Jai didn't say a word as they left the bathroom.
His hand was still slightly damp from the water… and from Shao's touch.
Fingers curled around his own palm like he was trying to hold onto something fleeting.
Every now and then, as they walked back toward the dorm building, he could feel the pulse of that touch echo along his skin—ghostly but unmistakable.
His eyes stared ahead, but his thoughts were behind—trapped in the way Shao had looked at him, touched him, lingered.
Beside him, Hana and Yuki were quiet too. No teasing. No chattering. Maybe they sensed the shift in the air, or maybe they just respected the silence that Jai was holding tightly around himself.
As for Shao... he stayed close.
Not touching. But always near.
So near that Jai could feel the heat of him at his back.
Shao wasn't a man of many words, but right now, Jai didn't want them.
That silent closeness… it said enough.
