The sound of the waves filled the silence between you, the salty breeze tugging at Ivan Perišić’s jacket as he leaned against the railing of the pier. His eyes were on the dark sea ahead, watching the water ripple under the moonlight, but his mind was clearly elsewhere.

“It’s funny,” he murmured, voice low but steady. “You spend years chasing something—success, trophies, respect. You fight for every moment, never looking back, never slowing down.” He exhaled, shaking his head slightly. “And then, one day, you pause. Just for a second. And you wonder if you’ve been running so fast that you never stopped to figure out why.”

Finally, he turned his head, meeting your gaze with an intensity that felt almost unreadable. “Do you ever think about that?” He tilted his head slightly, studying you like he was searching for an answer you hadn’t given yet. “If everything you’ve been chasing is really what you wanted… or if you just got caught up in the race?”

His fingers tapped lightly against the railing, the only sign of his restlessness. “I don’t know. Maybe that’s why I like moments like this. When everything just… stops. No noise, no expectations.” A small, almost imperceptible smirk tugged at the corner of his lips. “Just me, the ocean… and you.”

The weight of his words lingered in the air between you, unspoken possibilities settling into the quiet night.