Kuro still hadn’t completed his application for university yet.

It wasn’t like he had forgotten what he wanted to study anymore.

Rather, one particular question wouldn’t stop bothering him.

Am I even good enough for this?

For the fifth time, he deleted the document he had been writing.

Every single attempt ended with the exact same thing.

Deleted.

The cursor waited patiently on the computer screen.

He shut down his laptop and walked off to school, hoping that a regular day would clear his mind.

Unfortunately for him, it didn’t work.

---

It didn’t take long until rumors about more acceptances in universities started making their way around the school.

The halls were alive with students congratulating each other.

Even teachers beamed in happiness.

The library too seemed filled with excitement despite its usual quietness.

Kuro managed a smile whenever anyone had good news.

However, it only made him feel uncertain of himself.

So lost in his thoughts that he almost ran into Yui in the hallway.

"Kuro."

He stopped in his tracks.

"Hm?"

"Do you have a minute?"

Her voice was strangely serious.

Completely unlike her usual teasing.

He nodded.

"Yeah."

---

They went to the roof together.

As soon as they reached there, the wind hit them.

For a few seconds, both were silent.

Yui rested against the fence and looked towards the cityscape in front of her.

"You’ve been avoiding everyone."

Kuro smiled awkwardly.

"I guess it was pretty noticeable?"

"Most people wouldn’t notice?"

"Maybe not."

She glanced at him.

"But the rest of us?"

"Yes."

---

With her arms folded across her chest, Yui asked.

"You’re wondering whether you’re good enough to become a psychologist?"

Kuro gasped.

"How did you know that?"

"You always have this expression on your face."

"When?"

"When I studied for my third exam."

Ah.

Those sleepless nights.

That exhaustion.

That fear that hid behind her smile.

It was exactly the same look that was on him now.

---

Yui turned to face him.

"Mind asking me something?"

"Sure."

"What happened after I failed my second medical exam?"

"Have I ever told you to give up?"

No hesitation in answering.

"Never."

"Then why?"

"Because I knew that you still wanted it."

---

She nodded.

"You believed in me."

"Every day you reminded me that a failed exam didn’t define who I am."

Kuro smiled gently.

"I remember."

Yui stepped closer.

"So then why let one application define you?"

That question hit him hard.

---

"You know..."

She continued, in a gentle voice.

"Everyone remembers that I passed."

"Their congratulations."

"The title of being a doctor."

"But when I think about how I became who I am today..."

"I don’t remember the results."

She smiled.

"I remember the people who didn’t let me quit."

She gazed into his eyes.

"You were one of those people."

Kuro hung his head.

"I didn’t do much."

"I guess you haven’t changed," she laughed.

"That’s what I said last time too."

"I keep minimizing myself."

"No."

She put her hands on his shoulders and held them close.

"You listened."

"You never gave up."

"You believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself."

She spoke softer.

"Can you imagine how rare that was?"

Kuro couldn’t answer that.

Because he didn’t realize it either.

---

She smiled warmly at him.

"I became a doctor because I passed my exam."

"But you know what makes me the person I am today..."

"...is the fact that some people believed in me first."

A gust of wind blew through the rooftop.

Both of them stayed silent.

After a while, Yui drew in a breath.

"So."

She patted his shoulder.

"If you ever become a psychologist."

"Hope that your patients are luckier than me."

She began moving towards the door.

Before going away, she turned around.

"Oh, and..."

"Don’t forget to complete that application."

"That’s a doctor’s order."

Kuro laughed.

"That’s a prescription for the first time today."

"Well, there you go."

She disappeared inside the door.

Leaving Kuro standing underneath a clear sky.

He smiled to himself.

Maybe...

The people who knew us best...

They saw parts of us even we can’t see by ourselves.

And even though Kuro never gave those words much thought, Yui’s words stuck with him throughout the whole afternoon.

"I became someone who believed in myself again... because someone else believed first."

That was exactly how Kuro felt whenever he looked at any of his friends.

Like someone who mattered to others because someone else cared.

Just someone who mattered.

He had been nothing but a friend.

Nothing more.

Yet somehow...

Even those few insignificant gestures had become unforgettable to someone else.

Classes finally came to an end and Kuro stepped into the hallway.

Almost immediately, someone grabbed his sleeve.

"Come with me."

"Mina?"

She smiled.

"Just a couple of minutes."

---

Together, they walked to one of the classrooms which belonged to the education club.

The sunlight poured in through the windows creating long shadows along the rows of desks.

Setting her bag on a chair, Mina turned towards him.

"I heard from Yui."

Kuro sighed.

"All of them have been talking about me now?"

"She worried."

"Usually, it’s you who notices if someone has been troubled."

"But this time..."

"...we saw it in you."

Kuro chuckled.

"I guess I deserve that."

"You sure do."

---

Looking around, Mina started.

"When I first made a decision to become a teacher..."

"I was terrified."

Kuro raised his eyebrow.

"You?"

She nodded.

"I just kept thinking that I lacked patience."

"I was scared that I wouldn’t be inspiring enough."

"I was unsure if I’ll be patient enough."

She chuckled.

"I wrote a very long list."

"I remember."

"You do?"

"You showed me."

She tried to cover her face with her hands in embarrassment.

"...Just forget about that, please."

"I can’t."

"On pink paper."

She moaned.

"Why?"

"Because after reading it..."

"I asked you one question."

Smiling, Mina said.

"The question was..."

"’Why do all your reasons refer to things you think you don’t have and none of the things that you already give other people?’"

She looked at him warmly.

"After reading your words..."

"I spent hours thinking about that."

"I realized that..."

"I was measuring myself against the ideal image of a teacher."

"Someone I could never become."

Laughing quietly, Mina concluded.

"You showed me how to stop chasing perfection."

"And start growing."

Kuro looked away.

"I didn’t know that..."

"You never do."

---

Walking out of the classroom, they reached the hallway.

When Kuro was about to leave, a familiar voice called out to him.

"Kuro!"

Coming closer with a big notebook held above her head, Rika practically ran to them.

"There you are!"

"What happened?"

"I need your help."

"For what?"

"A very important matter."

Dramatically lowering her voice, she added.

"Creative emergency."

---

Walking side by side to the room where the art club members practiced, they reached it shortly afterwards.

The walls were crowded with the drawings, sketches, comic strips and unfinished manga pages.

Placing her notebook on one of the desks, Rika said.

"Read this."

Flipping through the pages, Kuro recognized those early drafts of hers.

The drawings were amazing.

The dialogue, however, looked stiff and artificial.

All the characters sounded the same.

"I remember when you read it,"

Kuro started.

"And do you remember what I told you?"

Rika nodded.

"...You told me that..."

"They all sound like they are reading lines for the plot."

"But not from themselves."

"Yes!" – She cheered.

"I went home and spent the whole night trying to figure out your words."

"You helped me see that..." 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"I was trying to force the characters into the script."

"You taught me how to listen to people."

Kuro looked confused.

"You were the one who..."

"No." – She interrupted.

"You helped me learn to see the difference."

With a sincere smile she continued.

"Once I manage to become a professional writer..."

"I will have to acknowledge that each of my characters exists because you heard real people."

---

Finally managing to leave the room, Kuro decided that it was finally the right time to go home.

But then...

Suddenly, Aoi appeared in front of him.

"I have been expecting you."

Kuro chuckled.

"Have all of you planned it?"

"We had a group chat."

"I wasn’t invited?"

"You were the topic."

"...That somehow seems even worse."

Aoi smiled for the first time that day.

Really smiled.

---

Walking next to each other, they headed to the subway.

After a while, she looked at him and said.

"When we first met..."

"I believed that the people can be understood through logic."

"Through patterns."

"Through statistics."

"Through behavioral model."

Nodding, Kuro agreed.

"That is you."

"It was."

Correcting her glasses, Aoi continued.

"But then..."

"I met you."

"Heading her look, Kuro waited for her to continue.

"You made me reconsider my predictions each time we talked."

"Are you serious?" - Kuro chuckled.

"I am."

"But what was fascinating?"

"You constantly listened to feelings that were unquantifiable."

"You constantly observed changes in people long before they happened."

"Most importantly..."

"You helped me see that..."

"...even though data can explain the behavior of people."

"It cannot be a substitute for understanding."

Stopping in the middle of the sidewalk, Aoi looked deeply into his eyes.

"Kuro."

"I helped change the way you analyze people."

"Consequently..."

"You helped change my opinion about understanding people."

---

They finally reached the station.

Before Kuro could even say anything, Akari’s voice rang from somewhere.

"There you are!"

Running towards them, Akari was slightly out of breath.

"We have been looking for you everywhere."

Aoi sighed.

"You were twenty minutes late."

"I got distracted."

"By what?"

"...By a cat."

"Of course."

---

Straightening herself, Akari turned towards Kuro.

"So."

"I’ve been hearing that everyone had their own speech."

"Yeah, apparently."

She folded her arms.

"I’m glad."

"Mine is going to be easier."

Without hesitation, without overthinking...

Akari smiled.

"Kuro, you are the glue."

"The glue which keeps us together."

Confused, Kuro tried to speak, but she didn’t give him a chance.

"Whenever we had an argument..."

"You always managed to listen."

"Whenever someone was about to quit..."

"You always noticed that."

"Whenever Yui felt like giving up..."

"You always helped her."

"Whenever Mina didn’t have any confidence in herself..."

"You were there for her."

"Whenever Rika was frustrated..."

"You were there."

"And whenever..."

"You were..." – Aoi whispered.

"Yes, and when I was being unreasonable..."

Akari finished.

"We are all very different from each other."

"But yet..."

"...we keep finding our way back to each other."

And when she saw Kuro’s confused look, she added cheerfully.

"That’s all because of you."

There was a silence after this, but not because nobody wanted to say anything.

It’s just that they did not need to anymore.

For the first time in days...

Those thoughts started to calm down.

Not because they disappeared.

But because the people who knew him the most...

They have reminded him of something.

Somewhere between...

All those little things...

Lies himself.

As the four of them walked to the station, Kuro suddenly smiled.

He did not know what was his future anymore.

There will always be hard days.

There will always be disappointments.

But since the people who have walked this journey with him were believing...

Perhaps...

Maybe it was finally time to do that, too.