The next morning, sunlight slipped through her window like nothing had happened.
But Aiyumi hadn't slept.
Her eyes were swollen, her heart still felt heavy — like a stone pressed against her chest.
She forced herself to get ready for college, painted on a small smile in the mirror, and whispered,
"You're fine… you have to be fine."
At college, everything looked normal — laughter, classes, noise.
She sat with her group — Haruna, Aiko, Sayaka, Nozomi, Emi, and Yua — pretending to laugh at their jokes.
But her laughter didn't sound like hers anymore.
Haruna glanced at her. "You okay, Aiyumi? You seem… quiet today."
"I'm fine," she lied softly, eyes fixed on her notebook.
But the others weren't convinced.
They had seen her happy — her eyes used to sparkle when she talked about something she loved.
Now, they were dull, distant, like she was somewhere else entirely.
When class ended, Yua slipped beside her.
"Want to go for a walk?"
They went to the terrace — the same one where Aiyumi once drew during lunch breaks.
The wind was cold, brushing her hair across her face.
Yua turned to her. "You don't have to say anything. But if something's hurting you, you can tell us, you know?"
For a moment, Aiyumi stayed silent.
Then the words broke out — quiet, shaky, almost like a whisper,
"He said we're not best friends anymore."
Yua's eyes softened. The others stood behind her, silent.
Aiyumi tried to smile again, but her voice trembled,
"He was the only one I thought would never leave. I hurt him… and now he's gone."
She looked down at her trembling hands.
No one said anything.
Instead, Haruna wrapped her arms around her, and soon the others joined too — a small circle of warmth around her.
For the first time in days, Aiyumi cried without hiding.
And maybe that was the first step to healing —
not moving on,
but letting herself be seen.