Chapter 5: THE SILENCE BETWEEN SONGS
1386 Words
Kiyohara City(***), Japan — 9:17 a.m.
This city never truly slept.
Even in the early hours of the morning, Kiyohara moved with its own rhythm. Trains carried thousands of people toward their destinations, streets filled with hurried footsteps, and towering buildings reflected the pale morning light.
To most people, it was just another busy city.
To Echo, it was a place where he could disappear.
Echo had learned that the easiest place to hide was among people who didn't care who he was.
The subway had carried him through the heart of the city, surrounded by strangers who had no idea the were standing beside someone whose face appeared on posters across the country.
The subway doors opened with a soft chime, and he stepped into the crowd...
Allowing himself to be carried forward by the endless movement of people.
The station was alive.
Students hurried past with backpacks hanging from their shoulders, some holding coffee cups while checking their phones. Office workers moved quickly through the crowd, their footsteps blending with the announcements echoing from the speakers. The smell of convenience store food, perfume, and the faint scent of rain-soaked pavement mixed together in the busy underground space.
For a moment, Echo stood still.
Nobody noticed him.
Nobody whispered his name.
Nobody raised a phone to take a picture.
He was just another person trying to find his way through the city.
And strangely, he liked that.
Pulling his cap slightly lower, Echo followed the signs toward the university exit.
The city above was just as busy.
Echo arrives at the student residence building.
There is a small security desk near the entrance.
The guard asks:
His name.
Who he is visiting.
The room number.
Whether the resident submitted a visitor request.
Echo shows the visitor authorization letter Renji prepared two months ago.
The guard checks it, looks at Echo briefly, then lets him pass.
After a short walk, the gates of Seishin National University (SNU) came into view.
The large stone sign stood proudly at the entrance, surrounded by trees and students rushing toward their classes.
Echo slowed down.
He had been here before.
He knew the way.
He knew where Renji stayed.
But today felt different.
Because today, he wasn't just visiting his brother.
He was checking on him.
Echo looked at the students passing by.
How was he supposed to ask?
"Are you okay?"
Too obvious.
"Has anyone been bothering you?"
Too suspicious.
"Is there something you haven't told me?"
Impossible.
Renji knew him too well.
One wrong question, one moment of hesitation, and his brother would know something was wrong.
Echo exhaled quietly.
He didn't want Renji to feel watched.
He didn't want him to feel like something about him needed protecting.
Renji had always hated being treated as fragile.
The truth was, Echo wasn't afraid of Renji.
He was afraid of the world.
People were cruel when they found something they could use against someone else.
Echo had seen it happen too many times.
He had seen how quickly admiration could turn into judgment.
And he refused to let that happen to Renji.
Not if he could prevent it.
The campus was alive.
Wide pathways where students walk, cycle, or hurry between classes.
Rows of trees, small gardens, benches, and vending machines.
Buildings spread across the campus rather than one huge building.
Students rushed through the stone pathways with coffee cups in their hands, backpacks hanging from their shoulders, voices mixing with the sound of footsteps and bicycles.
He took notice of his surroundings.
Not because he's suspicious, but because a famous person learns to always watch his surroundings.
Some students helped him with directions. Some stare because he looks foreign.
Some asked, "Are you a student here?"
But most are too busy with their own lives to care.
Reaching Renji's room, he paused for some minutes to compose himself...
He knocks several times, no one answers.
Then decides to let himself in with the key Renji had cloned for him.
Echo quietly closed the door behind him.
For a few seconds, he simply stood there.
Renji's room was familiar.
Not because it was luxurious or impressive, but because it was one of the few places where Echo didn't have to pretend.
He moved around the room slowly, taking in the small details he had missed during his last visit.
The carefully arranged drawings.
The neatly organized materials.
The unfinished architectural model sitting on the desk.
Everything about the room carried Renji's personality.
Orderly. Thoughtful. Precise.
Echo placed his jacket over the back of a chair and sat down for a moment.
He had only planned to wait.
Just five minutes.
Just until Renji returned.
But the exhaustion he had been carrying for weeks caught up with him.
The constant rehearsals.
The pressure.
The questions he couldn't answer.
The things he couldn't say.
His eyes became heavier.
Before he realized it, he had leaned back against the bed.
The quietness of the room surrounded him.
And for the first time in a while, Echo allowed himself to rest.
A few minutes later, sleep took over.
When the door finally opened again, Renji walked in, still exhausted from his day, completely unaware that his brother was already asleep inside.
Two hours later........
"Saikō da yo... hontō ni." (Amazing... absolutely amazing.)
He dropped his bag onto the floor.
Shichiji ni okite, asagohan mo hayame ni tabete, jugyō no tame ni daigaku made itta n da yo..."
(I woke up at seven, ate breakfast early, and went all the way to university for class...)
He removed his jacket and continued complaining to the empty room.
"Soshitara sensei ga konai nante nani?"
(And then the professor doesn't even show up? What is that?)
Renji sighed dramatically.
Ichijikan mo matte ita n da yo."
(I waited for an entire hour.)
He walked toward his desk, placing his materials down carefully.
"Daigaku no kaigi no tame ni jugyō chūshi tte... saki ni itte hoshikatta."
(The class was cancelled because the professors had a meeting... they could have told us earlier.)
He shook his head.
"Sensei-tachi wa gakusei no jikan wo nani da to omotte iru no?"
(What do professors think students' time is?)
The room gave no answer.
The frustration slowly left his voice.
The meeting was apparently about that semester's examination results. The professors needed to discuss grades, statistics, and academic performance before releasing the final information.
Renji understood that.
He really did.
But understanding didn't mean he wasn't tired.
He turned around, finally ready to collapse.
Then he stopped.
Someone was sleeping on his bed.
For several seconds, Renji just stared.
"..."
The exhaustion disappeared.
"Uso daro." (You have got to be kidding me.)
He walked closer.
The cap.
The familiar face.
The person who had somehow entered his room and decided his bed was the perfect place to rest.
"Echo?"
"Echo?"
Renji stood there, staring at the person sleeping on his bed.
For a few seconds, he thought he was imagining things.
Then he sighed.
"Hontō ni?" (Seriously?)
He walked closer and looked down at his brother.
"Ore no heya ni haitte, ore no beddo de neru no?" (You came into my room and slept on my bed?)
Echo didn't move.
Renji narrowed his eyes.
"Uso mitai." (I can't believe this.)
He reached out and lightly pushed Echo's shoulder.
"Oi, okite." (Hey, wake up.)
After a few seconds, Echo slowly opened his eyes.
"Ren?"
Renji crossed his arms.
"Yatto okita." (Finally awake.)
Echo blinked, still confused.
"Nande koko ni iru no?" (Why are you here?)
Renji stared at him.
"...Koko wa boku no heya da yo." (This is my room.)
A small smile appeared on Echo's face.
"I know."
Renji looked at him in disbelief.
"You know?"
Echo sat up slowly.
"I came to see you."
Renji studied him for a moment.
Then his expression softened slightly.
"Mae ni itte kuretara yokatta no ni." (You could have told me before coming.)
Echo looked away.
"I wanted it to be a surprise."
Renji sighed.
"Sō iu tokoro, kawaranai ne." (That part of you hasn't changed.)
Echo smiled faintly.
"English."
Renji laughed.
"Your Japanese is still bad."
"I understood that."
"Good. At least you're improving."
Echo rolled his eyes.
"Speak English before you start talking too fast."
Renji smiled.
"Still impatient."
- Writer
