The café window was fogged from the warm coffee and the chilly evening air outside. The place was quiet, the kind of café where soft jazz floats low and the world outside looks slower through the glass. Ryan and Kai sat in the mirror-side seats, facing the wide glass wall from which the entire crossroads was visible.
Kai kept his hat low to cover most of his face, shadows cutting across his jawline. Ryan sat opposite him, hands wrapped around a hot cup.
"You remember that director… uhh… Charles ?" Ryan said casually.
Kai hummed, eyes still trained outside, watching the light change from green to yellow to red.
"He was actually insisting that he'll take any story if it comes from you. He literally said, 'Tell Kai I just want to work with him.' And he wanted me to pass this message."
Kai didn't respond. He just lifted the cup and took a sip.
"So… what should I tell him?" Ryan pressed. "Should I say you finalised a script and you need some time?"
Kai choked on the coffee.
"What!… Do… you… mean?" he coughed lightly.
Ryan smirked like he knew something. "The manuscript. I saw it on your table the other day."
"I don't… remember what you're talking about," Kai lied, turning his face toward the window as if the world outside suddenly became more interesting.
Ryan leaned forward. "I'll help you remember."
Kai stiffened.
Ryan raised his eyebrow. "It was the same manuscript that you were searching for, like some diamond lost in the sand."
Kai's jaw tightened.
Ryan continued, "The same manuscript for which you turned the whole office upside down."
Kai still didn't react.
"And the same manuscript for which you created that new rule—' no one shall enter your cabin except Ryan.'
Kai didn't blink. Didn't answer. Didn't move. Because something outside caught him. Someone he knows... someone who shouldn't be here
She was standing at the edge of the crosswalk, one hand holding her phone, her eyes fixed completely on the screen. Her lips were slightly parted, brows gently curved with concentration.
Kai's pulse skipped. Even from behind the glass, even with traffic noise muted, even with the distance, he recognised her instantly. Alina.
And she was walking forward, so absorbed in what she was reading that she didn't even glance up once. Kai's heart hammered an instinct he hated, an instinct he couldn't control.
Ryan kept talking, but Kai wasn't listening anymore. "...and then the whole office staff told me you were searching it like a..."
Kai's breath stopped. Because Alina stepped onto the road. A car was coming. Fast. Too fast.
Too close. And she had no idea. Kai stood abruptly.
Ryan paused. "Kai?"
But Kai didn't answer. His eyes locked onto Alina like a magnet, like she was the only figure visible in a blurred world. The car turned the corner sharply. Alina didn't look up.
Kai's body moved before his mind registered the decision.
He pushed his chair back so hard it shook the table. His cup toppled, coffee spilling.
"Kai—?" Ryan half rose, confused.
But Kai was already gone. Already running, pushing past tables, bursting through the café door.
Everything was a blur. The cold wind hit his face. But he didn't feel it. He saw only her. Her small steps. The road. The approaching car. But her eyes were on the phone.
Her phone reflected the traffic light. She didn't look up. The car's horn blared. Kai sprinted. His breath tore out of his chest. His boots pounded the ground. He reached the edge of the road, and the car was seconds away.
Alina lifted her foot to take one more step. Kai grabbed her hand. His fingers wrapped around her wrist. It was a tight grip.
Her phone slipped from her hand. Time slowed. The phone hit the ground. The screen shattered into tiny fragments, skittering across the road. Alina gasped and looked up, and her eyes widened when she saw the car almost upon her.
Kai pulled her. Hard. Their bodies collided. Her breath punched out of her lungs. She crashed into his chest full force, her forehead hitting right against him. Kai grunted softly but didn't let go.
One arm instinctively went around her waist, pulling her even closer. His other hand came up immediately, cupping the back of her head, fingers sliding into her hair, shielding her from the impact like he had done it a thousand times before.
The car zoomed past them, horn screaming, but Kai held her as if she were the only thing keeping him alive. She was breathless, shocked, and trembling lightly.
Her face buried into his chest. His heartbeat thundered against her cheek. His palm pressed protectively against her head. Her fingers clutched his shirt unconsciously.
Everything around them blurred. Just the two of them. Breathing. Shaking. Pressed against each other like the world had pushed them into the same heartbeat.
Slowly… very slowly… Alina lifted her face. Kai's hand on her head slid down to her jaw, his thumb brushing her cheek by accident or maybe not by accident at all. She looked up into his eyes. His hat cast a shadow, but his eyes, those intense, familiar, storm-like eyes, were unmistakable.
Her breath hitched. "K… Kai…" she whispered.
He didn't answer. He couldn't because her eyes were wide and frightened, but glowing.
Her lips were parted. Her breath was warm against his collarbone. Her body pressed so close that he could feel every uneven breath.
His hand was still on her waist. Still holding her. Still pulling her toward him like his body refused to let go. Her heart was racing. So was his. She didn't move back, and He didn't step away. His thumb brushed the side of her face. She felt a shiver crawl up her spine.
Kai's heartbeat was still racing wildly, thundering against his ribs as if it wanted to tear its way out. The rush of adrenaline hadn't left his body yet. His hands were shaking, not violently, but enough for him to feel the tremor he was trying so hard to hide.
Because if he had reached one second later, if he had been even a fraction of a moment late, she would have been… The thought itself made a cold shiver cut through his spine. He couldn't even finish that thought in his mind. Just imagining it made his stomach twist painfully.
She was still pressed close to him, breathing fast, chest rising and falling against his. Her warmth seeped into him, grounding him, reassuring him that she was real, she was alive, and nothing terrible had happened. He couldn't let go. Not yet. Maybe not ever.
His arms tightened around her with a sudden, desperate instinct, one that said if he let her go now, he might lose her forever. As if the world might snatch her away the moment he loosened his grip, and that made it even harder for him to let go of her.
He buried his face for a second beside her temple, breathing her in, his breath uneven, half fear, half relief. His chest lifted with every shaky inhale. Her hair brushed against his lips, her scent calming something wild inside him.
She's safe. She's here. Nothing happened. She's safe… He kept repeating it in his mind, as if it were a prayer. After a few seconds that felt like hours, he finally loosened his grip.
But only slightly. With both hands, he slowly took hold of her shoulders and pushed her back just enough to see her face. His palms stayed on her, like he couldn't trust the world if he removed them completely. His eyes were blazing. Not with anger alone but with fear, panic, worry, everything he never let anyone see.
He shook her lightly "Have you completely lost your mind?" he said, loud voice, trembling with anger and terror both. "Do you even realise what just happened?"
Her lips parted, but no sound came.
His jaw clenched. "If I was one second late…" he said, breath hitching, "one second, Alina… do you know what could have happened to you?"
Her eyes lowered.
"Where is your attention? Where is your mind when you walk on the road? Are you even aware of your surroundings?" he demanded.