"Hey! You two! It's too dangerous out here! What are you doing?!"
A stern voice cut through the howling wind, echoing across the rain-slicked street. The shout ca from a police officer patrolling the area—a routine asure taken during stormy weather in Tokyo to prevent accidents. Yukima Azuma and Kurokawa Akane were imdiately apprehended and brought to the police station.
Inside the brightly lit hallway of the Tokyo Police Departnt, Yukima Azuma sat alone on a cold tal bench, his clothes still damp from the rain. Fluorescent lights flickered above, casting harsh shadows on the white-tiled walls. Ti dragged as he waited.
anwhile, Akane remained in the diation room. The police had notified her parents, and a female officer was currently with her, gently trying to coax out words that Akane didn't seem willing—or able—to offer. There would no doubt be a mandatory lecture about suicide prevention, perhaps even psychological counseling arranged. But Yukima Azuma doubted it would help.
He had seen her eyes.
Eyes that had completely lost their light.
There was no fear, no regret—only numbness. Like soone who had already crossed the threshold of death but had been dragged back, unwillingly.
Yukima Azuma exhaled slowly and leaned back against the cold wall, his thoughts spinning. In the mories of his past life, Akane had never reached this level of psychological collapse. Was this Adolescence Syndro? Could it be treated by conventional ans—or reversed?
To him, Akane now felt like a living test. A puzzle thrown in front of him by fate itself. Solve it, and perhaps he would gain new insight, knowledge, data. Fail, and it would be a grim lesson written in irreversible tragedy.
Suddenly, the sound of rushed footsteps echoed through the hallway. Yukima raised his head.
A group of people ca sprinting down the corridor. Several of them were teenagers, each striking in appearance. He recognized so of them—contestants from the reality TV show We're About to Fall in Love for Real, or LoveforReal for short.
Among them was a girl with long, dark-blue hair. She ran straight into Akane as the latter exited the diation room.
"Akane-chan!" she cried, hugging her tightly. "Baka! You made us worry so much! Why didn't you talk to us?!"
Yukima rembered her—Sumi Yuki. A painter, model, and rising star in LoveforReal, known for her composed and gentle personality. As she held Akane, tears stread down both girls' faces. The reunion was heart-wrenching.
But even as she wept, Akane's eyes told a different story.
They didn't shine with relief or guilt. If anything, they looked heavier than before, as if the warmth of concern only reminded her of how distant she felt from everyone else.
A girl with twin tails and a ribbon shaped like devil's horns trailed closely behind Sumi. She handed over tissues wordlessly, looking equally shaken. Her na was M, a cheerful personality on the show and sothing of a mascot character.
"M-san. Co here for a mont," Yukima called out to her.
The girl blinked, startled. "Huh? ?" She pointed to herself in confusion but walked over nonetheless, driven by the underlying authority in Yukima's voice.
Up close, she studied him. He was good-looking, dressed sharply—even soaked from the storm, he looked composed. Her first thought was that he had to be a celebrity. Yet... she couldn't recall ever seeing him on TV.
"Um... who are you exactly?" she asked tentatively.
"Yukima Azuma," he replied without hesitation. "President of Laplace Corporation. We collaborated last month. I believe you were featured in a promotional video for White Album?"
M's eyes widened. "Ah! Yukima-san, hello!" Recognition hit her like a bolt of lightning. Laplace had sponsored one of her best-performing videos. Their promotional budget was absurdly generous.
Still, she couldn't wrap her head around why soone like him would be here—at a police station, no less.
"Why are you here, if you don't mind asking?"
Yukima casually nodded toward Akane, who was still clinging weakly to Sumi.
"I found her on the overpass. She was climbing over the guardrail, ready to jump."
M's breath caught in her throat. Her cheerful façade crumbled instantly. She had suspected Akane was in pain, but never imagined it was that serious.
"Akane-chan's... been through a lot," she said softly. "Have you watched LoveforReal?"
"My friend showed two episodes at her house," Yukima replied flatly.
"That makes this easier to explain," M sighed and began recounting everything.
In the show's current phase, the format had evolved into a love triangle—two boys, one girl. Naturally, most of the attention went to Sumi Yuki and M. Akane, quiet and unassertive, beca invisible in comparison.
Her agency pressured her to fight for screen ti. But her approach was clumsy. In an unfortunate mont, she scratched Sumi's cheek—barely a graze. It had been resolved between them privately, with Sumi quickly forgiving her.
But the cara had already captured it. And the internet was rciless.
Hateful comnts flooded Twitter.
"Gross. If she's like this on cara, imagine what she's like off-screen."
"Who let her on TV?"
"She's dangerous. Get her off the show."
Akane had tried to apologize on social dia, but it only fanned the flas.
"Everyone tried to check on her," M continued, her voice cracking. "We ssaged her, asked if she was eating, if she was okay. Today, she just said she'd bought a snack. That's it. And then she went quiet again."
Eventually, they contacted her mother. She hadn't gone ho. They traced her to a nearby convenience store—then the police called.
Yukima nodded, absorbing every word.
So that's how fragile the balance was.
Online hostility. Performance pressure. Isolation. All of it had converged into one lethal storm. Adolescence Syndro or not, this was enough to crush anyone.
"M-san," he said quietly, "give everything you know about Kurokawa Akane. Contacts. Ho address. The works."
M froze. Her body tensed. Despite his calm tone, the demand was blunt and invasive.
"I... I don't know that much. Maybe I can give you her LINE?" she offered hesitantly.
"You already contacted her mother. You followed a trace to her house. Don't lie," Yukima said firmly, his gaze steady.
M looked away, cornered.
'This guy... is too sharp.'
Still, she hesitated. Disclosing Akane's personal information to a stranger felt wrong. Even if Yukima had saved her, even if he was a powerful sponsor... Akane was her friend.
Yukima followed her gaze to Akane.
"Look at her. Do you see it?" he said. "She's still standing on that invisible ledge. Still ready to jump."
M's chest tightened.
He was right. Even surrounded by friends, Akane looked like she was already gone.
She clutched her phone, torn between loyalty and the weight of helplessness.
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