Chase more sunsets with you

Chapter 1

Carl's POV

It was one of those afternoons where the heat was so thick you could practically see it rising from the asphalt. The sun bore down like a spotlight, illuminating the cracks in the pavement as I hurried down Katipunan Avenue. My shirt stuck to my back, beads of sweat collecting at my temple, but I kept moving. I was late—again. Late for what, though? It wasn't like I had classes to rush to. I was late to catch a moment of something, maybe just a feeling of normalcy.

The crowds of students from UP and nearby schools blended together, an indistinguishable mass of people heading to wherever they needed to be. The jeepneys rumbled by, the drivers calling out their routes—"Cubao! Philcoa!"—their voices cutting through the usual chaos of the street. The smell of exhaust mingled with the faint aroma of grilled food from the stalls lining the avenue. Even amidst the hustle, there was always something comforting about Katipunan—the noise, the movement. It was familiar. It made me feel like I was part of something larger, like I was just another face in the crowd.

But that day, something different happened.

I was walking past a small cluster of food carts when I saw him—standing off to the side, looking completely lost. His hair, a shade darker than the sunlight streaking across it, hung slightly over his eyes as he squinted at a map on his phone. He was dressed in casual clothes, but something about him screamed foreigner. Maybe it was the way he stood, stiff and unsure, or how he kept glancing up at the street signs with a kind of quiet frustration. A few people bumped into him as they hurried past, but he didn't seem to notice.

For a second, I almost kept walking. But something about the look on his face—confused, yet oddly determined—stopped me.

"Hey," I called out, my voice sounding more casual than I felt. "Are you lost?"

He looked up, his eyes widening slightly as if surprised that someone had actually spoken to him. He blinked, and for a moment, he didn't respond. Then, in slightly accented English, he said, "Yes... I think so." His voice was soft, but there was an underlying strength in it.

I stepped closer, shielding my eyes from the sun. "Where are you trying to go?"

He showed me his phone, the screen displaying a jumble of directions that didn't make much sense to me either. "I'm supposed to meet someone... near UP, but I don't know where exactly," he admitted, his brow furrowing slightly.

I glanced at the map, then back at him. "You're close," I said, pointing in the direction of UP Diliman. "It's just up ahead. But if you're meeting someone specific, you might want to get more details. UP's pretty big."

He sighed, running a hand through his hair, and for the first time, I noticed the way the sun caught the golden undertones in his strands. His features were sharp but softened by the confusion he clearly felt in that moment. "I... think I misread the instructions," he said, smiling a little, though it didn't quite reach his eyes.

There was something about the way he spoke—polite but distant, like he wasn't used to asking for help. "Are you from Japan?" I asked, not sure why I suddenly felt the need to know.

He nodded. "Yes. I'm an exchange student from Japan... at Ateneo," he added, gesturing vaguely behind him. "I haven't been here long, though. Everything feels... new."

The mention of Ateneo made me smile. "Well, you're technically on enemy territory then," I joked, pointing back toward UP.

He looked confused for a second before his face broke into a small, genuine smile, and I realized he probably didn't know about the school rivalries here. I laughed softly. "I'm just kidding. It's nothing serious. I'm Carl, by the way."