The convenience store shift ended late, the fluorescent lights flickering off as Haruto and Ayame exchanged a final, knowing glance behind the counter. "See you soon," she whispered with a wink, her kind-hearted smile hiding the heat in her eyes. Haruto nodded, his pulse already quickening at the promise of the night ahead.
They parted ways under the streetlights, the thirty-second walk between their houses feeling like an eternity as he headed home first.
Dinner at Haruto's house was the usual quiet affair—his parents chatting about their day, the clink of chopsticks against bowls filling the small dining room. His grandfather, frail but sharp-eyed, finished his rice and tea early, shuffling off to his room with a soft "Goodnight" by 9:30 PM. Haruto waited, heart thudding, until the house fell silent.
