Rindou Haitani didn't believe in moments that changed everything.
Life didn't work like that. Things happened gradually; bruises forming under skin, habits turning into instincts, violence becoming routine. Nothing snapped into place all at once.
That's what he believed.
Until he slid the classroom door open and saw her.
The room was already alive with noise. Chairs scraping, voices overlapping, laughter bouncing off the walls like it always did. Someone called out to a friend across the room. Someone complained about homework they hadn't done. It was ordinary.
Predictable.
Rindou stepped inside, one hand still on the doorframe, his presence barely acknowledged. He liked it that way. At school, he existed on the edges, not popular, not bullied, not involved. Just another student with sharp eyes and a reputation people sensed without understanding.
He was halfway to his seat when something in his vision caught.
A stillness.
She sat by the window, sunlight pouring in at an angle that painted her desk in pale gold. The book in her hands looked worn the spine softened, the corners curled slightly, like it had been opened and reopened more times than it could count.
She wasn't fidgeting.
Wasn't watching the room.
Wasn't waiting for anyone.
She was reading.
Rindou stopped.
The noise around him dulled, like someone had pressed a hand over his ears. He became aware of small things instead like the hum of the lights, the faint sound of pages turning, the way dust floated lazily in the sunlight.
She turned a page slowly, carefully, as if rushing would be disrespectful.
His chest tightened.
It wasn't attraction the way he understood it. There was no heat, no rush, no hunger. It was quieter than that. Stranger.
A thought settled into him, uninvited and absolute:
I don't want anyone to interrupt her.
The realization irritated him. He didn't like thoughts that arrived without permission. He frowned faintly and forced himself to move again, taking his seat two rows behind her.
From there, he could see her profile when she leaned forward slightly, elbows resting on the desk. Her hair fell naturally around her face, not styled, not adjusted every few seconds like others did. She didn't care who was watching.
Rindou looked away.
He told himself it was nothing. Just curiosity. Just the way something unfamiliar caught the eye.
But his attention kept drifting back.
When the bell rang, sharp and echoing, she didn't flinch. She marked her page neatly before closing the book, fingers lingering like she wasn't ready to leave it yet.
Rindou noticed that too.
The teacher entered, calling for attention, and the class settled. Pens came out. Notebooks opened. The day moved forward like it always did.
Except Rindou didn't.
He wrote notes without reading them back. His handwriting stayed steady, but his thoughts didn't. Every few minutes, his gaze lifted without permission, tracking small details he shouldn't have been memorizing.
The way she tapped her pen once before writing.
The way she paused when she reached a sentence she liked.
The way her eyes softened when she reread a line.
ŞİMDİ OKUDUĞUN
Her
Hayran KurguThe moment Rindou saw Y/N, he knew it was love at first sight. But his world was dangerous, and he couldn't risk her safety. He kept his distance... until one day, an attack changed everything. To protect her, he walked away. A month later, Y/N find...
