Chapter 0: Prologue

This room always felt like a confessional.

Dark. Oppressive.

The only source of light was a single lamp hanging precariously over an ancient wooden table in the center of the room. Its glare fell in a sharp, unforgiving line, illuminating the face of the student sitting across from me.

He kept his head bowed low, shoulders hunched in defeat.

“I’ve tried everything…” His voice was thin, brittle—barely more than a desperate whisper. “I approached her slowly. I stayed by her side when she was sad. I did every single thing she asked of me.”

I rested my chin on the back of my hand, unmoved.

An opening line I’ve heard far too many times.

“But she still said… she only sees me as a friend.”

He finally lifted his gaze. His eyes looked like those of a man awaiting a death sentence.

“What should I do to make her mine?”

I didn't hesitate. I gave him the only honest answer there was.

“Nothing.”

“H-huh? What do you mean by that?!”

His head snapped up, eyes wide with total bewilderment.

“There is nothing you can do,” I repeated, my tone as flat as a dial tone.

“So… you’re telling me to just give up?!”

I let out a long, weary sigh. People always misinterpret that word.

“‘Nothing’ doesn’t mean you should keep forcing the situation.”

“Then what am I supposed to do?! I’m already head-over-heels in love with her!”

His voice rose, cracking with a pathetic sort of desperation.

To be honest, that was the part that annoyed me the most. ‘In love.’ As if that sentiment alone granted someone a special privilege to possess another human being.

Before I could retort, a soft, ethereal voice cut through the tension.

“Being rejected is not the end of your story.”

I glanced to the side.

Kurumi Mitsuzu was standing there.

The dim light caught her features in a way that made her look… otherworldly.

“Rather, it is an opportunity to grow and find something even better,” she continued, her voice radiating a calm that felt almost artificial.

The student stared at her as if witnessing a divine revelation descending from the heavens.

“Accepting rejection with grace is a form of strength, not weakness. Treat this experience as a stepping stone. Stay humble, and believe that the future has a better script written for you.”

The atmosphere in the room shifted instantly. The heavy air of a courtroom had evaporated, replaced by the hushed reverence of a sanctuary.

“A-a rejection can be a stepping stone to even greater success…” the guy mumbled, repeating the words like a sacred mantra.

“Remember,” Kurumi added, “do not view rejection as a failure. See it as a chance to learn.”

I just stared at the ceiling. Here she goes again.

“Successful people are those who keep moving forward after everyone else has stopped.”

“Rejection doesn't mean you aren't good enough,” she added gently. “It simply means the other person failed to see what you truly have to offer.”

The student looked like he had just undergone a full-scale spiritual enlightenment.

“Heartbreak is not the end of the book,” Kurumi continued without missing a beat. “But the beginning of a much more interesting chapter.”

“But in every rejection,” she said, “there is a chance to refine ourselves and prove that we are worthy of love. Let go of the pain. Focus on self-improvement.”

Silence filled the room. Then—

“Thank you… Goddess.”

I nearly choked on my own spit.

“Stop calling her an actual Goddess…” I muttered under my breath, though no one was listening.

The student left with a stride that was noticeably lighter than when he had arrived.

I thought that would be the end of it for the night. I was wrong.

The door opened again. And again. And again.

Someone came in confessing their crush on a handsome professor, lost on how to act. Someone else was spiraling over a cryptic three-word text message.

And every single time, Kurumi answered them with that same tone—calm, wise, like a celestial being who had descended specifically to heal the trivial aches of human hearts.

I kept watching her from across the table.

I still remembered the day she dragged me into this idiotic club. She told me she needed someone “rational.”

But in reality, all she was doing...

Was dragging me closer to the one thing I spent my life trying to avoid.

Love.

And for some reason—the more people came seeking answers, the harder it became for me to keep my distance from her.