The cafe was quieter than usual.
Yun wiped down the counter slowly, his movements practiced, almost automatic. The bell above the door chimed now and then, letting in customers who ordered, paid, and left without much conversation.
Normally, Yun liked days like this.
Today, his attention kept drifting to the door.
" Don't," he told himself. "You said you didn't like being watched."
Still—when the bell chimed again, his heart lifted before his mind could stop it.
It wasn't Aran.
Yun felt foolish for the disappointment that followed.
"Yun, table three," his coworker called.
"Coming."
He carried the drinks over, offered a polite smile, then returned behind the counter. As he turned, he caught sight of someone through the glass window.
Across the street.
Aran stood under the shade of a tree, phone to his ear, posture relaxed. He wasn't looking at the cafe. In fact, he seemed deliberately focused elsewhere.
He said he wouldn't watch.
Yun didn't know why that mattered to him.
A few minutes later, Aran ended the call and walked away without once glancing in Yun's direction.
Yun let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding.
That night, Yun dreamed again.
This time, there was no rain.
He stood in a long corridor lit by lanterns, their glow warm but unsteady. Someone walked beside him—close enough that their sleeves brushed, close enough that Yun could feel warmth without seeing a face.
"You don't have to stay," Yun said in the dream.
"I know," the voice answered.
The reply made Yun's chest ache.
When he woke, the ache stayed.
The next evening, Yun found Aran sitting on the low wall outside his apartment building, hands folded loosely, gaze turned toward the street.
Waiting.
"You said you wouldn't follow me," Yun said as he approached.
Aran looked up at once. "I didn't."
Yun frowned slightly. "You're here."
"I didn't know when you'd come home," Aran said honestly. "So I stayed where you could see me."
That… wasn't what Yun had expected.
He hesitated, then sat on the wall a short distance away. Not too far. Not too close.
"Why are you doing this?" Yun asked quietly.
Aran considered the question.
"Because," he said at last, "I want to be someone you choose to walk toward. Not someone you run from."
Yun looked down at his hands.
No one had ever said something like that to him.
"…You don't even know me," Yun murmured.
Aran smiled—soft, restrained. "You'd be surprised."
Yun shook his head, a small smile tugging at his lips despite himself. "You're unfair."
"I know," Aran replied gently. "I'm trying to be better."
The silence that followed wasn't awkward.
It felt… safe.
And that frightened Yun more than anything else.
To be continued.....