“Hey, Minase, do you have a boyfriend?”
The question came right after class as they stepped out into the hallway. Mizuki turned to look at her friend, Chihiro, walking beside her.
“Where’d that come from all of a sudden?”
“Not from me.”
Chihiro grinned and gestured behind them with a slight nod of her chin. Mizuki looked back and saw a few male students coming out of the classroom.
She locked eyes with one of them. He was tall.
Wearing a black hoodie and slim-fit pants, his hair was a bit long, styled to look effortlessly messy.
Mizuki recognized his face. Saeki Ren from her department.
They had taken a few of the same classes before, but they had never really talked.
When their eyes met, Ren raised a hand casually. Mizuki gave a small nod in return before looking ahead again.
“What was that about?”
“Word is Saeki-kun is interested in you, Mizuki.”
“Huh.”
“Just ‘huh’?”
“I mean, I’ve never even talked to him.”
“There you go again,” Chihiro said, looking exasperated.
“What?”
“You’re so cold when it comes to guys.”
“I’m not cold.”
“The fact that you don’t even realize it makes it worse.”
“What am I supposed to do? A stranger says he’s interested in me, so I’m just supposed to say ‘I’m interested in you too’?”
“Okay, that would be creepy.”
They both laughed. As they headed down the stairs, Mizuki stole one last glance behind her.
Ren was chatting with his friends, not looking her way. She thought he was attractive, for sure. He was probably popular with girls, too. But that was as far as her thoughts went.
Walking toward the station after leaving campus, Mizuki unlocked her phone. Last night, she had stayed on the phone with Takumi for over an hour.
It had started over something completely silly. During her seminar, the professor had been unusually harsh with his feedback on her presentation.
If it had ended there, it wouldn’t have been so bad. But the student she had paired up with said, half-joking:
“If only Minase had put things together a bit better.”
Mizuki knew she wasn’t entirely blameless, so she didn’t talk back. She just smiled and replied, “Sorry about that.”
But once she got home, the anger started bubbling up.
She had prepared properly. In fact, at the very end, she had even helped out with the materials her partner was supposed to make.
And yet… The moment that thought crossed her mind, she called Takumi.
Takumi didn’t interrupt her once. After listening to the whole story, he asked:
“Were you at fault for any part of it?”
“Yeah.”
“Then you just fix that next time.”
“Yeah.”
“Still, it’s wrong for the person you helped to act like it’s all your fault.”
That single sentence made her feel oddly relieved. It wasn’t that she wanted him to tell her she was completely innocent. Nor did she want him to join in badmouthing the other person.
She just wanted someone to tell her, “It’s okay to be angry about that.”
Stopping at the traffic light in front of the station, Mizuki opened her messages.
Thanks for yesterday.
She paused after typing it out, thinking for a moment.
Thanks for yesterday. Talking to you made me feel a lot better.
Sent. In less than a minute, it was marked as read.
Glad to hear that.
That was it. Mizuki smiled at her screen.
She wished he’d say a little more, but Takumi had always been like that.
It had been nearly two years since she met Takumi. Their relationship hadn’t always been like this.
At first, he was just an older acquaintance—someone easy to talk to, someone kind. Nothing more than that.
She wasn’t sure when it started, but whenever something happened, she found herself telling Takumi. Happy things. Things that made her mad. Things that were hard to say to her family. Even embarrassing things she couldn’t bring herself to tell her friends.
Takumi would always listen. Before she knew it, that certainty had settled deep inside her.
Just before reaching the station entrance, someone called out her name from behind.
“Minase.”
She turned around. It was Saeki Ren.
“Ah, Saeki-kun.”
“Heading to the station?”
“Yeah.”
“Me too.”
He fell into step beside her naturally. Mizuki was a bit surprised; she had assumed he was a flirtier type, but his tone was completely normal.
“Was today’s economic policy lecture boring or what?”
“I almost lost the battle halfway through.”
“I saw. You were blinking like crazy, Minase.”
“You were watching me?”
“I was sitting where I could see you.”
Ren laughed.
“You should’ve just slept.”
“In the third row from the front?”
“Pretty sure the professor wouldn’t care.”
“Easy for you to say from the back row, Saeki-kun.”
“Hey, I stayed awake the whole time today.”
“Only today?”
“Just today.”
He was easy to talk to. At the very least, there was no awkward pressure to force a conversation.
The ten-minute walk to the station went by faster than she expected. Standing in front of the ticket gates, Ren spoke up:
“Minase, give me your LINE.”
It was asked so casually that Mizuki hesitated for a fraction of a second.
“LINE?”
“If you don’t want to, it’s cool.”
“Ah, no, it’s fine.”
She pulled out her smartphone and scanned his QR code. Ren’s name popped up immediately.
“Thanks.”
“Yeah.”
“See you tomorrow, then.”
With just those words, Ren headed toward a different ticket gate. Mizuki watched his retreating back for a brief moment.
She had expected him to say something more—like asking her out for food, or asking if she had a boyfriend. Maybe Chihiro’s words had made her lower her guard too much.
The fact that nothing happened actually made her linger on it just a little more.
Once she boarded the train, a message came through.
Thanks for today.
Followed immediately by:
Don’t fall asleep during 2nd period tomorrow haha.
Mizuki chuckled.
Look who’s talking, Saeki-kun.
It was read instantly.
Wake me up then.
Why should I?
’Cause I’m gonna sit near you.
Mizuki hesitated slightly before replying:
Suit yourself haha.
The next day, Ren really did sit near her.
Not right next to her, but one seat over.
“Morning.”
“You actually came.”
“I promised, didn’t I?”
“We didn’t promise anything.”
“So cold,” he teased, laughing.
They barely spoke during the lecture, and only exchanged a few words afterward. But that night, another LINE message arrived.
And another one the next day. It wasn’t every single day, though. Some days he replied quickly, while other times it took a few hours. That pace felt just right.
“You’ve been talking to Saeki-kun a lot lately, haven’t you?”
It was about a week later when Chihiro brought it up at the cafeteria.
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
“We just message on LINE sometimes.”
“See?”
“See what?”
“You’re interested in him.”
“I’m still not sure.”
Mizuki genuinely felt that way. She didn’t dislike him; in fact, spending time with him was fun. But if asked whether she liked him, she couldn’t say for sure.
“Well then,” Chihiro asked, picking up a piece of fried chicken with her chopsticks, “what kind of person do you like, Mizuki?”
“That’s sudden.”
“Because I’ve never heard you talk about it.”
Mizuki pondered for a moment. “Someone who’s fun to be around?”
“Boring.”
“Fine, someone handsome.”
“Honesty, I respect that.”
They both giggled.
“Still, Mizuki, you never seem to have trouble with guys.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Must be nice having options.”
Mizuki paused her chopsticks. “That’s not true.”
“Right, right.”
“Seriously.”
Being liked by someone and falling for someone are two completely different things. Even Mizuki knew that much.
That evening, a message arrived from Ren.
Are you free today?
In the late afternoon, yeah.
Wanna grab food?
Mizuki stared at her screen. Her heart gave a slight, quick flutter.
She wondered why. If Takumi asked her out for food, she wouldn’t feel like this at all. It was a simple question of going or not going—that was it. She never worried about her outfit or felt the need to fix her makeup.
But right now, she found herself wanting to check the mirror in the university restroom just once.
Sure.
She sent the message, and an instant reply came back:
Great, let’s meet at the station at 6:00 PM.
Then came the name of a restaurant. Mizuki searched it up online. It was a stylish little Italian place.
“…This is totally a date,” she murmured to herself, feeling a blush creep onto her face.
A little before 6:00 PM.
When Mizuki reached the station, Ren was already waiting. He was dressed differently than at university—wearing a black shirt under a light jacket.
“Ah, sorry! Did you wait long?”
“Not at all. I just got here early.”
Ren looked at Mizuki. For a split second, his eyes lingered on her.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“What is it?”
“I mean, you’re cute at school too, but you look even cuter than usual today.”
Mizuki was momentarily at a loss for words. It wasn’t that she had never been complimented like this before—if anything, she was used to it. But hearing it from Ren felt different.
“You sound like you’re used to saying things like that.”
“Like what?”
“Praising girls.”
“I’ve only said it to you, though.”
There it was again. Takumi would never say something like that. No… even if Takumi did, she would probably just laugh it off with a “What are you talking about?”
Yet, coming from Ren, it made her face burn.
Wanting to hide her reaction, Mizuki blurted out, “I’m hungry.”
“Alright, alright,” Ren chuckled.
Dinner was wonderful. They talked about university, friends, and part-time jobs. Ren was a great conversationalist. He didn’t dominate the topic; he asked Mizuki questions, listened attentively to her replies, and occasionally locked eyes with her and smiled.
Every time he did, her chest tightened with a faint trace of nerves.
When they finished eating, they didn’t head straight home. Instead, they moved to a nearby café. Looking at the clock, it was already past 9:00 PM.
“Do you have class tomorrow?” Ren asked.
“Starting in the afternoon.”
“So, you’re still good for time?”
“Yeah,” Mizuki answered.
If she wanted to go home, she could have. But she didn’t want to leave yet.
They left the shop past 10:00 PM and walked side by side toward the station. Unlike during the day, the night air was slightly chilly.
When Mizuki rubbed her arms, Ren noticed immediately.
“Cold?”
“A little.”
“Wanna wear this?”
“I’m fine.”
“Don’t hold back.”
“Really, I’m fine.”
“Then let’s pick up the pace to the station.”
Ren stepped up his stride slightly, and Mizuki kept pace beside him.
They paused at the station entrance.
“Thanks for today,” Mizuki said.
“I’m the one who invited you, though.”
“Well then, thanks for the meal.”
“You’re very welcome.” Ren smiled, pausing for a beat before adding, “Can I invite you out again?”
Mizuki’s heart skipped a small beat.
“Yeah.”
“Awesome.”
Ren beamed. Seeing his expression, Mizuki smiled too.
“See you later, then.”
“Get home safe.”
She passed through the ticket gates. On her way down to the platform, Mizuki pulled out her smartphone.
She wanted to tell someone. How much fun she’d had. How cool he had looked. How he said he wanted to see her again.
Unconsciously, she opened her message list.
At the very top was Chihiro, from their conversation earlier today. Below that was Ren. And a little further down was Takumi.
Her finger froze.
She had intended to tell Takumi, just like she always did. But today, for some reason, she couldn’t bring herself to open his chat.
Because she knew Takumi was in love with her.
Mizuki stared at the screen for a long moment before locking her phone.
After arriving home and stepping out of the bath, a message arrived from Ren.
Did you get home safe?
Yup, just got back.
Good.
A moment later:
I had a really great time today.
Mizuki sat on her bed.
Me too.
She sent it off.
When are you free next?
Mizuki couldn’t help but smile. Just then, another notification popped up.
It was Takumi.
How did things go with that matter yesterday?
He was asking about the seminar. Mizuki looked at the screen, remembering how she had spent over an hour complaining to him the previous night.
It’s all good! Today was completely back to normal.
A reply came instantly.
Glad to hear.
That was all. Mizuki thought for a second and started typing:
You know, today—
She paused mid-sentence.
You know, today I went out for food with a guy named Saeki-kun.
She typed it all out, then deleted every single word. Instead, she wrote:
I’ll treat you to something next time.
Takumi’s reply came back:
Where’d that come from all of a sudden?
To thank you for yesterday.
Don’t need it.
Fine, then I won’t.
Yeah.
Mizuki laughed. Talking to Takumi really was so easy. She didn’t have to overthink anything, didn’t have to carefully pick her words, could see him without makeup, and could talk to him with a raspy morning voice. She didn’t even have to feel embarrassed about crying in front of him.
To Mizuki, that was something deeply important.
And yet… A new message arrived from Ren.
How about next Friday?
Just seeing those words made her chest flutter once more.
It was different from how she felt with Takumi.
Mizuki hadn’t given much deep thought to that difference yet.
The difference between feeling safe… and falling in love.
For twenty-one-year-old Mizuki, those two things were still entirely separate worlds.