𝑩𝒂𝒃𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆, 𝑰'𝒍𝒍 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒍𝒆𝒕 𝒊𝒕 𝒅𝒊𝒆

[13]

Sooheon hesitated, fingers curling slightly against the counter. The city buzzed around them, but here, in this small pocket of warmth, time felt slower. The memory had been buried for months, but now, looking at Namra, it resurfaced with startling clarity.

He exhaled. Then, quietly—

"Before I got transferred here… you gave me a note."

Namra’s fingers, which had been lightly tracing the rim of her cup, stilled. She didn’t look surprised. Just… quiet.

Sooheon swallowed, the words sitting heavy on his tongue. "Did you mean it?"

He could still remember the moment. The way her fingers had pressed the folded paper into his palm—brief, warm. How she had looked at him, steady and unreadable, before turning and walking away.

"You remember what it said?" she asked, her voice softer now.

Sooheon let out a quiet huff. "Of course I do."

Then, after a pause, he said the words aloud—slowly, carefully, as if speaking them made them more real.

"Je viendrai à toi quand ton cœur sera prêt à le porter."

The French was clumsy on his tongue, but the meaning had been clear from the moment he had translated it.

"I will come to you when your heart is ready to carry it."

Namra didn’t look away. She just watched him, waiting.

Sooheon exhaled, running a hand through his hair. "I didn’t get it at first. I thought maybe it was just some cryptic Class President wisdom, something I wasn’t meant to understand."

He let out a quiet laugh, shaking his head. "But now you’re here. Transferred to this school. Sitting right in front of me."

His voice softened, something unspoken settling in his chest.

"Did you mean it?" Again.

Namra held his gaze, and for a moment, she looked as though she might deflect—might give him another half-answer, another quiet evasion.

But then—

"I wouldn’t have given it to you if I didn’t."

Sooheon felt something shift, deep and quiet.

He had spent months holding onto those words, not realizing that, all this time, she had been holding onto something too.

Namra glanced down at her drink, then back at him. "And now that you understand?"

Sooheon studied her, the girl who had once been a quiet presence in the background of his life—who had left him with words he hadn’t been ready for, only to return when he finally was.

A small smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

"Guess that means I have no choice but to carry it now."

Namra huffed softly, shaking her head. But there was something in her eyes—something lighter, something that felt like home.

"Eat your food, Sooheon."

He laughed, nudging his plate closer. "Yeah, yeah. But just so you know…"

He met her gaze, something warm settling between them.

"You didn’t have to wait."

"How long did you know you were coming here?" he asked softly, his voice a little more tentative than usual.

Namra shifted slightly, her fingers tapping the side of her cup. “A few months,” she said after a beat. “I wasn’t sure if I should.” She paused, meeting his gaze. “But then I realized—there wasn’t much reason not to.”

Sooheon felt a tightness in his chest, the weight of her words sinking in. There wasn’t much reason not to… It was a quiet admission, but it felt like a revelation.

“You didn’t have to,” Sooheon said, his voice gentle, almost a whisper.

She shrugged, the movement small, but there was something in the way her shoulders shifted—like she was letting the weight of it all go, just a little. “I think I did.”

There was a long pause between them, one that stretched longer than it probably should have, but neither of them seemed eager to break it. The city buzzed outside, distant but constant.

Sooheon shifted in his seat, his hands restless on the counter. “I never really understood it, you know? The note. But I think I do now.” He looked at her, a small smile tugging at his lips. “I think... I think my heart was ready long before I knew it.”

Namra didn’t say anything at first. But the smallest smile appeared on her face, almost imperceptible, but it was there. And that was enough.

Sooheon let the silence fall again, but this time, it felt lighter. Easier. Like they were both on the same page now. The world outside could keep spinning, but in this small space, with Namra sitting beside him, Sooheon finally felt like everything had shifted into place.

The evening was cool, the neon lights of the snack bar flickering softly against the dimming sky. Namra stood beside Sooheon, who was adjusting his helmet. The dim lights of the streetlamps reflected off the smooth surface, casting a faint golden glow around him. She stood there, watching him without really intending to, her fingers still curled around her own helmet.

He was in his school uniform—plain, unremarkable, and yet there was something about the way he stood that made the usual attire seem different. His movements were slow, deliberate, as he fastened the chin strap of the helmet, the soft click breaking the otherwise quiet air between them. Time seemed to stretch out, the clatter of the snack bar and the distant hum of the city disappearing as her attention focused entirely on him.

The light from the street lamps caught on his helmet, casting a soft gleam that reflected off his face, highlighting the sharpness of his features. There was something about the way his jaw tightened as he adjusted the strap—something soft, almost intimate, in the way he handled such a simple task. The way the helmet framed his face, the faint sheen of sweat on his brow, and the way he shifted just slightly as he moved... it all made her chest tighten in a way she wasn’t used to.

She watched him, her gaze lingering a little longer than usual, taking in the way his uniform fit him. It wasn’t anything spectacular—just the typical school uniform—but he wore it with an ease that made it seem almost out of place in the ordinary world. There was a quiet strength in the way he carried himself, the way his broad shoulders seemed to naturally fill out the school jacket, the way his hair fell into his eyes as he adjusted the helmet.

And when he looked up, meeting her eyes for just a second, she felt a strange warmth flood through her chest. Her breath caught, and for a fleeting moment, she could have sworn the world had slowed down around them—like the night itself had drawn in close, just for them.

Sooheon’s lips curled into a small, teasing smile as he straightened, sliding the helmet fully on and adjusting it with a slight tilt of his head.

"Ready?" he asked, his voice steady and casual, but there was an undercurrent to it that made her heart beat just a little faster.

Namra blinked, snapping herself out of the moment before her cheeks betrayed her. She cleared her throat, her usual composure returning as she slipped on her helmet. "Yeah," she said, her voice a little softer than usual. "Let’s go."

As she climbed onto the back of his bike, she couldn’t shake the feeling of his presence lingering—of the way he’d seemed to draw her in without even trying, of the warmth that had rushed through her just by watching him. Something had shifted, and for a second, she wondered if he had noticed it, too.

But Sooheon didn’t say anything more. He revived the engine, and as the bike roared to life, they were off into the night, the city lights flickering past them, and the space between them just a little smaller than before.

A/N
My girlie is realizing she's in love y'all!