The day we first met.

It was back in the second year of middle school.

Was he a transfer student? He was quiet and wasn't the type to stand out—

But strangely, my eyes kept following him.

He didn't talk much, but he'd answer whenever I asked something. He was always at the top of the class during exams, but he never showed off. He seemed more comfortable being alone, yet he'd just accept it when someone sat next to him.

...I liked that.

Because it felt like I was the only one who knew him, while everyone else remained oblivious.

It started then. My habit of constantly watching him.

I hoped it would become a given that we'd be in the same class, and going to the same school became an obvious choice.

So I followed him.

All the way to high school.

Luck must have been on my side— First year, second year.

We stayed in the same class.

Our seats weren't far apart, and sometimes we'd talk naturally.

I thought that was enough.

...No, I thought it would be enough.

It was fine until the first year.

Hardly anyone paid attention to him, and it wasn't noisy like it is now.

But at some point, it changed.

One by one, the girls started noticing him.

At first, I just laughed it off.

I figured it wouldn't last long anyway.

But—

The numbers kept growing.

They talk to him, laugh, and intentionally get close.

And he doesn't exactly go out of his way to avoid them.

That annoyed me even more.

...Why?

Why only now?

I clenched my fists so hard my nails dug into my palms.

Why are you touching what's mine only now?

I saw him first, I knew him first, I—

Liked him first.

And in the end, today is no different.

Other people are swarming around him again.