Lin sat quietly on a wooden chair near the window.
The romance novel lay open in her hands. Its cover was soft and colorful, while the title sounded sweet. The synopsis on the back had mentioned fate, unexpected encounters, and unspoken feelings.
From behind the counter, Arou occasionally glanced at her with concern.
"Hopefully… this is safe," he muttered.
A few minutes passed.
Then Lin stopped reading.
She frowned, staring at one paragraph for several seconds as if she were trying to solve a difficult equation.
Arou noticed the change in her expression and immediately felt uneasy.
"…What now?" he thought.
Lin slowly turned the page, then stopped again.
Finally, she closed the book halfway and looked toward Arou.
"Arou."
Arou instinctively answered.
"Yeah?"
"I have a question."
Arou swallowed.
"What is it?"
Lin stood up and walked over, still holding the book.
"It says here that the character's heart starts beating for no logical reason whenever she is near him."
Arou nodded slowly.
"That's… what you call having feelings for someone."
"Feelings?"
"Yeah."
Lin tilted her head.
"So when your biological system reacts without any rational explanation toward a specific individual… that is called having feelings?"
"…Something like that."
Lin nodded thoughtfully before opening to another page.
"And here, the character says she always wants to stay near the same person, even when there is no clear reason."
Arou was beginning to feel suspicious.
"That's normal too."
"And here," Lin continued without pause, "she becomes bothered when someone else gets close to the person she has feelings for."
Arou sighed.
"That's jealousy."
Lin fell silent.
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
"Jealousy," she repeated.
She then closed the book completely.
"Arou."
"Y-yeah?"
"Humans are strange."
Arou rubbed his temple.
"What now?"
Lin spoke with complete seriousness, despite the ridiculous subject.
"According to this book, you call emotional instability something beautiful."
"That's not emotional instability—"
"Then why does the character repeatedly make irrational decisions because of one person?"
Arou fell silent.
"…Because of love."
Lin stared at him for a long moment.
"Love," she repeated quietly, as though tasting the word.
"So…"
She continued,
"If I wanted to stay in the same place as someone even when there was nothing to gain from it… would that also be love?"
Arou froze.
"Uh—"
Lin wasn't finished.
"And if I became bothered by the possibility of someone else getting close to them—"
"STOP."
Arou raised a hand.
"Just stop for a second."
Lin blinked.
"Why?"
"Because," Arou sighed, "you're seriously misunderstanding this."
Lin looked straight at him.
"How?"
"Romance novels exaggerate things," Arou explained. "They dramatize everything. Not every emotion should be taken literally."
Lin thought about that for a moment.
"So this book… isn't completely accurate?"
"Pretty much."
Lin looked back at the cover.
"So humans deliberately write down their confusion and call it a beautiful story."
Arou couldn't argue with that.
"…Yeah."
Lin nodded slowly.
"Interesting."
Arou felt slightly relieved.
But then—
Ding.
The bell above the bookstore door rang.
Arou instinctively turned around.
And nearly stopped breathing.
Akari stood in the doorway.
She was still wearing her school uniform, her bag hanging from one shoulder, her hair slightly tousled by the afternoon breeze. She looked into the store with her usual expression.
"Arou?" she called.
Arou panicked.
"O-oh! Akari!"
Lin, who was standing nearby, automatically turned toward her.
Their eyes almost met.
"Hm?"
Akari stepped inside.
Lin narrowed her eyes slightly, looking at the girl with pure curiosity.
One more second—
"Arou!" the boss called from behind the shelves.
"Help me move those boxes in the storage room!"
Arou didn't think twice.
"AKARI, WAIT OUTSIDE FOR A SECOND!"
"Huh? Why?" Akari asked, confused.
Arou gently pushed Lin behind the fiction shelves.
"Stay here. Don't move."
Lin blinked.
"What are you doing?"
"Emergency."
"Why?"
"It's complicated."
Akari had already walked farther into the store.
"Arou? Why are you yelling?"
Arou appeared with an awkward smile.
"Ahaha… I just—got some sudden work."
Akari frowned.
"But I just saw someone else—"
"A CUSTOMER."
Arou answered far too quickly.
Akari stared at him suspiciously.
Meanwhile, behind the shelves, Lin peeked out slightly.
She looked at Akari.
Then quietly murmured,
"Oh."
Arou didn't hear her.
But Lin smiled faintly.
"Interesting."
---
The storage room was cramped and stuffy.
Arou lifted a large cardboard box together with his boss, bending slightly so he wouldn't hit the metal shelf above them.
"Quite a heavy shipment this time," his boss said, catching his breath.
"Yeah, boss," Arou replied shortly.
But his mind wasn't in the storage room at all.
Only one thought kept repeating in his head.
Don't come out, Lin. Don't come out, Lin. Don't—
---
Outside the storage room, in the main area of the bookstore, Akari stood alone, holding the straps of her bag with both hands.
Her eyes wandered across the shelves, trying to shake off the awkwardness of being suddenly left there.
"He said he'd only be a minute…" she muttered.
Then—
"Are you waiting for someone?"
The voice was calm.
Far too calm.
Akari turned around.
The light-blue-haired woman stood beside the novel shelf. Her face was elegant, her expression calm, yet there was something strangely sharp about her.
"Oh," Akari replied politely.
"Yeah. I'm waiting for Arou."
Lin gave a small nod, as if she'd expected that answer.
"Arou," she repeated softly.
"I see."
Akari tilted her head.
"Um… who are you?"
Lin thought for a moment before answering casually, as though it were the most normal thing in the world.
"I'm Arou's friend."
"His friend?"
"A coworker?"
"No."
"A classmate?"
"No."
Lin glanced at the shelf beside her before looking back at Akari.
"A friend… who's fairly close to him."
Akari blinked.
"Oh."
There was a brief silence.
Akari gave a small smile, trying to be friendly.
"What's your name?"
"Lin."
"Lin… right."
Akari nodded.
"I'm Akari."
Lin studied her more carefully.
Black hair.
Honest eyes.
A slightly stiff posture, but she clearly felt comfortable around this place.
"Akari," Lin said quietly.
"You're often with Arou."
Akari looked slightly surprised.
"Huh? How do you know?"
"I made an assumption."
Akari laughed softly.
"Hehe… yeah. We go to school together."
"School," Lin repeated.
"Interesting."
Her tone was neutral, but something about it sent a faint shiver down Akari's spine.
"Do you work here too, Lin?" Akari asked.
"No."
"So you're a regular customer?"
"No."
Akari became even more confused.
"Then… why are you here?"
Lin gave a faint smile.
"I'm observing."
"Observing?"
"Yes."
Akari gave an awkward laugh.
"You talk kind of strangely."
Lin didn't deny it.
"According to the novel I was reading," she suddenly said, "people who are often around someone usually play an important role in their life."
Akari: "…Novel?"
"Romance."
Akari nearly choked on air.
"R-romance?"
Akari quickly waved her hands.
"Ah, that's just fiction."
"Is that so?"
Lin tilted her head.
"So not every pattern in those stories can be applied to reality?"
"No," Akari answered quickly.
"Reality is different."
Lin nodded slowly, as if recording new information.
"Very different," she murmured.
---
Back in the storage room, Arou placed the last box down.
"That's everything, boss."
"Good. You can go back out front."
Arou's heart immediately started pounding.
"R-right."
He hurried out of the storage room.
And immediately froze.
Lin and Akari were standing face-to-face.
Both were perfectly fine.
Everything looked normal.
But they were far too close for Arou's comfort.
"Arou!" Akari waved.
"I met your friend."
Arou swallowed.
"…Yeah."
Lin turned toward him.
"You took your time."
Arou forced a smile.
"Work."
Akari looked between the two of them.
"Lin is kind of unique."
Lin stared directly at Arou.
"I'm learning."
"Learning what?" Akari asked innocently.
"Humans," Lin answered without hesitation.
Akari laughed.
"Haha… that's a weird joke."
Arou knew—
Lin wasn't joking.
And what was even more troublesome—
Lin was becoming interested.
Not romantically.
But existentially.
And that was far more troublesome.