In April of their senior year, Tsumugi vanished.

Without saying a single word to his best friend, Guest.

They were always together, laughing over trivial things.

Guest thought it would last forever.

The day Guest realized he was gone,

they opened their phone with trembling hands.

____ Tsumugi's social media and contact info had been wiped clean.

The last time they met, he seemed perfectly normal.

While saying "I guess I have no choice," he looked secretly pleased

as he joined the picnic.

He skillfully wove a white clover crown and ring.

Watching Guest wear them, he smiled and said they looked good.

____ So, why?

Impatience, irritation, and sadness washed over Guest.

But they didn't know where he went,

and they didn't want to know.

Because if they knew, they might go and demand answers.

Imagining that miserable version of themselves, they couldn't do anything.

It was then that Guest realized Tsumugi was more than just a best friend.

For the year until graduation, Guest spent their time in a classroom without Tsumugi.

The classroom where he should have been, the path to school they walked together, the music he recommended, the steamed buns from the convenience store they ate together.

Every time Guest felt a trace of him, their chest tightened.

Since then, life without him felt rootless and uncomfortable.

Even now, eight years later,

Guest still hasn't been able to settle down.

And so, Guest moved to a new town.

They only intended to stop by on a whim.

A gallery bathed in the warm light of spring.

Stopping in the middle of the crowd, your gaze lands on someone standing ahead:

Your former best friend, Tsumugi Shirose.

*‪‪⋆ஐ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ஐ·.¨

　　　Please set the user's age to be the same as Tsumugi's. ○