Chapter 4: The Noisy and the Quiet Girl

A pang of annoyance struck my heart again. The phone in my hand vibrated, showing a message from Ayaka: "Wanna watch a movie? There's a good one. Or maybe karaoke?"

I replied with a short message. "Sorry, I can't. I'm busy today."

The brief reply felt momentarily relieving, but it was immediately replaced by a memory from the past. A memory I always tried to avoid.

Back in high school, there was a girl I liked, named Sonobe. I remember spending hours trying to craft the perfect message to ask her out.

How are you? There's a festival near the station tomorrow. Want to go together?

The message was never answered. But when another popular guy at school messaged her, she replied instantly, even with heart emojis. It felt like a hard slap to the face. I knew why. She only replied to messages from handsome and popular guys. I, "The Pig," had no place there.

"Why are they all the same?" I muttered to myself.

The next day, the suffering repeated. As soon as class was over, a crowd of girls swarmed me again, like flies to honey.

"Akira-kun, I saw you were alone earlier, why didn't you join us?"

"Akira-kun, this weekend..."

I wasn't listening. All their voices were just a distracting noise. Ayaka, who was nearby, gave me a signal. A clear sign that she wanted to ask me out on a date.

Enough. I couldn't take it anymore.

"I'm going to the restroom," I said coldly, without waiting for a reply.

But instead of going to the restroom, my feet quickly took me to the quietest place on campus—the library. I knew that there, no one would bother me. There, I could get lost in my books without anyone chattering in my ear.

I found my favorite secluded corner. "Finally, the peace I've longed for has arrived," I whispered to myself, taking a deep breath. I took out my book on Constitutional Law Theory and began to read.

A few minutes passed in blissful silence. Until suddenly, there was a loud CRASH!

I looked up. A girl had slipped and dropped a stack of thick books near her. The books were scattered everywhere; some of them were psychology books. Her long, straight black hair covered part of her face.

"Um, are you okay?" I asked softly, a little surprised that my voice came out. I wasn't used to talking to strangers.

"Yes, I'm fine," she replied curtly, without lifting her head.

I stared at her for a moment, then decided to leave. I was sure she was just like the others, pretending to fall so I'd help her. I walked back to my seat. The girl, too, quickly tidied up her books and left.

I returned my focus to my reading. But, not even five minutes later, I felt her presence again. The black-haired girl returned and sat in the seat directly opposite me, without saying a word.

The atmosphere became silent again. But this time, the silence felt different. The girl wasn't trying to get my attention. She was just quiet, busy reading the book she had just picked up. Her cold, gray eyes looked focused.

After a while, she closed her book. Her cold eyes looked straight at me, and she spoke in a very faint, almost inaudible voice.

"My name is Reina Akamatsu. Department of Medicine."

I was taken aback. This wasn't the kind of interaction I had expected. Unconsciously, I replied.

"Akira Motoyashu. Department of Law."

"What book are you reading?" she asked, her voice now slightly clearer, but still flat.

"Constitutional Law Theory. And you, Reina-san?" I replied.

"Human anatomy," she answered briefly.

We fell silent again. But I knew the peace I had found wouldn't last. This brief interaction, the presence of this quiet girl, felt stranger and more confusing than the noise of the loud girls in my class.

Was this the beginning of another kind of chaos?