Chapter 2

“—Hm, what’s this?”

Kazuhiko opened his shoe locker in the morning and wore a look of suspicion. On top of his indoor shoes lay something that looked like a letter.

—A love letter… Haha, no way, no way.

He thought it himself, and immediately dismissed the idea. If not that, then a challenge? What kind of minor offense could he have committed to earn the enmity of someone that targets such a background character (mob) like him?

Either way, it was an old-fashioned way of doing things. 

Wait? If they don’t know my LINE address, then they must rely on this method after all.

Kazuhiko quietly took the letter and looked inside. Immediately, a shiver ran through him.

“Come to the rooftop after school. The door will be unlocked.”

It was written in cut-out letters, likely from a newspaper, just like a threat. This letter, without a doubt, would have no fingerprints on it.

“Huh, what is this…”

It was clearly not a love letter. What kind of psychologically broken person would use this to confess? If not, then was it a challenge? The threatening nature of the message made him think only of that.

Should he consult his few friends or a teacher about this? After all, the person was specifying the rooftop, which should normally be off-limits. 

If Kazuhiko foolishly showed up on the rooftop and was harmed, and the key to the rooftop was simply locked afterward, he wouldn’t be found for a while.

—No, no, that can’t be… I’m overthinking this…

He thought so, but he couldn’t shake the feeling of something fanatical, a kind of vengeful obsession, emanating from this “threat (temporary name).” 

It was as if the person had reached a point of no return and was desperate…

If he told anyone about this, the other person might be troubled. Besides, if he stood them up, what would happen afterward was also terrifying.

Kazuhiko was preoccupied all day, even during class. That’s why he failed to notice.

He didn’t notice the desperate gaze of the one who was watching him—

After school, before heading to the rooftop, Kazuhiko decided to leave his bag behind as a precaution and leave his phone, containing his “last will and testament,” in a friend’s locker.

He left the threatening note from the morning in his bag. If the culprit came to retrieve it, they would be distracted by the bag, preventing them from searching his desk or locker. Even if they did search, his phone was actually in his friend’s locker.

His friend looked mystified, but Kazuhiko managed to get his agreement by begging him. “Please, just don’t ask why.”

I hope this doesn’t end up being my last words… thought Kazuhiko, as he ascended the stairs to the rooftop.

There’s a common trope in schools about stairs that mysteriously get longer at night, but Kazuhiko felt as if these stairs led to a scaffold.

“No, no, it’ll be fine, surely, right?”

He tried to encourage himself, but he couldn’t deny the vague feeling of unease. He finally reached the landing with the rooftop door, swallowed loudly, and reached for the doorknob.

“It’s open…”

This was the door to the rooftop, which should normally be locked. Kazuhiko opened the door with a sense of “Oh well, let’s just do it,” and he gasped.

Standing there was,

“Re… Takane-san…?”

It was Reika Takane, his childhood friend who was now out of his life and was the unobtainable flower, bathed in the light of the setting sun.