When William picked up his nephew from swimming lessons and saw how handsome his teacher was, he was determined to get into those classes as well. 🌊 also posted on ao3 @/changlixue

Est meets William on a cruise.

He transferred schools for a fresh start... Then he met him. Mysterious. Disappearing. Unforgettable. The boy he's falling for... isn't alive.

First loves don't always last, but they always leave something behind. William and Est had something fragile, unspoken, and intense but it ended in silence, leaving only regret behind. Now, years later, fate throws them back together. A student, William and his temporary swimming coach, Est. The pool, once just a place to train, becomes a mirror. It reflects more than their strokes and splashes; it reflects all they've lost, all they've changed, and all they're still too afraid to admit they want. Can they face the past without letting it define their future or will their second chance slip through their fingers just like the first?

Est is a quiet data scientist who believes everything-even love-can be explained with numbers. William is a lively photographer sent to capture Est's project: a machine learning model that predicts who would make a perfect couple. When the model says Est and William are a 98% match, their worlds clash. Est trusts logic. William believes love can't be calculated. As they spend more time together-over late-night coffee and quiet moments-they begin to question what love really means. In this slow-burning romance, they discover that the best things in life might not make perfect sense. Note: Images sourced from the internet. If you are the rightful owner and wish to be credited or have the image removed, please contact me.

William had learned the value of restraint not because he wanted to but because he had to. There had been a moment-one he refused to replay too clearly-when something between him and Est had tipped too far, too fast. Since then, everything had become careful. Controlled. Measured down to the smallest distance between their bodies. Est seemed content to let things stay that way. William just tried to forget. Because some mistakes are easier to bury than confront. Easier to ignore than name out loud. And if both of them were willing to pretend nothing had changed, then maybe the fragile balance between them could survive. But buried things have a way of resurfacing. Especially when they were never truly dead to begin with. "If this is about sex... then just have sex with me." "Stay in my bed, at least then I know you are safe." Safe. Like offering, the one person he's been trying not to touch, his own bed is somehow the responsible decision. William should have probably refused. Instead he had quietly agreed to the rules. And by the time the night is over- William was exactly where Est had insisted he should be. In Est's bed. The safest place Est could think of. For William? Or for both of them?

This just a one-shot based on the tiktok WilliamEst posted. I also do have another work that I have been working on so please look forward to that too enjoyy😉

He didn't forget him. He couldn't. EST always knew William - from school corridors to silent pages. But William never saw him. Not then. Maybe not even now. Until a group project... Until shared notes... Until William reads a page that was never meant for him. A story of quiet love, hidden memories, and the question: What if he was yours before he even knew it?