Two days quietly passed. The routine was simple — small conversations, shared meals, and the comfortable silence that had started to feel like home.
But tonight wasn't just another night.
It was the night — the night Arashi's dream girl, Mizuki, had promised to return.
Arashi sat on the edge of his bed, unable to hide his excitement.
"Tonight," he murmured, smiling faintly, "I'll ask her more this time. Like… how old she is, how she knows me, and maybe… if there's a way we can meet in the real world."
His heart beat faster at the thought. He didn't know why, but something about Mizuki always felt different — mysterious, yet familiar.
Meanwhile, in the living room, Ayane sat by the window, staring blankly at the stars.
Her chest felt heavy. Three days.
It had only been three days since she moved in, but every passing moment with him made it harder to hide her feelings.
She wanted to tell him. She needed to tell him.
But how? Just blurting it out felt too sudden, too awkward.
Then suddenly — an idea came to her.
A soft smile touched her lips.
"That's it," she whispered to herself.
She decided she would confess her feelings — but not directly. Instead, she would make an code and let him crack it.
She wrote: 12-15-22-5-25-15-21
That's it. Just one mysterious line written neatly on a piece of paper.
No explanation. No hints. Just a row of numbers.
The hallway was quiet — only the soft hum of the night filled the silence.
Ayane stood in front of Arashi's door, her fingers trembling slightly as she held the folded note.
For a second, she just stood there, staring at the wooden door as if it were the line between courage and hesitation. Then, with a quiet exhale, she crouched down and carefully slid the paper beneath it.
The sound was barely audible — a soft whisper against the floor — but to her, it felt like the loudest thing in the world.
As soon as she let go, she froze.
Her heart started racing uncontrollably, her chest tightening with nervous excitement. "What if he doesn't understand it? What if he does?"
Her mind spun in circles. She backed away slowly from his door, as if afraid he might suddenly open it and see her there.
Once she reached her own room, she quietly closed the door behind her and leaned against it, pressing a hand over her heart.
It was beating so fast she could barely breathe. "Now I can't wait for his reply…" she whispered to herself, her lips curving into a shy, nervous smile.
She walked to her bed, unable to calm her racing thoughts.
Somewhere deep down, she knew this wasn't just a note — it was her heart, written in numbers and silence, now lying right outside his door.
Arashi yawned, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Before lying down for real, he always kept a water bottle by his bed — a small habit, a comfort. Tonight was no different. He swung his legs off the futon and reached for the bottle, bare feet on the cool floor.
As he stood, something pale peeking from beneath the door caught his eye. He crouched without thinking and slid the paper out. A neat line of numbers stared back at him:
12-15-22-5-25-15-21
He frowned, turning the slip over as if a meaning might be hiding on the back. "Huh… no idea what this is," he muttered, half to himself. For a moment he studied the sequence — then shrugged. "Probably just some random numbers," he told the empty hallway. On impulse he walked to the trash bin, balled the paper in his hand, and started to toss it.
But as his fingers loosened, a thought stopped him mid-motion. Maybe — just maybe — it was a code, an old password for a safe, or a note someone had misplaced. What if his parents had handed something like this to him and it got lost? The idea felt silly, but he'd rather be safe than sorry.
"Fine," he said, more to himself than the paper. He pulled his phone from his pocket, snapped a quick photo of the numbers, and watched the little screen blink the image back at him. Then, almost embarrassed by his own curiosity, he dropped the paper into the bin and walked back to his room with the water bottle in hand.
Down the hall, behind a closed door, Ayane pressed her palm flat against her chest, listening for any sound. The soft scrape of his feet had been enough — and now he'd taken the note. Her pulse leapt. Had he read it? Had he understood? She held her breath, every tiny noise stretching into a question.
Arashi slipped beneath his blanket, the faint chill of night still in the air. After drinking a few sips of water, he set the bottle down, turned off the lamp, and lay on his side.
Within minutes, sleep pulled him under — quiet and deep.
But when the morning light touched his face, something felt… wrong.
His eyes blinked open slowly. For a few seconds, he stared blankly at the ceiling, waiting for the memory of his dream to return — waiting to see her.
Nothing.
No voice. No presence. No Mizuki.
He sat up slowly, rubbing his temple. "Wait… she didn't come?" he murmured.
His heart sank. "Why didn't she show up? We promised… she said she'd come tonight."
The more he thought about it, the heavier his chest felt. Maybe she was angry? Maybe something happened? Or maybe… she never really existed at all.
Those thoughts began to spiral. His calm expression faded as his mind started running wild.
Did I say something wrong last time?
Maybe she got bored of me…
Or maybe she was just part of my imagination all along…
No, that can't be… she felt real.
He sat quietly on the edge of his bed, lost in his thoughts. The morning sun painted golden light across the room, but to him, it felt strangely cold.
Arashi got up, stretching lazily. "Maybe she was just busy," he muttered to himself, rubbing his eyes. "Or maybe she didn't even sleep last night… that's why she didn't appear in my dream."
He sighed, trying to brush off the thought, and went to freshen up. After washing his face, he started making breakfast. Once it was ready, he carried it to the table and sat down. But something felt off — Ayane still hadn't come out of her room.
"That's strange," he said, frowning slightly. "She always wakes up early."
He called out to her from the living room, "Ayane! Breakfast is ready!"
No response.
He waited a few seconds, then stood up and walked to her door. He knocked lightly. "Ayane? You awake?" Still nothing.
"Hmm…" he murmured. After a few more tries with no reply, he said softly, "I'm coming in, okay?"
He turned the handle and stepped inside quietly. Ayane was sitting on her bed, wrapped completely in a blanket, her face hidden. The room was dim, the curtains still closed.
"Hey," Arashi said gently, moving closer, "what's wrong? You don't look well. Are you sick?"
No answer.
"Did I do something?" he asked, worried now. "If I made a mistake or upset you somehow, tell me."
Still no reply.
He sighed and crouched beside her bed, then slowly pulled the blanket down just enough to see her face — and froze. Ayane's entire face was bright red, her eyes wide and full of embarrassment.
"Wha—why are you so red? Do you have a fever or something?" he asked, half-concerned, half-confused.
She shook her head slightly, still blushing hard. "M-my… note," she whispered.
Arashi blinked. "Note? You mean… those random numbers?"
Ayane nodded, eyes darting away in shame.
Arashi's expression softened, and then he chuckled lightly. "So that was yours, huh?" he said. "Don't worry about it. That paper was right beside my door. I picked it up because I thought it might be something important."
He took out his phone and smiled. "In fact, before throwing it away, I took a photo of it — just in case it was useful to someone. Look." He showed her the image of her coded message.
"See?" he said teasingly.
Ayane's face turned even redder, and she quickly hid under her blanket again, mumbling something that sounded like, "You weren't supposed to see that…"
Arashi laughed softly. "Well, now I did. And honestly, I'm glad I didn't just throw it away. It looked like a mystery — I thought maybe it was a password to some safe my parents hid or something."
Ayane peeked out from under the blanket, her face still red. "W-wait… Arashi," she asked hesitantly, "did you actually… see the numbers?"
Arashi blinked, tilting his head. "Yeah, I saw them. But don't worry," he said quickly, smiling innocently, "I didn't read the whole thing. I thought it might be some kind of password or something. Look—here, I'll just send it to you so you can keep it safe."
Before he could even open his phone, Ayane suddenly stood up, marched toward him, and—slap!—lightly smacked him on the arm.
"You dummy!" she shouted, her face burning even brighter.
Arashi froze, completely caught off guard. "W-wait—what? What did I do now?"
But Ayane didn't answer. She just turned away, covered her face with both hands, and bolted out of the room like a storm, her voice echoing faintly down the hall. "You are the biggest dummy!"
Arashi stood there in stunned silence, still trying to process what had just happened. He looked at the door she ran through, then at his phone, then sighed.
"…What did I even do wrong this time?" he muttered, scratching his head.
He chuckled under his breath, shaking his head. "Girls are… complicated."
And with that thought, he slumped back into his chair, completely unaware of what those "random numbers" truly meant.