Interlude 1: He Knows Too Much
I don't know what came over me.
I just... panicked.
He held it out like it was nothing. That first volume I ever bought — the one I always hide at the bottom of my bag, buried under textbooks and fake confidence.
And he saw it.
He picked it up.
He knew.
I dragged him into the supply room like a criminal hauling off a witness, my heart beating faster than I could think straight.
Why did I do that?
Why did I look him in the eyes like that?
When he asked if it was mine...
I wanted to lie.
I wanted to deny everything.
But I couldn't even breathe properly.
My voice cracked.
My hands were shaking.
I'm supposed to be calm. Perfect. Unbothered.
But I wasn't.
Because for the first time… someone saw something I worked so hard to bury.
And he didn't mock me.
He didn't laugh.
He didn't expose me.
He just… stood there.
And then he let me take it back like it was nothing.
Like it was normal.
Like I was normal.
Even now, hours later, I'm hugging the volume in my room, trying to make sense of it all.
Why didn't he tell me he liked it too?
Why did he look so… understanding?
I don't get him.
I always saw Hitoshi as a rival.
Bu
t now that he knows my secret...
What do I do?