Between Sunlight and Shadows

Rina’s POV

If someone asked me what kind of person I was, I don’t think I would know how to answer.

I never thought I was someone special.

I wasn’t the loudest person in the room. I wasn’t the person everyone noticed the second I walked in. Most of the time, I was actually pretty quiet.

I was the girl who would hesitate before talking to someone new.

The girl who would replay conversations in my head afterward and wonder if I sounded weird.

But with the people I loved, I was different.

With my friends, I laughed until my stomach hurt. I talked about random things. I got excited over small moments that probably didn’t matter to anyone else.

That was always me.

A little shy.

A little awkward.

But happy.

I think I’ve always been someone who finds happiness in little things.

A warm drink on a cold day.

The sound of rain against the window.

Walking home while watching the sunset.

Maybe that’s why I held onto my memories so tightly.

Especially the ones with my dad.

I don’t remember every single thing about my childhood, but I remember how he made ordinary days feel special.

There was one place we always loved going together.

An arcade.

It wasn’t because it was the biggest or the most exciting place in the world.

It was because I was there with him.

That’s where he gave me my stuffed cat.

A small royal blue cat that I still keep with me every night.

Most people would probably think it’s just a stuffed animal.

But to me…

It’s a memory.

It’s a piece of someone I never wanted to forget.

After my dad passed away, everyone expected me to change.

Maybe they thought I would become angry.

Maybe they thought I would shut everyone out.

But I didn’t.

I stayed the same.

I still smiled.

I still laughed.

I still cared about people.

I think part of me wanted to keep being the person my dad knew.

When my mom started dating again, I didn’t hate it.

My stepdad never tried to replace my dad, and I never expected him to.

We weren’t the closest people in the world, but we were okay.

We were family.

And that was enough.

I was always the type of person who kept things to myself.

If something bothered me, I usually didn’t say anything.

Not because I didn’t trust people.

I just didn’t want to make anyone worry about me.

That summer was supposed to be normal.

Just another summer.

Another year at my private school.

Another year with my friends Kiko and Minji.

Another year of my ordinary life.

At least…

That’s what I thought.

Because I didn’t know that one night would change everything.

I didn’t know that walking out of my house after another argument would lead me to a subway station.

I didn’t know that getting lost in my own thoughts would make me run into someone.

Literally.

The station was quiet that night.

I wasn’t really paying attention to where I was going.

My mind was somewhere else.

And then—

I bumped into someone.

Hard enough that my books fell out of my hands and I lost my balance.

“Ah—!”

I landed on the ground, immediately embarrassed.

“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry!” I said quickly, reaching for my books. “I wasn’t paying attention, I’m really sorry.”

Then I looked up.

And I saw him.

A boy with dark hair and hazel eyes, standing in front of me.

For some reason…

I remembered that moment clearly.

The way he looked at me.

The way everything seemed to go quiet for just a second.

I didn’t know his name.

I didn’t know his story.

I didn’t know that he was someone who had been living in the shadows for years.

And I definitely didn’t know that he would become the most important person in my life.

“Thank you,” I said, taking my books from him.

He didn’t say much.

He just looked away.

And then the train arrived.

I watched him leave, never expecting to see him again.

But I was wrong.

Because that was the first time I met him.

The first time I met the person who would change my life.

Hi. I’m Rina. And this is the story of how I met the love of my life.