An Unreadable Apology

The classroom had mostly emptied out, leaving only a few stragglers finishing up their packing. The fading echoes of chatter and footsteps filled the air as the weight of Rika’s words lingered between them.

Ren stared at her for a moment, unreadable as always.

“I’m sorry.”

The words had come out firm, but there was something about her posture—the slight tension in her crossed arms, the way she shifted her weight ever so slightly—that made it clear this wasn’t easy for her.

And that was strange.

Because Rika Fujisawa didn’t hesitate.

Ren didn’t break eye contact, but his voice remained calm. “For what?”

Rika hesitated—just for a second—before responding. “For the way I reacted when we bumped into each other.”

She sighed, glancing away for a brief moment. “I was in a bad mood, but that wasn’t your fault. I shouldn’t have snapped at you.”

Ren took in her words, his expression unreadable. Most people would have either brushed it off awkwardly or acted like it never happened. But not Rika. She had sought him out at the end of the day just to say this.

That was… unexpected.

After a moment, Ren finally spoke. “It’s fine.”

He said it casually, like he wasn’t particularly affected either way. But then, after a beat of silence, he added something else.

“Me too, Sorry.”

Rika frowned slightly. “Why?”

Ren slung his bag over his shoulder. “Does it matter?”

And with that, he turned and walked off, leaving Rika standing there, staring after him.

The apology had been… strange. He hadn’t been cold, hadn’t been dismissive, yet somehow, it felt like he had just dodged the question entirely.

And for the second time that day, Rika found herself more bothered by Ren Takahashi than she wanted to be.

⸻

Familiar Conversations

The next day, Rika sat at her usual spot during lunch, surrounded by her friends.

Aika Tanabe was as lively as always, her long dark ponytail bouncing as she exaggerated yet another dramatic story. “—and then, get this, he actually asked me to help him with his homework! Like, is that an indirect confession or what?”

Mayu Sakamoto, the quieter of the two, gave her a deadpan stare. “Or he just wanted help with his homework?”

Aika groaned. “Mayu, for once in your life, let me romanticize things.”

Rika chuckled lightly, taking a sip of her drink. Sitting with them felt comfortable, effortless.

And yet…

Her thoughts drifted elsewhere.

Back to yesterday.

She hadn’t really expected Ren to act differently after she apologized. But somehow, the way he hadn’t reacted was still on her mind. His “sorry” had been so vague, so casual, yet somehow felt intentional.

Like it meant something she wasn’t understanding.

Mayu raised an eyebrow at her. “You’re quiet today.”

Rika blinked. “Huh? I’m fine.”

Aika leaned forward dramatically. “Wait, don’t tell me—did something interesting finally happen in your life?”

Rika gave her a flat look. “My life isn’t that boring.”

“It kinda is.”

She kicked Aika under the table.

Aika yelped. “Abuse! This is abuse!”

Rika just smirked and went back to her drink, letting their conversation continue around her.

⸻

A New Classroom Activity

That afternoon, their homeroom teacher, Nakamura-sensei, clapped his hands together at the front of the classroom. “Alright, listen up, everyone. We’re starting a new assignment.”

The mild chatter in the classroom died down slightly as students turned their attention to him.

“For this project, you’ll be working in pairs. You’ll be creating a visual representation of a theme—using sketches, diagrams, or anything creative.”

A few students groaned at the mention of “creative.”

“This will count toward your final grade, so put in effort. I’ll be assigning the pairs now.”

Rika exhaled lightly. Pair work.

It wasn’t that she disliked working with others, but most of the time, she just ended up doing things on her own.

She listened as the teacher began reading out names.

“Tanaka and Ito.”

“Aika and Mayu.”

“Kobayashi and Hasegawa.”

The list went on.

And then—

“Fujisawa and Takahashi.”

Rika blinked.

…Wait.

She turned her head just a fraction, only to find that Ren had already glanced in her direction.

His expression was unreadable, as always. But she knew he had heard it too.

The teacher moved on, listing other names, but Rika’s thoughts were stuck on just one thing.

Out of all the people in this class… she was paired with him?

She stole another glance at Ren.

He wasn’t reacting. No protest. No sigh of annoyance. Just the same indifferent look as always.

But for some reason… that bothered her too.

And when class ended, and Ren stood up, she felt that same awareness from yesterday settle between them.

Neither spoke.

But both of them knew—Soon enough, they’d have no choice but to talk.