The paranoia does not fade even after Ryoma reaches his mother's barbershop. Even inside the familiar space, his attention keeps drifting toward the glass wall.
And the same feeling follows him into the next morning. During dawn roadwork with Aramaki, Ryoma finds himself constantly scanning his surroundings.
His gaze shifts between the road ahead, the empty intersections, and the distant edges of the street as if expecting something to appear from outside the ordinary rhythm of their run.
His thoughts are not staying in one place long enough to form clarity, and every so often, that uncertainty pulls his head back over his shoulder mid-run, as if confirming that nothing is following them.
It breaks his pacing repeatedly, forcing him to fall behind. And each time, Aramaki has to slow down and wait for him to catch up.
"Hey," Aramaki calls out. "What's wrong with you? You've been so off lately."
