The next day felt like a rerun—same gray skies, same school corridors humming with half-hearted laughter and whispered complaints, and Rei moving through it all like a background character in someone else's story.
He didn't even bother to check his phone during lunch. Normally, he'd pop in his earphones and tune out the cafeteria noise. But the broken pair still sat in his pocket, useless and silent, reminding him of what was missing.
His friends—more like friendly classmates, really—chatted about test scores and after-school hangouts. Rei offered a few nods, a polite half-smile, but mostly stayed quiet. It wasn't that he disliked people. He just preferred melodies over small talk. Songs always said more with less.
As the final bell rang, Rei made his way to the train station again, steps slower than usual. He passed the convenience store near the entrance, glancing at a rack of cheap earbuds hanging beside packs of gum and bottled tea.
His hand hovered.
Then lowered.
He walked past it.
Not yet.
Something inside him whispered that. A tiny voice that didn't make much sense. But it felt... right. The idea of replacing his earpiece so quickly felt like erasing something important. Something he hadn't fully let go of.
The platform was mostly empty. A cool breeze tugged at his blazer sleeves as he waited for the train, watching the tracks blur with movement and dust. When it finally arrived, he stepped inside and moved toward the usual spot: second car, third row.
Except someone was sitting there.
A girl.
She had long, dark hair braided loosely down her back, and a navy-blue bag resting on her lap. Her eyes were focused out the window, but there was a calmness to her posture, a kind of serenity Rei noticed instantly.
He blinked, awkwardly hovered for a second, then slid into the seat across from her.
He didn't usually sit across from strangers. He preferred corners and windows, places where he could disappear. But something about her made him pause. Like she wasn't part of the usual noise.
As the train rolled forward, Rei pulled out his phone, out of habit more than hope, and stared at his paused playlist. His thumb hovered over the screen.
"Broken?"
The voice was soft. Clear.
Rei looked up, startled.
The girl had turned her head slightly toward him, a curious smile on her face. She nodded toward the earpiece wire still dangling from his pocket.
He hesitated. Then nodded. "Yeah… broke yesterday."
"Can I see?"
He handed it over, unsure why. She examined the cord, frowning like a doctor inspecting an injury.
"This is beyond saving," she declared, then looked at him. "You haven't bought a new one?"
Rei shrugged. "I guess… I wasn't ready to let go of it."
The girl chuckled. "Understandable. I once carried around a cassette player that didn't work just because I loved the way it looked."
Rei smiled, surprised by how easily it came.
She reached into her bag and pulled out her phone—then tugged a pair of sleek wireless earphones from her jacket pocket. "Wanna listen to something?" she asked. "I don't mind sharing."
He blinked again. "You sure?"
"Only if you don't mind my weird playlist. Fair warning—it's got everything from indie rock to lo-fi anime openings."
"That's… actually my kind of thing."
She grinned and passed him one of the earbuds.
As soon as the music began—soft chords, then a mellow voice humming over a synth base—Rei felt the world quiet again. But not like before. It wasn't just him and a song anymore. It was him, her, and a shared soundscape stretching between them like an invisible thread.
They listened in silence for a minute, maybe two. Then she tapped her screen and said, "Your turn."
"My turn?"
"Queue up something. Let's trade vibes."
Rei hesitated, then took her phone carefully. He scrolled through her playlist—she wasn't kidding about the range—then opened a song from his own mental catalog. A slower track with layered piano and rain sounds in the background.
When it played, she leaned back, eyes closed.
"Pretty," she murmured. "It feels like walking home in the snow."
"That's exactly what I thought when I first heard it," Rei said.
She turned to him. "I'm Kana, by the way."
"Rei."
"Nice to meet you, Rei."
The train slowed. His station.
He didn't want to move.
But the doors opened, and the moment flickered.
Kana stood first. "This is me too," she said. "But I take a different line from here."
Rei looked at her. "So… you don't ride this train every day?"
She shook her head. "Only came this way because I had to pick something up after school."
His heart dipped slightly.
"I'm glad I did, though," she added, handing him the earbud back. "Thanks for listening with me."
"Yeah," he said, trying to sound normal, but his voice cracked a little. "Thanks for… saving my afternoon."
She gave a small wave, stepped off the train, and vanished into the soft rush of commuters.
Rei stood there a moment too long before the doors closed and the train pulled away.
He slumped back into his seat, one hand on his chest.
The music had stopped.
But something else had started.
And for the first time in a long time… he didn't mind the silence.