Chapter 2

After my family dragged me back home, my mind would often drift back to that evening.

I had sat sideways on the back of Julian's motorcycle, clutching the jacket he'd handed me. I had watched the wind puff up his faded, white T-shirt.

The heart worked in strange ways when we were young. Someone like Julian had simply never existed in my world before. So, I fell for him effortlessly in this chance encounter.

Julian used to work as a sparring partner at a local boxing gym. Taking advantage of my age and the fact that I was a girl, I pestered him relentlessly to be my local guide. Julian frowned and said that that was inappropriate.

One day, I was at the gym's back exit, waiting for Julian to get off work. Suddenly, a heavy downpour left me soaking from head to toe.

He walked out with an umbrella and chuckled helplessly when he saw me standing there, pouting and utterly miserable.

Over the months that followed, Julian took me through countless alleys on that motorcycle.

He brought me to try the pudding he had been eating since he was a child. We sat on river embankments, watching the ships crawl slowly past.

Once, I insisted on hiking up an unmaintained trail. He grumbled the whole time about what a nuisance I was, yet he gripped my hand firmly as we made our way over the steep slopes. My ears were burning as our hands touched.

Those days and nights together made me naively believe that Julian and I were only a single confession away from forever.

I even planned it out. I would stand on my tiptoes and kiss his tightly pressed lips under a starlit night.

Suddenly, my family's bodyguards appeared before me. I was screaming and sobbing as they forced me into the car.

Behind them, Julian lay pinned to the pavement. His body was covered in wounds from the struggle.

Before they drove me away, he managed to break free and lunge toward the car. His bloodied palm slammed against the glass, and his stubborn eyes were locked onto mine.

I watched his lips move, and his message was unmistakable. "Wait for me."

I couldn't stop crying and nodding inside the car.

After I returned home, I waged a war with my parents. However, I later saw Julian with another woman.

A year passed before I saw him again. I had traveled for days. I was exhausted and disheveled. I took three different buses to reach the new boxing gym he had opened.

My eyes stung before I even saw him. I had so much to tell him. I wanted to ask why he never came for me and to finally confess the feelings I hadn't been able to say aloud back then.

When I pushed the door open, I saw Julian bent over. He was carefully lacing up a pair of boxing gloves for a woman with a ponytail.

The woman, Carrie Wright, giggled and pinched Julian's cheeks playfully. He didn't pull away; instead, he knocked her head affectionately.

"That girl has been living here for a month. Julian is so devoted to her. All the students here have started jokingly calling her 'Mrs. Sutherland,'" a cleaner told me.

I stood frozen. The speech I had rehearsed throughout my entire journey was caught in my throat.

Back when I was the one pestering Julian, his students used to tease us the exact same way.

My face used to flush as I stole glances at Julian. I nudged his shoulders and asked what he thought about that.

He looked at me in exasperation and muttered that the students were just attention-seeking. The more I indulged them, the worse they'd get.

Yet, for all his talk, the next time someone dared to call me "Mrs. Sutherland", he would drag them up into the ring for a sparring session.

Carrie noticed me and asked, "Can I help you, miss?"

Julian turned and saw me. The smile that was still lingering on his face froze as he said stiffly, "Ms. Brown."

It had been a year since we last met. Everything between us felt strange and awkward.

I wanted to ask why he had told me to wait when he never showed up. I wanted to know who Carrie was.

Finally, all that came out was, "Have your injuries recovered?"

Julian looked away and said coldly, "They recovered a long time ago."

The tension was palpable. The clock in the gym ticked steadily.

After a long pause, I asked gently, "I suddenly have a craving for that pudding from the alley."

Julian stiffened. "I'll get some. Wait here," he said instinctively.

A strong sense of familiarity coursed through me as I watched his retreating back. It was as though we were back in those autumn months when he used to indulge my every whim.

"Hey! How do you know Julian?" I didn't know when Carrie approached me, but she seemed annoyed at my lack of response.

Then, she jammed her elbow hard into my waist and hissed, "Hey! What's with that attitude? I'm talking to you!"

I winced in pain and shoved her forcefully.

Just then, the door swung open.

"I forgot my key—" Then, Julian raised his voice and continued, "What the hell are you doing?"

He dashed across the room, shielded Carrie behind his back, and looked at me defensively.