The school festival had turned the entire campus into something unrecognizable.
Colorful decorations hung from every corner, laughter echoed through the hallways, and the usual quiet atmosphere of the school had been replaced with excitement and noise.
Students moved around in groups, visiting different stalls, playing games, and enjoying the rare freedom the day offered.
Among all of it—
Class 2-2's horror house stood out.
Dark curtains covered the entrance, and eerie sounds leaked from inside. Fake blood, broken props, and dim lighting created a convincing illusion of fear.
Outside, a long line of students waited.
And in the middle of all this chaos—
Minato Itsuki looked completely energized.
"This is amazing!" he said with a wide grin. "I told you it would be fun!"
Beside him, dressed in a simple black outfit for the role, Shin Hitori stood quietly.
"…Hm," he replied.
Minato turned toward him.
"That's it? 'Hm'?" he laughed. "At least try to act excited."
"I am here, aren't I?" Shin said calmly.
Minato sighed.
"Unbelievable."
—
Inside the horror house, the atmosphere changed completely.
Darkness swallowed most of the space, with only faint red lights guiding the path. Sudden sounds, whispers, and distant screams echoed through the narrow corridors.
Minato walked ahead, clearly enjoying it.
"This is actually pretty good," he whispered. "They really put effort into this."
Shin walked behind him, his expression unchanged, his eyes calmly observing everything.
Nothing seemed to affect him.
Suddenly—
A figure jumped out from the side.
"AHH!"
Minato flinched slightly.
"…Okay, that got me a little," he admitted, placing a hand on his chest.
Shin simply walked past the "ghost" without reacting.
"Pathetic," he muttered quietly.
"Hey!" Minato whispered angrily. "You weren't even surprised!"
"It was obvious," Shin replied.
—
As they moved deeper inside, the path narrowed.
At one point, a girl from another class suddenly stumbled closer to Shin, grabbing his arm lightly.
"A-ah… it's scary…" she said softly, her voice trembling—but not entirely from fear.
Minato noticed it immediately.
The way she leaned closer.
The way her grip tightened just a little too intentionally.
Shin looked at her.
Just for a second.
Then he gently removed her hand from his arm.
"You're not scared," he said calmly.
The girl froze.
"…What?"
"You're just pretending," Shin continued. "You want to get closer."
Her face flushed—not from shyness this time, but from embarrassment.
"I—I'm not—!"
But Shin had already looked away.
"Go walk with your friends," he added, his tone completely indifferent.
The girl stepped back, clearly flustered, before quickly disappearing into the darkness ahead.
Minato watched the whole thing in silence.
"…You really have no mercy," he whispered.
Shin didn't reply.
—
They continued walking.
The deeper they went, the darker it became.
At one point, the lights flickered suddenly.
Then—
complete darkness.
For a brief second, everything went silent.
Even Minato stopped moving.
"…Hey," he said quietly. "That wasn't part of the act, right?"
No response.
Then the lights flickered back on.
For just a moment—
Minato glanced at Shin.
And he saw it.
A very small change.
So quick that it was almost impossible to notice.
But it was there.
A slight tension in his eyes.
Gone in an instant.
As if it had never existed.
"…Did that scare you?" Minato asked, narrowing his eyes slightly.
Shin looked at him.
"…No."
"Liar," Minato smirked.
Shin said nothing and continued walking.
—
As they finally reached the exit, bright daylight flooded their vision.
The noise of the festival returned instantly.
Minato stretched his arms.
"That was fun," he said. "We should go again later."
Shin stood beside him, silent as always.
But Minato kept looking at him.
Thinking.
For the first time—
he had seen something.
Something small.
Something human.
And for some reason—
that tiny moment stayed in his mind more than anything else.
—
Because even someone like Shin Hitori…
might not be completely untouchable after all.
The noise of the festival returned the moment they stepped out of the horror house.
Bright light replaced the darkness, and the distant echoes of laughter and chatter filled the air once again. Students moved in clusters, their voices overlapping in a lively rhythm.
But Shin Hitori didn't move immediately.
His gaze drifted past the crowd.
Inside the horror house, he had already noticed them—a group of girls who had entered at the same time as them. Their laughter had been a little too loud, their movements just slightly too intentional.
They weren't there for fear.
They were there for him.
And just as expected—
the moment he stepped outside, they began making their way toward him.
Shin exhaled quietly and shifted his path, subtly avoiding their direction.
But then—
something else caught his attention.
His eyes stopped.
Among the moving crowd, he saw her.
A girl.
She wasn't walking toward him.
She wasn't trying to get closer.
She didn't call out, didn't hesitate, didn't even glance in his direction.
Instead—
she simply walked past.
And slowly disappeared into the crowd, moving in the opposite direction.
Shin's eyes followed her for a brief moment.
There was no expression on his face.
Yet—
something about his gaze had changed.
Something almost unnoticeable.
But not completely invisible.
Beside him, Minato Itsuki saw it.
And for the first time—
he smiled.
A quiet, knowing smile.
"…Why are you smiling?" Shin asked, his voice calm as ever, though his eyes shifted toward him.
Minato blinked, as if caught off guard.
"Ah… nothing," he said quickly, looking away.
A small pause.
Then he grinned.
"Let's go."
Shin didn't respond.
But after a brief moment—
he started walking.
And somewhere in the noise of the crowd—
something had already begun to change that Minato already noticed by the face of him.