Chapter 3: Empty Room, New Faces
Ryugenn pushed open the door to Room 404, the familiar creak echoing in the quiet hallway of Sakura Heights. The late afternoon sun slanted through the window, painting long golden stripes across the floor. He expected the usual scene: Haruto sprawled on his bed with headphones, scrolling through memes or arguing with someone online. Instead, the room looked... smaller. Half-empty.
Haruto was on his knees, stuffing clothes into a large duffel bag. Boxes were already stacked near the door—books, a gaming console, that ridiculous lamp shaped like a ramen bowl.
Ryugenn paused in the doorway. "What's going on?"
Haruto looked up, grinning wide enough to show his excitement. "Bro! Finally! I got the call today." He stood, brushing dust off his jeans. "Internship at Nebula Tech. Third-year privilege, sixth semester grind paid off. They said if I don't screw up—and I won't—the full-time offer is basically locked in after the internship period."
Ryugenn blinked. "That's... huge. Congrats."
"Yeah, man. Means I'm moving out. Company's providing housing near their office in the tech district. Closer commute, better facilities. I leave tomorrow morning." Haruto rubbed the back of his neck, suddenly a little sheepish. "Sorry for the short notice. Didn't think it'd happen this fast."
Ryugenn set his bag down slowly. "It's fine. You've gotta go."
Haruto laughed. "Don't sound so sad. You'll survive without my snoring. Plus, now you get the whole room to yourself. Prime real estate."
Ryugenn managed a small smile. "Yeah. Luxury."
After Haruto finished packing, they sat on the floor for a bit, sharing a last instant ramen cup. Haruto talked nonstop—about the projects he'd work on, the salary expectations, how he'd finally buy that new GPU he'd been drooling over. Ryugenn mostly listened, nodding at the right moments. When Haruto finally zipped the last bag, the room felt oddly hollow.
"Take care, Ryugenn," Haruto said at the door, fist-bumping him. "Don't turn into a complete hermit, okay? Text me if you need internship tips or whatever."
"I will."
The door clicked shut.
Ryugenn stood in the middle of the room for a long minute. The silence pressed in. No music from Haruto's speakers, no random laughter. Just the faint hum of the city outside and the ticking of the wall clock.
He walked to the window and leaned his forehead against the cool glass. The sky was turning that soft lavender of evening. For the first time since arriving in Aozora City, the room felt truly empty. Like home, but not the comforting kind. The alone kind.
He exhaled slowly. Just keep walking, a quiet voice echoed in his mind—Naomi's words from the stairwell. He almost laughed at himself. One sentence, and it was already sticking.
The next morning came too quickly.
Ryugenn arrived at college earlier than usual, backpack slung over one shoulder. The hallways were buzzing with students rushing between classes. He kept his head down, navigating the crowd like always.
As he turned the corner toward his classroom, his eyes lifted—and locked with Naomi's.
She was walking the opposite way, silver hair catching the light from the tall windows. Her expression was neutral, almost distant, but their gazes held for a split second longer than necessary. Ryugenn felt a small jolt in his chest. He quickly looked away, cheeks warming, and hurried into the classroom.
He chose his usual seat by the window. Outside, the blue sky stretched endlessly, dotted with lazy clouds. He stared at it, trying to ignore the way his pulse hadn't quite settled.
The professor walked in a few minutes later—Professor Charles, a tall man with salt-and-pepper hair and a no-nonsense vibe. He taught Data Structures and Algorithms, his voice steady and precise as he launched into today's topic: balanced binary search trees.
Ryugenn took notes mechanically, but his mind wandered back to the empty room, to Haruto's grin, to that brief eye contact in the hallway.
Classes dragged on through the morning. When the final bell rang for the day's lectures, students flooded out, chatting and laughing. Ryugenn packed slowly, lingering.
In the back row, one boy remained seated, head bowed over his notebook. He looked... defeated. Dark circles under his eyes, shoulders slumped.
Ryugenn hesitated, then walked over. "Hey. You okay? You've been staring at that page like it personally offended you."
The boy looked up, startled. "Oh... uh, yeah. Just... this subject. DSA. I've been lost since day one. Everything the professor says goes over my head. I don't even know where to start."
Ryugenn pulled out the empty chair beside him. "Mind if I sit? Tell me what's confusing. I'll try to explain."
The boy blinked. "Really? You sure?"
"Yeah. I'm interested in this stuff."
Over the next twenty minutes, Ryugenn broke it down—slowly, clearly. Trees, nodes, rotations, time complexity. The boy's eyes widened as pieces clicked into place.
"Wait... so AVL trees self-balance with rotations to keep height logarithmic?"
"Exactly. That's why lookups stay O(log n)."
"Dude... how do you know all this? Professor didn't even cover half of what you just said today."
Ryugenn shrugged. "I've been messing with code since high school. Tech's my thing."
The boy grinned for the first time. "You're a lifesaver. I'm Shin, by the way."
"Ryugenn."
"Nice. Hey, where you headed now?"
"Canteen. Lunch."
Shin stood up quickly. "Wait up! I'm coming too. Starving."
They walked together, trays in hand, finding a table near the window. Shin talked animatedly about his hometown, his failed attempts at group projects, and how he almost dropped the course last semester. Ryugenn listened, adding quiet comments here and there.
Across the canteen, a small commotion caught Ryugenn's eye. A group of boys had surrounded Naomi at a corner table. One of them—tall, confident—was holding out a letter or something, speaking earnestly. Naomi listened politely, then shook her head firmly. The boys deflated, walking away with awkward laughs.
Ryugenn watched, a small smile tugging at his lips. He turned to Shin. "Do people come to college to study or to propose?"
Shin snorted, nearly choking on his rice. "Both, apparently. It's normal here. Half the campus is like a dating sim. If you like someone, might as well shoot your shot."
Ryugenn shook his head. "I'm here to study. Not get into all that."
Shin raised an eyebrow. "Sure, sure. But come on, man. You look like you walked out of a Hollywood set. Someone's bound to notice."
"Not interested," Ryugenn said simply.
Shin laughed. "Famous last words."
They finished lunch and headed to the lab class. Shin paused at the entrance. "You go ahead. I forgot my charger in the locker. Be right there."
Ryugenn nodded and continued down the hallway. As he approached the stairwell—the same one from before—he slowed.
Naomi was there.
She sat on the third step from the bottom, arms wrapped around her knees, staring at the floor. Her silver hair fell like a curtain, hiding most of her face. But even from here, Ryugenn could see it: she looked... sad. Quietly, deeply sad.
He stopped a few feet away, unsure. The hallway was empty now, classes in session. Just the faint echo of distant voices.
She didn't look up.
Ryugenn hesitated, heart beating a little faster. Then, softly, he spoke.
"Hey."
(End of Chapter 3)