ARMERIA | Sympathy

As Tsubaki arrived outside the engineering department after his last morning lecture ended, the door came open just as he stepped in front. When the person on the other side exited, they bumped into each other.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t…” Tsubaki trails off when he recognizes the student as Ren, but before he can finish his apology, Ren continues walking ahead. His eyes follow him shortly until he feels an arm being thrown over his shoulders. He turns his head to meet a bright grin. 

And he smiles. “Hey, Yuri. How was lecture?”

Yuri sighed while leaning his weight on his best friend. “Boring. Let’s go grab food. I’m hungry.”

“Cold soba?”

“How’d you know?”

The two continue through the courtyard, chattering among themselves while heading to the campus food lounge. Under an outdoor corridor, Ren turns to watch the backs of the other two stuck together, Yuri’s arm still around Tsubaki. Ren forces himself to rip his eyes away from the scene, a pained expression taking over his face, as all he can do is slump his shoulders and continue walking in the opposite direction.

✻ ✻ ✻

Tsubaki stopped by the convenience store on his way home. As he stood by the window, casually looking through the magazine stand, he noticed Ren walking on the other side of the street outside. 

“Is it coincidence, or have you just been on my mind?” he thinks as his gaze follows him through the window. 

Ren’s dimmed eyes were glued to the ground beneath his feet, zoned out in a sluggish walk. Because of this, he didn't notice the bicyclist heading towards him in the narrow walkway. They came into impact when the cyclist rushed by, and Ren got knocked over, scraping his hands and knees on the concrete below.

“Ow…” Ren winces as he extends his limbs to see his wounds beginning to bleed. He presses his lips together as his eyes begin to shake. 

“This is the worst....” 

A shadow comes over him, and he looks up to see probably the last person he wants to run into.

“Here.” Tsubaki had his hand outstretched as it held a grocery bag with first-aid material in it.

Crumpled band-aid wrappers and a tube of ointment lay on the bench as Tsubaki kneels down in front of Ren. After he finishes patching up his injured knees, he goes to sit on the other end of the same bench, and the silence between them is heard throughout the empty park.

Ren takes a quick glance at Tsubaki, who’s seen scratching the back of his head, his eyes looking forward. Ren then sinks into the bench and looks ahead. 

“It’s awkward…” He tugged at the bottom of his sweater, pulling at the threads. “I realized I don’t know anything about this person.”

He continued to fumble with his fingers and shuffle his feet into the dirt when the sudden sound of Tsubaki saying, “Hey,” made him jump. When he looked over, all he could see was Tsubaki’s side profile, his honey-colored bangs covering the gaze that remained in front of him.

“You…” he continued, eyes still not breaking from the ground. “You really liked Yuri, didn’t you?”

Ren’s eyes grow wide before dropping his head down to his knees, with eyes quickly building up tears to the sudden question. Tsubaki couldn’t bring himself to look, but when he heard the faint sound of a whimper as the boy next to him began to sob, his expression softened.

“I really … I really did like him,” Ren answered through choked-up sniffles, head in his hands as he covered his face. “I really do—but my heart just keeps hurting like this....”

As his tears continue to pour out and drop into the palms of his small shaking hands, a firm but gentle hand places itself on the back of his head, softly stroking through the blonde strands of his hair. It was a tender and warm gesture, like a child being soothed by their mother.

The two remained there, quietly sitting on the wooden park bench. The sound of cars passing by. The creaking of the swings in the subtle wind. The leaves tumbling by their feet. And laced in the melody of their environment, there was the desperate voice of a broken heart finally being able to sing.