"Take care, Serin."
That was the last message glowing on her screen.
Short.
Cold.
Final.
It didn't bleed — but it bruised.
Serin stared at the words like they might shift into something softer if she waited long enough.
Her thumb hovered… frozen in mid-air.
Then slowly, as if afraid to disturb the silence, she placed her phone on the desk.
It made a small sound — barely a click — yet somehow it echoed louder than anything in the room.
She blinked. Once.
Twice.
Then tilted her head back to the ceiling as if searching for answers in the shadows above her.
"…Whatever."
No sobs.
No yelling.
No drama.
Just a hollow laugh that barely touched the edges of her lips.
She always been this cold under pressure,
Maybe she was as cool as this since her birth
Or
Maybe it's her copping mechanism.
She stood.
Tucked her blanket into corners like her mind was trying to tidy the chaos.
Flicked off the light.
Slipped beneath the covers, alone with the stillness.
The moonlight poured in through the window, painting silver streaks across her wall.
They looked like cracked veins.
She traced them with her eyes — like following a trail back to when things made sense.
"What… was all that?"
It wasn't butterflies.
It wasn't a fairytale.
But it was… something.
Something quiet.
Something strange.
Something human.
Like when a stranger says something that cuts too close —
And for some reason, you feel safer around the wound.
She turned over, curling tighter.
Her back now faced the world.
"What kind of guy was he, really…?"
Her ceiling fan spun endlessly above her, its dull hum matching the static in her head.
Ren.
He wasn't a storm.
He was a spark.
Small.
Sudden.
Alive.
And even in his silence —
He made noise in her mind.
Next Morning,
The sunlight slipped through the curtains like honey, spilling warm apricot light across her sheets.
Outside, birds chirped with the kind of cheer that didn't match her insides.
Inside… toast burned in the kitchen.
Serin sat at the edge of her bed, slowly combing her fingers through her tangled chestnut waves.
Each strand was a knot of last night's confusion.
Her hair was always a mess in the mornings — like seafoam after a storm.
And she… kinda liked it that way.
She wasn't in a rush.
But her mind still ran laps.
One name, like a quiet background music she couldn't turn off.
Ren.
"Ehhh? Sissyyyy~?"
A cheeky voice poked into the room.
Her little sister peeked in — eyes bright, smile dangerous.
Serin raised an eyebrow without turning.
"Why are you brushing your hair like it's a love confession? Got a secret boyfriend?"
Serin smirked.
"Yeah. I've got ten of them. Now shoo."
Laughter bloomed — not loud, not forced.
Just soft and real, like petals floating down.
In the mirror, Serin paused.
She didn't hate her reflection.
But she didn't love it either.
Just… accepted it. Like furniture in an old room.
Sleepy eyes.
Mochi cheeks.
A quiet beauty, not the type that shouts, but the kind you notice after everyone leaves.
She wasn't skinny.
Wasn't big.
Just… somewhere in between.
A girl stuck in her own skin.
Sometimes, she walked like a storm.
Other times, she tugged at her uniform.
"Do they notice?"
"Do they think I'm weird? Fat? Fake?"
She didn't ask.
She just smiled.
On the Bus,
She barely made it.
"OH SH*T! Clear the aisle! Miss OBESE just boarded !"
Her best friend, Haito, stood from the back like a comedian on tour.
The whole bus exploded into laughter.
Serin deadpanned.
"Wow. Body-shaming from my own childhood clown. That's tragic."
More laughter.
She joined in, and laughed out loud.
But somewhere beneath her chest — something small winced.
Like a bruise someone kept poking.
" Nah...cool girls won't cry after some class clowns "
It's funny how the people who joke with you…
Can accidentally stab the things you try hardest to hide.
She slid next to Airi at the back.
"Hey… I gotta tell you something."
Airi leaned in, eyes sparkling.
"WHAT? WHAT? WHAT? Spit it out!"
And Serin told her everything —
The wrong message, the late-night texting, the quiet ending.
Airi's jaw dropped.
"GIRL. Are you in LOVE?!"
"NO! WHAT?! Of course not!"
"You suuure serin? Like... maybe just a little?"
They laughed together — too loudly.
But inside?
Serin didn't laugh all the way.
It wasn't love.
But it was a feeling.
A pull.
Like when a new song starts, and you know — you know — the chorus is going to ruin you.
At School,
In between classes, Serin started asking casually.
"Hey… what do you think about Ren?"
The responses hit like darts.
"Cringe factory."
"Drama king. Pass."
"Popular, but fake AF."
"He texted you?! RUN."
She nodded politely. Smiled. Moved on.
But none of those words matched the boy from the messages.
The boy who said silence was louder than words.
Who said he was scared of being forgotten.
That boy wasn't fake.
He sounded… human.
And maybe even beautiful in a broken way.
Then she found Ashiwkun — the boy under the stairs, reading manga like holy scripture.
She crouched beside him.
"Ash," she whispered.
He didn't look up. Just turned a page.
"You know Ren, don't you?"
He blinked. Then nodded.
"Yeah. I know him."
Pause.
"He used to be invisible. Like… ghost-level invisible. Then one day, changed his hair. Appearance. He had a glow up, Dated a girl. Then another. And people noticed. And yeah he was more like an attention seaker, So he started… playing the part."
"What part?"
"The one they'd finally look at."
She swallowed.
"So he's fake ?"
Ash closed his manga.
"No. Not fake. Just… scared of being left out."
He looked at her, eyes steady.
"He's not a bad guy, he just have bad luck."
Serin didn't know why —
But her chest tightened like someone had whispered her own secret back to her.
"…Thanks."
She smiled. But it was one of those rare ones — the real kind.
That Evening,
The house was chaos again.
Her little sister clung to her leg like a backpack.
Her mom shouted orders from the hallway.
Her dad gave a thumbs-up from the couch without even looking up.
Socks flew like grenades.
It was normal.
But her thoughts weren't.
They still orbiting that one spark.
" SERIN YOU BETTER TAKE YOUR LAUNDARY TO YOUR ROOM "
her mom shouted as usual.
"Okay, okay! Chill, woman!" Serin yelled, running upstairs with clothes stacked in her arms, laughter trailing behind her.
She slammed the door.
Dropped the laundry like a collapsing mountain.
Fell into her chair.
Silence.
Then — picked up her phone.
She stared at the chat.
Fingers hovered.
And this time… she was the one who texted.
Or should I say — spammed.
"I don't want to forget you, Ren."
"I don't care about your past."
"I liked the person I met through a mistake."
"Maybe I'll stay…"
"Unless you want me gone."
"Just say it."
"But for now…"
"Thanks for making me smile when I forgot how."
She hit send.
Then stared.
She didn't smile like a girl in love.
She smiled like a girl who had finally felt seen.
Buzz.
One reply.
Her heart skipped.
"You really want to know the truth about me?"
"Then don't blame me for what comes next."
Her fingers trembled.
Her breath caught.
And just like that —
The next chapter in their lives quietly… began.