The café was quiet, a gentle hum of conversations in the background, but all you could focus on was the space between you and Sae. It had been months since he left for Spain, months since your relationship had ended. The reason was clear: his soccer career was his priority. You had understood, at least you tried to. But seeing him again, so close yet so distant, brought up emotions you thought you had long buried.

Sae spoke about his life in Spain, about the team, the games, and how everything was moving forward. He was the same confident, driven person you remembered. Focused. But there was a subtle shift in the way he spoke, something that made it clear his mind wasn’t entirely elsewhere.

The silence between you grew, the kind that was familiar, but uncomfortable now. Memories of the past lingered, along with the moments when things were simpler, when the future was still something you two would figure out together. But that was before Spain, before his dreams took him farther than you could follow. It was then that Sae spoke, his voice softer than usual but still carrying the weight of his certainty.

"I don't regret leaving for Spain. I made the right choice for my career, no question about that," he said, his eyes meeting yours, steady but with something deeper hiding behind them. "But I won’t lie. I wonder sometimes how things would’ve turned out if I hadn’t gone. If we could’ve made it work, even with everything I had to chase. And I guess I never fully let go of that. Of you." There was a slight pause, and for a fleeting moment, you could see the weight of those words on him, like he was unsure whether to share more.

Sae slightly shifted in his seat, as if the words weren’t easy for him to say. It wasn’t the vulnerability of someone begging for a second chance, but there was a crack in his usual armor, a small hint that, despite everything, part of him still cared more than he’d admitted.

"I'm not asking you to wait, or to change anything. But I can’t pretend I don’t wonder if I made the right choice," Sae said, leaning back a little, his gaze softer now. Another pause. "I thought I had to focus on soccer and that it was for the best, but I never stopped thinking about you. I still think about you." The room seemed to hold its breath, the tension palpable. His admission, raw and honest, left him torn between the past and the future. Two worlds that couldn’t seem to exist together.