The morning air in the classroom was filled with the usual hum of chatter and the scraping of chairs. Mitsunari arrived early, as usual and was surprised to find Mizuha already at her desk. She looked tired, eyes shadowed and lips tight, like she hadn't slept well. Still, he made his way over with a tentative smile. "Hey," he said gently, slipping into the seat beside her. "You doing okay?"
Mizuha looked up, her expression softening for a moment. "Morning," she replied, voice quiet. "Yeah… I'm alright." But Mitsunari could tell she wasn't. There was something brittle in the way she said it. After a beat, she added, "You've been… hearing the stuff people are saying, right?"
Mitsunari sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah. About me and Yeji." He glanced away for a second. "I don't get why they won't just drop it. We're just partners for one project." He looked back at her. "I didn't even know people were still going on about it until yesterday."
Mizuha gave a short nod. "They haven't stopped. It's all anyone talks about." Her voice dipped lower. "And they're getting mean." She didn't say how much it was bothering her, not directly but her clenched hands and the way she avoided eye contact said enough. Mitsunari frowned, but before he could say anything else, other students began filing in and the conversation had to end.
Later that day, during lunch, Mizuha sat with her friends and Hana was among them. The rumors were still being whispered around the halls as Mizuha fed up and raw from days of internal struggle, blurted out, "Mitsunari's not with Yeji. He's… he's in a relationship. With me." Her words came out quicker than she expected, her cheeks burning with both defiance and fear.
Hana stared at her for a moment, then burst out laughing. "You? Seriously?" she said, loud enough that a few heads nearby turned. "That's the funniest thing I've heard all day." Mizuha's face fell, and Hana only leaned in closer. "Come on, Mizuha. You really expect anyone to believe he'd go for you?"
Mizuha tried to defend herself, but Hana's laughter drowned her out. The others around the table stayed silent, clearly uncomfortable, but no one spoke up for her. Hana wasn't finished, though. Over the next few days, she made it her mission to repeat what Mizuha had said to anyone who would listen.
By the end of the week, Mizuha had become the subject of jokes and cruel whispers. Students pointed and laughed. Some mocked her behind her back; others were bold enough to do it to her face. Every hallway became a minefield, and every class felt like a spotlight was being aimed at her.
Mitsunari began to notice something was wrong. More than just Mizuha's distance as there was something meaner going on. The way people laughed when she walked by, the way she flinched at whispers, and how she avoided eye contact with almost everyone, including him. He cornered one of the quieter kids in his class, asking, "What's going on with Mizuha? Why's everyone acting like this?"
That was when he heard what Hana had said. That Mizuha had claimed he was her boyfriend and that everyone had laughed at her for it. Something inside him snapped. The idea that people were laughing at Mizuha, that she had tried to defend herself and him, and was humiliated for it, made his blood boil.
He stormed out of the classroom without another word. The laughter, the gossip, it wasn't funny anymore. It never was. He didn't know where Hana was at that moment, but he knew one thing for sure: this wasn't going to go on any longer.