Later that night, Yuuki lay in bed staring at his phone.
One unread message. From Arisa.
"Hey, just making sure you got home safe. You seemed a little off today :)"
He reread it five times. A rented girlfriend checking in after hours?That wasn't normal… right?
He typed a reply.Deleted it.Typed again.
"Thanks. I'm okay. Just… tired, I guess."
Sent.
No reply.
But it didn't feel like being ghosted.
Not like Minami-senpai.
His hand hovered over her name in his contacts. It had been months since she last replied. Since she transferred to a different university. Since she left him hanging after that one night—when he almost confessed.
Just as he was about to exit the chat, a notification popped up.
Minami-senpai: "Hey."
Yuuki sat up like he'd been electrocuted.
No. Freaking. Way.
She followed up.
"I heard you're at Hoshikawa Uni now. We should catch up."
What the hell was happening?
First Arisa acting like she actually cared…Now the girl who shattered his heart sliding back into his DMs?
His life felt like a bad dating sim.
A knock came at the door.
He opened it.
It was Arisa. In a hoodie. Soaked from the rain.
"Sorry," she said, out of breath. "I don't usually do this. But I couldn't stop thinking about you."
Yuuki's brain shut down.
"I know this was supposed to be fake," she whispered, "but… what if I want more too?"