The room is lit abundantly, considering the time of the day, or rather, night. The clock chimes, 4 being displayed on it. Isamu, hugging his knees atop his chair wipes the tears off his face.

He chuckles. “Now you can cry?”

His wooden table creaks as he pushes against it to stand up. The movie playing on the screen-that seemingly brought him to tears- rolls to its credits and he closes the window.

Multiple applications operating under it remain open, including one playing some tutorial and a text editor.

He pulls out the earphones and stretches his back. He glances at the screen as his back makes a few cracking sounds. “Didn’t get anywhere today, either, huh?”

He picks up his phone. The screen is filled with the same repeated messages, all red, in contrast to the white text on the black background.

Isamu: Don’t recommend any more movies, please.

(Message not sent)

Isamu: If I fall asleep in class, you’re buying my lunch for a week!

(Message not sent)

“How many tries does this make it?” He fiddles with the phone a bit more. “Other apps seem to work… Then it has to be the network interface… ” His messages sent to Mareo from a week ago are the last ones that seem to have been delivered.

Isamu: Ask her yourself. Bye.

The field is emptier than usual, even for a morning. The blades of grass tickle Mareo’s neck. He had decided to resist his urge to sketch the greenery before him and enjoy the forthcoming winter, signalled by the dew that wet his collar and back.

He takes in the cold, yet refreshing morning air. “The clubs are taking a break, huh?” They are, except for the one person who is running laps around the field as he speaks. She is dressed in the green gymnasium clothes of the school and has her hair tied in a long ponytail. Even though she came in earlier than Mareo, she only stopped by to greet him when he had arrived.

He shuffles around, trying to find her. “Wait, where did she go?” He sits up, facing the school building when he feels Hanae lean against his back.

She huffs. “You’re all drenched, Fuuji-kun.”

“I know. You done?” He reaches for his bag beside him.

“Uh-huh…” Hanae replies, still trying to catch her breath.

Mareo hands her a flask of water from his bag and says, “The swimming club’s supposed to close for winter, right?”

She replies as she takes a sip, “Yeah. After the competition next week.”

“Well, not that I didn’t know that.” 

Hanae almost falls over as He stands up suddenly. He circles and crouches in front of her. She says, “Wh-what? What happened?”

“Hmm? Nothing,” he says with a smile that tingles something inside Hanae. “I just wanted to see your face all of a sudden.” He continues, seeing her face getting redder, “Oh? What’s this? I wonder if it’s because of all the exercise…”

“I… it’s definitely because of the exercise! Wh-why else would it be?”

“Ahaha! I see… I see! If you’re saying it, that’s definitely the reason! Hmm. Hmm.” He nods.

“What do you mean?” She gets back to her feet and as soon as she does, hides her face. “You always do this, Fuuji-kun! Ruining the moment!”

“Ah? So you did notice the ‘moment’.” Mareo laughs, still squatting. “Sorry, sorry. It’s just too much fun doing this…”

“Yeah, yeah, keep it up and we’ll never enjoy our times toget-” She stops herself, seeing Mareo’s face.

“Why wouldn’t we?” He says blankly. The smile from before frozen in place makes his shocked, empty eyes pop out more. He stands up, pushing against his knees and repeats as he steps towards her, “You… don’t…”

“No no no no…” Hanae waves her hands. “ That was a joke… a joke!” A nervous laugh sneaks past her lips.

Mareo silently wraps his arms around her. Hanae, slightly shorter than him, wedges her chin over his shoulder. She drops the flask in her hand and slowly embraces him. 

“I… I’m sorry, Hanae…” Mareo’s says, his voice trembling.

“Fu- Mareo-ku… Mareo, it’s fine. I know that was a joke.” She strokes her hands on his back. “It’s fine.”

“Hanae.”

“Hmm?”

He pulls Hanae in front of him. “Did you just use my first name?”

“I-”

He starts giggling fondly as he presses her cheeks with his hands. “I love you, Hanae,” he says, bringing their foreheads together.

The reddish hue of her face from before pales in comparison to the beet-red Hanae’s face becomes. Her eyes shoot around like bullets before she sees Isamu entering through the gate, not far away from the corner of the field where they are standing.

She pushes away from Mareo, realizing the dangers of being seen. Mareo, also a bit flushed from the realization, steps away and picks up his bag and flask. “So…uh… I’ll go say hi to him…?”

Hanae nods as she straightens her clothes. “He has been absent for a whole week.”

“I’ll see you later, then…”

“Yeah,” she says and runs off for a few more laps.