Felix finally broke the suffocating silence in the vehicle.
"You're very quiet today."
Once dressed, Hiro gave a small, hollow laugh.
"What would you like me to say? Oh, I forgot. Hearing your name during sex is your favourite thing." His tone was laced with mockery. Usually, he would try his best not to offend him. However, tonight, he was in no mood to be a people pleaser.
Felix didn't answer. Maybe he didn't hear. Maybe he just didn't care. But his eyes were once again stuck on the screen of his phone.
Hiro stood. He hesitated in front of the door—then looked back once, as if the version of Felix, the caring man he loved might still be there, lying somewhere in that silence.
But the van was already colder than any winter he had seen.
He stepped out and let the door shut softly behind him. Not slamming it. Not making a scene.
Just… disappearing quietly.
Outside, the night smelled like earth. The clouds towered over the tall city buildings. Yet, it felt as if something was about to break.
Maybe it already had.
Once again, rain began pouring. But this time, no umbrella shielded him from it. For a moment, Izack's face flashed before his eyes, and a gasp escaped him.
Why am I even thinking about that guy?
He shook his head, walking away from the van with as quick steps as his body allowed.
Running away.
From everything.
That's what he did best, after all. But he hadn't gone far before he saw a silhouette before him.
Just past the flickering tall street lamp of the side entrance, a figure stood still under the rain, like the downpour had nothing to do with him.
Izack leaned against the wall of the building, arms crossed loosely, soaked but unbothered. As if he were a statue. As if time moved for others but not him. The streets were empty, no one in sight unlike when it began pouring and everyone had rushed to find shelter.
Hiro stopped, unable to turn a blind eye to the sight.
For a moment, neither of them spoke although they both felt each other's presence.
"…You're still here?" His voice came out lower than he expected, cutting through the soft rhythm of the pouring.
Izack's gaze flickered up, the strands of his damped hair stuck to his forehead but he didn't move from his position.
"Yeah," he replied, and the simplicity of his reply made Hiro's stomach twist.
A soft and simple answer.
"How come?"
"My manager had an emergency so he had to leave urgently. I was going to go home but… I forgot I'm living with my manager and he won't be home this whole weekend."
Hiro blinked at him, perplexed by his words. What was he even supposed to reply?
"I don't know the passcode of his apartment and my phone is dead so I can't call for a cab," he added as if his explanation from earlier lacked information.
Still quiet, Hiro raised an eyebrow. His expression clearly stated: What does it have to do with me?
"He took my car," Izack added, as if that explained it. "And going to a hotel now… I'm sure they are all full."
"You—" Hiro exhaled, annoyed. "You seriously waited here all this time? And what are you waiting for? You're one of our main actors. We can't have you catch a cold."
Izack tilted his head.
"Where else would I go? I thought someone from work would see and…" he paused, lowering his gaze.
There it was again. That lack of armour. A transparency that Hiro never knew would exist in this field filled with people of countless facades.
It made him want to both reach for him and run in the opposite direction. He seemed to be everything Hiro wasn't—honest. Each time he tried to speak the truth, the words caught in his throat like a fishbone. His pride wouldn't allow any honesty.
He looked away.
"You could've called someone."
"Uhm…" Izack choked, trying not to laugh. He had clearly stated his phone ran out of battery. But for him, he repeated.
"My phone is dead. And soaked," he pulled out the device from his pocket, drenched.
It would be almost impossible to type properly in this pouring rain. Let alone with a phone that wasn't waterproof.
"You're freezing," Hiro narrowed his eyes.
"I know," Izack chuckled, shaking his head. Water drops fell from his curly hair like shiny pearls.
Silence once again hung between them.
Hiro swallowed hard. He didn't understand this man. This actor was so quiet yet his presence shook him up—not in a strong way like Felix but in a gentle manner. But worse than that—Izack seemed to know him a little too well although they had never met before.
His fingers trembled slightly, water sliding down his skin like sweat.
Maybe the rain could be blamed.
Maybe not.
He wasn't thinking. Or maybe thinking too much. He didn't know the difference anymore. He was exhausted from what had happened with Felix earlier.
"…You can come to my apartment," he said suddenly, the words slipping from his mouth before he could stop them.
Izack's brow lifted.
"Your place?" His eyes twinkled as if he had been waiting for this offer.
"Yeah." Hiro breathed. He couldn't meet Izack' gaze. "Just for tonight. It's late. You'll catch a bad cold if you stay here any longer."
Then, there was a pause.
A long one.
Izack smiled, not out of happiness, not out of triumph. Just… something soft and inexplicable. The kind of smile one would give when something they had been waiting for finally tilts ever so slightly toward them.
"…Okay!" Izack exclaimed.
And just like that, he walked toward him with not slow or quiet steps—just simple steady ones.
Hiro turned away before their eyes could meet again. He didn't want Izack to see the flicker of anything such as the emptiness in his eyes.
He told himself it was nothing. Just kindness. Just decency. Just a roof for the night.
But the moment Izack's footsteps fell into rhythm behind him, he knew.
He knew it wasn't just anything.
And that terrified him more than anything else. He was never kind to anyone without a reason.
So… Why?
Why was he being kind to this person he had barely met?
It's been hardly a few weeks—or months. I don't even know.
Was he so upset with Felix tonight that he turned to doing charity work?
Before he realized, he had already stood at the entrance of his apartment. He couldn't recall how he drove back home but there he was, staring at the digital lock door. What was certain was that he didn't exchange a word with Izack through the entire drive.
"Uhm… If you don't want to then—"
Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.