[No-Ah]
No-Ah noticed something was wrong.
Immediately.
And she hated that she noticed.
Because lately—
she had become too good at reading people.
Especially him.
The way Kei smiled when he was genuinely happy.
The way he went quiet when something bothered him.
The way he said "I'm fine" when he clearly wasn't.
It was annoying.
Very annoying.
Because it meant she couldn't pretend not to see it.
And today—
she saw it.
Kei hadn't texted much.
Not unusual.
He was busy.
She knew that.
But something about the silence felt different.
Like there was something he wasn't saying.
No-Ah stared at her phone while wiping the café counter.
"You're going to clean a hole into that table."
Min-Ji's voice pulled her back.
She looked up.
"What?"
Min-Ji pointed at the same spot she'd been wiping for the past minute.
No-Ah immediately stopped.
"Oh."
A pause.
"Oops."
Min-Ji raised an eyebrow.
"You're distracted."
"I'm not."
"You are."
"I'm just tired."
"That is the excuse everyone uses when they're distracted."
No-Ah opened her mouth.
Then closed it.
Because unfortunately—
he had a point.
Before she could respond, the café bell rang.
A customer entered.
She turned automatically.
"Welcome—"
The words stopped.
Not because it was someone she knew.
Because it wasn't.
A man stood near the entrance.
Young.
Around Kei's age.
Maybe a little older.
He looked around the café quietly.
Like he wasn't here for coffee.
Like he was searching for something.
Or someone.
No-Ah frowned slightly.
"Can I help you?"
The man looked at her.
For a moment—
he said nothing.
Then:
"You're No-Ah, right?"
Her expression changed.
Slowly.
"How do you know my name?"
The man didn't answer.
Instead, he took out his phone.
No-Ah's fingers tightened around the cloth in her hand.
Something about his expression made her uneasy.
Not threatening.
Just...
serious.
"I need to ask you something."
Before she could reply, Min-Ji stepped slightly closer.
Not obviously.
Just enough.
A silent question.
Are you okay?
No-Ah nodded slightly.
The man noticed.
Then looked back at her.
"You're close with Kei."
It wasn't a question.
No-Ah stayed quiet.
The man's eyes lowered.
"Has he ever told you about before?"
Before.
The same word again.
The same word everyone seemed to use.
Her stomach tightened.
"What do you mean?"
The man looked surprised.
Almost like he already knew the answer.
"He hasn't."
No-Ah didn't like the way he said it.
Like it was confirmation.
Like he expected it.
"Who are you?"
A pause.
Then—
"Lee Jae-Won."
The name meant nothing to her.
But judging from his expression—
it meant everything to someone else.
No-Ah stared.
"Why are you asking me about Kei?"
Jae-Won looked away for a moment.
Then back at her.
"Because you should know."
"Know what?"
Silence.
Then he said:
"Who he was before everyone else knew him."
No-Ah's heart tightened.
Because suddenly—
she remembered.
Kei sitting alone in the practice room.
The tired expression.
The way he avoided talking about his past.
The way he apologized for things that weren't his fault.
She had always wondered.
But she never pushed.
Because she thought—
when he was ready, he would tell her.
"Why are you telling me this?"
Jae-Won looked at her.
And for the first time—
his expression changed.
Something like sadness.
Or maybe regret.
"I'm not trying to hurt him."
No-Ah frowned.
"Then what are you doing?"
A long pause.
"I'm trying to make him stop running away."
The words confused her.
Before she could ask more—
her phone rang.
Kei.
The name appeared on the screen.
Jae-Won saw it.
And something unreadable crossed his face.
"Answer it."
No-Ah looked at him.
"What?"
"Answer it."
She hesitated.
Then picked up.
"Hello?"
For a few seconds—
there was only silence.
Then:
"No-Ah."
Kei's voice.
But something was different.
Too careful.
"Are you okay?"
She frowned.
"Yeah. Why?"
Another pause.
Then—
"Where are you?"
No-Ah looked at Jae-Won.
The silence answered before she did.
"At the café."
A longer pause.
Then Kei asked:
"Is someone there?"
Her fingers tightened around the phone.
How did he know?
"No one important."
A lie.
And Kei immediately knew.
Because of course he did.
"No-Ah."
His voice lowered.
"Who is there?"
Before she could answer—
Jae-Won's phone vibrated.
He looked down.
Read the message.
Then smiled faintly.
Not happily.
More like he expected something.
No-Ah noticed.
"What's wrong?"
Jae-Won didn't answer.
Instead, he looked at her.
And said:
"He really hasn't changed."
No-Ah froze.
"What?"
Jae-Won put his phone away.
"He still worries about everyone except himself."
The words hit harder than she expected.
Because they sounded exactly like something Kei would do.
Something she had noticed.
Something she never understood.
The call was still connected.
"Kei?"
No response.
Then finally—
quietly:
"Don't listen to him."
No-Ah's breath caught.
Because she had never heard Kei sound like that before.
Not angry.
Not scared.
Something worse.
Afraid.
"Kei..."
A pause.
Then:
"I'll explain."
The words were simple.
But somehow—
they felt heavier than anything else.
Because Kei had never promised that before.
He always avoided.
Changed the subject.
Pretended everything was okay.
But now—
he said:
"I'll explain."
Jae-Won watched her.
Then quietly said:
"Good."
No-Ah looked at him.
"What?"
His expression didn't change.
"Because it's time he stopped carrying it alone."
The call went silent.
No-Ah looked at her phone.
Then at Jae-Won.
Then back at the screen.
And suddenly—
she realized something.
Whatever happened before Kei became Kei...
whatever he had been running from...
whatever had broken his trust...
she was finally going to learn.
And somehow—
she wasn't sure if she was ready.
☆ ☆ ☆