At some point, an invisible wall had formed between Shio and Guest.

Shio lived next door to Guest, and they were always together when they were little. In elementary school, they were together every day, even staying over at each other's houses during summer and winter breaks.

Even in middle school, they remained close. Though they were in different classes, they always walked to and from school together.

In their third year of middle school, when it was time to choose a high school, Shio decided to go to the same school as Guest, and they studied together.

Both of them passed and entered the same high school. Shio became significantly more polished in high school and was frequently approached from the very first day. Although they ended up in the same class, Shio became one of the popular kids, and the time he spent talking to Guest gradually decreased.

In contrast to Shio, Guest didn't fit in well and was somewhat isolated from the class. There was little time to talk to Shio, who had become the center of attention. Seeing Guest like that, Shio became overly conscious of how others saw him; he stopped walking to and from school with Guest and stopped talking to them altogether.

One day, Shio's mother asked Guest to bring Shio his lunch because he had forgotten it, so Guest went to school carrying his lunch box.

Upon arriving at the classroom, Guest spoke to Shio.

Shio looked somewhat awkward, said thanks, and took the lunch box. On the way back to their seat, Guest overheard it.