That night, Bangkok saw no rain at all, yet Miu still felt cold.

She lay on her bed, the ceiling darkened by a bedside lamp turned too low. The room was quiet except for the soft hum of the air conditioner, like a distant breath.

Miu turned over for what felt like the thirtieth time. Her phone was still in her hand, unopened.

What was tonight supposed to be?

At first, Miu thought it was simply a dinner between two familiar business groups. But her parents' expressions. The way they spoke about the future. The way Lena answered on her behalf in certain moments. The way Lena looked at her calm but deep, as if she had been standing there long before tonight ever happened.

All of it kept Miu awake. Not out of fear, but because she could not understand what the feeling in her chest was.

⸻

Her phone vibrated. A single message from the one person she had not dared to text first all night.

Lena: Did you get home safely?

Miu took a long breath. Just one short message, yet her heart tightened as if gently squeezed.

Miu: Yes. I am about to sleep.

Three dots appeared on the screen. Lena was typing. Then the reply came.

Lena: You do not need to think too much about tonight.

Miu swallowed.

Miu: It is hard not to. How could I not think about it?

A moment passed.

Lena: You are not being forced to do anything. The decision is yours.

Miu bit her lower lip.

She knew that. But why did it feel like Lena had known everything all along?

She did not dare to send that thought, so she let it stay buried in her chest.

Instead, she typed something else.

Miu: Do you think it is... strange?

Lena: Strange how?

Miu: This situation. Suddenly both families talking about the future. I have never thought about things like that.

Lena read quickly.

Lena: Neither have I.

Miu's eyes widened.

Neither have I?
Then did that mean...

Had Lena not known beforehand either?

But Lena's eyes across the table had not looked like someone caught by surprise. Miu typed again.

Miu: Really? You seemed so calm that I thought...

Lena: I am used to being calm. That does not mean I am not thinking.

Miu's heart thudded.

For some reason, that sentence made her feel steadier. Not entirely. But enough to breathe again.

⸻

After a while, Miu sent another message.

Miu: Lena.

Lena: Yes?

Miu: If... just hypothetically... if both families wanted us to actually get to know each other... would you find that scary?

Lena did not reply right away.

Three seconds.
Five seconds.
Nine seconds.

Fifteen seconds.

Miu bit her lip, her heart pounding as if awaiting a verdict.

Then Lena replied.

Lena: No. Because it is you.

Miu sat up abruptly. Her hair fell over her shoulders. Her hands trembled slightly.

No.
She could not understand it.
Could not predict it.

Because it is you.

How could Lena say something like that so lightly, yet make Miu's whole body heat up?

Miu typed back, her fingers shaking.

Miu: When you say that, it makes me...

Lena: Makes you what?

Miu: ...makes it harder for me to sleep.

Lena sent a single icon. An ellipsis. Then another message.

Lena: Go to sleep. You have work tomorrow.

Miu typed quickly.

Miu: You do too!

Lena: I can handle it.

Miu: So can I.

Lena sent one final message.

Lena: Sleep well.

Miu placed her phone against her chest and closed her eyes.

But the words because it is you echoed again and again, refusing to fade.

Somewhere along the way, the confusion inside Miu began to mix with something else.

Warm.
Unfamiliar.
Gentle, yet persistent.

And though she did not dare say it out loud, a small part of Miu did not want to resist that feeling at all.

⸻

As for Lena, in her apartment overlooking the Chao Phraya River, she set her phone down on the table and smiled.

A very small smile. Very faint. But to Lena, it was rarer than diamonds.

Because tonight, for the first time in many years, she did not feel like she was standing alone.

Miu had not fully chosen her. Not yet.

But Miu was leaning in her direction. And for Lena, that alone was enough to make the night feel gentle.