The stars were finally shining.

A magnificent, breath-stealing shower of light spread across the night sky like scattered diamonds.

Gasps echoed across the rooftop.

Those who had been laughing fell silent in awe.

Even those who had been worrying about Aika moments ago forgot her name for a second—just long enough to admire the miracle above them.

All it took was a beautiful illusion to make people forget about her sadness because it was not their own pain.

And I was no different.

I stood in a quiet corner, hands in my pockets, looking up at the sky in stillness.

For a brief moment… even I tried to enjoy it.

But then—

Someone grabbed my sleeve and pulled me away from the railing.

I didn’t even need to turn to know who it was.

Aira.

Her eyes were serious this time. No teasing. No playful light.

“Come on,” she whispered urgently. “We have to go look for Aika.”

I stopped at the doorway, resisting her pull.

“What do you mean we?” I asked flatly.

“I never signed up for this.”

She turned toward me, eyes flashing.

“Well actually, you did.”

“I did?” I raised an eyebrow.

She stepped closer, her voice quieter now.

“The moment you decided to stand there and feel sorry for her… you were already involved.”

I looked away.

“That’s your logic.”

She tightened her grip on my sleeve.

“And this is my friend.”

Silence passed between us.

The stars continued falling behind us as we turned our backs on the sky.

---

The stairwell was quiet.

Each step echoed too loudly in the empty space. Somewhere below, laughter drifted up from students still celebrating on the rooftop—unaware of the girl who had disappeared into the dark.

We found her near the school garden.

Aika was sitting on the cold steps beside the trees, her head buried in her knees.

Her shoulders shook quietly.

No loud sobs.

Just the kind of crying that hurts the most.

Aira rushed to her side immediately and knelt down.

“Aika…”

Her hand touched her shoulder.

Aika flinched.

Then she broke.

“I was too slow, wasn’t I?” she whispered, her voice trembling.

“I practiced so many times… I thought today would be my day…”

Her fingers clenched into her skirt.

“I was going to tell him everything… but he never even looked in my direction.”

Aira pulled her into a gentle embrace.

I stayed where I was. A few steps away.

Watching.

Listening.

Feeling absolutely nothing.

At least… that’s what I told myself.

Aika’s voice trembled as she cried.

“Why did I have to be this way?” she whispered between sobs.

“I’ve known him for three years now…

We were such close friends.

I loved him for so long…

Why didn’t he understand?”

Her words fell apart with her breathing.

Aira stayed beside her, her arms wrapped tightly around her, but this time… even she had no answer.

Because there are moments when comforting is not enough.

There are moments when someone breaks down right in front of you—and you don’t know what you’re supposed to do.

Do you let them fall apart?

Or do you stop the tears by forcing hope into their hands?

But what words can save a soul that already feels lost?

We tell ourselves that if we feel their pain deeply enough, we might be able to help them.

But in truth, all it does is blur the answers even more.

Sometimes, to save someone, you must look beyond emotion—

and show them the truth they are unable to see themselves.

But Aira…

Aira was her friend.

And because she was her friend—

She couldn’t bring herself to become the one who would hurt her with the truth.

So she stayed silent…

Holding her…

Letting her cry.

Footsteps echoed behind us.

Miyamura had arrived.

Aika was still crying when I finally broke the silence.

My voice came out flat—insincere, cold, almost careless.

“You say you never got the chance to tell him how you felt,” I said quietly.

“But in reality… you already got your answer without asking.”

The air froze.

"What are you saying, Arisu?"

Miyamura stepped forward sharply.

But I didn’t listen.

“You wanted to know whether he would accept your love or not,” I continued, my voice rising,

“But he wouldn’t have. Because he loves someone else.”

“Stop it, Arisu!” Miyamura shouted.

Aika and Aira stared at me in stunned silence.

“What happened out there was for your own good,” I said.

“You got your answer without embarrassing yourself in front of everyone.

You say you’re his friend—so that’s all you ever were.

You wanted an answer, and you got it… in the least cruel way fate allows.”

The sound of skin against skin echoed in the quiet garden.

Miyamura had slapped me.

“Stop it.”

I stood there with my face down. The slap hit harder than I thought.

Aira only looked at me—no anger in her eyes.

Only silence and something more desperate.

"Please."

Aika stood frozen.

More broken than before.

I spoke again.

This time my voice was softer.

“In middle school, there were two friends in my class,” I said.

“They walked together. Ate together. Sat beside each other every day. They were just best friends.

One day, the boy decided to take things further. He fell in love with her.”

I looked down.

“One evening, he confessed.

And she said no.”

The garden felt colder.

“After that, everything changed.

They stopped talking.

They stopped laughing.

They stopped existing in each other’s lives.”

I lifted my eyes.

“He realized he loved her because of their beautiful friendship.

But in trying to get closer… he lost what he already had.

And the girl lost a friend too.

Both of them carried that loneliness.”

My voice hardened.

“He wished he had never asked.

That if he had stayed silent, he would still have a best friend.

And she would still have someone beside her too.

But once you cross that line—

nothing ever goes back.”

Miyamura asked quietly,

“What are you trying to say?”

My eyes returned to Aika.

“I’m saying…

why are you acting like your world ended over something that never even existed?

Why are you throwing away what you still have… chasing something that was never yours?”

The wind passed through the trees.

“You may not be his lover,” I said quietly.

“But you can still be his friend.

You can still talk to him.

You can still stand beside him.”

"You still have your friends. They care about you. So why act like you have lost everything while you still have more than enough."

Silence swallowed my words.

I slowly walked upstairs again. My footsteps echoing in the garden as nobody tried to stop me.

I was cruel but life is also cruel. So you must learn to be more cruel in order to live.

---