Who Are You, by the Way?

Finally...

Ding—Dong—Dang—Dong!

The lunch bell rang.

The classroom instantly came alive.

Lunch boxes opened. Desks were pushed together. Friends gathered into groups, and laughter filled the room.

Near the teacher's desk, a group of students surrounded a small plastic box filled with folded slips of paper.

"Hey! Let's play Seat Number!"

A girl shook the box excitedly.

"Draw a slip! It'll tell you which seat has a crush on you!"

Nearly ten students rushed over.

Rurouni didn't even glance in their direction.

He reached for his chocolate biscuits.

Then stopped.

A strand of that sky-blue-haired girl's hair was stuck to one of them.

Or so he felt.

"There goes my appetite."

He stared at the biscuit for a moment.

"Looks like even chocolate biscuits can't save me today."

Rurouni rested his chin on right hand and tried—

And failed—

to think about anything else.

Finally, he pulled out his phone.

«No Internet Connection.»

He stared at the screen for a few seconds.

"...Right."

He sighed and put it back down.

Today is going really great for me.

Near the front of the classroom, the slips began opening one after another.

"Seat 8!"

"Eww!"

Everyone laughed.

Another girl unfolded hers.

"Seat 34."

"No thanks."

More laughter followed.

At last...

Only one slip remained.

The classroom's attention shifted toward the most popular girl in Class 10th-Falcon.

Sara Sterling.

Long black hair.

A confident smile.

Excellent grades.

Captain of the girls' basketball club.

And known for carrying herself with an almost royal-like elegance.

She was widely regarded as the most beautiful girl in the school.

Sara smiled confidently.

"I'll take the last one."

She unfolded the paper.

Her eyebrows lifted slightly.

Then—

A satisfied smile spread across her face.

"Oh?"

Several girls immediately crowded around her.

"What number?"

Sara held up the slip dramatically.

21.

The girls gasped.

"Seat twenty-one?"

"That's... Rurouni!!"

Several boys immediately turned toward the back row.

One of them laughed.

"No way!"

"Hey, where did his glasses go?!"

Another boy whistled.

Sara casually brushed a strand of hair behind her ear before folding her arms.

"Well... I can't say I'm surprised."

Her friends giggled.

"I mean..."

Sara smiled confidently.

"I'm Sara. After all... it's only natural."

She glanced toward Rurouni, clearly pleased with herself.

"Guys like him probably spend half their day daydreaming."

"Especially someone who's always reading fantasy novels."

More laughter spread through the classroom.

One boy called out,

"Rurouni!"

"Busted!"

Every eye turned toward Seat No. 21.

Only then did Rurouni finally look up.

Are you calling me because you're not satisfied with the bullying she did to me?

He blinked once.

Then slowly looked around the classroom.

"Uh... Is something wrong?"

The room fell strangely quiet.

One student pointed toward Sara.

"Yo, she's talking about you."

Rurouni looked at him with disbelief.

She?! Are you idiot or something?

Why would a girl talk about me?

Then he looked at her.

A few seconds passed.

He thought... and thought.

Then answered honestly.

"...Okay."

A brief pause.

"...But..."

"Who are you, by the way?"

...

Silence. Absolute silence.

No one moved. No one blinked.

Sara's confident smile froze, and embarrassment took its place.

"...W-What?"

Rurouni looked genuinely puzzled.

Shouldn't I be the one saying that?

"I'm sorry...

...Have we met before?"

Five long seconds passed.

Then—

"PFFFFTTHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

One student burst into laughter.

Another slammed his desk.

Girls covered her mouth.

Within seconds, the entire classroom erupted.

"PFFT—HAHAHAHA!"

"No way!"

"He actually said that?!"

"I'm crying!"

"That's brutal!"

One boy laughed so hard that he slipped off his chair and landed on the floor.

But he kept laughing.

Even students outside the classroom began laughing after hearing what had happened.

Sara stood frozen like an ice sculpture.

Her face slowly turned bright red.

"...Y-You're joking, right?"

Rurouni tilted his head, signaling no.

No, the only thing that's a joke...

...is my life.

"...No...? You...

You seriously don't know who I am?"

He paused.

Hey, why are you acting so serious right now over something like that?

Then thought about it again.

Then slowly shook his head.

"...Sorry. I really don't."

I can't believe I'm still alive right now.

And you expect me to recognize you?

I wouldn't have even believed you were in my class if you weren't sitting right there.

Another wave of laughter swept through the room.

Sara could only stare at him in disbelief.

There was nothing she could say.

After all...

For the first time since entering junior high school...

Someone hadn't recognized her.

Time: 12:31 P.M.

Incident Report

Student Rurouni Rakhora failed to recognize classmate Sara Sterling despite attending the same class for over a year.

Observations:

No sign of sarcasm.

No sign of embarrassment.

Response appeared completely genuine.

Recommendation:
Monitor student for possible sleep deprivation or unusual stress.

Rurouni quietly opened his packet of chocolate biscuits again.

Alright, one last try.

Sky-blue.

...

"...You again."

He placed the packet in his bag and closed his eyes so he wouldn’t have to see his dark future.

"Yeah..."

"I've completely lost my appetite."

Around him, his classmates were still laughing about what had just happened.

Rurouni, however...

Still had no idea why everyone found it so funny.

Yet everyone had forgotten one serious question...

How does Sara know what he reads?

Meanwhile...

Someone had arrived at his school for the first time.

He was slightly muscular, with a bright smile on his face.

A vanilla ice cream was in his left hand...

While his brand-new phone was in his right.

And a red locket hung around his neck, which he was trying his best to hide.

At least, that’s what he thought he was doing.

As he walked toward the school building, he scrolled through Thrika, the popular social platform where people shared their thoughts, asked for advice, and occasionally posted things they probably shouldn't have.

A post immediately caught his attention.

User: #rainwater777

"Uhm... 40+ age-looking creeps... Please stop following my account."

He blinked and looked at the post again.

Then he became slightly surprised.

Wow.

She must be some kind of skilled actress to somehow make them interested.

He thought about it for a moment.

Then, for reasons known only to himself, he decided to type a reply.

"Uhmmmm..... Congratulations, I guess."

He posted the comment, closed the phone, and focused solely on enjoying the ice cream.

...

Meanwhile...

The girl behind #rainwater777 opened her phone, hoping someone would offer useful advice to her.

Instead, she saw his comment.

Her eyes widened.

The username stared back at her.

#cutiepieiamcoming

"..."

She stared at the screen displaying his ridiculous comment.

Then she stared at the username again.

She tried to figure out what kind of person would write a comment like that.

What was he thinking when he typed it?

Was he making fun of me?

Or was he really congratulating me?

But who congratulates someone for something like this?

She had absolutely no idea about any of that.

After several seconds of staring at the screen, only one question remained in her mind.

Who is he?