The interview finished.

But life went on.

That had been the paradox of waiting.

The world didn’t stop simply because one individual was worried.

The trains continued to arrive on schedule.

Class started with the ring of the bell.

The teachers gave homework assignments.

Students still giggled in the corridors.

Only Kuro could feel like he was wasting time.

---

"Approximately two weeks after this, you will find out the results."

These had been the last words of the admission office.

Two weeks.

Fourteen days.

Three hundred thirty-six hours.

Kuro had unintentionally counted all of them.

He immediately wished that he hadn’t done that.

---

Monday morning.

Akari threw her backpack onto her desk with an exaggerated sigh.

"I have made up my mind."

The class hardly glanced up.

"I’ll ban all universities."

Rika turned from her seat in the next row.

"...Are you legally allowed to do that?"

"I don’t know."

"But I want to."

Aoi adjusted her glasses.

"Legally, there’s not a single chance of success in your proposal."

"I didn’t ask for legal advice."

"You usually don’t."

The class chuckled.

Even Kuro managed a smile.

---

During lunch break, the friends met under the old tree in the yard.

It had become their unofficial headquarters.

Nobody had any doubts about that now.

As soon as lunch started, they just gathered there.

Like every time.

---

Mina had her own homemade sandwiches.

Yui brought some fruits.

Rika somehow managed to bring three kinds of dessert.

Nobody asked why.

They had stopped questioning Rika months ago.

---

"So."

Akari glanced around the circle.

"Who’s nervous?"

Silence.

Nobody answered.

Akari raised her arms triumphantly.

"Exactly."

Yui was surprised.

"...Exactly what?"

"We are all nervous."

"We are just pretending that we aren’t."

Rika nodded.

"She’s surprisingly right."

"Don’t look so astonished."

"I am."

---

Aoi calmly unpacked her lunch box.

"In general, worrying before you get the results brings you no benefits at all."

Akari pointed at her instantly.

"There she goes again."

"There I go where?"

"Science vs. Emotions."

"I’m just stating the fact."

"And I’m rejecting it."

"On what basis?"

"Just... it feels wrong."

Aoi sighed.

"I anticipated that answer."

---

Kuro watched the dialogue.

It was usual.

Familiar.

The same pattern they had shared for nearly two years.

Friendly arguing.

Teasing each other without crossing the line.

Laughing naturally.

For a moment...

He forgot about the results.

---

But then his cell phone vibrated.

His heart skipped a beat.

He took it out.

Email Notification.

He stopped breathing.

"..."

Yui noticed that first.

"Kuro?"

He opened the message.

Stared at it blankly.

Rika leaned forward.

"Well?"

Kuro let out a breath.

"...This is the advertisement of a bookstore."

Silence.

Akari burst into laughter.

"You looked like your soul was taken out of your body!"

"It was."

"For ten seconds."

Mina tried to cover her mouth and keep herself from laughing.

"I’m sorry."

"I should not laugh."

"But... your face..."

Kuro rubbed his forehead.

"I hate all of you."

"No."

Akari grinned.

"You love us."

"...Unluckily."

---

The laughter relieved the tension.

But only for a bit.

Because everybody sitting at the table knew the truth.

Soon...

Their own results would start to arrive too.

Not only Kuro’s.

Rika had to wait for the response of the art university.

Mina still had one scholarship application to receive a reply about.

Akari had to wait for the final decision of her first-choice university.

Aoi even participated in the competition and had not received the results yet.

Nobody was truly relaxed.

Everybody just hid that better than others.

---

After classes, Kuro worked at the counseling center.

It was easier to concentrate there.

Organizing books.

Welcoming visitors.

Preparation of tea.

Simple activities kept his thoughts busy.

Haruka noticed it almost immediately.

"You have checked your phone eight times."

Kuro looked embarrassed.

"...Was it really eight?"

"It was ten."

He sighed.

"I thought I was being discreet."

"You weren’t."

She smiled warmly.

"Nervous?"

"A little."

"A little?"

"...A lot."

---

Haruka laughed quietly.

"I can remember my graduate school results waiting."

"Were you as nervous?"

She considered it.

"Yes."

"Really?"

"I told myself that every unknown phone call was from the university."

Kuro smiled.

"That must have been exhausting."

"It was."

She leaned against the shelf of the book.

"Do you know what helped me finally?"

He shook his head.

"I realized..."

"The result was already set."

Kuro looked puzzled.

"What do you mean?"

"My worrying did not influence the process of admission."

She smiled.

"The professors have read my application."

"They have already discussed it."

"Nothing could change their decision because of my anxiety."

"So I stopped trying."

---

Kuro nodded.

"I know that."

"But knowing something..."

"...and feeling it..."

"...are not always the same." 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Haruka smiled.

"No."

"They are never."

She gently sorted the books.

That’s why waiting is so hard.

It leaves too much free time to the fear.

Kuro laughed quietly.

"...This must be the most accurate sentence I’ve heard this week."

---

When the counseling center was closing in the evening, Kuro stepped out.

The sky was already painted in the dark orange color.

He automatically reached out for his cell phone.

No new messages.

No emails.

No notifications.

Only silence.

He put his phone into his pocket.

The waiting continued.

And somehow...

The silence seemed louder than ever.

The days were passing slower than Kuro could remember.

Tuesday turned into Wednesday.

Wednesday turned into Thursday.

Nothing happened.

Every day he went through a routine: he checked the website for admissions before leaving the house; he checked his email during the lunch break, and promised himself in the evening to quit being such an obsessive control freak.

It rarely helped.

---

Friday, Minami entered the classroom with a pile of graded papers.

The first thing she noticed was that Kuro was staring blankly through the window.

She silently put his paper on the desk.

Right above the grade in neat red handwriting she wrote:

"Stop refreshing the page during study breaks"

Kuro almost dropped the paper.

He glanced at the teacher’s desk.

Minami didn’t even lift her gaze.

"...She’s horrifying"

Akari whispered from behind.

"I’ve been telling this for two years now"

Rika nodded dramatically.

"I think she’s supernatural"

Aoi stated calmly.

"Observation is enough."

"No"

Akari shook her head.

"She’s definitely telepathic."

From the other end of the classroom, Minami without lifting her gaze said.

"I can still hear you."

Classroom became silent.

Then laughter rang.

Even Kuro smiled.

---

That afternoon the group met in their habitual place under the old tree.

Nobody mentioned university results.

They discussed regular things: Rika was complaining about her difficult editor; Yui was sharing amusing story from hospital training when she called her senior "Sensei" instead of "Doctor". Akari was almost chocking from laughing. Mina was talking about the child she met during her teaching internship. Aoi was explaining an interesting psychology experiment.

Everything felt so normal, until...

Suddently, Akari asked.

"Kuro."

"Hm?"

"If you get accepted..."

"What do you want to do first?"

Kuro blinked.

"I..."

He never thought so far.

"I don’t know."

Akari smiled.

"Good."

"What do you mean?" Kuro looked confused.

"it means that you still have some desire to get accepted."

She pointed her finger at him.

"Think about what comes after."

"Why?"

"...Because dreams shouldn’t end at the letter of admission."

"They start there."

The silence fell on the group.

For once...

Nobody joked.

Because everybody knew that she was right.

---

That evening Kuro returned home and opened the notebook he kept for months.

It was full of pages of lessons: what he learned from Haruka, what Minami advised him, what observations he made in volunteer center, what thoughts he didn’t want to forget.

He turned to a blank page.

Instead of writing about admissions...

He wrote a title.

The Kind of Psychologist I Want to Become

He stared at the page for several minutes.

Then slowly started writing.

I want people to feel heard before they feel analyzed.

He paused.

Then wrote another sentence.

I want to keep learning, even after I became professional.

Another pause.

I want to respect every person’s story, no matter how ordinary it looks.

He smiled.

In some way...

Writing these words calmed him.

Not because they guaranteed his success.

But because they reminded him the reason why he started this path.

---

Next morning was Saturday.

His volunteering shift in the counseling center started at nine o’clock.

The moment he entered the center, Haruka welcomed him with a knowing smile.

"You look better."

"Do I?"

"You stopped carrying your phone in hands."

Kuro laughed.

"I supposed to disappoint myself."

"Progress."

She gave him the box with donated books.

"These should be sorted."

For the next two hours Kuro worked silently.

He arranged shelves, helped visitors to find needed books, prepared tea.

Familiar routine calmed down his thoughts.

While arranging the last book on the shelf he noticed somebody standing near.

It was Mr. Takeda.

The elderly man smiled happily.

"I was hoping to see you."

Kuro smiled back.

"Good to see you."

Mr. Takeda looked healthier than previously.

His posture became lighter.

"I brought something."

He handed to Kuro a small envelope.

Inside there was a handmade bookmark.

On the front there were carefully written words.

Thank you for listening.

On the back there was a single phrase.

Every person wants to know that his life has been heard.

Kuro reread it.

Then lifted the gaze.

"I’ll treasure it."

"I knew you will."

Mr. Takeda smiled.

"Young man."

"Yes?"

"Whatever result you are waiting for..."

"I hope you remember one thing."

Kuro listened attentively.

"The result will show you where you go."

"But it won’t show who you are."

These words softly settled in Kuro’s heart.

---

That evening Kuro walked home in the sunset.

He put his hands into the pockets.

One hand touched Minami’s engraved stone.

Listen.

Another touched Mr. Takeda’s bookmark.

Every person wants to know that his life has been heard.

Two small gifts.

Two small reminders.

His phone vibrated.

He automatically took it out of the pocket.

Another email.

His heartbeat accelerated.

He opened the screen.

"..."

Then laughed at himself.

It was just a delivery notification.

Not the university.

He put the phone back without disappointment.

The result would come in its own time.

Until then...

He would keep walking.

When he disappeared in the golden dusk light the Narrator silently noted:

Sometimes the hardest thing in chase of dreams...

It isn’t hard work.

It isn’t the interview.

It isn’t even the possibility of failure.

Sometimes...

The hardest thing...

Is to learn to wait without losing yourself.