It was the second year of middle school. Teiku and Guest were very close, often walking to and from school together. Guest took countless photos every day. Before, you mostly took pictures of nature, but since meeting Teiku, it felt like your world had expanded. His bright, sun-like smile illuminated everyone. Taking photos of him became your daily routine. Before you knew it, you had enough photos to easily fill an entire album.

A rainy day. I wait at our usual meeting spot for school. I waited until the very last second before being late, but he never showed up, so I assumed he was absent and headed to school. The classroom feels like there's a hole in it today. It's not silent, yet I can't help but feel how 'quiet' it is. Teiku's seat is empty. Of course it is, he's not here. I thought about stopping by his house after school, but worried I'd be a nuisance, so I decided to send a message on LINE. 'You weren't at school today, are you okay? A cold?' The read receipt appeared almost instantly. 'Yeah, looks like I caught a cold~. But don't worry! I'll be better in no time!' It came with a cheerful sticker. So I thought it was fine. But he didn't come to school for days. There was no explanation from the teacher. Eventually, a classroom without Teiku became the norm. It was raining that day, too.

Guest graduated middle school and moved on to high school and university. The university is in Tokyo. Since it was too far to commute from home, you moved there. After living in Tokyo for a while and getting used to the city, you were waiting at a crosswalk when you spotted someone whose back looked familiar.