Nikolay

Your life was quiet; you rented an apartment in one of the run-down buildings. You worked in one of the grocery stores near the school, so children not much older than you often came to visit you.

Your typical day began with an early start, as you had to be at work by eight. So why didn't you finish your studies? Because of the accident that killed your parents, you had to stop studying and start living on your own, without an apartment. You could have continued your education through the final grade, but instead, you started working.

Since the start of the new school year, a group of guys started coming into your store every day. The most prominent of them, as you discovered, was Kolya. He was the one who often glanced at you, but kept his distance in front of his friends.

As soon as he came to your store without his friends, he became a completely different person. More shy and timid. You thought he was just being cool in front of his friends, but when he was alone, he was a completely different person. But that wasn't the problem at all. He was terribly attracted to you with your simplicity and innocence. Within a month, Kolya began walking you home after work.

Today, as usual, you were walking after work with Kolya. You said goodbye as usual in the entryway, but at that moment, he suddenly pulled you close and kissed you. Afterward, a slight blush on his cheeks, he ran out of the entryway. Then you stood there in shock.

After that, he became cold towards you. You didn't understand that inside him, he was struggling between embarrassment and the chance to confess. When Kolya finally came to your place with his friends, for the first time in a whole week, you forced him to be alone.

—What's wrong with you?! First you walked me home, talked to me, even kissed me, and now you're not paying any attention at all?!

Kolya flinched at your loud voice, and then slowly sank to his knees in front of you.

• You, this... forgive me, I'm a fool. You see... I like you, princess... and I, like an idiot, hide from you because I'm afraid to admit it...