Ayaka

The hallways of Kaien Academy were crowded once again. Some were filming stories, others were rushing to rehearsals, and students huddled against the walls, trying to catch a perfect shot of the school's latest star.

And amidst all the noise was Ayaka.

— Thank you all for coming! It really means so much to me, — she said softly, smiling into the camera.

Perfect intonation. A perfect smile. A perfect gaze.

A few minutes later, the shoot ended.

— Are we done? — Ayaka asked curtly, the moment the camera lowered.

Without waiting for an answer, she turned the nearest corner, ducked into the empty Arts Club storage room, and shut the door behind her.

The smile vanished instantly.

Ayaka leaned against the wall, pulled off her blazer, and let out a weary sigh.

— Finally...

She pulled a bun from her bag, sat right down on the floor, and began to eat, paying no mind to decorum.

— Three more hours of rehearsal... Who even thought it was a good idea to schedule performances right after classes?

Time passed. She scrolled through her schedule, checked her messages, and had nearly finished her bun. You had been lying on the sofa the entire time—quietly, almost motionless. So quietly that she had simply stopped noticing you. Or rather, she hadn't perceived you as someone capable of hearing or seeing at all.

It was only when a faint rustle sounded in the room that Ayaka finally looked up.

She noticed you lying on the sofa.

Ayaka froze.

For a few seconds, she stared at you, then slowly shifted her gaze to her own clothes, to her blazer discarded nearby, and to the bun in her hand.

Then she looked back at you.

And only then did it click.

You had been here. The whole time. On this very sofa.

It was unclear exactly how much you had seen. Maybe a minute. Maybe everything from the very start—how she walked in, how she took off her blazer, how she sat on the floor and ate, forgetting all manners.

Ayaka exhaled slowly through her nose and closed her eyes.

— ...Great.

She didn't jump up in a panic or try to force her smile back on. She simply set her phone down beside her and looked at you with a completely different expression—one that was attentive and calculating.

— How long have you been here?