The classroom grew quieter every day.
Not suddenly.
Just little by little.
One less conversation during lunch.
One less student staying after school.
One more empty desk as people left early for tutoring classes and university interviews.
The closer graduation came, the more the classroom felt like something slowly disappearing.
Evening sunlight spilled through the windows in long golden stripes.
The exam countdown sheet still hung beside the blackboard.
Twenty-one days.
Someone had crossed out today's number in red marker.
Kai stared at it dramatically.
"I hate that thing."
Rui didn't even look up.
"It hates you too."
"It judges me."
"It should."
Kai pointed accusingly.
"See? This is why I'm stressed."
Dev laughed softly from behind his notes.
"You were stressed before the countdown existed."
"That's different."
"How?"
Kai opened his mouth.
Paused.
Then pointed toward the board again.
"Now it's official."
Chen sighed quietly.
"You finished today's practice exam."
"Barely."
"You passed."
"Barely."
"That's still passing."
Kai immediately sat up.
"Chen, tell him."
Chen blinked.
"Tell him what?"
"That surviving counts."
Rui closed his notebook.
"You treat studying like a natural disaster."
"It is a natural disaster."
Dev nearly choked on his drink.
For a few minutes, the classroom filled with tired laughter.
The familiar kind.
The kind that only existed between people who had spent too many afternoons together.
Outside the windows, the sky was slowly turning orange.
The basketball courts below were almost empty now.
The corridors had grown quieter.
Most students had already gone home.
Near the back row, Jian sat beside Wei.
Not close enough to touch.
Close enough that he could hear the soft scratch of Wei's pen against paper.
That sound had become familiar too.
Somehow.
Like Kai complaining.
Like Rui's sarcasm.
Like Chen fixing other people's mistakes.
Like Dev laughing quietly when nobody expected it.
Wei turned another page.
"Done?"
Jian looked over.
"Hm?"
"The history questions."
"Oh."
He glanced at his notebook.
"Almost."
Wei nodded.
"You're faster than me today."
"You've been reading the same paragraph for five minutes."
A faint smile appeared on Wei's face.
"Maybe."
The smile disappeared quickly.
But Jian saw it.
Always.
Far too easily.
Across the room, Kai stretched dramatically.
"I'm leaving."
"No you're not," Rui said.
"I am."
"You forgot your bag."
Kai looked down.
"...Right."
Dev laughed again.
Even Chen smiled this time.
The sunset deepened outside.
Orange light spilled across the desks.
Across the floor.
Across scattered notebooks and university forms.
The room looked beautiful.
And somehow that made everything worse.
Because beautiful things ended.
Eventually.
One by one, everyone started packing up.
Dev finished first.
"I need to catch my bus."
Rui stood up immediately.
"If you leave me here with Kai, I'm reporting you."
Kai looked offended.
"We're friends."
"You make that difficult."
The group slowly gathered their things.
Books disappeared into bags.
Chairs scraped softly across the floor.
The ordinary sounds felt strangely loud inside the nearly empty classroom.
Chen zipped his bag closed.
"Kai."
"Hm?"
"You forgot your application form."
Kai looked down.
"...Again."
Chen handed it to him.
"Keep it."
"Thanks."
The reply came automatically.
Natural now.
Neither of them seemed to notice.
Rui definitely noticed.
His eyes narrowed suspiciously.
But he said nothing.
For once.
A few minutes later they headed toward the door.
Kai stopped first.
"Are you two coming?"
Jian looked up.
Wei was still sitting beside the window.
Looking outside.
The sunset painted gold across his face.
"I'll leave in a minute," Wei said.
Jian hesitated.
Then answered quietly.
"Me too."
Kai pointed dramatically.
"See? This is suspicious."
"Go home," Rui said.
"I'm concerned."
"No, you're nosy."
Chen grabbed Kai's sleeve.
"We're leaving."
"My freedom—"
The protest disappeared down the hallway.
Then Dev's laughter followed.
Then Rui's voice.
Then silence.
The classroom became empty.
Completely empty.
Only two desks remained occupied near the windows.
The fan continued turning slowly overhead.
Outside, the corridor lights flickered on.
The golden sunlight stretched longer and longer across the floor.
Neither Jian nor Wei spoke.
For a while, the silence felt comfortable.
Then it didn't.
Not because anything was wrong.
Because something felt too right.
Too temporary.
Wei rested his chin lightly against his hand.
Watching the sunset.
Jian watched him instead.
The side of his face.
The loose strands of hair near his forehead.
The quiet expression he wore whenever he thought nobody was looking.
Then Wei spoke.
Softly.
Almost casually.
"Do you think we'll still meet after this?"
The question landed gently.
Like a leaf touching water.
Yet the impact inside Jian felt devastating.
His breath caught.
For a second he thought he had misunderstood.
After this.
After graduation.
After exams.
After all of this ended.
Wei still looked out the window.
Waiting.
Not demanding an answer.
Just asking.
A simple question.
A normal question.
But Jian suddenly realized he didn't know.
And worse—
he had never even asked.
Where would Wei go?
Which university?
Which city?
What future was waiting for him?
The realization opened a hollow space inside Jian's chest.
Because until now, some part of him had simply assumed—
Wei would still be there.
Tomorrow.
Next week.
Next month.
Like he always had been.
Wei finally turned toward him.
Their eyes met.
The sunset reflected faintly in Wei's gaze.
"What do you think?"
Jian opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
He wanted to answer.
Wanted to say something.
Anything.
Instead, he just looked at him.
And for the first time in weeks, silence felt unbearable.
Wei studied him for a moment.
Then looked away.
"...Yeah."
A small smile appeared.
Not sad.
Not happy.
Just quiet.
As if he already understood the answer Jian couldn't give.
The classroom fell silent again.
The golden light continued fading.
Neither of them moved.
Neither of them spoke.
Then suddenly—
"Hey!"
Kai's voice echoed from somewhere down the corridor.
"Are you two still here?"
The spell shattered instantly.
Jian blinked.
Wei laughed softly through his nose.
"There he is."
Another shout followed.
"Hurry up! It's getting dark!"
Rui's voice answered from farther away.
"Leave them. They'll eventually evolve and find the exit."
"Rude!"
Their voices faded again.
The corridor returned to silence.
But the moment was gone now.
Broken.
Neither of them tried to return to it.
Wei slowly stood first.
"We should go."
"...Yeah."
Jian gathered his things mechanically.
The question remained inside his chest.
Heavy.
Unanswered.
Do you think we'll still meet after this?
Outside, the last of the sunlight disappeared beyond the school buildings.
And for the first time, the future no longer felt distant.
It felt frighteningly close.