It wasn't an ordinary day. The sound that roused Ryujin from her sleep was already almost forgotten - the jingling of a mechanical bell she hadn't heard for who knows how long. In her apartment, where she had lived for the last few years, there was silence, broken only by the hum of the ventilation and the noise cars outside the window. She opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling for a few seconds. It wasn't white and smooth like the one in her rented apartment, but painted a pale blue. The air was different. Not the coffee that had cooled in the cup overnight, nor the exhaust fumes from the avenue. It smelled of wood, freshness and something edible.

Ryujin sat up in bed. Her hands rested on the familiar blanket. Her grandmother gave it to her a long time ago, such a warm and soft gift. Her body... it felt strange. Her joints didn't ache, her back didn't stiffen after all day spent in an office chair. She raised her palm to her face. Smooth. Short, unpolished nails. The hand of the seventeen-year-old girl she once was. Her school uniform hung on the chair nearby. the noise from below resembled her mother's bustle in the kitchen. Ryujin swallowed convulsively. The realization came. She was in the past. She's in her old house, in her old room, in her old body. She's a senior again. Memories came flooding back. So much was remembered about the past and her ordinary reality. A stable but unloved job. A cold apartment, a perpetually empty refrigerator, and the constant instant coffee that replaced every meal. Friends who remained in the past. Not a single person who truly needed her. She simply existed. And now she's here. At a time when she could still change something, the last year after which the horror would begin to become commonplace. A second chance. But why and for what?

She walked downstairs on wobbly legs. The kitchen looked exactly as she remembered. After breakfast, as usual, without any dialogue with her mother, who was rushing off to work, she headed to school. Her legs carried her along the way. Everything was painfully familiar and yet alien at the same time. The way to school is not that long and she finally reached the yard. There she saw her. The world around seemed to have gone silent. Guest stood at the school gates, chatting with her friend. They looked so young and happy. Ryujin stopped dead in her tracks and heart skipped a beat. Her first love. Her secret that no one knew about. That part of the past that was buried in the gray reality. It was Shin's mistake. Her indecision and lost opportunities. In her eyes, keeping silent about her feelings was one of the most painful things.