Love?
Leon tilted his head slightly, his mind falling into silence as he processed her confession.
Laura's words hung in the air.
"This is so funny..." she murmured, letting out a soft, almost breathy chuckle-a sound so subtle it was barely laughter, more like an exhale of disbelief.
"But... this is the truth."
Her eyes stayed locked onto his, filled with a rare kind of bravery-one Leon wasn't used to seeing in her.
"Ever since then... since we stopped seeing each other... Leon..."
Her voice carried a weight now, sothing deeper, sothing lingering.
"You never left my mind. Even when we never spoke, never crossed paths... you never left. Every mont, every single day..."
She paused, and in that silence, her voice carried nostalgia, sadness-sothing unresolved. "And then... when my father passed away..."
She trailed off, her eyes shifting for the first ti, as if trying to hide an emotion she didn't want to show.
Leon could see it. The sorrow behind those words.
She took a slow breath before continuing. "That's when I finally gathered the courage to look for you again... and that's why I moved back to this city."
Now, her voice was truly trembling.
"I did it... just so I could see you again."
She shook her head lightly, as if struggling against her own emotions.
"Because I still haven't been able to forget you. Not even now... Leon..."
And then-she fell silent.
Waiting.
This was the mont Leon was supposed to respond, wasn't it?
Her confession.
...But what was their relationship even like back then?
His mories of it felt blurred, distant-sothing buried in the past. But if he wasn't mistaken, it had all happened so naturally. Through laughter and teasing, through small monts that built up over ti.
A flash of mory flickered through his mind.
**
"Leon, I help you a lot, you know. You should fight back more."
She had giggled when she said it.
"You owe ."
Leon had laughed too. "I never asked you to help ."
"Still! You owe . So this ti, make happy."
"What do you want?"
She had tilted her head, pretending to think. "I don't know. Maybe tell why I enjoy being around you so much?"
Leon had raised an eyebrow. "I don't know? Because we're friends?"
Laura had giggled again. "Sohow, I like you, you know? Like... in a romantic way."
Leon had laughed. "That's so funny. You?"
"Why?" she had protested, playfully hitting his shoulder.
And then-
"Why don't we just date, then? That sounds fun."
**
That's all he rembered.
The details?
Fuzzy.
But that mont-it had been real.
This ti? No. Yes, Leon was sure of it.
That was just the past. Those feelings didn't exist anymore.
In fact, he wasn't even sure what his feelings had been back then.
He took a slow, steady breath, searching for the right words to say.
"Laura..." he spoke softly, still trying to find an answer.
"I know."
Laura's voice cut in, responding before he could continue.
And this ti, Leon saw it clearly.
The look in her eyes.
The way her smile returned to sothing calm.
Peaceful.
As if she had just released a burden she had been carrying for a long ti.
"You don't need to say anything," she continued. "I just... needed to say it. Sothing I've
kept inside for so long."
"I never knew about any of this." Leon replied honestly.
Laura gave a small nod, then slowly let go of his hand.
"I'll do my best... to just be your friend. The friend who once disappeared from you."
Leon exhaled lightly, then said, "You've already done so much, honestly. The study notes you made for , the different als you tried cooking and sharing with ..."
He shook his head slightly. "You don't need to try anything better. You've already done more than enough. I haven't even repaid you for all of that."
**
They exchanged a simple goodnight, and Leon headed back to his hotel room.
The mont he stepped inside, he dropped onto the sofa in the center of the room, rubbing his temples as he let out a slow breath.
His mind was completely occupied with everything that had suddenly happened that night. Everything had co at him so fast. And now, he was left trying to process it all.
Suddenly, a ssage notification popped up on Leon's phone. Half-expecting who it was from, he glanced at the screen.
Olivia.
"Hi, are you asleep?"
A simple, short ssage.
And yet, Leon knew there was more to it than just that.
He typed back.
"Not yet... sohow... my head is occupied with a few things."
"Is it about the competition?" Olivia replied almost instantly.
Before Leon could even type a response, another ssage followed.
"Or is it about sothing else? Or... soone?"
Leon exhaled. "I think so..."
"Why? Did soone confess their feelings to you?"
His fingers hovered over the phone screen for a mont.
...She knew.
Olivia definitely knew more than she was letting on.
After all, wasn't she the one who started this?
What had happened with Laura wasn't just a coincidence. It had only happened because of
sothing Olivia did.
And as he reread Olivia's last response, that suspicion only grew stronger.
Leon thought back to earlier-to how Olivia had been facing the elevator doors, unlike him.
Unlike Leon, who had been focused on their conversation, Olivia had been looking straight
ahead.
She had to have seen Laura.
She had to have known she was standing there.
And if Olivia had known Laura was there, then...
Did she do it on purpose?
Did she expect Laura to react that way?
Did she know how Laura would feel?
Or... was Leon himself just too clueless to see it coming?
Just as his thoughts spiraled, another ssage from Olivia popped up.
"You're not answering. Does that an it's true?"
Leon took a slow breath.
"Did you know this was going to happen, Olive? You're playing with people's feelings."
A mont passed before Olivia's reply popped up.
"How? Why ?"
Leon sighed, his fingers hovering over the screen.
"That's just what cos to my mind when I think about what happened."
A brief pause. Then, another ssage.
"You're still placing on the enemy side, you know... I've always tried to be the best around
you. Not once have I ever betrayed you or lied to you."
Leon exhaled. Olivia was too smart for her own good. Even Maylon had acknowledged it.
If Olivia had already suspected that Laura had special feelings for Leon, then surely, she had
also known what would happen when she pulled that little stunt earlier, right?
She had to know.
Leon's fingers tightened around his phone as he typed his next ssage.
"Now, be honest with . You did that on purpose because you knew Laura was there, didn't
you?"
The reply ca almost instantly.
"Yes,"
Leon stared at the screen. His mind had already suspected it, but seeing the confirmation still
hit differently.
"Why?"
Another pause. Then-
"To make you realize that there are people around you who feel more deeply for you than you
think. To make you pay more attention to them."
Leon froze at that answer.
"For what reason?" he typed, pushing further, trying to dig deeper into her real thoughts.
"So that you open your heart more. So that you realize there's a chance for soone to step inside. And when that happens... wouldn't that an I'd have a chance, too?" Leon stared at the words. His chest felt tight. His thoughts scattered.
Finally, he typed, "I don't get it. You seem to know more than I do, like what you did earlier. I
feel deceived."
And then-
"Sorry, but I admit it."
That was Olivia's response.
Leon stayed still, letting everything sink in. This was the first ti he had really started to
think about things like this. And as he did, he realized he had been avoiding romance for a
long ti now.
Had he beco numb to the idea of being in a romantic relationship?
Why did Olivia have to do that?
She surely wasn't serious when she said things like having a chance or stepping into his life,
right?
...Right?
But then again—how well did they even know each other?
They barely knew each other...
Or did they? Leon wasn't even sure.
Did love really have to be built over a long period of ti, through friendship first? Or could it
happen suddenly—just like that? He had never known the answer.
Then, another ssage popped up.
"Go sleep. Save your energy for losing to at the gym tomorrow. Bye."
Leon exhaled and replied.
"Bye, Olive. Thanks for the nice conversation tonight."
Reviews
All reviews (0)