Chapter Text
The camera flashes never bothered Tengen anymore.
Neither did the reporters.
Nor the screaming fans gathered outside the studio.
He smiled effortlessly as he signed autographs and waved to the crowd.
The nation’s most beloved actor.
The man everyone wanted.
The man who had everything.
“Tengen, your next schedule is in twenty minutes.”
The familiar voice pulled him from his thoughts.
He turned.
YN stood beside him, tablet in hand, already organizing the rest of his day.
The nearby staff didn’t even react anymore.
Years ago, some of them had been shocked that his secretary called him by his first name.
Now they simply accepted it.
No one else called him that.
To the public, he was Uzui-san.
Japan’s most famous actor.
But to YN—
He had always been Tengen.
For a moment, he stared at her.
Then, suddenly—
He remembered.
⸻
Ten years ago.
The rooftop of their high school.
Three lunch boxes.
Three friends.
A warm spring breeze.
And a camera resting in Kyojuro’s hands.
Unlike most students, Tengen and Kyojuro didn’t come from ordinary families.
Both were born into wealth—expected paths already laid out for them, futures already planned by others.
But on that rooftop, none of that mattered.
Kyojuro lifted his camera casually, pointing it toward them.
Click.
A moment captured.
Tengen groaned.
“Do you always have to document everything?”
“Yes!” Kyojuro answered proudly. “Moments like this are important!”
YN blinked. “You brought a camera to lunch?”
“Of course!”
Tengen leaned back on his hands. “That’s creepy.”
“It is not creepy. It is memory preservation.”
YN laughed softly.
That sound—
Kyojuro captured it too.
Click.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Saving it,” he said simply.
Tengen rolled his eyes. “You’re obsessed.”
Kyojuro smiled. “One day, you’ll thank me.”
“Highly doubtful.”
“Noted.”
He lowered the camera slightly, but didn’t stop holding it.
As if even in conversation, he couldn’t help but notice the world through a frame.
“Let’s discuss our dreams!” Kyojuro suddenly declared.
Several students below looked up.
Tengen groaned.
“Can my dream be passing math?”
“It cannot.”
“It should.”
“It cannot.”
YN laughed.
The sound was light and genuine.
And again—
Click.
Kyojuro didn’t even pretend to hide it anymore.
“What about you, YN?” he asked.
She blinked.
“Me?”
“Of course.”
Tengen pointed at her with a chopstick.
“You have to answer. It’s the law.”
“There is no such law.”
“There is now.”
She rolled her eyes.
The two of them were ridiculous.
After a moment, she answered honestly.
“I want a stable job.”
Silence.
Then Tengen looked horrified.
“That’s it?”
YN frowned.
“What do you mean, that’s it?”
“That’s not a dream.”
“It is.”
“No, it’s not.”
“Yes, it is.”
Kyojuro laughed quietly as the argument immediately began.
Click.
“What kind of job?” he asked.
YN looked toward the sky.
“My parents work hard.”
The teasing disappeared.
“My mom worries about money all the time.”
Her voice softened.
“My little brother is still young.”
Neither boy interrupted.
“So if I can get a decent job and help them…” she said with a smile. “I think I’d be happy.”
The rooftop became quiet.
Kyojuro lowered his camera slightly.
Not enough to stop.
Just enough to listen more carefully.
“That’s a wonderful dream,” he said warmly.
YN looked surprised.
“Really?”
“Of course.”
She smiled.
Then, almost unconsciously, her eyes drifted toward Tengen.
Waiting.
As though his opinion mattered too.
As though it mattered most.
Kyojuro noticed.
He always noticed.
Click.
Tengen crossed his arms.
“Fine. But when you’re rich someday, remember your famous friends.”
“You aren’t famous.”
“Not yet.”
“You say that every week.”
“Because it’s true.”
YN laughed again.
And immediately, Tengen grinned.
Like making her laugh had been his goal all along.
Kyojuro looked down at the screen of his camera.
The photo was already perfect.
He didn’t need to check.
He already knew.
“What about you, Tengen?” YN asked.
Immediately, his grin widened.
“I’m going to be famous.”
“I knew it.”
“You didn’t even let me finish.”
“Do you even know what you’ll be famous for?”
Tengen opened his mouth.
Paused.
Then pointed at her.
“That’s not the point.”
“It absolutely is.”
“…Fine.”
He sighed dramatically.
“I haven’t figured that part out yet.”
Kyojuro laughed so hard he nearly dropped his lunch.
Click.
“What an excellent plan.”
“Shut up.”
“No, truly. Very detailed.”
Tengen clicked his tongue.
Then pointed at him.
“Your turn, genius.”
Unlike Tengen, Kyojuro didn’t hesitate.
“I want to become a photographer.”
The other two blinked.
“A photographer?” YN asked.
He nodded.
“There are moments that only happen once.”
His gaze drifted toward the city beyond the school.
“A smile.”
“A goodbye.”
“A victory.”
“A reunion.”
The wind stirred his golden hair.
“I want to preserve those moments.”
He lifted the camera slightly as he spoke.
And captured them again.
Click.
The rooftop fell quiet.
Because somehow, it sounded exactly like something Kyojuro would say.
Sincere.
Thoughtful.
Kind.
YN smiled.
“I think you’ll be amazing at that.”
For a brief moment, Kyojuro forgot what he was about to say.
Then he smiled back.
“Thank you.”
Their eyes met.
Just for a second.
And then YN turned toward Tengen again.
It was such a small thing.
Most people would never notice.
But Kyojuro did.
Click.
Some things were easier to observe than to think about.
“Well,” Tengen suddenly announced.
He stood and stretched dramatically.
“When we’re all successful, let’s meet here again.”
YN laughed.
“We’ll be adults by then.”
“So?”
“We’ll be busy.”
“We won’t.”
“And what if we live far away?”
“We won’t.”
Kyojuro chuckled.
“You seem very confident.”
“Of course I am.”
Tengen threw an arm around both of their shoulders.
“We’ll stay friends forever.”
YN smiled.
“I’d like that.”
The sunlight caught her expression.
Bright.
Warm.
Beautiful.
Kyojuro captured it one last time.
Click.
For a moment, he forgot how to breathe.
Then Tengen started talking again.
And YN’s attention immediately shifted back to him.
Kyojuro lowered his camera.
Some things never changed.
“Promise me,” Tengen said.
“What?”
“That we’ll meet here again someday.”
YN laughed.
“Fine.”
Kyojuro smiled.
“I promise.”
Three teenagers.
Three dreams.
One camera full of moments Kyojuro already knew he would never delete.
The future stretched endlessly before them.
And none of them knew how much would change.
⸻
“Tengen.”
The memory disappeared.
He blinked.
The rooftop vanished.
The spring breeze faded.
And suddenly he was back inside the studio.
YN stood before him with her tablet.
Concern flickering across her face.
“You were staring into space.”
For a moment, Tengen simply looked at her.
Then he smiled lazily.
“Just remembering something.”
“What?”
He glanced toward the city beyond the studio windows.
Toward the past.
Toward promises made under a spring sky.
“Nothing important.”
Far across the ocean, a plane was descending toward Japan.
And seated beside the window was Kyojuro Rengoku.
With a camera still resting at his side.
Returning home after years abroad.
Returning to old friends.
And returning to everything he had quietly never let go of.