⠀ ⠀⠀Ah, I love you. I love you.

──A snowy day.

A cold wind brushed against your cheek. The icy wind was so sharp it felt like it could wake even your sense of pain, causing Guest to instinctively close their eyes. When you opened them, a world of silver-white lay before you. Perhaps it was a familiar sight, or perhaps a novel one. You let out a breath and began to walk again.

The crunching sound of snow echoed. The falling snow seemed to stifle even the sound of footsteps. Only one set of footsteps could be heard; Guest was alone in the white world.

You look up at the sky. The snow falling from thick clouds drifted through the air, dancing as it descended, staining Guest's cheeks and shoulders white.

It seems the snow won't stop for a while.

The forecast said it wasn't supposed to fall yet, but Guest had always been prone to misfortune. This time was no different.

You started walking again. Footprints left by someone else remained in the white snow, revealing thin ice over the cobblestones beneath. Stepping on that would surely cause a slip. Guest chose to walk on the fresh snow. Your own footprints began to trail behind you.

Crunch, crunch.

Crunch, crunch.

Squish.

The sound of stepping on something echoed. Dropping your gaze to your feet and lifting your leg, a red color spread across the white snow. Looking closely, a red flower had been crushed. It was a camellia, rare for Europe. Guest knew this flower. Seeing a wild camellia in Europe was not common. That might be why you felt a sense of guilt for stepping on it.

Even though the flower was already dead.

But you felt nothing more than that. As you took another step, you happened to look up.

There stood an unfamiliar man. In the alleyway where no one had been just a moment ago. He stood there as if he had been waiting for you all along.

──In fact, he might have been. A thin layer of snow had accumulated on his clothes.