"They didn't message me again."
Kaito stared at his phone in the club room.
Sora sat down next to him. "Did you have a fight with someone?"
"Not a fight. Just... maybe I expected too much."
Hiyori asked while making tea. "What kind of expectations?"
"I thought friends would message every day. I thought they'd understand my feelings without me saying anything."
Sora opened her notebook. "The gap between expectations and reality."
"Easy to say," Kaito said with difficulty. "But why does it hurt so much?"
Hiyori sat down quietly. "There are two types of expectations. Realistic expectations and unrealistic expectations."
"What's the difference?"
"Realistic expectations consider the other person's abilities and situation. Unrealistic expectations are held toward an idealized version of the person."
Kaito thought. "Was I idealizing them?"
"Perhaps," Hiyori said gently. "You might have seen them as a perfect friend."
Sora added, "In psychology, this is called idealization. Perceiving someone as better than they actually are."
"But is it bad to have ideals?" Kaito asked.
"Ideals themselves aren't bad," Hiyori answered. "The problem is confusing ideals with reality."
Kaito put down his phone. "I thought they'd prioritize me, even though they have their own life."
"That might be an unfair expectation," Sora said calmly.
Hiyori added, "Expectations are like implicit contracts. But the other person hasn't agreed to that contract."
"One-sided expectations," Kaito murmured.
"Yes. Expectations made without communication tend to lead to disappointment."
Sora wrote in her notebook. "Expectations → Disappointment → Anger or sadness."
"How do we break this cycle?" Kaito asked.
Hiyori answered, "First, become aware of your expectations. Then evaluate whether they're realistic."
"How?"
"Put yourself in their shoes. Acknowledge they have limits too. Don't demand perfection."
Kaito sighed. "That's not easy."
"It's not easy," Hiyori acknowledged. "But it's necessary to keep relationships intact."
Sora remembered, "There's also the concept of projection, right? Projecting your ideals onto others."
"Exactly," Hiyori nodded. "You're seeing the image you created, not the real person."
Kaito looked out the window. "So how do I see the real person?"
"Put your expectations aside temporarily. Accept their words and actions as they are. Observe without judgment."
"Build relationships without expecting?"
"Not without expecting," Hiyori corrected. "Hold moderate, realistic expectations."
Sora gave an example. "Instead of 'they'll message every day,' think 'they'll message when they're not busy.'"
"Expectations that consider their situation," Kaito understood.
Hiyori added, "And how to handle when expectations aren't met is also important."
"How to handle?"
"Acknowledge the disappointment, but don't blame them. Adjust your expectations. If needed, talk about it."
Kaito thought deeply. "Talk about it. I wasn't doing that."
"Many people don't," Sora said. "It takes courage to voice your expectations."
"But if you don't voice them, the other person can't know," Hiyori continued.
Kaito picked up his phone. "I'll try talking honestly. That I expected too much."
Hiyori smiled. "That's a good first step."
Sora closed her notebook. "By adjusting expectations, relationships can continue."
"Excessive expectations break relationships," Kaito said quietly. "But appropriate expectations nurture them."
Hiyori nodded. "Finding that balance is the path to mature relationships."
The three sat quietly in the club room. It was an afternoon when they learned to lighten the invisible burden of expectations, little by little.