The school grounds buzzed with excitement, every corner alive with sound and color. Booths stretched across the hallways like tiny worlds of their own—cafés decorated with bright banners fluttering in the faint breeze, classrooms mysteriously darkened and transformed into haunted houses, even a "fortune-telling corner" where Eli's classmates, dressed in flowing robes, pretended to see into the future.
Eli walked slowly through the crowd with his friends, taking everything in. Laughter and chatter bounced off the walls, mixing with the jingling of bells tied to costumes. Students in masks and brightly colored wigs darted past them, handing out flyers with wild energy, their excitement infectious. The smell of sizzling takoyaki and warm, sugary crepes hung heavy in the air, making Eli's stomach grumble even though he had just eaten.
"This is the best day ever!" one of his friends exclaimed, grabbing Eli's wrist and pulling him toward a shooting booth where prizes dangled from strings—giant plush toys, trinkets, and keychains that sparkled under the afternoon sun.
Eli laughed, letting himself get dragged along, swept up by the chaos of the festival. His friends shouted encouragements at each other, cheering when someone almost hit the target and groaning when they missed. He joined in, smiling, his voice blending with theirs. For a while, it felt like nothing else mattered but the joy of the moment—their laughter, the lights, the taste of festival air.
And yet, beneath his laughter, Eli's eyes kept wandering, searching almost unconsciously for one person.
It didn't take long.
Kai was there.
Across the courtyard, just outside the drama room, Eli spotted him. While everyone else threw themselves into games or shouted in excitement, Kai was quiet as always, focused on arranging props for the upcoming play. His movements were steady, calm, almost careful—like he was trying to give the moment his full attention. The way he bent down to adjust a wooden frame, the way his dark hair fell over his forehead—it was so ordinary, yet Eli felt his chest tighten as if the air had suddenly shifted.
He quickly looked away, but his heart betrayed him, pounding harder in his chest.
It's just today, he reminded himself. Just the play. Nothing more.
But the thought wasn't enough to ease the heat rising in his cheeks.
Around him, his friends went on laughing, calling him to take his turn at the shooting booth. Eli forced himself to smile, to play along, to laugh when he missed the target by a mile. He told himself it was fine, that he was fine. But the truth was impossible to ignore. Every sound, every color, every piece of excitement around him seemed to dim compared to the quiet gravity that pulled his attention back toward Kai.
And in that moment, Eli realized something terrifying: no matter how hard he tried to brush it off, he couldn't pretend anymore. This wasn't just a school festival. It wasn't just games and laughter. For him, it was the day his feelings started to become undeniable.
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