"I wanted to tell you a secret."

It was a lazy Saturday afternoon, but the weight of the conversations from the previous day lingered still. And that made Ananya miss her brother a little more than usual. She sighed, dialling Yuvi's number for the third time. 

He finally answered, his voice reeking of an odd nonchalance. "Hey, sis. What's up?"

"Good morning. Have you just woken up?"

"Nah, I did a while ago. My phone was in the other room, just heard your call." 

"It's alright. I just wanted to hear your voice. Been missing Mom and Dad a lot lately," she said, trying to keep her tone light but failing miserably.

"Yeah, me too," Yuvi replied, a sense of urgency evident in his tone. "Listen, can you send me some more money? I need to buy my gear for the next tournament."

Ananya's heart sank. "Yuvi, we just talked about this. Didn't you buy new gear last month? I sent you some money last week too. What about that? You need to start managing your finan-"

"I'm not here for a lecture," Yuvi snapped abruptly, irritation seeping into his voice. "It's not like you don't have enough or are struggling. You just got a job. Didn't have to overreact."

"It's not about me struggling," Ananya said, her voice rising. "You can't keep running out and asking for money within days. I am not asking you to list out and explain each individual expense to me, but you need to be more mindful."

"Whatever happened to that lifelong promise of yours? All forgotten now that you are away?" He retorted. "I'll just figure it out myself, bye." 

Ananya stared at her phone, a mix of sadness and frustration churning in her chest. Yuvi seemed to have changed a lot in no time, and she couldn't quite imagine why. They have always been close, but the physical distance between them was gradually straining their relationship. Whether it is just the rebellion of adolescence or something deeper – she had to know.

She took a deep breath, trying to calm her racing heart. The argument had left her feeling drained and helpless. She shoved her phone into her pocket, taking a deep breath to try and compose herself. That conversation with Jung-wook seemed like aeons ago now, its effect had begun to wither already.

*****

The usual buzz of customers at the store served as a much-needed distraction. Ananya sat on the floor, stocking the shelves. Jung-wook hovered over, a mischievous grin plastered on his face.

"You know you're supposed to put the heavier stuff on the bottom shelves, right?"

"Thanks, Captain Obvious," Ananya rolled her eyes, "Maybe you can teach me how to walk next."

Jung-wook shook his head. "I might just have to start charging for my wisdom now."

"Sorry, I don't have spare change on me," she shot back, a hint of a smile lingering on her lips.

"There it is. I'll take that as my fee this time." He smiled back, sauntering to the counter to tend to a customer before she could react. She shook her head, smiling to herself. The mysteries of this man were nowhere near unravelled, but he had a way of making her forget her troubles, even if just for a little while.

During their break, Ananya sat outside on the steps, enjoying the cool evening breeze. Jung-wook stepped in beside her, handing her a soda with a mock bow. "Your finest vintage, Madam."

"Thanks for your service, Mr. Non-Existent." She smirked, shifting to make space for him. She found it odd how this was becoming a routine, but she didn't quite mind it.

As they sat in comfortable silence, Ananya found herself sneaking glances at Jung-wook more often than usual. Soft brown eyes that matched his fluffy hair, that warm smile when he's not being his usual smug self, fingers that were way more slender than hers – he was truly a pretty man. But his looks and personality together almost reminded her of a…

"Golden retriever." She chuckled to herself.

"Huh? What about them?" He turned to her, a brow raised as he took another sip of his soda.

"Nothing. I find them adorable," She smiled, but before she could say anything more, a familiar figure with her usual confident stride caught her attention.

"Ji-yeon!"

"Surprise," Ji-yeon smiled, walking over to them, "I just wanted to see you. It's been a while since we hung out, just the two of us."

"Well, you're always welcome here," Ananya hugged her, her eyes momentarily shifting to Jung-wook. He looked pale, astounded – almost like he'd seen a ghost.

Ji-yeon's eyes flickered between them, her smile tight. "And he is-?"

"Oh, this is Jung-wook, he's my co-worker here."

Jung-wook gave Ji-yeon a curt nod, before turning to Ananya, "I think I should get back inside, our break time's almost over. You can join back in a bit. Nice meeting you, Ji-yeon."

"S-Sure," Ananya replied, her mind already racing with questions. Why did he react like that to Ji-yeon? She had never seen that look on him before, not even when they had first met. Did he know Ji-yeon? But they seemed to have met for the first time today, Ji-yeon definitely looked clueless. 

"Shall we catch up after your shift?" Ji-yeon turned to her as Jung-wook walked back in, "I hope I'm not bothering you right now."

"Of course not!" Ananya smiled, linking arms with her and walking down the stairs.

"Annie," Ji-yeon turned to her, their arms still linked. "Did you succeed at meeting Dae yesterday?"

"I did. It was a doozy move though. I told him I wanted to see Gureum." Ananya replied with a sheepish grin, "But we ended up catching up for a bit."

"That's sweet." Ji-yeon smiled, holding Ananya's right hand, "Thanks for giving Dae company yesterday. All these years, I have always been so concerned for him, especially on that day. It really hurt my heart whenever I saw him like that, but I understood. Because he has always been like that."

"The kind to keep his pain within and smile for others?"

"Yes. But also, the kind to be more open with strangers than with his close ones." 

Ananya looked at her, a little confused. "You know what I mean", Ji-yeon added with a soft chuckle, "We have known each-other for over a decade now, so our friendship with you is pretty fresh when you see it from that perspective."

"I-I get it." Ananya smiled. She could feel some passive aggression, and while she kinda got a feeling why, what Ji-yeon said next just cemented that.

"By the way, I wanted to tell you a secret."

"Mhm?"

"I have liked Dae for a while now. Almost ever since we met back as kids." 

It sounded both like a confession and a warning. Ananya nodded with a smile, "I couldn't have guessed that before, but I see it in your eyes now." 

"Do you?" Ji-yeon smirked, grabbing Ananya's hand a little tighter as she added, "Can you help me with that please? He seems to listen to you a lot lately."

"I'll try," Ananya replied before taking a brief look at her phone, "I think I extended this break for a little too long. Shall we catch up in class tomorrow?"

"Sure," Ji-yeon smiled, finally letting go of Ananya's hand, a faint red imprint of her fingers left behind as a reminder.