"Whoa, it does look yummy!" Umire gasped, her eyes wide with childlike wonder as she crouched in front of the display case. The glass gleamed under the soft café lights, and her reflection flickered against it like a ghost peering at the sweets.
Lena leaned down beside her, knees bent, her schoolbag sliding slightly off her shoulder. "Wait… you haven't seen it before? I thought you said you'd been to this café before."
Umire shook her head, her dark hair swaying with the movement. "Nope. I just looked it up online." She said it so casually, like it wasn't a big deal. "I was looking for a place to hang out with you and found this."
Lena blinked. Her breath caught for just a second.
She was thinking about me? Even when she wasn't there, she planned this for me.
That warm, too-good-to-be-true feeling crept up her neck, tingling behind her ears. She hated it. She loved it.
"This one looks good—what do you think?" Umire pointed to a raccoon-shaped cupcake, its little eyes made of glossy chocolate beads. Then she looked up at Lena, her gaze soft and expectant, like she wanted to know what Lena thought.
Lena's heart gave a weird thud.
"Yeah," she said. "It does…"
"You want it?" Umire asked, rising to her feet, brushing invisible dust from her skirt as she stood tall again.
Lena's eyes drifted across the display, scanning the pastel rows of cupcakes and pastries. Her gaze stopped on one with small black cat ears and shiny dark eyes. It wasn't as cute as the raccoon one. It was eerier. The dark eyes are a little off-putting, even.
"…That one looks good too." Lena pointed at it absentmindedly.
Umire didn't hesitate. "Excuse me!" she called out to the barista with a cheerful wave. "Can we get one raccoon cupcake, one cat cupcake, and a strawberry smoothie, please?"
"Yes, is that all?" the worker asked, already turning toward the back.
"Yep!" Umire answered brightly, fishing into her bag for her wallet.
Lena instinctively reached for hers as well, already opening the zipper of her pouch. "Wait—um, let me—"
But Umire waved her off with a grin. "Don't worry, I got it. Think of it as my way of repaying you for disappearing for a week." She laughed, but Lena heard something else beneath it. A flicker of guilt, maybe… or something more complicated.
Still, she handed over the cash before Lena could protest further.
No one's ever paid for me before, Lena thought. Not like this. In the few times she had been out with people—barely-there acquaintances—she always paid. For everyone. As if her place in the group depended on it.
"But…" she started again, her voice small.
Umire turned, smiling like it was the most natural thing in the world. "Don't sweat it. I'm the one who asked you out on a date, so I should be the one paying."
A date.
She said it so casually. So confidently.
Lena blinked, caught off guard. Something fluttered in her chest and dropped into her stomach. Her ears felt hot. Umire had already turned away, taking the tray with their order and walking toward the seating area.
Lena stood frozen for a beat before trailing after her.
Umire picked the window seat, the golden light spilling across her hair like syrup. She slid into the booth and gestured for Lena to sit across from her. Lena obeyed, slowly, carefully—like any wrong move might make the moment vanish.
The tray clattered lightly on the table as Umire placed it down. She nudged the cat cupcake toward Lena and kept the raccoon one for herself.
"We can share the smoothie," she said, practically bouncing as she opened the straw and stabbed it through the lid with practiced enthusiasm. "One drink. Two straws. Like a cheesy movie scene."
Lena stared at the cupcake. It's little fondant ears drooped slightly to one side. Something about it made her want to cry. It was small. A bit uneven. But it was hers. Given to her.
She looked up.
Umire was already watching her, chin resting on her hand, her eyes glowing with some secret thought she didn't share. She seemed to look at Lena almost as if she were looking at some sort of treasure that belonged solely to her.
Lena slowly picked up her fork. "Thank you…"
"Of course." Umire picked up her raccoon cupcake in her hand lazily. "Best friend benefits."
Lena's breath hitched slightly at the words.
"Okay?" Umire asked, tilting her head, eyes fixed on Lena like she was waiting for something that mattered.
"Okay," Lena nodded, her voice soft, her gaze locked on Umire's. She didn't look away.
A smile tugged at Umire's lips. She reached for her raccoon cupcake, carefully peeling back the wrapper before taking a small bite. Her lips curved as she chewed, her eyes lighting up. "Whoa—it's so sweet," she murmured, almost in awe. "But… I bet it'd taste even better if you made it. You always make things taste better. How's yours?"
"Ah…" Lena glanced down, startled out of her daze. Her cupcake was still untouched. She had been too focused on Umire to notice. That happened a lot.
Umire didn't feel real.
She wasn't just pretty—she was luminous, like something out of a dream. Lena hadn't realized she was still dreaming. Her presence shimmered at the edge of reality, too soft, too warm, too perfect. And every time they were together, Lena couldn't help it—she tried to memorize everything. Every gesture. Every blink. Every lilt in Umire's voice, every glint in her eye. She wanted to record it all and replay it forever in her mind.
Lena finally picked up the cupcake. It was small and detailed, almost delicate. The cat's ears were sculpted in fondant, and its little chocolate eyes stared back up at her.
She turned it slowly in her hands, tracing its features with her gaze. It was nice. Not perfect. But charming in a quiet way. She caught herself wondering how she might recreate it—what ingredients, what technique she'd use to get that glossy shine on the frosting.
"You gonna eat it?" Umire asked playfully, resting her cheek in her palm as she leaned across the table. Her raccoon cupcake was already missing an ear.
Lena nodded, tearing her eyes away from Umire's gaze. She took a careful bite from the side. The design cracked slightly under the pressure, the cat's head splitting where her teeth sank in.
The taste bloomed on her tongue—rich, velvet, dark chocolate with a hint of bitterness. Sweet, but not overpowering.
"Does it taste good?" Umire asked again, her voice softer this time. Her eyes never left Lena's face, as if she were watching something precious and fleeting.
"Yeah…" Lena said quietly. And she meant it.
"Taste for taste," Umire grinned. She stood up slightly, leaning across the table again with her cupcake held out toward Lena. "Here. Try mine."
Lena blinked. Her heart stuttered in her chest, uncertain and loud. Still, she leaned forward slowly. Her mouth opened, just a little. She took a small, neat bite, the sweetness bursting over her tongue.
And then Umire pulled back and—without pause—bit into the same spot Lena had just touched.
Lena froze mid-chew.
She wasn't sure if it was the sugar or something else, but everything in her felt suddenly loud. Her fingers twitched slightly in her lap. Her chest tightened with a feeling she didn't know how to name. The cupcake tasted sweeter now—almost too sweet, like syrup poured over something already full. It wasn't bad. But it clung to her throat.
Umire, on the other hand, looked delighted. Her cupcake was already halfway gone.
"Your turn," Umire said cheerfully. She swallowed her bite and then leaned forward again, mouth slightly open as she pointed toward it. "Feed me."
Lena hesitated.
She could feel Umire's gaze pulling at her, like gravity. She swallowed hard and mimicked the gesture from earlier, standing slightly, offering her cupcake across the table.
Umire bit into it without hesitation, lips brushing too close to Lena's fingers as she took a piece. She chewed happily, eyes never leaving Lena's.
"Oh—it's not very sweet… still, it tastes good," Umire said after swallowing the bite. Her gaze lingered on Lena as she leaned back slightly, brushing a crumb from her lips with the tip of her finger.
Lena sat back down, shifting slightly in her seat. "Yeah… I'm not a huge fan of super sweet stuff," she admitted, fingers brushing over the edge of her cupcake wrapper.
"I am," Umire replied with a small shrug. "Though I'll eat pretty much anything. I just… really like sweet things." She paused, her eyes flicking toward Lena again, softer now. "Actually… I picked this one because it reminded me of you."
Lena blinked. "It… reminded you of me?"
Umire nodded, taking another bite of her raccoon cupcake, chewing slowly before she spoke again. "Yeah. You give raccoon vibes. Quiet. Soft. Kinda shy. Cute. But also… sneaky, maybe?" She laughed lightly, eyes crinkling. "And sweet. Super sweet, even if you don't think you are."
Lena looked down at her cupcake, a strange warmth crawling into her chest like spilled light. "I… picked mine because it reminded me of you, too," she admitted before she could think better of it.
Umire tilted her head, intrigued. "Really? How come?"
"You give off… black cat vibes." Lena's voice was quieter now, the words hesitant but honest.
Umire blinked. "Black cat?"
"Yeah…" Lena looked up again, meeting her gaze. "You're kind of… ethereal. Dreamlike. A little mysterious. You always seem like you're here, but not fully. Like if I looked away for too long… You might disappear."
Umire was quiet.
Then she gave a small, surprised smile—genuine, touched. "Huh. I've never gotten that before. That's how you see me?"
"I…" Lena faltered. The air felt heavier suddenly, but not in a bad way. More like the moment had thickened, folded in around them.
"I see you as…" Umire began, then stopped, furrowing her brow slightly like the right words were caught just out of reach. She stared at the space between them, her fingers playing absentmindedly with the edge of her cupcake wrapper.
Lena didn't press her. She just sat there quietly, the moment expanding, filled with something unspeakably tender. The silence wasn't uncomfortable. It was the opposite. Warm. Whole. Like they were suspended in time.
Almost two minutes passed before Umire finally spoke again.
"I don't know how to describe it exactly," she said at last. "But I like you. A lot. You're not like everyone else." Her voice dropped a bit, more introspective now. "You're… different. Like you exist one step away from the rest of the world. Detached, in this soft, quiet way. Like… you're floating just above everything."
Lena didn't know what to say. Her mouth parted, but no words came. She could only nod, a little stunned. Her chest ached with something warm and wordless.
"Oh…" was all she could manage. It felt small in comparison to everything Umire had just laid bare.
But Umire just smiled again. Not teasing. Not expectant. Just—gentle.
A beat passed, and then Umire stretched her arms slightly and stood up. "Alright," she said lightly, "Wanna get going?"
"Going where?" Lena asked automatically, but she was already mirroring the movement, slipping her cupcake into a napkin and tucking it carefully into her bag.
"To my house," Umire replied simply, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. She picked up the smoothie neither of them had touched. "It's close by. We can drink this while we walk."
Before Lena could answer, Umire reached across the table and took her hand, fingers threading through hers like they'd done it a hundred times. No hesitation.
"Come on," she said, tugging her gently toward the door.
Lena followed, heart hammering in her chest as the door to the café swung open, a bell chiming overhead.
The wind was cool outside, but her hand in Umire's was warm—too warm. Lena wasn't sure if it was from the sunlight or something else. But she didn't let go.
And neither did Umire.
Lena couldn't fully remember what they talked about on the way to Umire's apartment. Something about baking. Umire had asked her which flavors she liked, what she was good at, and if she'd ever used matcha before. Lena had answered, but the words floated from her lips without much thought, barely tethered to the moment.
Umire had taken most of the smoothie, sipping from the straw between questions, but she'd always handed it back to Lena after each turn, sharing the drink like it was an unspoken ritual.
Mostly, it was Umire who talked. Her voice moved in that gentle, meandering rhythm that always made Lena's mind go soft and slow. The world blurred around them. It wasn't just that being with Umire was easy—it was that Umire made it easy. She held space like no one else, letting silence fill in the gaps without demanding anything in return.
It was peaceful. Light.
Until it wasn't.
"We're here!" Umire announced brightly, halting at the base of a small, two-story apartment building tucked between trees. The place looked older, quiet, and slightly out of place, like it had fallen out of a different decade.
"Come on, follow me," she said, releasing Lena's hand as they approached the steps.
Without Umire's hand in hers, Lena felt the sudden return of gravity. Her fingers curled reflexively into her palm. The wooden stairs creaked beneath their weight, each step groaning faintly as if warning them back.
By the time Lena reached the second floor, Umire was already four doors down, fiddling with a key in the lock. She glanced over her shoulder and smiled just as the door creaked open with a soft, reluctant sigh.
"Welcome to my humble abode! Shoes off, please," she chirped, stepping inside and toeing off her loafers.
Lena followed, slower. She slipped out of her shoes and stepped into the apartment.
It was small. A narrow hallway led into an open area just large enough for a kitchen, a couch, and two closed doors. The whole place carried the scent of old wood and something subtly floral. It was quiet—too quiet.
"I live alone, so…" Umire beamed and spun on her heel, arms outstretched. "We have all this space just for us."
Lena's brow furrowed slightly. "You live by yourself?"
"Yeah…" Umire's voice trailed off, her smile still intact, but her eyes briefly flickered toward something distant. "Let's hang out in my room. I don't have a lot of food here, though, so if you get hungry, just say the word and I'll order something."
Without waiting for a response, she moved to one of the closed doors and pushed it open. Lena followed.
Umire's room was… surprisingly plain. No posters, no clutter. Just a bed, a desk, and a closet. The desk was perfectly neat, with an open notebook and a tidy stack of pastel-colored sticky notes arranged by size. A task list sat in the corner, written in small, looping handwriting.
Lena stepped inside, inhaling instinctively. The room smelled like Umire—soft, clean, a little herbal. Something about it made her chest feel tight.
"We can study or something. When do you have to head home?" Umire asked, slipping off her coat and draping it over the back of the chair. She looked around her room as if seeing it with new eyes. "I've never had anyone over before… What should we do now?"
Lena blinked. "I don't have a curfew. I can stay as late as I want."
Umire brightened. "Sweet! You have your phone, right? We could try a game." She sat cross-legged on the bed and patted the space beside her with one hand, the other already pulling her phone from her pocket.
Lena hesitated, just a beat, then crossed the room and sat beside her.
The mattress dipped beneath her weight, and something about the moment became… hazy. Disconnected. Like she was watching herself from somewhere just outside her body.
But that was always how it felt with Umire.
Even now, sitting on her bed, shoulder nearly touching hers, breathing in the scent of her room, hearing the hum of the heater and the faint creak of the building settling, Lena felt oddly far away.
Umire's presence had always done that. She made the real world feel dreamlike. She made Lena feel like she was standing in the middle of something important without knowing what it was.
She didn't understand how someone could feel this close and this distant at the same time. But that was what Umire was—just slightly out of reach, like a name you almost remember or a dream that slips away the moment you open your eyes.
Lena looked down at her hands. Her fingertips brushed over each other, fidgeting.
"Hey," Umire said suddenly, voice softer now. She turned slightly to face her. "Are you okay?"
Lena looked up, startled. "Yeah. I'm fine."
Umire's eyes searched hers for a moment longer than necessary. Then she smiled again—smaller this time. Not the bright one she gave to the world. A private one, just for her.
"I'm glad you came," she said.
Lena nodded. "Me too."
And she meant it. Even if none of this made sense. Even if the air between them was thick with something she didn't have the words for.
She meant it completely.
"Do you play games?" Umire asked, leaning in just slightly as Lena reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone.
Lena shook her head. "Not really," she admitted, her voice soft. Honest.
"Oh really?" Umire tilted her head, a smile curling with something sly and light. "Cool. I get to be another one of your firsts, then."
Lena glanced at her, and for a brief moment, her heart fluttered in a way she didn't quite understand.
"Let me find something good," Umire said, already scrolling through her phone, the light from the screen painting her face in a soft glow.
As she busied herself, Lena's gaze drifted—not toward the screen, but around the room. Now that she was still, the details of Umire's space seemed to reveal themselves piece by piece, quiet and private, like secrets whispered between walls.
Her eyes landed on a picture frame sitting quietly on the nightstand beside the bed. It looked simple, old. No glittery decorations, no flashy design. Just a thin silver frame, worn around the edges.
Inside the photo stood four people.
Two adults—a man and a woman—both middle-aged, both smiling. Their arms rested protectively around two little girls. The first child looked about ten, with long brown hair and an open, easy smile. She was beaming. Something about her expression was familiar.
Next to her stood a much smaller girl, maybe seven. Her black hair was cropped short, her posture stiff, and her expression—Lena's breath caught—was hollow. No smile. No light. Just wide, eerie black eyes, far too dark for a child's. Empty.
Lena leaned in slightly without meaning to. Her body moved on instinct, drawn into the stillness of that expression.
Those eyes…
They weren't just familiar. They were unforgettable.
It was her.
That was Umire. That was Yuna. That… that photo had to be old, but the emotion in—or the absence of it—was palpable. Lena couldn't tear her eyes away.
The air felt heavier now. Like the room had suddenly remembered something it wasn't supposed to, and Lena was the only one listening.
"Oh! Found something," Umire announced, her voice snapping like a wire in the quiet. "This looks fun!"
Lena jolted slightly, blinking as she tore her gaze from the photo and looked back at Umire.
"Come on—download this with me. It's a two-versus-two shooting game. We can play on the same team," she said with a bright grin, almost childlike in her enthusiasm.
"Oh," Lena said quietly. Her voice felt distant in her own throat.
"Here, give me your phone. I'll help you download it."
Lena handed it over without a word, still feeling the ghost of that photograph behind her eyes. As Umire tapped through the App Store, her fingers quick and practiced, Lena's thoughts spiraled.
That little girl in the photo… that had to be Yuna. Shorter than Umire. Hair longer than, but the same face. The same eyes, full of something too complex for a child to carry.
And next to her…
Umire.
But so small. So still. That expression-no-no-no—, that absence of expression-it clung to her like fog. It made Lena's chest feel tight. Her pulse thudded in her ears. It wasn't just the photo that haunted her. It was the silence in it. Like it had captured a moment that hadn't ended. Not really.
Was it a family photo?
Were they... family?
Lena turned slowly to look at Umire, her lips parting before she could stop herself. The question was already on her tongue, hovering at the edge, desperate to come out.
But she hesitated.
What if asking broke something?
What if the warmth Umire had been offering—all soft glances and open smiles—snapped shut like a bear trap?
What if she went cold again?
Still, the words scratched at her throat.
Umire smiled, handing Lena her phone back. "Okay, we're all set. You're—" She stopped mid-sentence, her expression shifting as her eyes searched Lena's face. "Hey. Are you okay?"
Lena flinched, realizing too late that she hadn't been hiding it well. Her thoughts must have been painted across her face.
"I…" Her voice was barely above a whisper. "That photo…"
She turned, almost robotically, pointing toward the nightstand. "The one on the table."
Umire's eyes followed her gesture.
For a moment, she said nothing.
Then her smile slipped—not completely, but just enough for the temperature of the room to drop.
Umire followed the direction of Lena's pointing finger, and the moment her gaze landed on the picture frame, something subtle—and chilling—shifted in her expression.
A slow, quiet sigh slipped from her lips, so faint it could've been mistaken for breath. All the brightness in her voice dimmed like a candle snuffed by unseen wind.
"Yeah?" she muttered, not turning her head. Her eyes stayed on the frame. In the photo. On something past it.
Lena swallowed hard.
Despite sitting so close that their knees nearly touched, she suddenly felt like they were miles apart. Like some unseen wall had slid between them, silent and cold. Like Umire was being pulled into a space Lena wasn't allowed to follow.
Lena opened her mouth, tried to ask, tried to find the right words to ease the tension tightening around them like a noose—but they withered before reaching her tongue.
"Never mind," she murmured, voice small. "Nothing. What… what was the game again?"
She forced a smile—wobbly and too thin—but Umire didn't return it. She didn't say anything for a moment. The silence lingered, stretched, thickening the air between them. Lena shifted slightly on the bed, trying not to fidget.
And then—
"It's a 'family' photo," Umire said at last, her voice cool and even.
She raised her fingers in the air as she said the word family, making sharp, sarcastic quotation marks.
Lena didn't move.
"Oh," she said, unsure if she should respond at all.
"That's me," Umire added a second later, her tone clipped.
Her voice was too casual. Too clean. Like she'd practiced this response in front of a mirror and smoothed all the emotion out of it. But it didn't work. The emptiness underneath still seeped through—slight, but sharp.
Lena turned to look at the photo again, her heart beating too fast. She hesitated, then asked quietly, "Then… the other girl…"
"If you're going to ask—yes," Umire said before Lena could finish. "That's Yuna."
She didn't even glance over.
A louder sigh escaped her this time, but it wasn't tired—it was something darker. Bitterness in the shape of a breath.
"We're 'sisters'," Umire said again, mocking the word. Her lips curled in a near-smile, but it was hollow and sharp at the edges.
Lena stared at her, unsure of what to say. The word sisters sounded like it hurt to say.
The silence that followed felt strange. Not heavy, but suspended. Like the moment hadn't landed yet, like the air was waiting for something.
Lena looked again at the picture.
Yuna's smile—brighter than she'd expected. Genuine. But Umire…
The girl Umire, had been in that photo… she didn't smile. Not even a little. There was no expression at all. Just those eyes—deep, bottomless, void.