Juho's voice dropped to a murmur. "But… but how? We barely even talked."
"It's just… you. You were so… captivating, don't you know that? The way you took care of tiny things no one even thought about. The way your gaze sometimes drifted outside the classroom, like you were retreating into your own world. And there were times you just smiled at something funny on your phone… I kept staring at you, smiling along like an idiot before I caught myself and—" Kaija's recollection came to an end when she realized she had wandered far too deep.
Her lips pressed together, forcing her voice to a cold dismissal. "But that's all long gone, and it turns out you're not who I thought you were. I was only in love with the version of you I imagined in my head, not who you really are, Juho."
For a moment, not a single reaction came from Juho. When he finally moved, the door swung wide open.
