With a soft thud, Haru stepped into the apartment and shut the door behind him. It was calm and quiet inside, just the usual quiet comforts of home, now his with just his older brother, Aoi. Their parents had moved to America once Haru had graduated from high school, leaving them to make their own way. Though small, the steady presence of Aoi and the apartment itself was unshakeable—a place where Haru could finally release his breath from the maelstrom that had been his first day at the new college.
Haru kicked off his shoes and wandered into the living room, his bag slung over one shoulder. It had been a long day of new faces, routines, and names upon names. But of it all, it wasn't the lectures or the hallways teeming with people that lingered in his mind.
It was her.
Sakura.
He ran a hand through his hair, trying to shake the thought. There was something about her that stuck with him—her calm demeanor, the warmth in her smile, the flicker of something unreadable in her eyes. It wasn't like him to fixate on someone he had just met, but for some reason, she lingered in his thoughts. Why? It wasn't as if he knew her well enough to feel anything serious about her yet. She was just someone he'd met today, yet here he was, unable to stop thinking about her.
"Snap out of it," he told himself firmly, shaking his head as he dropped his bag on the sofa.
"Back already?"
Aoi's voice carried from the kitchen, light and casual. The faint clink of glassware followed, a familiar sound of Aoi finishing up a quick snack or drink.
"Yeah," Haru replied, stepping further into the room. "Not much going on today."
Aoi entered from the kitchen with a glass of water in his hand, oozing his usual laid-back energy. He looked every bit the responsible older brother: dark hair slightly tousled from a long day of work, dress shirt untucked at the hem. Even after a full day of crunching numbers and managing accounts as an accountant, Aoi still exuded his trademark calm.
"How was your first day?" Aoi asked, plopping down onto the sofa and kicking his feet up onto the coffee table. "Did you get lost on campus, or did you actually figure out where your classes were?"
Haru chuckled, walking over to the fridge. He pulled out a bottle of juice and poured himself a glass before sitting down next to Aoi on the sofa. Taking a sip, he leaned back, letting out a long breath. "It was fine. Just the usual first-day stuff—meeting people, finding my way around, all that."
Aoi raised an eyebrow, clearly sensing there was more to the story. "Uh-huh. And?"
Haru hesitated to say anything more that might eventually invite teasing. "Nothing special. Just a lot of new faces."
Aoi watched him for a moment, his eyes narrowing slightly. Haru couldn't quite hide the small smile that crept up as he thought about Sakura—her smile, the soft way her hair moved when she tucked it behind her ear. It all played back in his mind in flashes, like a picture he couldn't quite shake.
Stopit, Haru said inside his mind, trying to get a hold of his thoughts. Youjustmethertoday. Thisisridiculous.
But there it was again—the image of her, and it felt like it had left an imprint on his mind. Why couldn't he just let it go?
Aoi instantly caught the subtle change in his younger brother. That smirk was a dead giveaway. "Wait a minute," he said, leaning forward with that mischievous glint in his eye. "It's a girl, isn't it?"
Haru froze. For a moment, his smile faltered, but then he quickly masked it, shaking his head. "No! It's not a girl!"
Knowingly, Aoi smiled, not one bit convinced, and said in a still-grinning tone, "Okay, okay, it's not a girl. Quit shouting." Of course, he enjoyed the embarrassment on his brother's face. "But you know you're smiling like an idiot, so you're gonna spill it eventually, right?"
Haru sighed, trying to push down the heat creeping up his neck. He wasn't ready to admit it, especially not to Aoi. "I'm not smiling. You're just an idiot."
Even if I was going to spill, Haru thought, i don't know anything about her. She was just someone he had met today, but the idea of her stuck with him like a persistent thought that refused to be shaken off. He wasn't sure why. He didn't even have enough of a reason to think about her this much.
Aoi leaned back into the sofa, visibly still amused. "Sure, sure. If you say so."
Muttering under his breath, Haru rolled his eyes. "I'm not thinking about anyone. Just schoolwork, okay?"
Aoi laughed, clearly not buying it. "Whatever you say, little bro, just don't let whatever's going on inside that head of yours distract you too much."
"I'm not distracted," Haru grumbled, though the faint smile still lingered at the corner of his lips.
Haru took another sip of his juice. As he set the glass down on the edge of the coffee table, Aoi raised his glass, his eyes teasing. "Right. Totally normal. Just don't get distracted."
And with a wicked grin, he added, "And stay a virgin."
Haru's eyes widened in surprise. He hadn't expected that, and before he could swallow, he immediately spat out the juice, splashing it all over the coffee table. "What the hell, Aoi!" he sputtered, hastily wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.
Aoi burst out laughing, clutching his stomach as he leaned back against the sofa.
Haru wiped the juice off the table, mortified. "Seriously, knock it off! You didn't have to say that."
Aoi still laughed, his head shaking in amusement. "Hey, I'm just looking out for you. Gotta keep you on your toes, little bro."
Haru groaned, feeling his face flush red. "I'm not talking about any girl, Aoi. Just forget it."
Aoi managed to calm down, though the smile never quite left his face. "So, tell me—is she pretty?" Aoi fluttered his eyes mockingly.