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On the rooftop, the evening breeze was soft and deep. Suo Hayato sat quietly in the corner, clutching his thermos tightly.
He had never eaten in front of anyone — not even once, not even with his closest friends. Whenever someone offered him food, he’d simply say he was on a diet. But everyone knew… it was just an excuse.
That day, Nirei noticed something different — Suo was holding onto his thermos a little too tightly, like it was the only thing left in the world for him to hold on to.
“You didn’t eat again.”
One voice. Calm. Warm. Suo didn’t need to turn to know who it was.
Nirei Akihiko stood a few steps behind him, his eyes soft, watching Suo who still sat at the corner.
He slowly approached. His gaze was filled with concern — yet it was warm. Suo turned to face him.
“Mind if I join you?”
Suo smiled.
“Do you think the sky can change its color like our hearts?”
Nirei didn’t understand, but still sat beside him.
He looked at Suo.
“What do you mean… Suo-san?”
Suo just smiled without even looking back.
“It was just a thought. But I do feel like the sky can hide its darkness.”
Nirei said nothing — but he kept listening. Later, Nirei began to speak.
“Hey, Suo-san… do you believe the sky can change our hearts?”
Suo’s eyes widened.
“It was just a metaphor.”
Nirei chuckled.
“The sky is like our heart — when it’s sad, it rains. When it’s angry, it feels too warm. And when it’s happy, it shines.”
There was a moment of silence. But then the sound of birds singing broke the atmosphere.
Suo finally looked at Nirei.
“Then… if that’s true, what do you think the color of the sky means today?”
Nirei looked completely done with him.
“Why are we even talking about the sky?”
Suo chuckled softly.
“Heheh… looks like I managed to distract you from asking me to eat.”
Nirei was shocked. He almost forgot the reason he approached Suo in the first place. And he knew — the person beside him really knew how to change the topic before getting caught.
Nirei sighed in defeat.
“Okay, fine… you win, Suo-san.”
Suo looked at him with a warm smile.
“It’s not that I don’t want to eat… it’s just that I’m still on my diet.”
There was a bit of awkwardness between them. But then Nirei spoke again.
“I don’t know what you’re hiding from, or what you’ve been through. But I do know one thing — you’re strong enough to handle it. And someday, when you’re ready, you’ll be able to tell us everything. I’m not here to force you or convince you… I just want you to know that we’re here for you. Even at your worst — we’ll stick with you.”
Suo’s eyes softened. His chest felt warm.
It was like… it was the first time someone had ever said something like that to him. All this time, he had built a wall around himself and no one had ever tried to come near, let alone break it.
That’s why he kept that wall.
But today… someone got in. He didn’t break the wall.
He simply walked through — and that made Suo smile.
“There really are people like you…people who still love to walk into someone else’s room, huh.”
The sky had changed into something beautiful. A mixture of soft pink and orange.
As they stared at the sunset, Suo looked at Nirei and smiled.
“Thank you… for being my sun.”