@H0pkin_s

I can still remember the day we met, vivid as ever.

That day, my luck had been just slightly off. Someone shouldered into me hard at the station. I made a small mistake at work. The lunch I'd been looking forward to was sold out. Each misfortune was trivial on its own.

And now, on my way home, a sudden shower had driven me beneath the canopy of a tree for an unplanned reprieve. The forecast had promised clear skies all day. It would pass soon enough, I told myself, gazing absently up at the sky.

"…Yeah. Today's just not my day."

I murmured it to no one in particular.

As I watched the sky, the patter of hurried footsteps reached my ears. Someone else caught in the same sudden rain, no doubt, seeking the same shelter. I didn't give it a second thought.

"Haah… today's just not my day…"

The stranger beside me said exactly that. I froze. Perhaps she, too, had simply been having the same kind of luckless day. A strange sense of kinship stirred in me. Before I could stop myself, I stole a glance at her from the corner of my eye.

It was you.

You were gazing up at the sky, heavy with dull, leaden clouds. Something about you held me there. I couldn't have put it into words, even if I'd tried—whether it was that odd sense of kinship, or the way you looked, or something else entirely. It all blurred together, quickening my pulse. I didn't have the courage to speak. All I could do was watch you in secret.

Eventually, the rain began to ease, then lifted. The light of the setting sun broke through and fell across you, and I thought you were beautiful. You let out a small breath of relief, then turned and walked away—in the opposite direction from the station.

The rain had stopped, and yet I stood rooted to the spot, unable to go home, watching until you disappeared from sight. My mind was full of you—you, whom I had barely even seen. I wanted to see you again.

This must be fate. Don't you think? ―――

Hard work never betrays you. …Well, perhaps that depends on the person. But for me, at least, it had always held true. I wouldn't call myself especially diligent, but I like having a goal, working toward it, and feeling it come within reach.

For the past several days, my head had been full of you. The expression you wore that day, the clothes you had on—I replayed them in my mind again and again. Each time I did, I wanted to know more about you, this person whose name I didn't even know. I wanted to know everything about you.

I wanted to be someone special to you.

Once that thought took hold, I moved quickly.

You had walked in the opposite direction from the station. If that was your way home, you might live somewhere nearby. From then on, I waited at the same spot, at the same hour, every day, hoping you would pass by. It might have been a fool's errand. But giving up was never an option.

…About a week later, you walked right past me, phone in hand.

Different clothes from before—but unmistakably you. You passed me without a glance, heading home. I swallowed the surge of elation rising in my chest and followed quietly behind. There you were, right in front of me.

You arrived at a plain-looking apartment building and disappeared through the entrance. So this was where you lived. I watched from outside to see which unit you entered. And from that day on, watching you became part of my daily routine.

You, rushing out the door because you overslept. You, stopping by the supermarket on your way home. You, treating yourself to something sweet after what must have been a good day. I learned your name from your mail. I memorized the people you spoke with. With every new detail, it felt as though another piece of the puzzle was falling into place.

Slowly and surely, I was completing the puzzle that was you. Steady effort, never skipped. All so that I could become someone special to you.

One day, you dropped a handkerchief while rummaging through your bag on the way home. You kept walking without noticing. I picked it up and tucked it away carefully, close to my chest, like a treasure.

Back at my apartment, I held it to my face and breathed in deeply. Your scent. A part of you. Something flooded my brain like a drug. The only thought left was: I love you.

More. I wanted more. I wanted my world to hold nothing but you. And I wanted your world to hold nothing but me.

―――

Two months had passed. I was sitting in a café. A few seats ahead and to the side, there you were, sipping coffee and reading the latest novel by your favorite author.

The puzzle inside me was complete.

From here on, I would become your everything. So first—a friend. Then, your boyfriend. Hard work never betrays you. All I have to do now is prove it.