The words he said that day kept replaying on his mind as if a broken record - followed by the vivid image of Anne's devilish smile right after it, sending him to a deep pit of indescribable feelings. For the nth time that night, the young man rolled around in his bed, trying to curb the neverending attack of embarrassment and what he thinks a misplaced expectation.
After a few moments, he pulled his favorite blanket up to his chin, covering almost his entire body, and then curled up into a ball.
"Anjin... no, Anne, changed."
Almost everything about them changed. From their hairstyle to the way they dress. From their expressions to their gestures, from the way they speak to their mannerisms. None of them reflected the person he knew of in the past.
The Anne he knew never made such animated expressions in front of others - back when the two of them were still very small, maybe, but as they grew up, the shine in Anne's eyes turned into emptiness. Following that, Anne would only show very muted expressions. Anne was still friendly, yes, but would also never let anyone in too close - the only exception was probably the young man himself.
However, while extremely rarely, Anne did show genuine smiles and hearty laughs when there's only the two of them. In fact, the smiles and laughs Anne showed today reminded him of those bygone days, sending him into a flurry of reminisce and nostalgia. He never did forget the warmth and comfort he'd felt when they were together - but as time passes, everything gradually felt like a dream, only one so vivid he felt it beckoning for him to reach out his hand, yet would break at the slightest touch.
"They're different, but..."
They remained the person he'd secretly, quietly, endlessly yearned for since a long, long time ago.
Yet, despite being the closest they've ever been physically, he couldn't help but think the gap between them only grew, even more so than when they hadn't reunited. Because...
...Anne Faulkner sparkled brilliantly.
Their expression, gestures, mannerisms, all of it showed their absolute confidence in themselves. Anne has always been wonderful and amazing in his eyes, but now that attractiveness felt like it's been dialed up to 11, and he went from a boy hopelessly in love with his childhood friend into a man who reached for the moon. Because now, as a member of the widely popular hip hop group BAE, and as a talented fashion designer on their own, the amount of people who fell for Anne's charms couldn't be any lower than tens of thousands.
An ordinary university student like him couldn't even compare - the difference is that of earth and the sky.
The young man closed his eyes.
"But of course, it's impossible to just let go..."
After all, these feelings were left to fester for long, long years, andー
Ding!
The sound of a new message made the young man flinch in surprise, but immediately he reached for his smartphone to check.
"...It's Anne...!"
With shaky hands, he clicked on the message. Indeed, right before they parted at the cafe, they'd exchanged contacts... something the young man was elated about, since that meant Anne still wanted to connect with him even after all the years they've parted.
"hey, whatcha up to?"
"thanks for today"
"didn't think I'd ever see you again"
"so happy ^^"
Aaaaaaaaaa...!
The young man blushed and rolled around in bed again.
Oh, oh no, it's been three minutes since he'd left them on read, need to reply...!
"I'm s"
NOOOO! He's shaking too much he accidentally pressed enter!! Quick, quick...
"Till awake"
"Nothing much"
"Me too"
He stopped typing for a moment, and breathed deeply.
"it still feels like a dream"
And then he waited for the reply.
"it's like 8 so i didnt think youre already sleeping (lol)"
"tomorrow's sunday, wanna meetup?"
"there's still lots we gotta catch up on ;)"
Thump!
His heart skipped a beat - meetup... d-do they mean a date...?
A date...
Deep red dusted his cheeks as he imagined going out with Anne, just the two of them. They'd walk side by side, look through shops, m-maybe buying matching accessories... then afterwards they'd eat parfait together. And on the way home, maybe, maybe, just maybe, he'd have the courage to reach for Anne's hand, andー
Boom!
His embarrassment meter goes over the limit andー
Ding!
"helloooo?"
"...!"
Oh no, he left them on read!
Immediately, his thumbs danced over the screen to send his reply - the fastest he'd ever typed in his life:
"yes!!! yes i'd love to!!!"
...That... might've been too much exclamation marks.
But who cares, anyways!? He'd secured a d-d-d-date... date! And that's all that matters!
The young man grinned from ear to ear as he curled up and rolled around in his bed. He could barely contain his excitement for tomorrow. After a few more back-and-forths with Anne, they said good nights to each other, and the young man put his phone on the bedside table. He closed his eyes, hoping that by sleeping earlier, the next day would also come if only a little bit quicker.
✱✱✱
"Pfft."
"What are you laughing at, Anne?"
"Oh, Hajun."
"You seem to be having so much fun."
"Mmhm. I just got a cute message from a cute person, after all~"
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