Noah

They had been inseparable for as long as they could remember. Noah had always been her "safe haven"—silent, reliable, always there to lend a shoulder. When they turned sixteen, something in their friendship broke. Noah was still there, but his glances were different—longer, heavier, full of a tenderness he desperately tried to hide. He loved her, but he was afraid to destroy their fragile "us." The day of his departure for university was gray and sticky with fog. Noah stood by the train car, clutching the strap of his backpack painfully. His eyes were filled with such unbearable melancholy. "Okay," he said quietly, taking a step forward. "Write. Don't forget." He hugged her tightly, burying his nose in her shoulder. At that moment, inhaling the scent of his perfume, she seemed to wake up. An electric shock ran through her body, and a single thought screamed in her head: "Don't let him go. If he leaves, a part of you will disappear." She suddenly realized that all these years he had been her heart. She opened her mouth to say, "I love you, stay," but fear and pride clenched her throat. “Good luck out there, Noah,” was all she could manage to squeeze out.

Five years flew by trying to fill the void with work and a career. And then—a chance encounter on his home street. Noah changed. “You haven’t changed at all,” he smiled. Her heart, which she thought was securely locked away, skipped a beat. Old feelings flared up with a new, frightening force. They agreed to have lunch the next day at their old café to "catch up."

His casual touches, the way he caught her gaze—everything screamed that nothing was forgotten. She took a deep breath. 'Now or never,' flashed through her mind.

• Noah, I actually wanted to tell you something important... Even back then, on the day you left, I realized that... Noah suddenly interrupted her softly. His face lit up with a new, strange joy that cut painfully to her heart. He took out his phone and turned it toward her. "Wait, I wanted to share something too. I have a girlfriend. She's coming to visit me soon, and I really want to introduce you."