Kai expected the week to feel different.
It didn’t.
Classes continued. Lectures dragged on. Ethan continued talking far too much during breaks. Daniel still walked with Kai after their study sessions, sometimes bringing coffee and sometimes simply sitting beside him while they reviewed notes.
Everything was normal.
That was the problem.
Kai had thought normal would make Adrian disappear from his thoughts.
Instead, Adrian seemed to become more noticeable in his absence.
He wasn’t there.
He didn’t call.
He didn’t send another irritating message.
He didn’t appear unexpectedly with that unreadable expression that made Kai want to argue with him just to see whether he could make him lose his composure.
Nothing.
And somehow, Kai missed all of it.
One afternoon, Ethan dropped into the chair beside him in the library.
“You’ve been staring at that page for ten minutes.”
“I’ve been studying.”
“You’ve been staring.”
Kai closed the textbook.
“What do you want?”
Ethan narrowed his eyes.
“You’re thinking about someone.”
“No.”
“That’s a very fast answer.”
“Because it’s an obvious question.”
Ethan leaned closer.
“Daniel?”
Kai looked at him.
“Why would I be thinking about Daniel?”
“I don’t know. Maybe because he likes you.”
Kai looked back at his textbook.
“He does.”
“And you like him.”
Kai hesitated.
“I do.”
Ethan waited.
Kai sighed.
“But?”
“There is no but.”
Ethan gave him a suspicious look.
“You’re terrible at lying.”
“I don’t need to lie.”
“Then why do you look like someone stole your favorite pen?”
Kai almost laughed.
Almost.
Because he knew exactly what Ethan was trying to ask.
And he wasn’t ready to answer it.
⸻
That evening, Adrian returned home later than usual.
His apartment was silent.
Too silent.
He loosened his tie and dropped his keys onto the table.
Normally, he preferred quiet.
Tonight, it irritated him.
He walked into the kitchen, opened the refrigerator, stared inside, then closed it again.
His phone sat on the counter.
Adrian looked at it.
Nothing.
He picked it up.
Still nothing.
He opened Kai’s conversation.
His thumb hovered over the screen.
He could simply ask how his classes were going.
It would be harmless.
Adrian frowned.
Since when did he need a reason to send someone a message?
He typed.
How was your day?
He stared at the words.
Then deleted them.
Too personal.
He tried again.
Are you still working at the restaurant?
Deleted.
Too obvious.
He put the phone down.
A few seconds later, he picked it up again.
Marcus’s words from earlier came back to him.
If you want to talk to him, just talk to him.
Adrian had dismissed the advice.
Now he wasn’t so sure.
He finally typed three words.
How are you?
His thumb hovered over send.
Then he locked the phone.
Not tonight.
⸻
The next afternoon, Kai was leaving the library when his phone vibrated.
His heart jumped before he even looked at the screen.
For one foolish second, he thought—
He stopped himself.
It was Ethan.
Where are you? I’m starving.
Kai stared at the message.
Then laughed quietly.
“Idiot.”
He slipped the phone into his pocket.
But the disappointment remained.
He hated that.
He hated how quickly his heart had reacted.
He hated that Adrian had become someone he expected to hear from.
And most of all, he hated that the silence between them no longer felt peaceful.
It felt like something was missing.
Kai looked toward the university gates.
Nothing.
No black car.
No Adrian.
Just students coming and going beneath the afternoon sun.
Kai stood there for another moment before turning away.
Maybe missing someone didn’t mean you wanted them back.
Maybe it simply meant they had mattered.
That thought followed him all the way home.
⸻
Three days later, Adrian finally sent the message.
How are you?
Kai was working the evening shift when his phone buzzed.
He glanced at it.
Stopped.
His fingers tightened around the phone.
Adrian.
For several seconds, Kai simply stared at the screen.
Then his lips curved into the smallest smile.
He immediately frowned at himself.
Why was he smiling?
He typed:
I’m fine.
He stared at the reply.
Too cold.
He added:
Busy.
Then deleted it.
He finally sent:
I’m fine. You?
The message went through.
Kai immediately regretted sending it.
“What am I doing?”
His phone vibrated.
His heart jumped again.
Busy.
Kai stared.
Then another message appeared.
But fine.
Kai smiled despite himself.
That was so Adrian.
Short.
Controlled.
Irritating.
Somehow comforting.
Before Kai could think too much about it, another message arrived.
Don’t work too late.
Kai’s smile disappeared.
There was something about those four words.
Not an order.
Not exactly.
Concern.
He typed:
You don’t get to tell me what to do.
The reply came almost immediately.
I know.
Kai blinked.
Then another message.
I was only saying it.
Kai stared at the screen.
For the first time, he wondered whether Adrian was trying to be careful with him.
And somehow, that realization affected him more than any commanding order ever had.
He typed slowly.
Thank you.
There was a pause.
Then:
You’re welcome.
Kai slipped the phone into his pocket.
He returned to work with a smile he couldn’t quite explain.
Across the city, Adrian placed his phone on his desk.
For the first time in days, the office didn’t feel quite as empty.
He looked at Kai’s last message.
Thank you.
Two ordinary words.
Yet Adrian found himself reading them twice.
Then a third time.
He leaned back in his chair.
He had spent years believing that people either wanted something from him or wanted something because of him.
Kai was different.
Kai wanted nothing from him.
And perhaps that was exactly why Adrian had started wanting something from Kai.
Not money.
Not obedience.
Not gratitude.
Just his presence.
Adrian looked out through the glass windows of his office.
He didn’t need to see Kai every day.
He was beginning to understand that.
Sometimes distance didn’t weaken a feeling.
Sometimes it gave you enough silence to finally hear it.
And Adrian was starting to hear his clearly.