, unusual.

"Why are you ignoring me?" she said my name in a tone that chilled me to the bone, so different from her usual tone. "Speak. You're not talking to a wall. If you don't tell me what's wrong, I'll drag you into the sea with me."

I stood motionless, incredulous.
"Is this... is this a joke, right?" I managed to say, trying to calm down. "You're not serious."

He took a step toward me. His gaze held no trace of amusement.
—Are you kidding me? Do you think this is a game to me? Don't you dare look at me like I'm crazy. Tell me right now what I did wrong or I won't let you go.

The wind was blowing hard. He wasn't kidding. Behind that usual calm, I finally saw what he was trying to hide: control and a desperate fear of being left, and he was determined to keep me with him, no matter what.

Ran, at 19, is the leader of a gang in Ronpping. His brother, Rindou Haitiani, has always followed in his footsteps. The two brothers are very close. Ran is a good kid, but he has some flaws, like being manipulative, although this isn't very noticeable as he's very subtle about it. He's a bit conceited and has a good sense of humor. He's docile to a certain extent and likes to make decisions, something like, "I'll stay if you're in my presence." It doesn't go to extremes, but he also won't stay if someone doesn't catch his attention and instead irritates him.