If I Kept Waiting at the Old Gate, Then You Would Come Back to Me

Sora sold hot food at night, cleared dungeon floors by day, and kept a folded silk pouch in his pocket like a promise he had no right to keep. When Ren came back after years of silence, Sora had to face the reason they broke apart: he had chosen his duty over Ren, and Ren had never forgiven that. The old school building still smelled wrong to his trained nose, like fear with no name, and every corridor reacted to his moods like a living thing. Then a music room humiliation, a narrow escape, and a shared notebook forced them into the same small spaces again. Sora wanted to act cool, but the moment Ren touched the back of his neck, all the old hurt came back with the cold river smell of spring...