(Transted/Edited/Slight Proofread: Snow)

  The weekend came by quickly.

  One of the iron rules of dating:

  Arrive at the meeting pce 30 minutes early.

  Coincidentally, this rule did not apply to Taeil and Ayane, who were neighbors.

  "Shin-chan!."

  If you've made pns, why bother meeting somewhere else? Just show up at the other person's house.

  That was the philosophy Ayane had just come up with.

  After all, they were neighbors—why waste time traveling to a separate location?

  Today, Ayane easily entered the quiet neighborhood home, unlocking the electronic front door with a spare key. Taeil's parents, a working couple, were away on a business trip, making this an effortless entrance.

  Unlike most Japanese families who still preferred metal locks, Taeil’s Korean parents had installed an electronic door lock without hesitation, prioritizing their child’s safety.

  There was also an electronic security system in the yard—one that Taeil was completely unaware of.

  "Hello?."

  A cold mansion. No warm greeting awaited her.

  Aside from Taeil, no one was home.

  There was an eerie silence, devoid of the warmth one would expect from a lively household. Ayane couldn’t help but feel a quiet loneliness, an emotion she rarely acknowledged. Taeil's home was the stark opposite of the Katsuragi household, where ughter and energy always filled the air.

  "That's why I invited Shin-chan to eat at my house," she murmured to herself.

  But, as always, he declined, insisting it would be a nuisance.

  Ayane sighed at her childhood friend’s stubbornness and made her way upstairs. Stopping in front of a door beled "Taeil’s Room" in Korean, she knocked gently.

  "Knock, knock. It's morning already, Shin-chan. Are you still sleeping?"

  No response.

  Not because he wasn't there—but because he was probably still fast asleep.

  With a soft chuckle at his ziness, Ayane carefully pushed the door open.

  Like a child unwrapping a long-awaited present, she peeked inside.

  The room was dark and quiet.

  It was slightly cluttered—objects scattered here and there—but still within reasonable measure. Far from the disastrous mess and dubious "night flower" scent her cssmates had gossiped about.

  If Ayane listened closely, she could hear the sound of steady breathing.

  “Let’s be careful.”

  As she crept closer, moving as stealthily as a cat, she spotted Taeil sleeping with his guitar. As always, he looked gentle in his sleep.

  Surprised to see him at ease, Ayane knew that Taeil had suffered from insomnia for as long as she could remember.

  Perhaps to Taeil, it was a side effect of possession—two simir yet different sets of memories constantly cshing, making it difficult for his mind to settle. Even when Taeil did manage to sleep, he was often pgued by nightmares.

  It was much better now, but back then, sleepless nights had been his reality. Waking up te became a habit, a routine he couldn't break.

  Recalling past memories, Ayane missed the Taeil who had always treated her like a younger sibling—reliable, gentle, an older brother figure in her childhood. Yet, in the quiet state of sleep, he had always been weaker, more fragile than she ever was.

  "Shin-chan was really cute back then."

  In Ayane’s small world, Taeil had always stood out—perhaps the most outstanding, even perfect person in her age group. And yet, he had relied on her. That realization had given her a special kind of satisfaction, even as a child.

  Whether intentional or not, his dependency had shaped her confidence.

  In a way he never realized, Taeil had raised her.

  Ayane pressed her palm against his cheek, reminiscing about the past—when he wouldn’t wake up until she forced him to.

  It wasn’t as soft as she expected, but there was something oddly addictive about the way it felt.

  "Shin-chan? If you don’t wake up soon, I’ll do this and that to you."

  "Hmm..."

  She poked his cheek with her index finger, twisting it in a slow circle.

  Then she pushed it upward, forcing the corners of his lips into an unintentional smile.

  Each time Taeil’s sleeping face contorted, Ayane’s own smile grew wider.

  And when she let go, his expression returned to its peaceful state, making the entire process even more entertaining.

  "You’re cute."

  Dating Taeil would probably be fun—but watching him sleep like this was already enjoyable in its own way.

  Ayane propped her arms onto the bed, resting her chin as she gazed at him.

  With her eyes, she memorized his sleeping figure. With her nose, she caught the faint scent of him. And with her hands, out of sheer boredom, she reached out to the scattered objects around him.

  Besides the guitar, there was a sheet of music—smudged with pencil marks and worn from use. And then—

  "A notebook?."

  Her curiosity piqued, Ayane picked up the small, bck notebook that had been rolling around on the bed.

  The leather cover was well-worn, with a distinct texture under her fingertips.

  "The notebook Shin-chan always carries with him..."

  It was smaller than the staff notebook she used in music css—so small it could barely serve as more than a personal notepad.

  But something about it felt important.

  ‘Shin-chan's Secret…’

  Even Taeil who usually shared everything with her had never shown her this.

  He cimed it was just a pce to jot down notes whenever inspiration struck, but that excuse didn’t add up. Why would he keep using an old, worn-out notebook, even going as far as repcing the pages?

  There was definitely something in this notebook.

  Ayane’s intuition buzzed with anticipation, though she wasn’t sure what she was about to uncover.

  ‘Unfold, unfold!.’

  ‘What if it was a gift from a woman she didn’t know?.’

  The thought sent a sharp pang through her chest.

  ‘If you hesitate, you lose.’

  Determined to uncover the unknown enemy, Ayane tried to ignore the small, prickling guilt in her conscience as she prepared to flip it open.

  And then—

  "Ayane."

  Taeil’s voice.

  "Hey, Shin-chan...?"

  Ayane flinched, freezing like a guilty child caught red-handed. Slowly, she lowered her head and met Taeil’s half-lidded, exhausted gaze.

  His eyes, dull with lingering sleep, stared at her bnkly.

  Without a word, he reached out and closed the notebook she was about to open.

  "When did you come in...?."

  His voice was hoarse, his breath uneven—clearly, he was still half-asleep. Fortunately, he didn’t sound angry, but that didn’t stop Ayane from panicking.

  "Ba—bababa—just now! I just got here! I was trying to wake you up, Shin-chan!."

  "…Really? Huh?."

  Taeil let out a long yawn, rubbing the tears from the corners of his eyes as he stretched zily, catlike.

  Still making no effort to get out of bed, he blinked drowsily and muttered,

  "What time is it? I didn’t oversleep, did I…?"

  "Ah, it’s fine, Shin-chan! It’s only eight o’clock! You’re not te at all!"

  As Ayane reassured him, Taeil’s gaze took her in—slightly unfocused, but still perceptive.

  She had clearly put effort into her appearance today.

  "You got all dressed up..."

  "H-Hey! I didn’t do that much! This is just… the basics, okay? The basics!"

  She tried to brush it off, but Taeil simply snickered at her excuse.

  Without warning, he reached for her wrist and pulled.

  With a soft thud, his guitar tumbled from the bed and hit the floor.

  But before Ayane could even react—

  She was suddenly within the bnkets, completely engulfed in warmth.

  "Hey, Shin-chan!?"

  "Shh."

  Taeil brought a finger to his lips—softly tinted, slightly parted.

  A silent demand.

  Ayane blushed, her heart pounding wildly as she gazed up at Taeil’s face. He met her flustered expression with a pyful smile, his wide eyes gleaming with amusement. Then, without warning, he rested his chin lightly on the top of her head.

  "Then it’s not too te. I’ll sleep a little longer."

  "Hey, I told you not to stay up all night..."

  His hoarse, sleep-den voice had an unexpectedly sweet timbre, making Ayane’s fingers twitch.

  Between them was only a thin bnket. But even the fabric carried Taeil’s scent, and that alone made Ayane feel as if her head was about to explode.

  She pouted, shifting slightly as his chin pressed firmly against her forehead.

  "This is unfair..."

  It felt cruel that she was the only one feeling so anxious.

  But in love, the one who falls first always loses.

  Letting out a soft sigh, she gazed at Taeil, who had already fallen back into an even rhythm of breath. Ayane’s eyes, warm and honeyed with affection, traced the contours of his peaceful face.

  In the end, as long as she could spend time alone with him like this, nothing else really mattered.

  ***********************

  Tokyo Subway – The Morning Struggle

  Even outside of weekday rush hours, Tokyo’s subways were a battlefield.

  And today was no exception.

  The moment the train crossed from Yokohama to Kawasaki in Kanagawa Prefecture—an area notorious for its packed commutes—the crowd gathered unbearably.

  As one of the busiest metropolitan areas in the world, Tokyo’s public transportation was always alive with movement. Miss the timing by even a little, and you’d find yourself in a transit nightmare.

  The subway, thick with human body heat and the suffocating scent of sweat, was hell on earth—especially in the middle of summer.

  Weak air conditioning barely made a difference. The train rattled, bodies pressed tightly together, and the weight of the crowd bore down on them from all directions.

  Taeil, looking utterly drained, tugged at the front of his shirt, which clung uncomfortably to his sweat-dampened skin.

  "I don’t think I’ll ever get used to Japanese trains..." he muttered, dead-eyed.

  "Is Korea different?" Ayane asked curiously.

  "Well... the metropolitan area is just as bad over there."

  Taeil had spent countless hours crammed into Seoul’s Line 2 during his university days, handling music and csses. He still vividly remembered the subway cars, packed to the brim with office workers and students alike.

  A hell train was a hell train—no matter the country.

  That was an unshakable truth.

  "By the way, Ayane, are you okay? You’re sweating a lot."

  Ayane wiped her forehead with the back of her hand but quickly shook her head, fshing a bright smile.

  "Yeah, I’m fine! This is nothing compared to what you must be going through, Shin-chan!"

  Taeil let out a dry chuckle at her boundless energy.

  The two of them had managed to find a spot near the subway entrance.

  But with the waves of commuters pushing in from every entrance, their small pocket of space was rapidly disappearing.

  Recognizing this, Taeil positioned himself in front of Ayane, shielding her with his body. The packed subway car left little room to breathe, but if nothing else, he could at least make sure she wasn’t completely crushed in the chaos.

  Or maybe he was just confining her.

  No—he was protecting her.

  "It’s been a long time since I’ve ridden the subway like this…"

  In his previous life, he had traveled mostly with his band, rarely ever commuting alone. And in this life, he hardly had the chance either.

  Not that he had many friends to travel with in the first pce.

  With his parents, transportation had always been by car or Shinkansen, and even when he spent time with Ayane, they rarely traveled beyond their neighborhood. If anything, he had used buses more than the subway back then.

  He couldn’t even remember the st time he had been out in the city alone with a woman.

  As the train stopped at each station, waves of commuters surged in and out like the tide. With every departure, there was a fleeting moment of relief—but as new passengers filled the car, the tightness returned, pressing their bodies together until even their breaths mingled.

  Taeil let out a soft sigh of apology.

  "Sorry… If I had known it’d be this bad, I would’ve woken up earlier."

  Ayane shook her head, her voice light and teasing.

  "Well, I wasn’t exactly the most proactive about waking you up either, so we’re both at fault, Shin-chan."

  "…I’d appreciate it if you could be a little more proactive next time."

  Despite the stifling atmosphere, Taeil tried his best to make space for Ayane, shifting to shield her from the worst of the crowd. But it was a losing battle. With every stop, the relentless push of passengers forced him even closer to her.

  Ayane, however, was far from uncomfortable.

  Inwardly, she cheered.

  ‘This is even better than this morning! Haha!.’

  Compared to the distance they had shared earlier, this was on a whole different level.

  Trapped between Taeil and the wall of bodies, she was in the perfect position. She could hear his breath, feel his warmth, and even catch the subtle scent of his shampoo beneath the sweat.

  The suffocating heat of the hell train meant nothing to her. If anything, she wished they could stay like this forever.

  But happiness for one person often means suffering for another—and all things must come to an end.

  ‘Freedom at st!.’After a grueling thirty minutes, they finally escaped the hell train.

  Stepping onto the ptform, Taeil exhaled deeply, his entire body rexing as the stagnant subway air was repced by the slightly fresher city breeze.

  "Wow…" he muttered, pcing his hands on his hips. "Tokyo air hits differently when you’ve just survived that."

  It wasn’t exactly fresh, but after what they had just endured, it might as well have been the sweetest air in the world.

  He took another deep breath, filling his lungs. The pressure, the heat, the sheer exhaustion—all of it faded with that single inhale.

  "Whew… Now I feel like I can actually live again."

  Taeil wiped the sweat from his forehead.

  Despite showering this morning, his back was already damp, and the faint stickiness of sweat clung to his skin. He could smell it, and it made him frown.

  Meanwhile, Ayane bounced beside him, practically glowing with energy.

  "Shin-chan looks so worn out! But Ayane is feeling amazing thanks to you!"

  Taeil turned to her, blinking.

  She looked completely unaffected, not a single trace of fatigue on her face.

  He narrowed his eyes.

  "…How are you this energetic?!"

  She simply grinned, tilting her head pyfully.

  Taeil sighed, rolling his shoulders to shake off the lingering discomfort. "But I don’t think I can do that twice. When we go back, no matter what happens, we have to avoid rush hour."

  Even if he felt fine now, exhaustion would hit him hard on the way back.

  That was just the nature of concerts.

  All his energy would be poured into the show—singing, cheering, soaking in every moment. Even someone as reserved as him couldn’t help but get caught up in the atmosphere at a live house.

  "When we go back, I want to sit down as much as possible."

  "Yeah," Ayane nodded, smiling faintly. "Ayane hopes for that too."

  Taeil let out another breath as he stepped further out of the station, gncing around. Even more complicated than expected—but here it was.

  The pce he had been waiting for.

  "So this is it…"

  Akihabara.

  The mecca of otaku culture.

  Despite stepping foot into what some might call forbidden territory, he didn’t feel anything special. It wasn’t life-changing, nor did he suddenly awaken some deep inner geek.

  It was just a pce.

  Still, he took his time scanning the square in front of the station, absorbing the atmosphere.

  "Akihabara always seemed like it’d be really loud," he muttered. "But it’s not as crazy as I expected."

  "Maybe there’s nothing special happening today?" Ayane mused.

  Unlike Taeil, who was wandering around like a clueless tourist, the people around them moved with clear purpose—some heading straight for electronics shops, others disappearing into anime stores, and a few already carrying bags full of goods.

  As they walked, a familiar melody drifted through the air.

  A loud, catchy electronic tune.

  "Oh! I hear an anime song over there, Shin-chan!"

  "Yeah… Now it really feels like Akihabara."

  It was a bizarre but fitting soundtrack for the scene.

  Taeil gnced at his watch.

  "It’s only 10 in the morning…"

  There were still two hours left until the concert’s scheduled broadcast.

  It wasn’t a rge venue, but since it was a BARD concert, he expected the crowd to be massive. Still, with tickets in hand, there was no rush.

  He made a mental note to thank his friend ter for getting them in.

  "We still have a lot of time before the show," Taeil said, turning to Ayane. "What do you want to do?"

  "Uh—huh?" Ayane blinked, startled. "You mean… what do I want to do?"

  "Yeah. You haven’t even eaten breakfast yet. Any idea what you want?."

  Ayane’s face suddenly stiffened.

  …She had completely forgotten about that.

  Going on a date had been so exciting that she hadn’t even considered where to eat.

  In a slight panic, she reached for her phone, instinctively wanting to ask her mother for advice. But the realization hit her almost immediately—her mom wouldn’t be much help. Neither of them had ever pnned a date course in Akihabara.

  Sweat drops ran down her forehead.

  Taeil, watching her silent struggle, raised an eyebrow.

  "You… didn’t think about it at all, did you?."

  Ayane let out a nervous ugh.

  ‘Shin-chan, you're going too far… Why Akihabara, of all pces?.’

  ‘There's nowhere good to go…’

  Ayane sighed, staring at her phone in frustration.

  In truth, Akihabara was not the ideal dating spot for a couple that wasn’t into anime or games. It was a paradise for otaku, sure—but for regur people? It was practically a wastend.

  She had searched the internet diligently, but nothing seemed to work.

  Some pces were closed at this hour. Others were way too expensive for a student’s budget. The rest? Bars and izakayas meant for adults, which were completely out of the question.

  Even the cafés and restaurants that looked decent at first gnce turned out to be colboration spots for specific anime or games. Did she really want to sip overpriced coffee next to a life-sized cardboard cutout of some idol character?

  No, thank you.

  Akihabara was… an absurdly magical pce.

  Just not for them.