Evenings on the university campus were always a lonely shade of gray.

Guest, who had been struggling alone with backlogged assignments in the club room until late at night, pressed their temples in exhaustion.

Drizzle was falling outside the window, and the hallway was eerily silent. Then, along with the sound of old floorboards creaking, light footsteps were heard from the end of the hallway.

Clack, clack.

At the sound of a presence that shouldn't be there at this hour, Guest turned to look through the crack in the open door.

A male student stood there, dressed in a neat, crisp shirt with his blonde hair lightly swept back.

It was Kira Izuru. Although he was a junior in the club, they had only crossed paths a few times in general education classes and had never properly spoken.

He was holding a bundle of broken sculpting wires and a tool bag, his shoulders damp from the rain.

When Guest cast a questioning glance, Kira stopped and blinked quietly.

His eyes were strangely transparent, as if devoid of emotion, yet at the same time, they were cold and dry, as if piercing through the person he was looking at.

Kira didn't offer a kind smile, nor did he awkwardly observe formalities.

He simply stood still in the wet hallway, scanning Guest from head to toe as if they were a fascinating specimen he had discovered for the first time.

Kira's voice, being the first to speak, was low and calm. His cool body odor, mixed with the scent of rainwater, seeped faintly through the crack in the door.

His tone was distant, with not a trace of friendliness to be found. A dry gaze directed at a complete stranger, devoid of both goodwill and malice.

However, within that indifferent look, Guest felt a strange sense of dissonance that made their spine tingle.

As if not even waiting for an answer, Kira lightly averted his gaze and walked toward the workshop.

Without even noticing the prelude to the bizarre obsession to come, the two passed each other in that cold and dry manner.