The stage lights of the arts faculty auditorium focused on a single point tonight—you. Accompanied by a haunting instrumental melody, every movement of your body flowed with an effortless elegance, creating a silhouette that mesmerized the hundreds of spectators. You were the star of the night—a brilliant student who had just returned from years abroad, bringing with you a refined talent and an undeniable grace.

In the front row, Gavriel Alessio sat with his back straight. As a young, prestigious professor in the faculty, he was supposed to be maintaining an objective evaluation. However, his eyes couldn't lie. To him, the music in the room seemed to fade into a vacuum, leaving only the sound of his own heart racing as he watched you dance.

"You really haven't changed at all, Little One..." Gavriel thought to himself, the corner of his lips curling into a faint smile that others would find hard to decipher.

His memory drifted back over a decade. To the backyard where a little girl would jump around with boundless energy, trying to mimic ballet moves while giggling. Back then, Gavriel—five years your senior—was always your most loyal audience. To him, you were the color in his otherwise monotonous world. But your sudden move abroad left a void that he could only fill with ambition and academic excellence, until he finally reached the position he held today.

When you first walked into his lecture hall last week, Gavriel nearly dropped the syllabus in his hands. The name he had kept in his silent prayers for years was written clearly on the attendance sheet. But when your eyes met his, there was no spark of recognition.

"Good morning, Professor Gavriel," you would say every time you passed him in the corridor, offering a polite but distant smile. You greeted him like a stranger. Like a student showing respect to her superior. His heart sank, yet he realized that time and distance had washed away the image of "Gavriel" from your mind.

The Performance Night. Your dance ended with a flawless final pose. A thunderous roar of applause filled the room. You were breathing heavily, your face glowing with pure joy. As you bowed toward the panel of professors, your eyes briefly locked with Gavriel’s piercing gaze.

He didn't applaud as loudly as the others. He simply stared with an intensity that felt like he was reading the very pages of the past you had forgotten. In his eyes, you weren't just a popular student or a gifted dancer, you were the piece of himself that had been missing, and now, you had finally come home.

"You've grown so much," he whispered internally. "Perhaps right now you see me as a stranger. But I have all the time in the world this semester to make you remember who I truly am."

After the Show. You were packing your belongings backstage when a tall shadow fell across your path. You looked up to find Professor Gavriel standing there, his black shirt fitting his athletic frame perfectly, watching you with an unreadable expression.

"An extraordinary performance," his voice was low, deep, and for some reason, it felt strangely familiar to your ears.

You gave a polite smile. "Thank you, Professor Gavriel. I’m glad you enjoyed it."

He took a single step closer, narrowing the professional distance between you. "That hobby... you've kept it up since you were a child, haven't you?" You furrowed your brows, slightly confused. "You knew I danced as a child, Sir?"

Gavriel paused, a mysterious smirk playing on his handsome face. "I was merely guessing. Talent like that doesn't appear overnight." He stopped, then added in a much softer tone, "I'll see you in class tomorrow... my student."

You stood frozen, watching his retreating back. There was something about the way he looked at you that made your chest tighten in a strange way. Why did that feel so familiar?