The interview had been arranged for 10:30 a.m.

Kuro came to the university just after nine.

Not that he was afraid of being late.

But he was sure that he could not stay at home any longer.

Applicants filled the campus now.

Some were revising their notebooks.

Some rehearsed their greetings under their breaths.

And some just stared at the floor, trying to overcome their anxiety.

Kuro found a place for himself near the big maple tree facing the administration building of the university.

Kuro had his notebook with him.

But he did not open it.

---

His phone buzzed again.

Group Chat: The Disaster Club

Akari: Do not embarrass us.

Rika: Ignore her. Embarrass her instead.

Mina: Good luck, Kuro! Just be yourself.

Yui: Breathe. Slowly.

Aoi: In terms of statistics, preparation has already brought the maximum result. Worrying adds nothing.

Akari: Could anyone translate Aoi?

Rika: She says, "Stop panicking."

Aoi: This interpretation is correct.

For the first time that day Kuro smiled.

He sent a short message.

Kuro: Thank you. I will try my best.

In a second...

Another message popped up.

Minami: Do not forget. It’s not a perfect student they interview, but a person.

Kuro looked at the screen for a while.

Then put his phone back in the pocket quietly.

---

"Candidate number Twenty-Seven."

The staff entered the waiting room.

"Kuro Kurogane."

Kuro stood up.

"Yes."

"You may follow me."

Kuro walked behind the staff down a silent corridor lined by frames with photos of graduates.

All the graduates had smiles on their faces, posing in front of the same university building.

Kuro tried to imagine how did they feel.

Excited?

Relieved?

Anxious?

Probably all three.

---

Interview room was at the end of the corridor.

Staff stopped.

"You may enter."

Kuro nodded.

"Thank you."

Kuro knocked quietly.

"Please come in."

---

The room seemed simpler than Kuro had thought.

There was only a long table.

Three interviewers.

Recorder on the center of the table.

Sunlight came in through the wide windows facing the campus gardens.

It seemed quite formal.

But not intimidating.

Kuro bowed.

"Good morning."

Interviewers greeted him back.

"Please take a seat."

---

Woman sitting in the middle smiled.

"My name is Professor Sakamoto."

She indicated to the other two.

"To my left is Professor Ishikawa."

"And to my right, Professor Mori."

"Thank you for coming today."

"It’s an honor."

Kuro answered.

Professor Sakamoto glanced at the documents in front of her.

"We’ve seen your academic record."

"We found your recommendation letter also... rather unusual."

Kuro knew very well which letter she meant.

Minami’s.

His heart started beating faster.

---

Professor Mori smiled.

"You look a bit anxious."

"A little."

"That’s quite natural."

His easy voice helped relax the atmosphere.

"We are not here to trick you."

"We only want to learn who you are."

Kuro nodded.

"I understand."

---

The interview started with simple questions.

"Could you please introduce yourself?"

"What interests you apart from studies?"

"What experiences led to your choice of university?"

Kuro answered quite easily.

He talked about volunteering at the community counseling center.

Talking about reading.

Observing people.

Wanting to learn.

Professors listened carefully, sometimes taking notes.

Nothing seemed strange until Professor Ishikawa asked the next question.

---

"You’ve volunteered at a counseling center."

"Yes."

"Tell us one thing you learned there."

Kuro stopped for a second.

He thought about Haruka.

Mr. Takeda.

Young university student.

His first mistake.

Then he answered.

"I learned that listening is not a passive process."

The professors raised their heads from their notes.

Kuro continued.

"I used to think that helping people means advising them."

"But I understood that..."

"...many people do not seek answers."

"They seek the one who will listen to them without judgement."

Professor Mori slowly nodded.

"Interesting."

---

Professor Sakamoto leaned forward slightly.

"Do you have an example for us?"

Kuro hesitated.

Not that he had no examples.

But he wanted to protect the privacy of the people he met.

"I can not tell you anything personal."

He said cautiously.

"But..."

"One time I spent almost an hour listening to a man telling about his life."

"I hardly spoke."

"And when he left..."

"He smiled."

"I did not understand why."

The professors listened silently.

They listened.

Just like he did.

"My supervisor told me later..."

"’You were not there to solve his life.’"

"’You were there not to let him carry it alone.’"

The room fell silent.

Professor Mori slowly put down his pen.

No one interrupted him.

---

After a moment, Professor Ishikawa asked another question.

"What led you to choose psychology?"

Kuro looked down for a moment.

He had prepared many elegant answers.

He remembered every single one.

But he did not use any.

He decided to be honest.

Kuro took a deep breath.

Then he looked straight into the face of the interview panel.

"My answer does not start with me."

Three professors glanced curiously at each other.

Kuro smiled lightly.

"It starts with my friends."

"My answer doesn’t begin with me."

The three interviewers raised their heads from their papers.

"It begins with my friends."

Professor Sakamoto clasped her hands.

"We’re listening."

Kuro took a deep breath.

He was no longer reciting a ready-made monologue.

He simply talked.

---

"When I entered high school..."

"I didn’t have any dreams."

"I was not outstanding."

"I was not one of the best."

"All I hoped to do in the future was graduate and find some job."

He smiled slightly.

"But then I met people who slowly changed my view of the world."

---

He thought about Yui first.

"I have a friend who wanted to become a doctor."

"She was smart."

"But she failed a crucial medical test."

"Twice."

Professors listened intently without interfering.

"Everyone knew about her talent."

"But having failed the second time..."

"She stopped believing in it."

Kuro looked down for a moment.

"I could not solve her problem."

"I could not pass the exam in her place."

"So..."

"I stood next to her."

"I listened to her doubts."

"I reminded her why she started this."

A small smile appeared.

"By this year..."

"She finally passed it."

Professor Mori silently nodded.

"And how did it affect you?"

Kuro was honest in his answer.

"It helped me understand that sometimes people don’t need someone to carry them."

"They need someone who reminds them that they are still able to walk."

---

He went on.

"I have another friend who wants to become a teacher."

"She was afraid that she was not good enough."

"So much that she was going to give up before she even began."

"I did not tell her that she is perfect."

"Because she is not."

"None of us are."

"I simply reminded her that caring about becoming a good teacher..."

"...is the start of becoming it."

He smiled.

"Now she is the person other students gather around naturally."

---

He smiled once again as another memory came to his mind.

"I have a friend who makes manga."

"She was an amazing artist."

"But her characters had something wrong."

"She asked me why."

"And I told her..."

"’Your characters know what the story should be.’"

"’They don’t know what they want.’"

Professor Ishikawa seemed to be interested in the story.

"And?"

"She began observing people rather than only thinking of plots."

"Her stories changed."

"So did she."

---

Finally...

He looked out of the window.

"Another important person in my life is... my twin sister."

The professors waited quietly.

"One approaches the world with logic."

"Another is a free spirit."

"One taught me to think thoroughly. And another taught me to be confident."

"I think..."

"I taught them that not everything valuable can be measured."

Professor Sakamoto smiled.

"It sounds like all of you influenced one another."

"We did."

"And we are still doing it."

---

The room was quiet for a while.

Professor Mori said,

"So..."

"After all these experiences..."

"Why psychology?"

Kuro did not answer right away.

He thought about Mr. Takeda.

The counseling center.

Haruka.

Minami.

The recommendation letter.

Then he spoke.

"Because I understood something."

"I’ve never been happier in solving other people’s problems."

"I’ve been happy when someone left believing in himself a little bit more than when he came."

He smiled slightly.

"I don’t want people to depend on me forever."

"I want them to not need me one day."

"I think..."

"...this is how true support should look."

---

The interview panel exchanged glances.

None of them was talking for a couple of moments.

Finally, Professor Sakamoto asked one more question.

"What if you understand that you’re not suitable for this profession?"

It was a hard question.

Perhaps the hardest of all this day.

Kuro smiled honestly.

"I’ve already asked this to myself."

The professors were surprised.

"I still ask myself."

"Probably more often than I should."

He laughed quietly.

"But volunteering taught me something."

"I’ve made mistakes."

"I’ve misunderstood people."

"I’ve said things I shouldn’t."

"But I’ve learned from each of these mistakes."

His facial expression was calm.

"If someday I discover that I’m lacking something..."

"I’ll study."

"If my skills are not enough..."

"I’ll practice."

"If I fail..."

"I’ll reflect."

He looked straight at the panel.

"The only thing I never want to lose..."

"...is the desire to learn."

---

Professor Ishikawa slowly closed the folder with Kuro’s application.

"You spoke about your academic achievements very little."

Kuro nodded.

"Because psychology is something I’m studying not in order to earn a diploma."

"I want to study it because people deserve someone who understands them responsibly."

"I know that care alone is not enough."

"I know that listening alone is not enough."

"That is exactly why I want to learn from specialists."

"I don’t want good intentions."

"I want good skills."

The three professors did not say anything for a while.

Not because they were not convinced.

But because there was very little to ask.

---

Professor Mori smiled.

"Mr. Kurogane."

"Yes?"

"Earlier you said that your answer starts with your friends."

"It did."

"When did it become your dream?"

Kuro thought carefully.

And then smiled.

"I don’t know the exact date."

"I think..."

"It happened little by little."

"With every talk."

"With every mistake."

"With every person trusting me."

"One day..."

"I looked back."

"And discovered that I was not only helping people anymore."

"I’ve chosen the path for myself."

---

Professor Sakamoto stood up.

"Thank you."

"This ends our interview."

Kuro stood up from his seat and bowed deeply.

"Thank you very much for your time."

As he went to the door, Professor Mori called him.

"Mr. Takahashi."

Kuro turned.

"Yes?"

Professor Mori smiled warmly.

"Never forget the honesty you’ve shown us today."

Kuro returned her smile.

"I’ll try my best."

He went out into the hallway.

The door shut quietly behind him.

For the first time after receiving the letter with an invitation to the interview...

He felt absolutely at ease.

He did not know whether he will be accepted.

This decision does not belong to him anymore.

But one thing does.

He answered all questions honestly.

Not with rehearsed words.

Not with achievements.

But with experiences which shaped him.

Inside the interview room, the three professors were sitting in silence.

Professor Ishikawa finally said.

"He never tried to impress us once."

Professor Mori nodded.

"He simply answered."

Professor Sakamoto looked down at Minami’s recommendation letter one more time.

A small smile appeared on her face.

"It seems..."

"...he was fully understood by his teacher."

She closed the folder.

"I believe we understand him as well now."