(Kaminoyama, Yamagata Prefecture)
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Scene 1: My Room – 6:00 AM
Silence was the only noise in my room.
On the shelves, rows of "Top Student" awards from years past—elementary, middle, high school—like light sleep passing by unnoticed.
My laptop sat open on my weekly study schedule, next to an old photo of me at twelve, holding a trophy, my smile stiff, minted only for the camera.
I put on my home karate uniform, the brown belt wrapped around my waist.
Not a black belt yet, but I was close. One goal: reach it… then stop.
Something just to prove I could finish. Then move on.
I glanced at the exercise mat on the floor.
Fifteen push-ups. That was it.
I lay down and started counting quietly:
"One… two…"
By ten, my arms were shaking.
"Eleven… twelve…"
Breathing heavy.
"Thirteen… fourteen…"
And…
"Fifteen."
I sat, panting, and wrote on the sheet pinned to the wall:
Push-ups – 15 ✔
A tiny smiley face next to it.
A small victory… but enough.
Life was a game.
If I was lazy, I chose the most efficient path.
Why study ten hours when five focused ones gave the same result?
Why train for years in karate if the goal was only a black belt?
Romantic relationships?
Not on my schedule.
Distracting, unnecessary, and full of unpredictable problems.
On the table: a banana and a carton of milk.
Simple breakfast.
I eat while thinking, when will the year end?
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Scene 2: Walking to School – 7:30 AM
The cold Yamagata air brushed my face.
I walked alongside Kenji Sato and Kaito Nakamura, my only friends, more or less.
"Hey Hiroshi! Did you see yesterday's match? That goal at the 89th minute!" Kaito said excitedly.
I rolled my eyes while walking:
"I was finishing an anime and reviewing history notes, but I heard the result."
Kenji laughed:
"You're really something else. Always at home, either watching anime or in the dojo."
Kaito added jokingly:
"Even in the final year, all you care about is your schedule."
I gave a small smile.
They knew me.
A top-ten student, not because I was genius, but because I was organized… and lazy enough to choose the smartest path, not the hardest.
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Scene 3: Classroom – 8:10 AM
I entered the classroom early, as usual.
My favorite seat: last row by the window.
Close to the heater in winter, and in a corner where the teacher wouldn't notice my phone.
A choice I'd kept since first grade.
Something constant in my world.
I watched students file in: yawns, laughs, passing papers.
I observed them like characters in a game—understanding the rules, but not participating.
Then…
She entered.
Long black hair tied simply, brown eyes calm yet alert.
Not the flashy kind that screams for attention.
Her beauty was subtle… clear.
Every step seemed to say, I know who I am.
She sat three desks away in the middle row.
I didn't look directly, but I noticed her taking out a notebook and writing on its cover.
My inner monologue froze.
What… was this?
I shook my head, dismissing the strange thought.
"No. This isn't scheduled. Maybe low sugar."
But for a few seconds…
I forgot my class count.
I forgot karate practice.
I forgot everything.
Only my heart's strange, irregular rhythm reached me, like a wrong note in a perfectly tuned orchestra.
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Scene 4: Math Class – 8:55 AM
The teacher explained differential equations.
I stared at the board… yet her image floated at the edge of my awareness.
A girl from the desk in front turned:
"Hiroshi-kun, did you get the third problem?"
Distracted, I said:
"Uh… yes. Direct application of the theory."
She smiled:
"You always know the answer."
Yes.
I always knew the answer.
But a new question had appeared—one no book could solve.
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Scene 5: Lunch – 12:30 PM
On the school rooftop, where I usually ate alone, I found myself searching for her.
There she was under a leafless sakura tree, reading a book.
Alone, yet not lonely.
Kenji approached from behind:
"You're looking at Yamada-san."
I turned, feigning indifference:
"Yamada?"
Kaito appeared with a sly grin:
"Sakura Yamada. Quiet, smart. Not one of the top ten. Her family runs a small shop."
I shrugged.
"I didn't notice."
They laughed, as if they knew a secret I wasn't ready to admit.
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Final Scene: Karate Dojo – 3:30 PM
In the locker room, I looked into the mirror.
Same face.
Same eyes.
Yet… something was different.
"Sakura Yamada."
Just data.
Shouldn't shake a system built over seventeen years.
I tightened my brown belt around my waist, recalling her gaze entering the class.
A look of someone searching… or hiding something.
I stepped out. The Yamagata sky was pale orange.
I whispered to myself:
"Love? No thanks. Black belt test next week."
But a small question had begun to grow quietly inside:
What if love has its own schedule… and it started counting down without asking me first?
And so, without knowing it, the first true feeling entered my life.
Not as a gentle visitor…
But as a small crack in a fortress I thought unbreakable.