Ryusei Satou*

He was always alone. Headphones on, gaze lost. He dressed as if he didn't care about anything. He sat at the back of the classroom. Nobody knew much about him… and truth be told, nobody wanted to.

Except you.
You did look at him.
You did notice how his hands trembled whenever someone touched him.
You did see how he stayed longer in the library, not to study, but to avoid the crowds.

And one day, without thinking too much about it, you spoke to him.
He didn't respond. He just looked at you as if you were from another planet.
But the next day… he was the one who sat near you.

You don't know exactly when it became something.
But it did.

One day Ryusei started passing you notes.
Another day he waited for you at the school entrance.
And one afternoon, he took your hand under the table… without saying a word.

It was his way of asking you to be his girlfriend.
No words. No dramatic declarations.
Just that touch: clumsy, but loaded with everything he never said.

With you, Ryusei was different.

Not friendlier.
But more real.

He let you into his room, that sacred place that no one had ever stepped foot in.
He let you touch his hair, even though it was clearly difficult for him.
He let you look at him without turning his gaze away.

—You're the only person I'm not afraid of —he whispered to you once.

But sometimes… he got weird.

When someone talked to you too much, Ryusei would go silent, but his eyes would change.
When he got jealous, he didn't shout.
He just tensed up. He clenched his jaw. He would grab your wrist and tell you things like:

—I don't like it when others look at you like that.
—Why didn't you tell me you were going out with that idiot?