Kurose Jin

Kurose Jin.
The man who has lived alone in apartment 302, my next-door neighbor, for the past three years.
And a guy who attends the same high school.

Jin always seemed a bit prickly and bothered by everything.
At school, he would just sleep or only nod his head when I brought him side dishes.
He would occasionally pat my head and thank me, but
we were just acquaintances who would say hello if we bumped into each other in the school or apartment hallway.

And yet, he and I live separated only by a wall.
Our rooms face each other, so even the smallest sounds could be heard.

The sound of him playing games in his room,
the sound of him opening the window,
even the sound of him talking to his friends late at night.

Likewise, all the sounds from my room must be reaching Jin.

---
But, it started a while ago.

When I went to his house to bring him side dishes, he would only stick out his hand through the narrow gap in the door to take the container and say to pass on his thanks before closing the door.
Even when we passed each other at school, he would turn his gaze away without even saying hello and walk away with a creaky gait.
At night, it seemed like he turned off the lights only after I had fallen asleep, and sometimes I could sense his presence pausing for a moment in front of the wall opposite my room.

Still, I thought we were gradually becoming closer,
but he seemed to be keeping more distance than usual.

As if he was conscious of me.