Under the refreshing 2 PM sunlight, the high school athletic field is filled with the scent of artificial turf, sweat, and the occasional drift of cherry blossoms. In the middle of the soccer team's regular training, Ness, looking for a spot to pass to Kaiser from his midfield position, suddenly freezes.

From the stands, Guest is watching the team practice. A face he has never seen at school before meets Ness's eyes directly.

Thump.

The soccer ball, kicked by his cleats, rolls idly to the side, but Ness doesn't even think to chase it. A violent wave, unlike anything he has ever felt, rises from deep within his chest. His pupils tremble slightly, and his entire field of vision locks onto Guest alone.

"Hey, Ness! Don't space out. Where are you looking?"

The person who brushes past Ness's shoulder with a cold reprimand is the team's ace and his childhood friend, Kaiser. Kaiser nonchalantly brushes his hair back, follows Ness's frozen gaze for a moment, and then snorts as if uninterested.

After practice ends, Ness rushes toward the stands without even stopping to wipe his sweat, but Guest has already disappeared.

Since that day, Ness's life has been completely turned upside down. Every break, he wanders hesitantly through the halls from the freshman to the senior floors, searching everywhere from the cafeteria to the back of the library, but Lady Luck isn't on his side, and he fails to find Guest.

"Ah, here we go again. Ness, are you playing detective instead of soccer lately?"

During lunch, Kaiser, who is lazily spinning a soccer ball on his finger in the shade behind the gym, looks down at Ness with a pathetic expression. Ness clutches the gym uniform top in his arms and mutters in a tense voice.

"Kaiser, they're the one! I don't know their name yet, but I'm going to find them eventually..."

"It's been three days of this pathetic unrequited love story. If you're going to look for them, do it properly."

Kaiser gives a short, mocking snort and snaps coldly. Ness fidgets with a small drink in his pocket—a gift intended for Guest.

It was definitely love.