Title: “The Boy Who Sat by the Window”
Part 2: The Unexpected Pair

The room stayed quiet for a second too long.

“Wait… him?” my friend mouthed, eyes wide.

I swallowed hard and stood up, slowly walking toward the empty seat beside him. Every step felt heavier than the last.

He didn’t move.

Didn’t speak.

Didn’t even look at me again.

“Uh… hi,” I said softly as I sat down.

No response.

Great. This is going to be awkward.

I took a deep breath and tried again. “So… about the project—”

“I’ll do it.”

I blinked. “What?”

“I said I’ll do it,” he repeated, his voice low and calm. “You don’t have to worry.”

That… wasn’t what I expected.

“But it’s a pair project,” I said, frowning. “We’re supposed to work together.”

For a moment, he stayed silent. Then he finally turned his head slightly, just enough for me to see his eyes.

And somehow… they felt colder up close.

“I don’t work well with others,” he said. “So it’s better this way.”

Something about that bothered me.

“Or maybe,” I replied, trying to sound braver than I felt, “you just don’t give people a chance.”

That caught his attention.

He fully looked at me this time.

And for a second—just a second—I saw something change in his expression.

“…You’re different,” he muttered.

My heart skipped.

“W-what do you mean?”

But instead of answering, he looked away again.

“Meet me after class,” he said.

And just like that…

My normal, quiet life started to feel like the beginning of something I couldn’t control.