My Last And My Only

Chapter 110: Four O'Clock

Mondays had a way of pulling everyone back into reality.

The weekend was already behind them.

Assignments were piling up again.

Deadlines returned.

The university was alive with students hurrying from one building to another, coffee cups in hand and backpacks slung over their shoulders.

The promise Khae had made that afternoon, however, stayed quietly at the back of her mind.

"I'll see you later."

The last few minutes of her class crawled by.

Khae wasn't usually someone who watched the clock.

Today, she caught herself glancing at it twice.

When dismissal finally came, she packed her notebook, iPad, and pen with practiced ease before slipping out of the classroom.

Instead of heading toward the gazebo, she crossed campus.

Past the College of Education.

Past the library.

Past the student center.

Until the familiar façade of the Fine Arts Building came into view.

Students were already spilling out of classrooms.

Some carried rolled-up illustrations tucked under one arm.

Others balanced sketchbooks, cameras, drawing tubes, and tablets while discussing projects that sounded far too complicated for a Monday afternoon.

Khae stepped aside near one of the pillars by the entrance.

She checked the time.

4:08 PM.

She smiled faintly.

"She'll be out any minute."

Inside one of the Multimedia Arts classrooms...

"...And don't forget your storyboard revisions by Wednesday."

A collective groan echoed around the room.

Their professor only smiled.

"I'll see you next meeting."

The class quickly gathered their things.

Aiah slid her iPad into her tote bag before saying goodbye to a few classmates.

As she stepped into the hallway, she instinctively looked toward the entrance.

Then she stopped walking.

There she was.

Khae.

Standing patiently by one of the pillars.

Hands tucked into the pockets of her jacket.

Waiting.

Aiah's smile appeared almost instantly.

She excused herself from her classmates and walked over.

"You actually came."

Khae looked at her like the answer should've been obvious.

"I said I would."

Aiah laughed softly.

"...You did."

For a brief moment, neither of them moved.

They simply smiled at each other.

As though seeing each other after one busy school day had quietly made everything feel lighter.