Three Door Away

Childhood doesn't end. It just moves next door.Madeleine Unali, 23, is a lounge singer at a small tea house in the city. She sings in a black silk dress, hair down to her waist, voice soft enough to make strangers cry. After university, life pulled everyone apart. Work, tours, late shifts. The group chat went silent.She needed a new place - closer to work, cheaper, quieter. She found it: Apartment 1201, Floor 12, a luxury building that was way too cheap for how nice it was. She signed without thinking.What she didn't know was that the building was already occupied.1202 - Rodyn. The gentle one. The boy who always smiled first, shared his snacks, carried her bag from elementary school to graduation. Now a little taller, a little quieter, and with a kindness that feels almost too careful - like he's hiding something sharp underneath.1203 - Ezren. The precise one. Glasses, notebook, always three steps ahead. The kid who calculated the fastest route to school, the exact time the ice cream truck came. Now he lives by schedules and numbers, and he hates mistakes. Especially the mistake of letting her move in next door without him noticing for two months.1204 - Flynn. The blunt one. Hoodie, silence, direct eyes. He never talked much as a kid, but when he did, he meant it. He still doesn't. He just watches.For almost two months, they lived like ghosts - same floor, different hours. She sang at night. They left at dawn. Their doors never opened at the same time.Until today.Madeleine's band member had an emergency. Her shift ended early. She walks home in her stage dress, heels quiet on the carpet, hair falling over her shoulder.12:47 PM.Three doors open at once.And all three of them finally see her.She forgot them. They never forgot her.