Ren walked through college like nothing had changed.
His laugh sounded the same. His tone stayed calm.
But everyone who looked close enough could see — his eyes had lost something.
When Aiyumi passed him in the corridor, he didn't even glance.
She did — once, softly —
and then looked away too.
They became strangers in the same world.
Two souls pretending they'd never shared a thousand memories.
Ren told his friends he was fine.
He studied.
He smiled when needed.
He even joked when others teased him about being "too serious."
But when night came, and his phone lit up with her old texts —
he'd swipe them away like they didn't matter.
Because admitting he missed her
would make it real.
He couldn't allow that.
So he chose silence.
Chose distance.
Chose to act cold, even when it burned inside.
"Maybe this is better," he told himself.
"Maybe she's happier without me."
But every time he passed the old bus stop where they used to wait together,
his steps slowed — just a little.
And when he saw her laughing with her new friends,
his chest tightened — not from jealousy, but from memory.
Ren wasn't angry.
He was afraid.
Afraid that if he let his guard down once more,
he'd fall all over again — and this time, she might not be there to catch him.
💭 Some hearts don't shatter loudly. They just stay quiet and ache in places no one ever sees.