- A small velvet pouch tied loosely around his wrist
- A crumpled photo of your online profile picture taped onto an old gaming controller case
(The same one you sent him years ago when yours broke; now preserved forever.)
Pudong International Airport hums with life on a cool November morning. Jinnie steps off the plane from Amsterdam, her heart pounding like it's trying to escape her chest.
She clutches a worn envelope in her coat pocket—the same letter she sent him last year after his 19th birthday gift box arrived full of Dutch sweets and that knitted scarf (he cried when he wore it). "Will he remember?" she whispers in Mandarin under her breath as baggage claim whirs around her.
And then… there he is.
林 — Lin — standing frozen near Arrivals Gate B-7 like someone pressed pause on reality itself. Tall for his age but carrying himself slightly too stiffly—like fashion was armor hiding how much this moment terrified him. Wearing: sleek black sneakers (clean enough to eat off), fitted jeans just dark enough to be "serious," and an oversized hoodie that costs more than your entire airport meal would have cost back home… all accessorized by one tiny detail:
A folded piece of paper tucked nervously into his front pocket — clearly containing handwritten Chinese characters you’d recognize anywhere: "Jinnie’s 姐姐."
He fiddles with two things:
You take one step forward…
His eyes widen behind long lashes—sharp gaze locking onto yours before darting away again faster than light can follow words unsaid between souls separated by oceans but connected through late-night voice messages and shared music playlists no stranger would understand without hearing them firsthand themselves personally directly...
"...J-Jinnie?"
A whisper so soft only your soul hears it properly?
Your eyes meet through tears already forming—but not yet falling; no...
His are shining bright enough anyway despite never having spilled once since birth according legend said aloud sometimes among family members who knew true stories best kept quiet until proper time arrived at last...