Chapter 16

Nearly a week had passed since Elena and Alexander's first meeting.

Although they hadn't spoken much, seeing him had become part of the little details of her days.

One morning, Elena was leaving through the university gates with her bag in hand when she heard a voice behind her.

"!Elena"

She turned around.

Alexander was approaching her.

"I've been looking for you."

She raised an eyebrow.

"?Why"

He pointed to the book she was carrying.

"Isn't that the economics textbook?"

She looked at it.

"Yes."

"I have an exam next week."

And you're in your fourth year, yet you need my" help?"

He laughed.

"I didn't say that."

"Then what do you want?"

"I wanted to know if you were going to the library."

"I was planning to."

"Excellent."

He then fell into step beside her.

She looked at him in surprise.

"Where are you going?"

"The library."

"And who said I agreed to let you come with me?"

He stopped.

"You didn't agree?"

"Exactly."

He smiled.

"Then I'll just consider myself to be walking in the same direction by coincidence."

She laughed despite herself.

"You're annoying."

"I've heard that before."

They walked together.

It was the first time they had chosen to spend time together without a coincidence bringing them together.

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After their studies, they left the library.

The sun had begun to set, and the air was slightly chilly.

Alexander asked, "Are you hungry?"

"A little."

He pointed toward a nearby café.

"There's a good place over there."

She went in with him.

They sat at a small table near the window.

Elena ordered a juice, while Alexander ordered coffee.

She glanced at the cup in front of him.

"You drink coffee a lot."

"And you notice a lot of things."

"Because you drink it every time I see you."

"Then you must pay a lot of attention to me."

She froze for a moment, and her cheeks turned red. Then she quickly replied, "I just notice things."

He laughed mischievously.

"Of course."

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A few days later, they ran into each other outside the university.

Elena was in a bookstore when she reached for a particular novel.

At the same moment, another hand reached for the very same book.

She turned around.

Alexander.

They looked at each other.

Then, at the exact same time, they both said, "You?"

They burst out laughing.

Elena withdrew her hand.

"Take it."

"No, you saw it first."

"But your hand got there first."

"Then we'll share it."

She looked at him.

"How do you share a book?"

"I'll read it first, then give it to you."

"And after that?"

"Then you can tell me whether it deserves all the fuss."

She smiled.

"Deal."

He picked up the book.

Then he added, "But I have one condition."

"What is it?"

"That we meet when I've finished reading it."

She looked at him for a moment.

"To talk about the book?"

"Exactly."

She nodded gently and said, "All right, then. It's a deal."

She didn't know whether the book had truly been the reason she'd agreed, or whether it was her heart, which had begun beating faster every time she saw him.

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On the day they had agreed to meet, it suddenly began to rain.

Elena left the university, trying to protect her books with her scarf.

Then she saw Alexander standing by the gate.

He was holding an umbrella.

When he spotted her, he walked toward her.

"I knew you'd be coming out now."

"How did you know?"

"Because your lecture ends at this time."

She looked at him.

"You remember my schedule?"

He paused for a moment.

"Coincidence."

She laughed.

"I'm starting to hate that word."

He opened the umbrella.

"Come on."

She walked beside him.

The umbrella was small, leaving little space between them.

But neither spoke for a few moments.

Then Elena asked, "Have you finished the book?"

"Yes."

"What did you think of it?"

"I didn't like it."

She stopped.

"What?!"

He laughed.

"I'm kidding."

She lightly hit his shoulder with the book.

"You're really annoying."

"But you're still walking with me."

She fell silent, then replied sarcastically, "Because the rain is heavy."

He smiled faintly.

"Of course."

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As the days passed, Alexander's presence in her life no longer felt unusual.

Sometimes they met at the university.

Sometimes at the library.

And sometimes at the café.

On certain days, one of them would suggest a new place simply because they wanted to spend more time with the other.

But it was nothing more than friendship.

Time spent together.

Long conversations.

Little laughs.

And secrets they gradually began sharing with each other.

One day, they were sitting in the garden after their lectures had ended.

Elena said, "I feel like I've known you much longer than I actually have."

Alexander looked at her.

"I feel the opposite."

"How so?"

"I feel that the more I get to know you... the more I realize how little I know about you."

She smiled.

"Does that bother you?"

He shook his head.

"No."

Then he looked at her for a moment.

"It makes me want to know more."

Her cheeks flushed slightly. She didn't know why, but his words made her feel shy.

Elena lowered her eyes and didn't answer, but her small smile was enough.

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That night, Alexander returned home.

He sat in his room and placed his phone on the table.

A message from Elena appeared on the screen.

"I'm home."

He stared at it for a while.

Then he typed:

"Good."

He paused. He didn't send it. Instead, he deleted the word and typed:

"Good night."

Then he sent it.

He set the phone aside.

A few seconds later, he picked it up again.

She had replied:

"Good night to you, too."

He smiled.

This time, he didn't try to deny what was beginning to happen inside him.

He didn't know when things had changed.

Nor could he pinpoint the exact moment Elena had become important to him.

But he knew one thing.

He was no longer waiting for chance encounters with her.

He was now looking for opportunities to see her.

Somewhere else in the city...

Elena was turning off her phone, smiling without knowing that Alexander was doing exactly the same.

Their story had already begun.

But neither of them... had any idea where the days would lead them.