Chapter 1
Some meetings are planned.
Some are pure coincidence.
And some happen so naturally that you don't realize they've changed your life until it's too late.
It all began at a small gathering hosted by Noah.
The apartment was filled with music, laughter, and conversations. Everyone already seemed to know each other—except for two people.
Kael was Noah's school friend. Quiet, calm, and someone who preferred silence over conversations.
Elian was Noah's college friend. Charming, outgoing, and the kind of person who could make anyone smile without trying.
They had heard each other's names before, but that evening was the first time they actually met.
"Kael, this is Elian."
"And Elian, this is Kael."
A simple introduction.
A brief handshake.
A polite smile.
Nothing more.
Or so they thought.
The moment Kael looked at Elian, something inside him changed.
He couldn't explain it.
Maybe it was Elian's warm smile.
Maybe it was the way he laughed so freely.
Or maybe it was because Elian carried a light Kael had never seen before.
Kael had always struggled to make friends. He kept his thoughts to himself and found comfort in solitude.
Elian was everything Kael wasn't.
Confident.
Friendly.
Effortlessly kind.
For the first time in his life, Kael found himself hoping to know someone better.
As the evening went on, Noah handed everyone a glass of beer—including Kael.
"Come on," Noah laughed. "Just enjoy the night."
One glass became another.
Slowly, conversations became louder, laughter became easier, and the world around them softened under the haze of alcohol.
When the party finally ended, Noah realized they lived in the same neighborhood.
"You two should go together," he suggested. "It's on the way."
Neither of them objected.
The walk home began with random conversations and awkward smiles.
What happened afterward became nothing more than blurred memories—choices made in a night neither of them would fully remember.
...
Morning sunlight filtered through the curtains.
Elian's eyes slowly opened.
A pounding headache greeted him as he looked around the unfamiliar room.
Then he noticed someone sleeping beside him.
His heart stopped.
Fragments of the previous night flashed through his mind, but nothing felt complete.
Unable to understand what had happened, panic took over.
Without waking kael, Elian quietly got dressed, picked up his belongings, and slipped out of the apartment.
The door closed behind him.
Several minutes later, kael finally woke.
Unlike Elian, the memories returned much more clearly.
He remembered the conversations.
He remembered the walk home.
He remembered the choices they had made.
His eyes immediately searched the room.
"...elian?"
Silence.
The other side of the bed was empty.
A faint smile that usually never left kael's face slowly disappeared.
"So... you left."
He sat there for a long time, staring at the closed door.
Neither of them knew it yet, but that single night had quietly tied their lives together.
And this was only the beginning of their story.
A story that would unfold...
Seamlessly.
