The rooftop was cold, painted in shades of blue and silver. Students had gathered near the railings, waiting for the stars to show themselves. Confessions. Nervous laughter. The kind of excitement only naïve hearts can carry.

Far in the corner, away from the warmth of those emotions, I sat beside Miyamura.

He watched the crowd with gentle eyes.

I watched them with my cynicism.

Aika and Giyu stood a little apart, their silhouettes framed by the night. Her hands fidgeting with her sleeves. His face pink even in the dim light.

People around them whispering—

“Is he finally going to confess?”

“They look cute together.”

Cute. Special. Magical.

But I knew better.

I had seen what “forever” looked like when it was burning down.

The scent of the cold night air mixed with someone's distant perfume, and for a moment, it wasn't the rooftop I smelled, but the ghost of my father's cigarette smoke...

The laughter around us faded as another memory rose—one I didn’t invite.

My father’s voice. My mother’s smile.

A love story too perfect for reality… and too broken to survive it.

---

“My father wasn’t a very bright student…”

He used to say that with a half-laugh.

He hung out with the wrong crowd, bunked classes, smoked in the school’s back corridors where the teachers rarely patrolled. That was his way of life.

One day, while he was hiding behind the old gym building, taking a long drag from a cigarette, she appeared.

My mother.

She walked right up to him undetected.

Took the cigarette from his lips with two delicate fingers, and with a soft smile said,

“You shouldn’t smoke.”

My father, caught like a criminal, tried to act unaffected and looked away.

“I know you’re not supposed to smoke in school.”

She blinked once, amused.

“No… you shouldn’t smoke at all. It isn’t good for your health, Sayo.”

He froze.

Then he actually looked at her. Her black hair swaying in the wind, a soft smile on her face and her blue eyes glittering.

She knew his name.

And she cared enough to say it.

She looked at him then, really looked at him — a boy who didn’t know how to be seen.

“Smoking reduces life, you know,” she said lightly, eyes sparkling.

“Don’t you want to live a beautiful, happy, long life?”

And something inside my father answered before he could stop himself. Something unexpected changed in him.

Yes… I want to. With you.

He didn’t say it out loud.

But his heart screamed it.

She laughed softly, that gentle kind that made the world feel safe.

“But you know…” she added, tilting her head, “you do look cool with the cigarette, Sayo.”

That was the moment — the exact second — my father really fell in love with her.

He wasn’t a good guy back then.

He got into fights. Bunked classes. Broke rules for fun.

But every time she appeared, he froze.

If he was going to a fight with his friends as soon as he would see my mother he would change his direction.

Walking innocently away from the scene like a child.

And his friends getting beaten up, yelled at him.

"Hey, Sayo help us. Where are you going?"

"Do I know you?"

He would answer.

---

One girl made him want to become a better man.

And so he worked for it.

He changed — just to stand proudly beside the girl who believed he could.

And slowly they both started to fall in love.

---

But love has its obstacles.

My mother belonged to a noble family.

When my father gathered the courage to approach her parents, her father refused immediately.

Threatened him.

Told him to stay away.

But he didn’t.

He was stubborn.

So a deal was made.

He had to fight her two wrestler brothers.

If he lost, he would disappear from her life forever.

If he won, he could love her openly.

My mother tried to stop him.

But.

He accepted recklessly.

The fight took place in their backyard.

My father stood there with nothing but teenage bravado and a heart too foolish to know fear.

He dodged a few blows.

Landed one hit.

But after that… it was all downhill.

He was beaten.

Thrown to the ground.

His ribs shaking with each breath.

But then—

He saw my mother watching.

And something inside him refused to stay down.

He got back up.

"Is that all you got?"

He made an unnecessary and costly comment.

They striked him down hard.

But he got up.

Again.

And again.

A battle of strength turned into a battle of will.

They fought for hours.

The two brothers got tired.

My father didn’t.

Not because he was strong —

but because his love was louder than his pain.

In the end…

He won.

Barely.

He collapsed, bruised and broken.

My mother ran to him, tears in her eyes.

“We have to go to a hospital!”

He laughed through the pain and pulled her close.

“My doctor is right here.”

She hugged him, trembling.

A moment later when pain struck him, he added through a half-grin:

“…but yeah, we should still go to a hospital.”

They both laughed.

And soon, they married. My two uncles also came. They laughed and it was a happy marriage.

My father changed his life, became responsible, gentle, loving just for my mother.

They had a son.

Me.

A happy, perfect family.

But happiness has a time limit.

Even a love like theirs—

a love that survived fists, time, and fate—

could still be betrayed.

---

The memory faded as the laughter grew louder.

The rooftop came back.

Students cheering.

Stars beginning to show.

Aika’s shy smile.

Giyu’s trembling hands.

Love blooming in places where I no longer believed it could survive.

I looked up at the sky.

So many stars.

So much light.

And yet…

none of it could be reached.

---