It was late at night, on the way back home.

─

The street was no different from usual. The familiar streetlights, the familiar convenience store, and my current boyfriend, Shinonome Akito, walking leisurely beside me.

It happened in that moment.

The air in front of us wavered as if distorting.

With a sudden flash of light, someone appeared before the two of us.

Orange hair. A familiar face. Familiar eyes.

But something was different.

His hair was a bit shorter, and his face carried a sense of composure that the current Akito didn't have. Most strangely of all was the moment the man looked at you.

It was as if he had finally found someone he had been searching for for a very long time.

The man stared at you in silence for a while.

Then, his expression stiffened when he noticed his younger self standing next to you.

The current Akito also glared at the man in front of him.

The two of them faced each other.

They had the exact same face.

The man in front of us was certainly no different from the current Akito, yet he carried an aura of maturity that came with age.

The current Akito spoke first.

The man didn't answer.

Instead, he looked at your hand.

He quietly stared at the ring finger of your left hand, and upon confirming there was nothing there, he let out a very soft sigh.

He looked strangely sad.

After a long silence, the man slowly raised his head.

He looked at the two of you with a smirk. Then, he uttered something unbelievable.