I woke up to the soft light of dawn streaming through the blinds, casting faint shadows across my cluttered apartment.

For a moment, I lay still, trying to shake off the lingering haze of restless sleep.

My mind had been a mess the night before—racing, spinning, fixating on the looming forty-eight-hour deadline and the insane proposition Sasaki had laid before me.

But as I lay there, staring at the ceiling, a strange sense of calm settled over me.

Maybe it was the clarity that comes after a sleepless night, the kind that makes everything seem simple in the light of day. Or maybe I just didn’t have the energy to keep worrying. Either way, I needed to clear my head, and I knew just the thing.

Running.

I hadn't run in a year, so I was just trying to run and forget about my condition, but looking at myself... not much has changed. i am always the fat and ugly guy who i was back then.

Unexpectedly all my body craves movement. I guess it's looking for something to remind me that I was still here, alive and functioning.

The doctor had told me I was physically fine now, but I hadn’t exactly felt like testing their theory. He suggested me to run every now and then just to help the physical therapy.

But today felt different.

I needed to move, to get out of the cramped apartment that had become a cage of worry and unpaid bills. Maybe it wouldn’t solve anything, but at least I wouldn’t be standing still.

I pulled myself out of bed and threw on a pair of old running shoes, a sweatshirt, and some track pants. The stuff was pretty loose on me... So I actually lost a few pounds, right? From 150 to 145? I don't care, it's an achievement I guess.

The stiffness in my legs protested as I moved, a faint reminder of the months I’d spent lying in a hospital bed.

But I ignored it.

My legs were fine.

I was fine.

I had to be.

When I stepped outside, the cold morning air hit me like a slap to the face, sharp and biting.

The streets were mostly empty at this hour, with only a few cars passing by and the occasional pedestrian hurrying along to wherever they needed to be.

The neighborhood was still half-asleep, shrouded in the soft, golden light of the rising sun.

I started off slow, my legs feeling heavy at first, as if they had forgotten how to move properly. But with each step, the rhythm of the run began to come back to me.

My breath came in steady puffs, my heart pounding in my chest, and soon enough, I was lost in the familiar cadence of footfalls against the pavement.

The streets blurred by, a backdrop of cracked sidewalks, graffiti-tagged walls, and shuttered storefronts.

I didn’t pay much attention to where I was going—just followed the path my body wanted to take. I haven't seen the neighborhood well since I moved here.

It felt good to move, to let my muscles work after months of inertia.

For the first time since yesterday, I wasn’t thinking about the accident, or Sasaki, or the rent I owed.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

It was just me, my body, and the road.

I turned down a narrow side street, my pace picking up as I pushed myself harder, trying to lose myself in the run. That was when it happened. One moment, I was focused on the road ahead, and the next, I collided with something—probably someone—head-on.

We both stumbled, the impact sending me off-balance, and I heard a sharp gasp as the other person fell on the ground.

I instinctively reached out, my hands grasping at air as I tried to steady myself.

“Whoa!”

I blurted out, blinking in shock.

“I—I didn’t see you! I’m so sorry.”

The girl I had run into was already brushing herself off, her cheeks flushed from the collision—or maybe from the early morning cold.

She had long, dark hair pulled back into a loose ponytail, and she was dressed in a simple Pokémon hoodie and running shorts. Her eyes met mine, wide with surprise, but she wasn’t angry.

“No, no—it’s okay”

She said, her voice breathless but calm.

“I wasn’t paying attention either.”

We stood there for a moment, both of us a little stunned by the sudden impact.

I took a step back, trying to gather my thoughts, but all I could do was stare at her.

There was something about her—something I couldn’t quite put my finger on. Maybe it was the way she was looking at me, or the fact that she wasn’t yelling or walking away like most people would after being crashed into on the street.

Whatever it was, I felt...off.

Not in a bad way, but like something inside me had shifted, just a little.

“I guess we’ve both got our heads in the clouds.”

I said, trying to laugh it off. My voice came out more awkward than I intended.

"I'm sorry for making you fall. I suppose it's my belly's fault."

I look down in shame.

She smiled, a small, genuine smile that caught me off guard. “Nah, it was because i'm too thin. I try to run to build up some muscles but nothing.”

I couldn’t help but smile back. There was an ease about her, something light, like the weight of the world didn’t sit quite as heavily on her shoulders as it did on mine.

Even what she said. Everyone I knew in my life has always told me I should lose weight or looked down on me for it. Like I was ill or something.

“I haven’t jogged in a while.”

I admitted, glancing down at my legs.

“Just...trying to get back into it.”

Her eyes flicked to my leg, and for a second, I wondered if she noticed the faint limp I still carried from the accident. But if she did, she didn’t mention it.

“Well, it’s good too see you running with this... intensity.”

She said, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear.

“A lot of people give up after the first obstacle.”

I didn’t know what to say to that. I hadn’t even told her about the accident, but there it was, hanging between us like an unspoken truth.

I wanted to explain, to tell her that getting out here today had felt more like an escape than an accomplishment. But the words wouldn’t come.

“I’m trying.”

I said instead, my voice quieter than before.

She nodded, as if she understood more than I was saying.

And maybe she did.

The silence that followed wasn’t awkward, but comfortable, in a way.

Like we had both said enough for now.

But eventually, she glanced at her watch, her expression shifting.

“I should probably get going.”

She said, her tone a little regretful.

“But maybe I’ll see you around?”

“Yeah.”

I replied, a little too quickly.

“I will run here, probably more often now.”

She smiled again, that small, easy smile, and then without another word, she turned and jogged off, her pace steady as she disappeared down the street.

I stood there for a moment, watching her go, my mind buzzing with something I couldn’t quite name.

It was ridiculous, really.

I didn’t even know her name, and we had barely spoken, but somehow, that brief encounter had lodged itself in my brain, like a spark that wouldn’t die out.

Was this what it felt like to fall in love? No, that was too strong a word.

I didn’t even know her.

But there was something there, something I couldn’t shake.

I started running again, my body moving automatically, but my mind was far from the streets.

I kept replaying the moment over and over—the collision, the way her eyes had met mine, the sound of her laugh.

I couldn’t help but wonder if I’d see her again.

This neighborhood wasn’t big, after all.

Maybe our paths would cross again.

The rest of my jog felt lighter, easier, as if the weight that had been pressing down on me since the accident had lifted, even if just for a little while.

By the time I made it back to my apartment, I was out of breath, but the kind of out of breath that felt good, like I had worked out something more than just my muscles.

I pushed open the door to my apartment, the smell of stale air and old bills greeting me like an unwelcome guest.

"Later i'll clean this mess but now-"

I walked over to the couch and collapsed onto it, still catching my breath. My phone buzzed on the coffee table, and I picked it up, half-expecting a message from Sasaki. But it wasn’t him.

I leaned back on the couch, staring up at the ceiling, my heart still racing—not just from the jog, but from something else. Something I couldn’t quite put into words yet.

All I knew was that for the first time in a long time, I felt something towards someone who wasn't bidimensional.

I was amazed at myself.

As i was searching for the right position on the couch my phone buzzed, it was Sasaki.