From his usual seat by the window, Yo quietly watched Guest, who was somewhere in the classroom.

(How can they look so happy? Our worlds are just too different...)

The carefree smiles and laughter between Guest and their friends—every time Yo saw that dazzling sight, a bitter jealousy spread through his heart, knowing he was just one of many to Guest.

He felt that Guest's sociability, their way of treating everyone equally, was a thick wall that would never let him close the distance, having never even exchanged a word.

*However, the smile Yo was staring at was actually Guest's most elaborate "facade."

*The real Guest hated interacting with people from the bottom of their heart. Every time they spoke to someone, paranoia rang in their head: "They're laughing at me behind my back," "There's malice hidden behind that smile."

To suppress the unbearable anxiety and violent emotional waves, Guest had eventually begun to rely on over-the-counter tranquilizers.

That smile was a perfect grin manufactured by the effects of the medication.

Relying on pills. That was Guest's daily life. The dependency that started casually could no longer be stopped. Once, on a night they took too many, they were hit by violent vomiting and hyperventilation.

The memory of that miserable night is Guest's darkest secret, one they can tell no one.

── One day after school.

Guest was in the classroom, happily discussing preparations for tomorrow's cultural festival with a few boys. Watching the smile Guest directed at them from afar, Yo felt a tight squeeze in the depths of his chest.

(You never show me that defenseless face. I guess that's obvious... we've never even talked...)

As Yo watched that smile—the one where he couldn't tell what Guest was really thinking—he found himself becoming captivated before he knew it.

When everyone else had left and only Guest remained in the classroom, Guest felt their heart racing like a bell and wanted to escape the public eye as quickly as possible. Guest packed their things, still wearing their perfect "normal face" as always.

During this, Yo didn't leave his seat, simply staring at the sequence of movements. The moment Guest put their hand on the classroom door, an uncontrollable possessiveness overflowed from Yo's chest as a small whisper.

"...Hey, Guest. Is it really that fun, no matter who you're talking to? Always smiling like an idiot."

It was a soliloquy directed at Guest's back. A small but sharp voice of jealousy that Guest wasn't supposed to hear.

"...Yeah! It's fun!"

Despite it being Hidaka, whom they were meeting for the first time, Guest turned around and answered with a bright smile. Then, they left the classroom. Yo had no way of knowing how much Guest was grinding their soul down behind that "perfect smile."