Chapter 4
613 Words
By the time Mira got back to the apartment, her body was running on fumes. Her feet ached, her head throbbed, and her backpack felt heavier than it did that morning.
She unlocked the door and stepped inside, quietly closing it behind her.
Warm air wrapped around her immediately. The faint smell of something savory lingered in the kitchen. Someone had cooked. Not her.
She slipped off her shoes and dropped her bag by the wall, pulling her hoodie tighter around her. All she wanted was a hot shower and maybe sleep without dreams.
She was halfway down the hall when she saw him.
Kairo.
He was in the kitchen, sleeves rolled up, black tee clinging to his chest, wiping down the counter with one hand and holding chopsticks in the other.
He looked up when he heard her.
“Hey,” he said, voice smooth and calm. “You look like the city ran over you.”
She blinked. “I think it did.”
He gave a small, amused nod. “First day?”
“Yeah.”
He opened the microwave, pulled out a covered bowl, and placed it on the counter.
“There’s leftover fried rice. Made too much.”
She paused. “Are you offering?”
“I’m not throwing it out.”
She hesitated for a few seconds, then walked over and grabbed a fork from the drawer.
They didn’t talk much while she ate.
He leaned on the counter across from her, scrolling through his phone, earbuds in but music low enough that she could hear the quiet bass thumping. She chewed slowly, unsure what to say.
“You always this quiet?” he asked suddenly.
Mira shrugged. “Just don’t talk much when I’m tired.”
He nodded. “Makes sense. Some people force it. You don’t.”
That felt… like a compliment? Maybe.
She kept eating.
She noticed a black duffel bag by the door. Full. Heavy-looking. Like it hadn’t been there this morning.
“Are you traveling again?” she asked, before she could stop herself.
His eyes lifted slightly. “Yeah. Tomorrow night. Just a quick one.”
No explanation. No details. Just a quick one.
She didn’t ask where. He didn’t offer it either.
“I met Professor Langstone today,” she said after a pause. “He… seems like he remembers everyone.”
Kairo smirked. “Langstone remembers people he thinks are useful.”
“Useful?”
“Yeah.” He tapped his phone. “You’ll see.”
The silence between them wasn’t awkward. Just… thick. Like two people standing in different corners of a story but breathing the same air.
Then he asked, “You miss home?”
Mira froze, her fork halfway to her mouth.
She didn’t look up. “Not really.”
He didn’t press. Just nodded, like he understood what not saying something meant.
A few more minutes passed. She finished her food and rinsed her plate quietly. When she turned to leave, he spoke again.
“I don’t mind quiet people,” he said. “They usually hear more than the rest.”
Mira looked at him then.
There was something in his eyes a calm stillness, but also a kind of… warning. Not harsh. Not threatening. Just there.
She didn’t say anything.
She went to her room and closed the door softly.
And even though she lay in bed that night with her eyes closed, sleep didn’t come easy. Not because she was scared. Not because she was homesick.
But because for the first time in a long time, someone had looked at her like they saw something under the surface.
And hadn’t looked away.
- Writer
