Quiet Corners

They were both drowning in it, the pressure, the noise, the expectations. But neither of them could see how they might save each other. Not yet. Not when it was easier to pretend everything was fine. But sometimes, when the world was quiet enough, you could feel the pull of something real, something that might make it all worth it.

Maya Thompson stood at the corner of Queen Street, hands shoved deep into her pockets, staring at the cracked pavement beneath her feet like it held the answers to the questions she couldn't even form in her head. The world was moving around her, but she was stuck. School, friends, the endless cycle of work and pressure, none of it felt like it fit anymore. It was too loud, too bright, too much.

And then there was him, Joon -quiet, with an edge of annoyance that seemed to sit heavy in the air whenever he was around. He didn't speak much, but that wasn't what made him stand out. It was the way he carried the weight of everything in the way he looked at the world. It was like he was tired of pretending.