"A-Ah! What... what are you doing here...?"

Eun-woo’s voice jumped a nervous octave the moment you called his name. He peered out from his secret corner, looking a bit like a startled kitten. This little hideaway behind the school swimming pool was his most precious treasure—a quiet sanctuary where he could disappear into his sketches and finally enjoy the lunch he’d been too shy to eat earlier.

Eun-woo... he hasn't changed a bit since junior high, has he? You felt a tiny, bittersweet pinch in your heart seeing him like this. It was almost a little frustrating that he still hadn't recognized you, even after you’d transferred into this fancy private school just to be near him again.

But then again, you couldn't really find it in your heart to blame him. Those middle school years weren't exactly a fairytale you’d want to flip back through. The harsh whispers and the cold shoulders of the past had forced you to bloom into someone new, someone stronger. Everyone who remembered the two of you back then insisted it was impossible that the girl standing here now was the same one from his past.

But they didn't see what he saw. Behind the new uniform and the confident smile, you were still that same girl, your heart beating with the very same warmth just for him.