---
**These eyes felt hot. My chest burned and boiled.**
My eyelids were heavy and warm.
Tears kept falling—nonstop.
I saw it clearly: Mario and Sofia.
**I can't lose them.**
**Why are they holding hands?**
**Why are they so close?**
**Why does my heart feel like it's being stabbed?**
My gaze followed their figures, slowly disappearing into the crowd.
Sofia, clinging so affectionately.
Mario, carrying shopping bags—**and a stroller.**
**A baby stroller?!**
I ran.
Chased after their retreating silhouettes as they quickly melted into the mass of people.
"Where…?"
I lost them.
I kept running—right, left, across the street, into shops—scanning faces, glancing around over and over again.
Everything spun in my head.
Why did today feel so chaotic?
Why was the crowd so suffocating?
Why did the pain in my chest feel so real?
**"Where are they..."**
I wiped the sweat trickling down my forehead with the sleeve of my shirt.
My makeup had started to melt away. I didn't care.
I *had* to believe what I saw wasn't true.
**That wasn't you, Mario… right?**
That wasn't the Sofia you told me about… right?
Please—let it be a mistake. Let me be wrong.
I couldn't believe it.
A stroller. A couple. A baby.
Didn't Sofia have another man?
Wasn't Mario just her cousin?
Weren't they…?
No.
No.
**I refuse to believe it.**
Mario would explain.
He had to explain.
I started to sob. The tightness in my chest forced it all out.
I couldn't hold it in anymore. I could only cry.
I jogged through the street, desperately trying to blink back the tears that wouldn't stop coming.
My head throbbed like it was about to explode.
I tried to ignore the pain—tried. But it was unbearable.
My chest felt like it would collapse.
**It hurt. It hurts.**
I couldn't hold it in anymore—everything about you, Mario.
**I like you, Mario. I can't forget you.**
**Why are you doing this to me?**
Why are you always such a mystery?
**Just give me an answer!**
Explain everything!
Don't make me endure this silence.
I can't take it anymore.
**I want you, Mario.**
**M. A. R. I. O.**
Is it true?
**Did I… lose you?**
---
**Memory bubbles popped in my brain again.**
That time… in my room. Alone.
I sat at the edge of my bed with a blank stare.
My hands at my sides, legs gently swinging, trying to kill the boredom.
My thoughts had drifted away—
I kept thinking about the handsome man, and the woman…
What happened in that room?
What did I see?
I had been stunned, lying down on the sofa.
My head was already full of questions.
It was around eleven that night.
I just sat silently, staring into nothing.
The woman, the tattooed man, the room next door.
**What had happened in there?**
I was already too curious.
No more whispers, no more faint voices.
Had it stopped?
What were the three of them doing in that room?
What had they talked about?
It wasn't just about the woman and the tattooed man.
It was **you.**
What was your connection to all of this?
And the voice of that woman… I didn't want to remember anymore.
I yanked a cardigan from the closet. My head throbbed.
Too many thoughts.
Too many pieces that didn't fit.
I had to find out.
I stopped right in front of **his** room.
My feet froze.
Curiosity turned to shock.
**Someone was crouching there.**
His back leaned against the wall—not far from my door.
He looked up…
And saw me.
Staring. Frozen.
His eyes were cold. His face blank.
A black backpack hung over his left shoulder.
We were silent.
Then, slowly… he looked me in the eye.
I moved closer and crouched beside him.
He lowered his face.
And then—just barely—
I thought I saw it.
A smirk? A slight smile at the corner of his lips?
What was that?
I leaned against the wall beside him.
My right foot tapped the floor, trying to ease the tension tightening my chest.
He was silent.
I was silent.
We sat like that for a long time, until I looked up—
Staring at the hallway ceiling of our rented apartment.
Everything felt still.
The night felt heavier.
"It's late. You should go to your room," I said softly, turning to him.
I couldn't believe my ears.
**Did he… start a conversation?**
Well… it kind of sounded like he was kicking me out, but still.
"Mmhg…"
"Ugh…"
We heard it.
The sound from inside his room.
Even though the owner of the room was squatting right next to me.
A woman's voice. A couple's sighs.
We heard it all.
Our eyes met.
Stunned. Awkward.
Then we both smiled faintly.
Lowered our heads in embarrassment.
The sighs grew louder.
Moans. Whispers. The bed creaking.
We both got goosebumps.
I covered my mouth, trying not to laugh.
My stomach twisted. It was embarrassing… but also kind of funny.
The couple's voices, the creaking, the whole scene…
I was eavesdropping on something inappropriate—with a stranger.
My face burned with heat.
I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Then suddenly—
**He stood up.**
And then—
**He pulled my hand.**
His face was flushed too.
He was just like me!
Even though he tried to hide it, I could see the smile on his lips.
**He held my hand.**
---