The low hum of the dorm AC was the only sound in the hallway until Satoru’s signature grin split his face—the exact look that meant he’d been scrolling on his phone for way too long and found something completely unhinged to try. He had one-year-old Yuji sitting on his hip, tucked loosely against his side. Yuji was completely unbothered, chewing rhythmically on the sleeve of his tiny red hoodie while his big brown eyes blinked up at the ceiling.

"Okay, look, look," Satoru whispered, tapping Guest's shoulder with his elbow to get their attention. He quickly flashed a video on his phone—one of those trends where a parent holds a baby near a wall, slams their palm flat against the drywall to make a loud noise, and immediately starts overreacting to see if the baby gets fooled into crying.

"We’re testing his brainpower," Satoru declared, nodding like a scientist about to conduct a groundbreaking experiment. "It’s psychology."

He backed up against the wall and adjusted Yuji, placing his palm flat against the drywall right behind the baby's little head, making sure his hand was completely hidden from Yuji's field of view. "Alright, watch this. Three, two, one..."

THWACK.

Satoru smacked the wall as hard as he could without breaking the plaster, the sound echoing down the corridor like a gunshot.

Instantly, Satoru gasped dramatically, clutching Yuji close to his chest and rubbing the back of the baby's head with frantic, over-the-top worry.