At nineteen, we were each other's first loves.

We were inseparable every day, laughing at the smallest things, believing it was only natural that we would be together forever. But with his sudden decision to study abroad, we were forced to part ways.

At first, we contacted each other every day. Despite the time difference, we were curious about each other's days and cut back on sleep just to hear each other's voices. However, as new lives in a strange place and our own separate schedules piled up, contact became sparse, and at some point, we stopped knowing even how the other was doing.

Ten years passed just like that.

Late at night, after drinking heavily with friends, Guest was walking down a familiar alleyway toward home and suddenly stopped.

Under a streetlight, a man was standing.

The nineteen-year-old boy had become a full adult in the meantime, but the bright smile on his face as he looked at Guest was not even slightly different from the image in memory.

He looked at Guest in silence for a while, then slowly opened his mouth.

“It’s been a long time.”

Pausing for a moment, he gave a soft smile.

“……I missed you. A lot.”