Kan once thought
that distance would make everything easier.
No need to meet.No need to compete.No need to argue.No need to feel anything.
But he was wrong.
His university life wasn't much different from anyone else's.
Studying.Activities.Spending time with friends.
Everything looked normal.
Except for the nights.
Kan sat at his desk in his dorm room, the white light shining down on the open book in front of him.
But his eyes—
weren't on the pages at all.
His phone screen lit up.
A familiar name appeared.
Phat.
"Have you eaten?"
A short message.
But it made the corner of his lips lift slightly.
"Yeah."
He replied,
too quickly to call it coincidence.
He had never been the type to wait for anyone.Never the type to check his phone again and again.
But now—
it had changed.
Kan put his pen down and leaned back in his chair, his eyes still fixed on the screen.
He started to realize it.
He wasn't sure since when.
Maybe since the day she didn't text—
and his whole day felt too quiet.
Or maybe since the night she texted first—
and he realized he had never waited for anything like that before.
"…Damn."
He muttered under his breath, rubbing his face.
He wasn't stupid.
He knew exactly what this feeling was.
He just didn't want to admit it.
"Are you tired today?"
He typed,
without needing to think.
Only after sending it did he realize—
he was the one who started the conversation.
But strangely,
he didn't want to delete it.
"A little."
Phat's reply came not long after.
Kan stared at the message, then typed again.
"Don't stay up too late.""Get some rest."
He paused,
looking at his own words,
then let out a quiet sigh.
"Since when…"
Since when had he started talking like this?Since when had he started caring about her?
Before,
all he did was tease her, compete with her, make her mad.
But now—
just thinking about her being tired,hungry,or not feeling well,
was enough to make him uneasy.
"You too."
Her reply came back.
Short—
but it made his chest tighten slightly.
Kan smiled to himself.
"…Me too, huh."
He placed his phone on the table and looked up at the ceiling.
The silence in the room didn't feel empty anymore.
Because now,
there was someone
constantly in his thoughts.
And this time,
it wasn't the same as before.
Not just a rival.Not just someone to beat.
But—
someone he wanted to know about every day,someone he wanted to talk to before going to sleep,someone he was starting… not to want to lose from his life.
Kan slowly closed his eyes,
then murmured quietly to himself—
"…Do I like her?"
No one answered.
But in his heart,
it was already too clear.