Something Hidden

~~~🗺️~~~

"Next station: Yotsubashi."

The mechanical voice of the train slid between the rhythmic sound of the wheels on the rails. My feet tapped against the floor with a mixture of tension, fear, and anticipation.

The train was heading toward Suminoe. Where that guitarist I had met a few days ago lived.

I glanced to my side, at Lucio, who was staring out the window with a neutral expression, as if all of this wasn’t a big deal.

Maybe, to him, it wasn’t.

To me, however…

I had never stayed at a guy’s house before.

It was crazy if I thought about it. I barely knew Lucio, and yet, there I was, sitting beside him on a nighttime train bound for his home. My mind was a whirlwind of thoughts, from the strangeness of the situation to the embarrassment of sharing a space with someone who was, technically, still a stranger. But at the same time, there was something that made my heart race, as if this small act of trust—and maybe something else—meant more than I could put into words.

~~~🚅~~~

We got off at Suminoe Station, greeted by the cool night breeze. We walked in silence, following streets I barely knew, passing darkened buildings and flickering streetlights.

Four blocks later, Lucio veered toward a convenience store.

“Do you want anything?” he asked indifferently, as if this was routine for him.

I grabbed a drink and a quick snack without thinking too much about it. We paid and continued until we finally stopped in front of…

“It’s… the school.”

My voice barely came out in a whisper. In front of me stood the dark silhouette of the high school building, its doors locked and its interior lights off, except for a few windows.

Lucio shrugged.

“Yeah. Come in.”

And he started walking without another word.

“… Huh?”

~~~🎵~~~

Inside, the school was silent, only interrupted by our footsteps on the wooden floor. There were no signs of teachers or students, as if the place had been frozen in time since the last bell rang.

Lucio led me to a music classroom. Without hesitation, he walked to an adjacent door, opened it, and pointed inside.

“You sleep here. I’ll stay with my instruments.”

I blinked and looked into the room… and my mind took a moment to process it.

I couldn’t believe it.

What I saw was closer to a hotel than a classroom. Or maybe that was an exaggeration, but I was staring at a fully furnished bedroom where students once studied. There was a bed with a slightly worn-out mattress, a TV with a CD player, several band posters plastered on the wall, and piles of records and CDs scattered across the floor. It wasn’t exactly the tidiest place in the world, but it had a cozy feel, as if someone truly lived there.

My throat went dry.

“How long have you been living here?”

Lucio didn’t answer right away. He lingered in the doorway, as if contemplating his response.

“A week after the Decena. I left my home and moved here.”

A shiver ran down my spine. As cool as the idea seemed, moving into a school wasn’t something completely normal, even in a collapsing society. Maybe because of my own experiences, I felt the urge to ask.

“And your family?”

Silence stretched between us.

Lucio averted his gaze, the shadows in the room making him seem more distant than usual.

“…"

Anguish tightened my chest.

“Did they… die too…?”

His jaw clenched.

“Um… You could say that.”

My heart squeezed painfully. I was starting to feel her presence again, or rather, her absence. And I felt like Lucio might be feeling the same.

“Lucio… do you want to talk about it?”

A few seconds passed before he let out a sigh.

“… Maybe later. Sorry. Right now, I just want to eat. Will you join me?”

I nodded slowly. I didn’t want to force him to talk about something that clearly hurt him, but I also couldn’t ignore the weight in his voice. Still, if what he needed was a distraction, the least I could do was keep him company.

“Alright. Let’s go.”

Lucio took out his food from his bag and sat on the floor of the music classroom, leaning his back against the wall. I mimicked his gesture, settling beside him.

The silence lasted only a few seconds before he suddenly spoke.

“Today was weird.” His tone was lighter, as if trying to move away from the previous topic. “I never thought we’d end up with a producer.”

I let out a soft laugh.

“I also didn’t think you’d invite me to sleep in your… what should I call it? Secret hideout?”

“It’s my home, I guess.” He took a bite of his food. “Though I don’t know if I’d call it that. I still remember when I was a student here, and this room was my refuge. Though that bedroom used to be the video room. They always played boring movies.”

“Ha, I totally get that,” I chuckled.

I lowered my gaze for a moment, but decided not to push the subject and instead continued.

“Well, it was still a good day. We played together, and people listened to us.”

“Yeah.” Lucio ran a hand through his hair, looking thoughtful. “And you sang. Really well, actually.”

My cheeks immediately burned.

“It was… a disaster.”

“Not at all.” He turned to me, a small smile playing on his lips. “You did great. I didn’t think I’d enjoy playing with someone again.”

I averted my gaze, feeling a lump in my throat, but this time, it wasn’t from sadness.

“Thank you.” I felt genuinely happy inside.

We kept eating, chatting between bites about the song, about Akira and his over-the-top attitude, about how good it felt to play together. It had been a long time—at least since before Amane—since I’d had a conversation like this with someone. Little by little, I felt like I was picking up pieces of myself that had seemed lost forever.

When we finished, Lucio stood up and stretched his arms.

“Well, time to sleep. Tomorrow is another day.”

I nodded with a smile.

“Yeah. Tomorrow is another day.”

~~~🎧~~~

The silence of the room enveloped me, but inside, I was a whirlwind. I couldn’t sleep. My mind kept replaying everything that had happened in the past few days: the impromptu concert, meeting Akira, Lucio’s invitation to stay here. My heart pounded, not from fear, but from pure excitement.

I had forgotten what it felt like to be alive. To have your heart burn with enthusiasm for every little and big moment. And that, along with sleeping near a guy, made my mind race a mile a minute.

I turned on my mattress and checked my phone. I had texted my dad to tell him I was okay, though I didn’t expect a response at this hour. I had also sent Akira the directions for tomorrow’s meeting. His replies were full of emojis and excitement. I let out a quiet laugh.

Suddenly, my phone slipped from my hands and hit the floor with a dull thud.

“Damn it…”

I reached down to pick it up, but something else caught my eye under the bed. In the darkness, a flat object reflected the room’s dim light. I carefully pulled it out, and my eyes widened.

It was a CD.

Anxious about the situation, I grabbed the phone first, then the CD, using the flashlight from the former to illuminate its cover.

This wasn’t just any CD.

On the front, there were three signatures, one of them labeled LC_TheEcho. Below, written in black marker: "Our Great Song".

"What…?"

I flipped it over, my heart pounding against my ribs. On the back, a hastily scribbled title:

"Super Pony?"

I frowned. I couldn’t imagine Lucio making a song with a name like that. Curiosity swelled within me, but at the same time, a sharp pang of guilt shot through my chest.

It wasn’t mine. I had no right to look.

But…

The photo of Lucio with two other people flashed in my mind like a thunderclap. All my energy was funneled straight into sheer curiosity.

I swallowed hard and carefully got up. Walking to the door, I opened it just enough to peek outside.

Lucio was asleep.

I found him curled up between two chairs, arms crossed over his chest, his head tilted slightly to the side. His breathing was calm.

Silently, I shut the door and returned to the TV.

I placed the CD into the player. The device let out a soft beep, and my whole body tensed. I held my breath, waiting to see if Lucio would wake up. But the room remained still, and as I remained undiscovered, my breathing slowly followed suit.

The screen flickered, and the video began, showing one of the music room’s walls in the background. Maybe I was making a mistake, but if this could—

"Whaaat's uuuup?!"

My eyes widened as Lucio suddenly burst onto the screen.