The results still hadn’t arrived yet.

By now, no one even bothered to ask Kuro if he had heard anything from the university anymore.

Not that they had forgotten.

They just realized that reminding him every day would only prolong the agony.

Instead, life went on.

The final bell rang out through the school.

Students rushed out into the halls.

Some headed off to participate in club activities while the rest rushed to get to the train stations in time.

In no time at all, the once bustling classrooms emptied out.

Kuro put the last book away into his backpack.

"So you’re heading to the counseling center then?"

he heard Yui’s voice asking.

"Not today."

"Oh?"

"Why? Didn’t you get any volunteer shift this time?"

"I don’t have a volunteer shift."

Akari stretched her arms up as she stood up.

"Well, then come join us for some snacks."

Rika immediately nodded enthusiastically.

"As much as I agree with this splendid idea."

"I’ve got to head to the bookstore first."

"That’s right," Mina smiled.

"I promised to help my mentor prepare for tomorrow’s class."

I have to attend some research meeting.

"Looks like everybody is occupied," Akari sighed dramatically.

She looked at Kuro.

"Rain check?"

He smiled.

"Certainly."

"Great."

She pointed at him.

"But you know what?"

"I know."

She gave him a meaningful look.

"Don’t get lost in your own thoughts again."

"I’ll try."

"You had better."

---

One after another, Kuro’s friends left the classroom through the door.

Their voices slowly faded away down the hallway.

Soon...

He was alone.

Looking out of the window.

Afternoon sunlight flooded the schoolyard in its warm golden color.

Graduation was coming soon.

It was strange.

For two years...

This classroom had been echoing with laughter.

Arguing.

Lunches.

Unexpected stories.

Soon...

It was just going to become another classroom.

Filled by another group of students.

It made him strangely nostalgic.

---

"You’re wearing a hole in the floor standing like that."

He was interrupted by a familiar voice.

Kuro turned around.

Minami stood in the doorway, holding a stack of papers against her chest.

He smiled.

"Afternoon, Sensei."

"Afternoon."

She looked around the deserted classroom.

"Everybody else has already left?"

"A few minutes ago."

"Hm."

She stepped inside.

"I was about to make some tea."

She paused.

"Join me?"

---

A few minutes later...

They sat together in the faculty lounge.

It was quiet.

Only the noise of boiling water could be heard.

Minami poured two cups of tea with practiced ease.

She placed the second one in front of Kuro.

"Be careful."

"It’s still hot."

"Thank you."

---

For a moment, neither of them said anything.

It wasn’t unusual.

During the past year, Kuro learned that conversations with Minami weren’t something you had to hurry.

Sometimes...

Silence itself was part of the conversation.

He sipped his tea.

Feeling the warmth spreading through his hands.

Outside the window, sports clubs were practicing in the afternoon.

Distant whistle of their coach could be heard across the campus.

---

Minami smiled faintly.

"I’ve always liked this time of day."

Kuro looked outside.

"Because it’s quiet?"

She nodded.

"At this time, the school gets some room to breathe."

He chuckled.

"I never thought about it like this."

"Teachers see funny things."

"I’ve seen."

---

For a moment...

Neither of them said anything.

And then Minami said:

"Nervous?"

Kuro helplessly smiled.

"...A little."

She raised an eyebrow.

"Only a little?"

"...A little more."

"I knew it."

---

He stared into his tea.

"I thought it would become easier to wait."

"It didn’t."

"No."

"It rarely does."

She clasped her hands around her cup.

"When I was applying for my teaching license..."

"I was checking my mailbox so often..."

"The mailman started addressing me by my name eventually."

Kuro laughed.

"Really?"

"Every afternoon."

"He was saying..."

"’No letters for you, Miss Shirosaki’."

She smiled at the memory.

"I was sure that every postponed letter was the sign of my failure."

"And...?"

"I passed."

She shrugged lightly.

"My worry didn’t achieve anything at all."

---

Kuro smiled.

"I’ve heard this piece of advice before."

"Did you follow it?"

"...Not exactly."

"I noticed."

They smiled to each other.

Silent and unhurried.

Then...

Minami looked at him with a thoughtful expression on her face.

"Kuro."

"Yes?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

She looked straight into his eyes.

For a few seconds.

Long enough for him to realize that this was going to be an unusual question.

"When you picture yourself in the future..."

"Which of your fears scare you the most?"

Kuro didn’t answer immediately.

It was an honest question.

He looked at his cup.

Watching how steam slowly disappeared from it.

And then...

Spoke.

"I’m afraid..."

"...that one day somebody will need me..."

"...and I will not be enough."

It was a quiet whisper.

So quiet.

But filling the room.

Minami didn’t interrupt.

Just listened.

As she taught him to listen to other people.

The room was silent.

Not because there was nothing left to say.

It was just that Minami knew that some questions needed time to be answered.

She carefully grasped the tea cup in her hands.

Then she smiled.

"Kuro."

"Have you noticed anything peculiar about yourself during the past two years?"

He raised his eyes.

"What kind of thing?"

"You always envision the worst possible scenario."

He blinked.

"... Do I?"

"You do."

"When people thank you..."

"You think that you did not do that much."

"When people succeed..."

"You praise them."

"When you make a mistake..."

"You blame yourself."

She giggled.

"This is a surprisingly unjust self-judgment."

Kuro could not help but smile.

"When you formulate it like that..."

"... It does look a bit unreasonable."

"It is."

---

He lowered his eyes.

"I see..."

"I believed that if I were not very cautious..."

"I might disappoint people."

Minami slowly nodded.

"It is a natural worry."

"But there is something else that you do not see."

She leaned forward a bit.

"Can you tell me why people approach you?"

Kuro said honestly.

"I still do not."

"Because they felt comfortable with you."

"Because you were not perfect."

"They trusted you even before you trusted yourself."

Those words hovered between them.

---

Minami gazed out of the window.

Sun was starting to set, covering the school area with warm orange colors.

"When you first joined my class..."

"I was concerned about you."

Kuro smiled.

"Sure."

"You smiled."

"You got along with everyone."

"But there was always this invisible border."

"You listened to other people’s problems."

"But you never shared yours."

He silently nodded.

"That sounds correct."

"I feared that you would spend your whole life staying in the background."

Helping everyone.

Not trusting yourself to receive the same treatment.

---

She turned to him.

"But somewhere on your path..."

"You changed."

"You started receiving help."

"You allowed your friends to worry about you."

"You allowed yourself to dream."

She smiled proudly.

"From this point I saw your growth."

Not academically.

But as a person.

---

Kuro looked down at his reflection in the tea.

"... Sensei."

"Hm?"

"What if the university will refuse?"

That question has been bothering him for several weeks already.

Now he finally voiced it out loud.

Minami did not answer right away.

Instead she asked,

"What would I have said to Yui if she had failed her third exam?"

Kuro faintly smiled.

"You would have told her that the result would not determine her."

"And?"

"That she would still be somebody worth believing in."

Minami nodded.

"Exactly."

She looked directly into his eyes.

"So why would my answer to you be any different?"

Kuro felt his heart tighten.

Not with fear.

With relief.

---

"The university has the right to judge if you are ready."

Minami calmly continued.

"They do not have the right to determine your value."

"These are two totally different things."

"If they accept you..."

"I will congratulate you."

"If they refuse..."

"I will help you prepare for the next opportunity."

She smiled.

"No matter what..."

"Your value in my eyes does not change."

---

Something inside him was finally released.

This burden that he carried ever since submitting the application was still there.

But now it was bearable.

---

Minami took the last sip of her tea.

Then, almost mechanically, she said.

"You know..."

"I do not worry about your future anymore."

Kuro looked surprised.

"You do not?"

She shook her head.

"Not at all."

"I did."

"I was wondering if you would ever find something that you wanted."

"I was wondering if you would hide behind everybody else."

She smiled warmly.

"All these worries disappeared long ago."

Kuro quietly laughed.

"Then what do you worry about now?"

Minami looked towards the window again.

Groups of students were exiting the school gates and leaving for home, talking loudly.

Her face relaxed.

"I worry about people who have not met you yet."

Kuro blinked.

"... What?"

"The kid who is sure that nobody understands him."

"The tired parent who believes that he failed."

"The old person who feels forgotten."

"The teen who is scared to tell anybody that he is struggling."

She paused.

Then smiled.

"They do not know it yet."

"But someday..."

"... They will need somebody who will know how to listen."

Her eyes met his.

"And I hope..."

"... That they are lucky enough to meet you."

---

Kuro felt his vision blurring.

He quickly looked away.

"... Sensei."

His voice trembled.

"I do not deserve this much trust."

Minami softly laughed.

"You still do not get it."

"What?"

"It is not trust."

She stood up, taking their empty cups.

"It is observation."

"I have been observing you for two years."

"I have been observing your classmates."

"I have been observing total strangers."

"This pattern has not changed."

"People leave your conversation standing a bit straighter than when they came."

She smiled over her shoulder.

"I do not think that it is a coincidence."

---

The sound of the school bell echoed in the distance, marking the end of clubs’ practice.

The school was slowly being emptied.

Kuro stood up too.

"I should go home."

"You should."

He picked up his bag.

At the doorway he stopped.

"Sensei."

"Yes?"

"... Thank you."

Minami smiled.

"I did not do anything."

Kuro laughed.

Now he understood how annoying this phrase sounded.

"You really did."

She made a small nod.

"I know."

---

When Kuro went outside, the evening wind greeted him.

The sky was painted in amazing colors of orange and violet.

For the first time after the interview...

He did not think about the result waiting for him.

Instead...

He thought about his future.

Not as something scary.

But as a road with the people he still did not meet.

People whose names he did not know yet.

People who carried heavy burdens that he could not even imagine.

Perhaps...

Someday...

He will have the opportunity to share that burden, even for a little while.

He smiled to himself.

Waiting was not over yet.

But fear started to fade away.

And that...

Was enough.