Chapter Text
I lit a single candle in the dark kitchen, its faint glow barely cutting through the shadows. My eyes fell on my cat’s lifeless body, and my heart dropped.
I froze, unable to move.
How…?
Why?
She was the only creature I had ever truly cared about in this world… and now she was gone.
My hands trembled as I gently picked her up, tears blurring my vision. I carefully wrapped her in a plastic bag before carrying her outside. The rain had already begun to fall, each cold drop soaking through my clothes as I made my way to the backyard.
With shaking hands, I dug a small grave for her. The rain only grew heavier, as if the sky itself mourned alongside me, making the silence and the loss feel even more unbearable.
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Being a quiet, painfully shy young woman who worked at a small second-hand instrument store was miserable. Most days, the only sounds that kept me company were the soft chime of the doorbell and the old melodies drifting from pianos no one came to buy. People came and went, but no one ever seemed to remember me.
Loneliness eventually stopped feeling like sadness, it simply became my life. For years, there had only ever been one exception.
Phainon.
He was my childhood friend—or at least, he used to be. We were coworkers; we weren't as close as before, but at least… I saw him as everything. I doubted he had ever realized how deeply I’d fallen for him.
How could he?..
I remembered everything about him: the way he laughed, the little habits he didn’t even notice, the kindness he showed everyone without thinking. Meanwhile, I doubted he could remember something as simple as my favorite color.
Still, I couldn’t stop thinking about him.
Every conversation we had replayed in my mind for days. I’d imagine what he was doing, whether he’d eaten, whether he was smiling… and who he was smiling for.
I knew it wasn’t normal, but I couldn’t make myself stop. I never believed someone like Phainon could ever love someone like me.
Someone quiet.
Forgettable.
Invisible.
So I buried those feelings where no one could see them.. I just never realized that buried feelings don’t disappear.
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The club pulsed with deafening music, laughter, and flashing lights that painted everyone’s faces in shifting colors. Around the table, Phainon, Mydei, Castorice, and I talked over our drinks, though I barely heard a word of it.
I stared into my glass, absentmindedly tracing the rim with my finger. It didn’t take long for Phainon to notice. His smile faded, concern quietly replacing it as his gaze settled on me. “…Hey.” He tilted his head slightly. “Are you okay? You’ve been acting strange all night.” A small grin tugged at his lips as he nudged my shoulder. “What? Couldn’t catch a fish again?”
Normally, I would’ve laughed.
This time, I only managed a weak smile.
A faint blush warmed my cheeks despite the heaviness crushing my chest. “…Not this time.” My voice caught in my throat. “My… cat died.” The words felt foreign leaving my mouth. “It was so unexpected… She was fine, and then…” My breathing faltered. “S-She just…”
I couldn’t finish the sentence.
The memory of her cold body flooded back all at once, tightening around my chest until I could hardly breathe. Before I realized it, a pair of arms wrapped around me.
Warm.
Steady.
Safe.
Phainon pulled me against him without a second thought. Across the table, Mydei and Castorice exchanged confused glances, silently watching the scene unfold. “Hey… hey.” His voice was soft enough to drown out the pounding music. “It’s okay.”
One of his hands gently rubbed circles across my back while the other found mine, his fingers weaving through them before giving my hand a reassuring squeeze. “I know it hurts.” His golden eyes met mine, unwavering. “But you’re going to be okay.” He offered me a smile so gentle it almost hurt to look at.
“I’m here..always.”
His thumb brushed over my knuckles.
“I promise.”
For a moment… The noise disappeared, the lights blurred into nothing. The only thing I could feel was the warmth of his hands and the steady beat of his heart against mine.
He’s here… For me..?
The thought echoed in my mind over and over until it drowned out everything else. He actually cares. My heart ached in a way grief alone couldn’t explain. He was my crush, the one I couldn’t stop talking about, the one who occupied every stray thought that crossed my mind. And now…
He was holding me like I was someone worth protecting. I didn’t know it then.
And it made me love him even more.. it made me wanna do anything to keep him with me for the rest of my life, even if it meant harming myself for him.
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One evening after work, I found Phainon sitting alone on a patch of grass, far enough from the road that the world seemed to forget he was there.
The sun had long disappeared, leaving only the pale glow of the moon overhead. He sat perfectly still, his eyes fixed on nothing in particular, as though he were waiting for an answer that would never come.
There was something… wrong, I couldn’t explain it.
He simply didn’t look like himself.
My heart tightened.
I hesitated for a moment before forcing my feet forward, my hands nervously twisting together. “…Hey.” I offered him a small, awkward smile as I lowered myself onto the grass beside him. “Um… are you okay?”
The words came out quieter than I’d intended.
He didn’t answer, well not at first. His empty gaze lingered on the night sky before it slowly shifted toward me. “I don’t know,” he murmured. A tired smile crossed his face.
“You tell me.”
I frowned, nervously biting the inside of my cheek. “…Maybe?” I mumbled. “You just… seem kind of… turned off.”
God, Why did I always sound so awkward?
“I just wanted to check on you… That’s all.” As I glanced at him, something immediately felt off. My eyes drifted to his neck.
Empty.
He always wore the crystal necklace his mother had given him when he was little, always. I’d never seen him without it, my stomach sank. “…Did you lose your necklace?” I asked so quietly that I almost hoped he hadn’t heard me.
For a long moment, he said nothing.
“…Yeah.”
Just one word, heavy enough to explain everything. Silence settled between us, I wanted to comfort him… He had comforted me when my cat died, He had held me when I couldn’t even breathe through my grief.
And.. I just wanted to do the same for him.
The problem was…
I had no idea how.
“So…” I rubbed the back of my neck, avoiding his eyes. “You’ll… probably find it someday, right? I mean…” I let out an awkward laugh. “Things don’t just disappear forever…” The moment the words left my mouth, I wanted to bury myself alive.
That sounded terrible. Phainon stared at me for a second.
Then…
He laughed.
A real laugh.
Warm.. Gentle.
The kind that made the weight in the air feel just a little lighter. “You’re really terrible at comforting people, you know that?” My face burned. “H-Hey!” I protested, unable to hide my embarrassed smile. “I’m trying, okay?” I looked away, fiddling with the sleeve of my jacket. “…I just…”
I swallowed.
“I care about you.”
The words escaped before I could stop them, there was a brief silence. Then he smiled, a soft, genuine smile that reached his eyes. “I know.” Without another word, he lay back on the grass, folding his hands behind his head. After a moment, I did the same.
We lay there beneath the moonlit sky, watching clouds drift lazily across the stars. For the first time in what felt like forever… Everything was quiet and peaceful. My chest felt strangely warm.
Is this what love feels like?
I turned my head just enough to steal another glance at him. The silver moonlight caught in his hair, softening every feature of his face, He looked beautiful.
I wanted to memorize this moment.
His laugh, his smile, and the sound of his breathing beside me. I wanted to keep all of it.
Forever.
The thought should have scared me, Instead… It only made me want him more. More than yesterday, more than I ever thought possible. I wished—desperately—that one day he’d look at me the way I looked at him, But that would never happen.
To him…
I was just a childhood friend, nothing more.
At least…
That’s what I kept telling myself.
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The next afternoon, after my shift ended, I wandered into a small gift shop a few streets away. I wanted to replace Phainon’s necklace. It wasn’t the same one his mother had given him—nothing ever could be—but maybe finding something similar would make him smile again, that was enough for me.
The little bell above the door chimed as I stepped inside, The shop was… strange. It was quiet. Too quiet.
Dust floated lazily through the dim light, and the shelves were cluttered with trinkets that looked far older than the building itself. Something about the place felt wrong, as though I wasn’t supposed to be there.
Still, I ignored the feeling.
I wandered through the aisles, searching for a necklace that looked even remotely similar to the one he’d lost, Instead, something else caught my eye.
A tiny charm sat alone on a velvet cushion.
One Wish Willow.
I frowned.
The handwritten tag beneath it read:
“Snap the willow, make one wish, and your greatest desire shall become reality.” …Yeah, right. It sounded ridiculous, like some cheap novelty made to fool gullible people.
Yet… For reasons I couldn’t explain, I picked it up, curiosity won. By the time I paid and left the shop, I’d completely forgotten about the necklace.
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That evening, Phainon, Castorice, Cipher, and I met at a restaurant. The conversation flowed easily between everyone else…I mostly kept my eyes on my plate. Cipher and Castorice, however, had other plans.
They had known about my embarrassingly obvious crush on Phainon for years, and judging by the looks they kept exchanging, they had decided tonight was the night to torment me. “You should make the first move,” Cipher whispered with a grin. Castorice nodded in agreement. “It’s been years.” “I can’t,” I whispered back. “You can.” “No.” “Do it.”
I wanted to disappear.
Unfortunately… They won.
I slowly looked up from my plate, and Phainon happened to meet my eyes. Heat rushed to my face almost instantly. “U-Um…” I laughed nervously. “You… look nice today.”
Silence.
“…Oh.”
Phainon blinked.
“…Thanks, I guess?”
I immediately regretted every decision that had led me to this moment. I wanted the floor to swallow me whole. Without another word, I excused myself and hurried toward the restroom. The moment the door shut behind me, I groaned.
“What is wrong with me?”
I gripped the edge of the sink, staring at my reflection.
“So awkward…”.. “So stupid…”.. “So embarrassing.”..“No social skills.”..“No idea how to talk to him.” My hands trembled. “What if he knows now?”..“What if everyone knows?” “What if he laughs at me?” “What if I ruined everything?” The anxiety was consuming me whole until—
A sharp clatter interrupted my thoughts.
Something had fallen from my purse.
The One Wish Willow.
“…Oh.”
I picked it up, turning it over in my hands, The instructions were still wrapped around it. “Snap the willow while speaking your truest wish.” I almost laughed.
This was ridiculous.
Still… What did I have to lose?
I took a slow breath.
“…I wish…”
My voice barely rose above a whisper.
“…that Phainon would love me more than anyone else in the world.”
Snap.
Nothing, no light, no sound, and no miracle. I stared at the broken willow for a few seconds before letting out an embarrassed sigh. “…I actually paid money for this..?”
Shaking my head, I tossed it into the trash and left the restroom. As soon as I stepped back into the dining area…
Phainon was already looking at me, not casually, not because he’d happened to glance over. He was…
Waiting.
His eyes never left me as I walked back to the table. A strange feeling settled in my stomach. I forced a smile as I sat down. “Sorry… I took a while.” “It’s fine,” Cipher replied. “No worries,” Castorice added.
Phainon didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, he reached across the table and gently took my hand. “You were gone for too long.” His thumb slowly brushed over my knuckles. “I missed you.” The words were soft. Gentle. Almost affectionate.. Yet something about them made a chill creep down my spine.
I stared at him.
“…W-What?”
He only smiled.
“I don’t like it when you’re away from me.” The restaurant suddenly felt far too quiet. Cipher and Castorice exchanged confused glances but said nothing. Had… Had the wish actually worked?
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When dinner ended, I offered to drive him home. “You look tired,” I said. “I’ll drive.” His face lit up instantly. “I’d like that.” He said.
The drive should have been peaceful, Instead… It felt strangely intimate. Phainon rested one hand lightly on my thigh. He didn’t ask, he simply placed it there as though it had always belonged. I glanced at him several times. He wasn’t looking out the window. He wasn’t on his phone. He was just…
Smiling.
At me.
The entire drive, I should've said something. Asked him to move his hand, Instead… A part of me liked it. Another part couldn’t explain why it felt so unsettling. When we arrived, I parked outside his house.
“…We’re here.” I smiled awkwardly. “Good night..!”
He didn’t move.
Instead, he looked at me with quiet confusion. “…Why did you stop?” “…Because we’re at your house..?” I was genuinely confused why he was asking me this question. “I thought we were going to yours.”
I blinked.
“…What?”
“Your house.”
He repeated and he smiled as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “We’re sleeping together tonight, aren’t we?” “…Phainon…” I shrugged, “I never said that.”
His smile disappeared.
“So…”
“…you’re leaving me?”
“W-What?”
“I thought you wanted me with you.” His voice was still soft, still gentle. But something beneath it felt… Wrong. Possessive. Desperate. His fingers tightened around my hand.
“You wouldn’t leave me alone.”
“…Right?”
My mouth went dry.
This wasn’t the Phainon I knew.. not even close. The silence stretched between us, Finally…I nodded.
“…O-Okay.”
I started the car again, the drive to my house was almost completely silent. Phainon quietly hummed to himself, resting comfortably in the passenger seat, as though nothing unusual had happened. As though he hadn’t just insisted on inviting himself into my home. As though everything was perfectly normal.. That frightened me more than if he’d shouted.
Because he genuinely believed it was.