The morning sun spilled golden light over the high school grounds, casting long shadows on the corridors, illuminating the tiled floors, and making everything look a little more magical than usual. But for most students, it was just another regular day — assignments to submit, gossip to catch up on, and food to fight over during lunch break.
Inside Class 12-A, the top-performing section of Shizumi High, everything was running like a well-oiled machine. Students were seated in neat rows, the board gleamed with a fresh quote of the day, and the smell of freshly printed notes hovered in the air.
Ren, of course, was already there — seated in the third row from the front, dead center, like the perfectionist he was. Books arranged with almost scientific precision. Pen straight. Tie perfect. Shoes polished. No smudge, no crease. Mr. Golden Boy. Mr. Best-at-Everything.
Painting? He won last year's inter-school competition.
Dancing? He choreographed the annual fest's opening act.
Singing? That golden voice? School anthem's lead singer.
And academics? Let's not even start — he was the guy whose name was etched on every results board.
Everyone admired him. Or hated him. Or both.
Siya, on the other hand, had her own kind of charm. The sunshine of the school. Her laughter rang through the halls like wind chimes in a summer breeze. Always surrounded by her circle of friends, always bright, always loving.
And she wasn't just about giggles and plants. She was a star too. Debating champion, drama club president, poetry slam winner, animal care volunteer — she was everywhere. But with a warmth that melted even the coldest rivalries.
And yes, Ren and Siya? The two brightest stars in the same galaxy? Let's just say they weren't exactly orbiting in harmony.
Until today.
Because today, something shifted.
---
The bell rang, marking the beginning of lunch break. Students spilled out like popcorn from a hot pan. Laughter. Screaming. Trading of lunch boxes.
Siya was with her usual gang, surrounded by the chaos she loved — talking about which cat meme was the best and who was brave enough to sing in front of the entire cafeteria.
And then it happened.
"Siya!"
Ren's voice. Loud. Firm. From the classroom doorway.
Everyone froze.
Siya blinked. Once. Twice.
"Did he just call you?" Nina whispered, mouth full of samosa.
"Is he… going to confess?!" another girl gasped.
Siya stood up, trying to act like it was the most normal thing in the world. "Yeah… I guess?"
She walked toward the classroom, Ren still standing there, arms crossed.
Nina started to follow.
"No," Siya said, gently stopping her. "Let me go alone."
There was a strange buzz around them. Whispers multiplied like wildfire.
🦋🦋🦋
They were now on the rooftop.
The wind was calm, the sky painted in light blues and whites. You could hear birds and faint noises of other students. Siya looked at Ren suspiciously.
"So, what is this about? You're not planning to push me off the roof, are you? Because that would be dramatic, even for you."
Ren sighed. "Can you ever not be so dramatic?"
"Says the guy who summoned me like an anime villain." She folded her arms.
Ren smirked. "Are you… fine? I mean... really fine? After yesterday."
She raised an eyebrow. "Just a little faint. Happens all the time."
"That's what worries me. Your normal is not normal."
She shrugged. "I'm sunshine, remember?"
He looked at her seriously for a second and then softened. "Listen... just don't tell anyone about what happened yesterday. Or that we're going out today. Please."
She blinked. That was not what she expected.
"Oh... I thought you were going to tell everyone I'm dying."
"What?! No!" he looked genuinely shocked.
"Then fine. I won't tell. But only if you don't tell anyone either. About my condition. Deal?"
"Deal," he said quickly. Then slower. "Wait, why do I feel like I just got tricked?"
She smiled. "Because you did."
🦋🦋🦋
As they descended the stairs together, a crowd had already formed — more intense than a TV drama finale.
The looks. The whispering. The dropped jaws.
Someone dropped their water bottle.
Ren's best friend Sam rushed forward.
"Bro! What were you two doing up there?!" he stage-whispered.
Siya's friends attacked her like paparazzi.
"Did he kiss you?!"
"Did you slap him?"
"Is he bullying you?!"
"Did he confess and you rejected him because you're too good for him?"
Siya, rolling her eyes, said, "What? No! Kissing? You think I'd let him kiss me? In this economy?"
Ren, equally annoyed, said, "We're not dating. Relax."
Sam turned to him. "Wait… then what were you doing? Secret rooftop dates now? Bro, if you're dating, at least give me her best friend's number. Nina is single, right?"
Ren groaned. "Sam… shut up."
"So you are dating?!" someone yelled.
Siya laughed. "No one's dating! We were talking about… work. School fest. Confidential planning."
Ren, picking up the cue, added, "Yeah. Principal told us to work together. Secret assignment."
"Secret assignment on the rooftop?" one of the juniors whispered. "Sounds romantic."
Siya shook her head. "It's called Project Siya. Because obviously, I'm leading it."
Ren looked at her. "Wait… what? Project Siya?"
She smirked. "Yeah. Project Siya. Because I'm the face, the boss, the mastermind."
He muttered under his breath, "How does she know? That's exactly what I was calling it last night..."
"Sorry, what?" Siya asked.
"Nothing," he said quickly. "I'm just letting a little fragile girl win. You know, because I'm a generous man."
"Fragile? Who are you calling fragile?! I can bench-press your ego!"
Everyone laughed. The tension cracked like a burst balloon. Rumors started dying down. The crowd slowly broke apart.
Sam, still disappointed, said, "So, nothing romantic? Boring."
Ren patted his shoulder. "Focus on Nina, Romeo."
Sam sighed. "Love is hard."
🦋🦋🦋
By the time the bell rang for afternoon classes, everything had gone back to normal. Or, at least, what passed for normal at Shizumi High.
But for Ren and Siya? Nothing was really the same anymore.
The rooftop conversation. The secret outing. The banter. The weirdly telepathic connection.
They might be calling it Project Siya, but deep down, something else had already started.
Something that neither of them could define.
Yet.....
🦋🦋🦋