The car ride back to town was quieter than it should have been. The soft buzz of tires against asphalt filled the silence, broken only by the occasional rustle of wind against the glass. Kaein sat beside Lior, watching him out of the corner of his eye. The easy smiles and playful remarks from their days at the resort had disappeared; his friend's face was unreadable now, his eyes sharp and distant as though he were staring into a past only he could see.
"Lior," Kaein began gently, "you don't have to force yourself."
Lior didn't turn to him. His reflection in the window looked colder than the real thing. "I'm not forcing myself," he murmured. "I just don't want to be here." His hand curled into a fist on his lap. "If you weren't here, I wouldn't step foot in this town again."
Lior's lips curved into a strained smile. "You know. Since you're near, I… I guess I can face it."
Kaein felt the weight in those words. He let them sit for a while, because he knew pushing too quickly would only make Lior close up. The words weren't strong, but the sincerity in them struck Kaein. For years, Lior had carried this silence, and now he was trusting him enough to open the wound.
The car slowed as they reached the familiar stretch of road leading to the neighborhoods they both once knew.
Lior's breath hitched as the scenery shifted—the fields, the same narrow alleys, the distant silhouettes of old houses. To anyone else, it might look like nostalgia. To him, it felt like suffocation.
When they pulled into the familiar lane, Lior's breaths turned shallow. The gates of his family home loomed, neat and painted, as if mocking how easily the house had moved on without him. Ten years ago, he had left with nothing—no money, no blessing, no love. Just the bitter words of his parents telling him to get lost.
---
But first, they reached Kaein's house . It stood warm and welcoming, with small lanterns lit along the gate. As soon as they stepped inside, Kaein's mother greeted them with a bright smile.
"Lior! Oh, it's been so long. You've grown taller—and thinner! Sit, sit. You boys must be tired."
The tenderness in her tone made Lior's throat tighten. He bowed quickly, hiding the sting in his eyes. "It's been a while, Auntie."
Kaein's father joined them, clapping Lior on the shoulder with a booming laugh. "Where have you been hiding, boy? We thought you'd forgotten us."
"I… was away," Lior murmured, forcing a smile. The warmth in this house was suffocating and soothing all at once—it was everything he had wanted from his own family but never received.
Her kindness wrapped around him like a blanket he didn't deserve. Lior smiled faintly, but it didn't reach his eyes. He accepted the tea she placed before him, his fingers trembling slightly against the porcelain cup.
Kaein noticed and gently touched his knee under the table. A wordless reminder: you're safe here.
They all sat in the living room, tea steaming on the table. Kaein's mother fussed over Lior, offering him snacks, asking questions about his work and travels. Each gesture dug deeper into his chest, because it reminded him how foreign it was to be treated like he belonged.
Kaein noticed. He stood abruptly and tugged Lior's sleeve. "Come on, let's go upstairs."
---
He led Lior to his old room, a space unchanged by time. The walls were lined with bookshelves, the desk neat, and on the shelf were framed photos—Kaein in school uniform, Kaein with friends, even one of both of them when they were kids.
"You kept this?" Lior asked softly, picking up the photo. His younger self grinned shyly at the camera, his arm slung around Kaein.
"Of course," Kaein replied. "I never thought of erasing you, even when you disappeared. I thought maybe one day you'd walk back into this room."
The words broke something inside Lior. His hand trembled as he set the frame back down. "But I… I wasn't strong enough back then. They told me to leave, Kaein. My parents… they said I was a burden. They favored Eryx in everything. He was the golden child, the obedient son. I was nothing. When they said to get lost, I did. I left without looking back."
His voice cracked. He pressed a hand over his mouth, trying to stifle the sobs that threatened to escape.
Kaein stepped closer, firm but gentle, gripping his shoulders. "Lior. Listen to me. If they can't see your worth, that's their blindness, not your fault. You're not nothing. Not to me. Never to me."
Lior's eyes glistened as he looked up. "What if they still hate me? What if I walk in and nothing's changed?"
"Then walk out," Kaein said with quiet certainty. "Walk out and come home with me. My family loves you like their own. And I—" he paused, swallowing the words before they spilled too far. "I'll always be here. So if it goes wrong, come straight to me."
Lior's heart squeezed, hearing those words. A vow unspoken, a promise wrapped in pain, but a step closer to something deeper than either dared to name.
---
That evening, when the house had quieted and the night breeze slipped through the half-open window, Lior finally let his walls fall.
He sat at the edge of Kaein's bed, shoulders hunched forward, staring at the floor as if his words were carved into it.
"They never wanted me, Kaein." His voice cracked low, almost fragile. "Not once. Everything I did—every damn thing—I tried so hard, but it was never enough. Not when Eryx was there."
The name left his lips like venom, though the bitterness wasn't for his brother, but for the way their parents had split their love unevenly.
"Eryx was their pride. He was the only one in their eyes. Why? Did I tell them I wanted to be born in this world? If they gave birth to me, why won't they take responsibility? Was I a mistake? I tried so hard to please them and become a topper in all classes from the age of 5, yet do you know what I heard? That since my birth, my father never wanted me.",crying and breaking down Lior exploded, his real thoughts to Kaein.
His hands shook as he pressed his palms into his eyes,sniffing,he continued,"They told me to get lost. Do you know what that does to a kid? Hearing your own parents say they won't support you—that you're better off gone?"
"Haa, I don't know how they will react knowing I am doing well now."
Kaein's chest tightened. He had imagined Lior's pain over the years, but hearing it like this was different—raw, unfiltered.
"I went abroad with nothing," Lior continued, his voice growing harsher with each word. "No money, no help, no family. I starved some days, worked myself half to death on others. Do you know how many nights I wondered if they were even thinking of me? If maybe one letter, one call, would come? Nothing. Not a word."
The silence after his outpour felt heavier than the words themselves.
Kaein moved closer, carefully, until their shoulders brushed. His voice was steady, even as his heart ached. "Lior… listen to me. If they can't see you for who you are—if they can't love you the way you deserve—then to hell with them. You don't need their approval to exist. You don't need their love to be whole."
Lior gave a broken laugh. "Easy for you to say. You had a family that cared. I—" His throat tightened. For the first time, his eyes glistened with tears he could no longer suppress. "I was just… disposable. I have never been wanted by anyone in this world.You were the only exception, Kaein both in the present, past and future. So one day, will you also be like them leaving me alone?"
Kaein reached out, placing a hand over Lior's trembling fist. "Not to me. I can never leave you. You are my only choice."
The silence between them shifted. It was no longer suffocating, but tender, fragile as glass.
"You always have a home here," Kaein said softly, his eyes locked onto Lior's. "If they don't want you, then come here. Stay here. My family will take you in as their own. And me…" His words trailed off, but the weight of them lingered. And me—I'll be your home, even if no one else is.
Lior's breath caught. His heart thudded painfully in his chest at the sincerity in Kaein's tone. For a long time, he couldn't speak. Then finally, he whispered, "If I go to them and their attitude hasn't changed… then I'll come to you. So wait for me."
Kaein's lips parted in quiet shock. The words were simple, but in them was a promise—an unspoken thread tying them together.
"I'll wait," Kaein answered firmly. "No matter how long it takes."
Lior turned his head, meeting his eyes. For once, the icy walls around him cracked just enough to let something raw and human shine through. Gratitude. Fear. Hope.
"Then I'll go," he whispered, almost to himself. "I'll face them. But if they treat me the same way again…" His grip tightened around Kaein's hand. "I won't endure it anymore. I'll choose my own home. With you."
The words hung in the air like an oath.
And as the night deepened, Kaein didn't let go.