Chapter 20: The Line They’re Afraid to Cross

The Monday after the beach trip felt strangely bright.

Summer sunlight spilled across the school courtyard, and everything looked softer, warmer—like someone had quietly repainted the world while they were gone.

Ren noticed it the moment he walked in.

Or maybe it wasn’t the sunlight.

Maybe it was the way Yuki stood by the shoe lockers, brushing her hair behind her ear, pretending not to wait for him.

He approached anyway.

“Morning,” he said.

Yuki glanced over, a smile flickering before she caught herself. “Morning.”

Silence settled between them—not awkward, not heavy.

Just… warm. Familiar. Dangerous.

They walked toward class together even though neither said they would. Their steps fell into rhythm, the way they used to on morning strolls years later, after marriage, after kids—before everything cracked.

Ren tried not to think about that.

Tried to hold on to the present, where they still wore uniforms, still had a chance to rewrite everything.

Yuki tried not to think about it either.

But their hearts weren’t good at forgetting.

---

Little Things They Pretend Not to Notice

In class, Ren cracked a rare joke under his breath about the teacher’s new haircut. Yuki muffled a laugh. Mina stared at them from two desks away, eyebrows raised.

During lunch, Yuki slid her bento a little closer when Ren forgot his chopsticks. He took one bite of her rolled omelet and went quiet.

“…Still the same,” he murmured.

Yuki looked away, cheeks warm.

“Don’t say weird things.”

“I didn’t mean—”

“I know what you meant.”

Their eyes met for a heartbeat too long.

Haru slammed his tray onto the table beside them.

“Are you two flirting in broad daylight?!”

They both jumped away from each other.

“We’re not!” Yuki snapped.

Ren coughed. “Definitely not.”

Mina leaned over. “Right. Not at all.”

Her smile said, You’re so obvious it’s painful.

---

But Memories Don’t Stay Quiet

That afternoon, Ren walked home alone. Yuki had club activities, and he told himself he wasn’t disappointed.

He lied.

Halfway down the street, he paused under the shade of a vending machine awning and closed his eyes.

And just like that, the memories slammed back.

Yuki crying at the kitchen table.

His own voice raised in frustration.

The sound of their daughter whispering, “Are you two mad again?”

The small picture their son drew—two houses, two parents, a broken line in between.

Ren gripped the vending machine, breath tight.

If we fall again… will we break again?

He didn’t know.

That terrified him more than anything.

---

Yuki Tries to Let Go… and Fails

The art club wrapped up early. Yuki stepped outside into the warm afternoon breeze and immediately thought of Ren walking home.

She hated how natural that thought still felt.

Her mind drifted back to all the small things:

Ren falling asleep on the couch after long shifts.

The way he held their kids when they were scared.

The day they signed the divorce papers without saying more than a handful of sentences.

Yuki pressed a hand against her chest.

We ruined it once. What if we do it again?

She tried to push the thought away.

She couldn’t.

---

They Meet Again Anyway

As if pulled by invisible thread, they found each other under the same big camphor tree near the school gate.

Ren stopped.

Yuki stopped.

Awkwardness spilled between them, not because they were distant—but because they were too close.

“You’re late,” Ren said softly.

“You didn’t wait,” Yuki replied.

“I did.”

That single line shifted the air.

They stood there, two people who had once built a family, lost it, and now stood at the edge of something new and terrifying.

“Ren…” Yuki whispered. “We can’t keep doing this.”

“I know.”

“We’re getting too close.”

“I know.”

“If we fall again—”

Her voice broke.

Ren looked straight at her, eyes steady, aching.

“I’m scared too.”

Yuki swallowed hard.

So was she.

Terrified, actually.

Falling in love with someone you already lost once was the most frightening thing in the world.

A breeze rustled the leaves above them.

Then—

"Chime—"

The sound rang through the air, sharp and clear.

Louder than the rooftop.

Louder than the lake.

Louder than anything so far.

Both of them turned, startled.

It didn’t come from any school bell.

It didn’t come from any phone.

It felt like it came from everywhere.

And for a split second, the world shimmered.

Ren’s breath hitched.

“…Yuki, did you feel that?”

She nodded, eyes wide.

“Yes.”

The air grew heavier.

Stranger.

Warning them.

Something was shifting again.

Something was coming.

And this time, whatever force had rewound their lives wasn’t just nudging them together.

It was reminding them—

There would be consequences for the choices they made.