The warm sunrise light is emanating from the interior of the window.

The room is slightly sunlit by the light that comes in.

After a room has been illuminated by sunlight, a wooden bookshelf in a corner can be noticed. It is not stocked with books, but rather with harem mangas, a stack of porn magazines in a bottom shelf.

On the other side of the room is a single bed, but because it is timeworn, it creaks with every movement over it.

There are posters of well-known anime characters and a tiny wooden-framed painting of a sunset by the coastline on the wall.

Clothes were scattered one after the other on solid planks that served as the room's floor.

An end table with a night lamp and a cheap-looking phone with a broken display are located close to the bed.

The wake-up ringtone, which was set to the sound of nature, was audible when the phone screen rapidly began to vibrate with the tone rhythm.

Someone was moving in the grey blanket; it came from the bed. A hand emerged from the blanket and landed on the tabletop phone. Following two or three tries and after removing the phone from its position, that hand swiped right on the screen to silence the alarm; the swipe was successful.

Lazily, both arms and two limbs emerged from the blanket. Spread across the bed to stretch. From within the blanket, a small boy seated on the bed, black hair that was also faintly brown. Wearing boxers below, he appears naked on top. This boy's figure was mediocre; he lacked six-pack abs; on the opposite, he did have some belly fat.

------------------

This is Ryūta, our protagonist, with Fujiwara as his last name. Although he is pursuing a bachelor's degree at an art university, he is barely known there because his artwork is as mediocre as his demeanor.

Due to his love interest, he enrolled in an art university. By the time he finished college, Ryūta expected to confess to Yuki and start dating her. Yuki, nevertheless, is a really talented artist. She was enrolled in the university due to the scholarship, while our protagonist, on the other hand, enrolled in a prestigious university in spite of his precarious financial status. Additionally, he rented a downtown apartment and worked two part-time jobs to cover the rent and college.

Despite the outrageous cost, he chose to rent this apartment because Yuki also resides at the girl's dormitory in front of it, even though he could hardly afford an apartment. He had rented the apartment in the hopes of running across Yuki by chance along the street, but that never materialized.

He and Yuki are both from a distant little village. Yuki's parents encouraged her to pursue her passion, which made sense to him because Ryūta believed she had natural potential. However, at the time, he was unable to appreciate her diligence and love of art, so Ryūta defied his parents' advise and enrolled in the same university behind her back.

The difference between her and his capabilities became obvious as soon as he enrolled in the same university as her; as time went on, she improved her artistic abilities, and the distance between them grew. In the first year's summer exams, she received the second-highest ranking in the entire university, while the boy of the business community in that city, who was much more charming than Ryūta was, received the top spot. The rumor that he was also pursuing Yuki quickly spread around the university. Ryūta stopped attempting to get in touch with her after this rumor, and he was living an unhappy existence every day.

--------------------

8:19 AM

Ryūta lazily awakens from the bed, picks up the clothing that is scattered all over the floor with his hands, and stacks them on an easy chair beside the bookcase.

He stutters to the restroom, where he showers while reflecting.

'Yawn... I have to be on campus by ten o'clock, and since I am in my last year and barely receive passing grades, I must focus on bettering myself right now and put Yuki's thoughts aside. If not, I will fail this time.'

As Ryūta was shampooing his hair he continued his thought.

'But what am I able to do? My heart hurts so much that it feels like it might explode out of my chest whenever I see Yuki, and my mind goes blank. My heart is racing when I think of her gorgeous face. No, I need to concentrate on honing my artistic abilities, I won't be able to find a decent profession otherwise. She is not going to give me emotional aid.'

He opens his eyes, while thinking to himself, and a small drop of shampoo gets in his eyes. His eyes burn, and he rubs them with his fingers in irritation.

"ARRGH! Fuck this shampoo; my eyes are burning."

His yelling are audible from outside the restroom.

He eventually emerges clad in blue baggy jeans underneath and a pastel-colored sweatshirt featuring a graphic of a natural environment.

Going to the end table beside his bed, he retrieves his backpack from the lampshade where he keeps it each day.

He pulled out an iron toolbox from beneath his bed that he used to carry the painting supplies.

Buzz! A notification sounded on his phone as he was changing the colour and brush in his toolbox. He held his cell phone up to his eyes. It was an electricity bill message.

(Hello, Ryūta We have issued a 6910 yen electricity bill to your account ending with ***9204; please pay the bill by the due date which is indicated on the bill.)

In order to access the banking app on his phone, he clicks, but the screen where he clicks is more broken and lacks touch sensitivity.

"FUCK!! I have to get a new phone as soon as I have enough money."

He clicks in the same spot, frustrated; after several clicks, the app is finally opened.

He checks his account balance by entering a password, and it displays 5209 yen.

He sadly rubs his fingers across his temple and grumbles with a hint of bitterness. 

" How am I going to get the rest of it?"

He puts on white sneakers, walks to the apartment's main front door, and locks it with a key while he considers how he will get the remaining cash. He was still thinking as he pressed the elevator button.

He saw a female wearing a brown leather backpack on her shoulder and a white crop top with blue jeans below as he was leaving the apartment complex. She had brown eyes, short blond hair, and a well-defined bosom underneath her top. She was Yuki, and she left the girls' dorm through the front entrance.

He grew nervous and began adjusting his hair to seem dapper as soon as he saw Yuki. His pulse skipped a beat, and an unidentified feeling spread throughout his body.

"Yuki is incredibly beautiful as usual, but I haven't seen her lately; this must be my lucky day."

A faint blush came over his face as he mumbled to himself.

----------

( Author's note: I have uploaded Yuki's picture in the comment section; please check it out. )