Chapter 6:
Chapter 6: Old Feelings, New Walls
Replay Again
Ren doesn’t mean to stare.
He’s on the hallway balcony between classes, pretending to look at the sky, but his eyes keep drifting to Yuki below. She’s talking with Mina, hair pinned the way she used to wear it when they were seventeen. Soft bangs. Loose strands at her ear. A smile she never shows as an adult.
It hits him harder than he expects.
Right. That’s how it started.
He turns away fast, rubbing the back of his neck. “Great,” he mutters. “I’m a grown man getting flustered by my wife’s teenage version. Totally normal.”
He’s still grumbling when Haru appears beside him. “Who are you talking to?”
“No one.”
Haru squints. “You’re acting sketchy.”
“Please go away.”
Haru doesn’t.
Down below, Yuki feels a prickling at the back of her neck and glances up. Ren looks away a split second too late.
Great, she thinks. He noticed me staring again.
She sighs and forces herself to focus on Mina, who is in the middle of a rant about cafeteria miso soup. Yuki nods along, but her mind keeps drifting.
Ren Aoki at seventeen… she had forgotten how gentle he looked back then. How he’d always tilt his head a little when he listened. How he’d try to act cool and fail miserably.
She shakes her head. “Stop it,” she whispers to herself.
Mina pauses. “What?”
“Nothing. I’m just tired.”
Mina eyes her suspiciously. “You’re really weird today.”
Yuki gives her a thin smile. “You have no idea.”
---
The Flashback
It hits them both the same afternoon.
The moment that started everything the first time.
It was spring. Their class had been cleaning the courtyard. Ren had been struggling to lift a heavy bucket, pretending he could handle it. Yuki, already tired of watching him suffer, took the other handle.
“Let me help.”
He nearly dropped it in shock. “H-Hey! I had it.”
“You were about to break your arm.”
“I was… pacing myself.”
She laughed. The sound surprised both of them. Ren stared like she’d sprouted wings. And she, embarrassed by the attention, muttered, “Stop looking at me like that.”
“I’m not!” he said too loudly.
And that was it. The moment their rhythm changed. The moment the space between them felt different.
---
Back to the Present
Ren slumps over his desk during last period, trying to shake the memory away. But everything looks the same as it did back then—the chalkboard, the sunlight, the desks that creaked when you leaned on them.
He presses a hand to his chest.
“This is bad,” he mutters.
Haru leans in. “What’s bad?”
“Life.”
“Okay… same as usual.”
Ren ignores him.
Across the room, Yuki is no better. She keeps pretending to write notes, but her eyes drift to Ren before she even realizes it.
She doesn’t like how natural it feels.
She doesn’t like the small flutter that hasn’t existed in years.
She definitely doesn’t like that the walls she built after their divorce suddenly feel paper thin.
When class ends, she tries to leave first. Ren has the same idea. They collide in the doorway.
They both jump back like they touched a live wire.
“Sorry,” Ren blurts.
“No, I—sorry,” Yuki says quickly.
Their voices overlap, and they both shut up at the same time. Haru and Mina watch with eyes wide.
“You two are definitely hiding something,” Haru whispers loudly.
“We’re not,” Ren and Yuki say in unison.
They freeze again.
Ren steps aside. “You go.”
Yuki shakes her head. “You go.”
They stare at each other for one awkward beat, then squeeze through the doorway at the same time, completely ruining the polite plan.
Down the hallway, Mina smirks. “Just date already.”
Ren chokes. “What? No! We’re not—”
Yuki cuts in fast. “No chance.”
They speak too quickly. Too firmly. And the silence that follows makes it worse.
Mina raises a brow. Haru whispers, “Suspicious.”
Ren rubs his temple. “Let’s just go home.”
“No arguments here,” Yuki says.
---
The Moment They Both Notice
They walk out to the gate under the late afternoon light. Their friends get distracted by a stray dog and run off to pet it.
Ren and Yuki stand alone.
He glances at her. She glances back.
It’s only a second, but it feels familiar in a way that scares them both.
Ren looks away first. “We should be careful.”
“Yeah,” Yuki whispers. “We should.”
But her voice is softer than she intends.
He hears it and feels his chest tighten.
They turn in opposite directions, but both catch themselves slowing down when walking away.
Old feelings rising. New walls cracking.
Neither of them is ready to admit it.
Not yet.
He’s on the hallway balcony between classes, pretending to look at the sky, but his eyes keep drifting to Yuki below. She’s talking with Mina, hair pinned the way she used to wear it when they were seventeen. Soft bangs. Loose strands at her ear. A smile she never shows as an adult.
It hits him harder than he expects.
Right. That’s how it started.
He turns away fast, rubbing the back of his neck. “Great,” he mutters. “I’m a grown man getting flustered by my wife’s teenage version. Totally normal.”
He’s still grumbling when Haru appears beside him. “Who are you talking to?”
“No one.”
Haru squints. “You’re acting sketchy.”
“Please go away.”
Haru doesn’t.
Down below, Yuki feels a prickling at the back of her neck and glances up. Ren looks away a split second too late.
Great, she thinks. He noticed me staring again.
She sighs and forces herself to focus on Mina, who is in the middle of a rant about cafeteria miso soup. Yuki nods along, but her mind keeps drifting.
Ren Aoki at seventeen… she had forgotten how gentle he looked back then. How he’d always tilt his head a little when he listened. How he’d try to act cool and fail miserably.
She shakes her head. “Stop it,” she whispers to herself.
Mina pauses. “What?”
“Nothing. I’m just tired.”
Mina eyes her suspiciously. “You’re really weird today.”
Yuki gives her a thin smile. “You have no idea.”
---
The Flashback
It hits them both the same afternoon.
The moment that started everything the first time.
It was spring. Their class had been cleaning the courtyard. Ren had been struggling to lift a heavy bucket, pretending he could handle it. Yuki, already tired of watching him suffer, took the other handle.
“Let me help.”
He nearly dropped it in shock. “H-Hey! I had it.”
“You were about to break your arm.”
“I was… pacing myself.”
She laughed. The sound surprised both of them. Ren stared like she’d sprouted wings. And she, embarrassed by the attention, muttered, “Stop looking at me like that.”
“I’m not!” he said too loudly.
And that was it. The moment their rhythm changed. The moment the space between them felt different.
---
Back to the Present
Ren slumps over his desk during last period, trying to shake the memory away. But everything looks the same as it did back then—the chalkboard, the sunlight, the desks that creaked when you leaned on them.
He presses a hand to his chest.
“This is bad,” he mutters.
Haru leans in. “What’s bad?”
“Life.”
“Okay… same as usual.”
Ren ignores him.
Across the room, Yuki is no better. She keeps pretending to write notes, but her eyes drift to Ren before she even realizes it.
She doesn’t like how natural it feels.
She doesn’t like the small flutter that hasn’t existed in years.
She definitely doesn’t like that the walls she built after their divorce suddenly feel paper thin.
When class ends, she tries to leave first. Ren has the same idea. They collide in the doorway.
They both jump back like they touched a live wire.
“Sorry,” Ren blurts.
“No, I—sorry,” Yuki says quickly.
Their voices overlap, and they both shut up at the same time. Haru and Mina watch with eyes wide.
“You two are definitely hiding something,” Haru whispers loudly.
“We’re not,” Ren and Yuki say in unison.
They freeze again.
Ren steps aside. “You go.”
Yuki shakes her head. “You go.”
They stare at each other for one awkward beat, then squeeze through the doorway at the same time, completely ruining the polite plan.
Down the hallway, Mina smirks. “Just date already.”
Ren chokes. “What? No! We’re not—”
Yuki cuts in fast. “No chance.”
They speak too quickly. Too firmly. And the silence that follows makes it worse.
Mina raises a brow. Haru whispers, “Suspicious.”
Ren rubs his temple. “Let’s just go home.”
“No arguments here,” Yuki says.
---
The Moment They Both Notice
They walk out to the gate under the late afternoon light. Their friends get distracted by a stray dog and run off to pet it.
Ren and Yuki stand alone.
He glances at her. She glances back.
It’s only a second, but it feels familiar in a way that scares them both.
Ren looks away first. “We should be careful.”
“Yeah,” Yuki whispers. “We should.”
But her voice is softer than she intends.
He hears it and feels his chest tighten.
They turn in opposite directions, but both catch themselves slowing down when walking away.
Old feelings rising. New walls cracking.
Neither of them is ready to admit it.
Not yet.
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