Winter break had ended, and the world had returned to its usual rhythm — teachers marking assignments, friends chatting in hallways, and the scent of fresh chalk hanging in the air.
But something had changed.
Ren and Hana didn't need to say it. It was in the way they lingered a little longer after school. How they sat closer. How Ren remembered how she took her tea. How Hana had stopped flinching at his silences.
Still, school didn't wait for emotional clarity.
Not long after break ended, two events were announced: the Annual Art Competition and the Winter Poetry Recital.
And though neither of them said a word about it to each other, they both signed up.
---
Hana's art prompt was "What Home Means." Her fingers hovered over blank pages for days. Every time she tried to draw her house, it felt empty. Because home wasn't a place anymore.
It was the quiet warmth of sweet bread shared in silence.
The muffled sound of Ren's voice over the phone at night.
Snow gently falling outside the window while she sketched and he read.
That moment Ren brushed a snowflake from her hair.
So she painted a windowsill with two mugs — one plain, one with a fox illustration. A scarf draped on a bench. Two sketchbooks, one open, one halfway closed. And in the background — the faint silhouette of someone just out of frame.
She titled it: Where Silence Feels Safe.
---
On the day of the recital, Ren stepped onto the small stage, tucked his hands in his pockets, and spoke quietly—but clearly.
"I used to run from silence—
now I wait with it,
on a cold bench,
beside someone who stays."
When he stepped down, Naoki nudged Hana. "That was about you, y'know."
Hana didn't respond. But the soft red in her cheeks said enough.
---
The results were posted that Friday.
Ren: 1st Place – Poetry
Hana: 3rd Place – Art
Hana stared at her name for a long time. She hadn't expected to win — not with how nervous she'd been, especially with people watching her as she set up her painting.
Ren walked up beside her, holding a bottle of juice and two melon buns.
He handed her one.
"You were amazing," he said.
"You were better," she replied, smiling softly.
Ren glanced at the board. "I just said something I couldn't say out loud before. But I think you painted something even I could never describe."
---
As they walked home, a soft snow began to fall. Their footsteps were the only sound between them.
"Think they'll do another competition soon?" Hana asked.
Ren nodded. "Probably."
"Will you join?"
"Only if you're there too."
She laughed. "Then I guess I will."