REN'S POV
I had the strangest dream last night.
And the worst part?
I couldn't remember all of it.
I remembered the rain.
An unfamiliar place that somehow felt like home.
A young man standing beneath a tree, looking at someone with so much sadness that my chest had actually hurt while watching him.
And a name.
Aren.
I didn't know anyone named Aren.
At least, I didn't think I did.
Yet, even after waking up, the name remained stuck in my head.
"Aren..."
I whispered it while staring at the ceiling.
Nothing happened.
Obviously.
What was supposed to happen? Was a mysterious man going to appear in my bedroom and explain why my brain had decided to produce an emotional historical drama in the middle of the night?
I rubbed my face and reached for my phone.
7:35 AM.
OH, HELL NO.
I threw my blanket aside.
I had work.
And if I arrived late again, Peach would give me another lecture about becoming a responsible adult.
As if he had suddenly become a sixty-year-old father after dating Prapai.
I hurried into the bathroom.
Ten minutes later, I was dressed, my hair was reasonably presentable, and I was halfway through eating a piece of toast while searching for my car keys.
My dream could wait.
My salary couldn't.
---
AT THE OFFICE
"You're late."
I stopped just inside the office entrance.
Slowly, I turned towards the person sitting at the reception desk.
Peach smiled sweetly.
I narrowed my eyes.
"It's 8:57."
"And your working hours start at nine."
"Exactly! I'm early."
"You're three minutes away from being late."
I stared at him.
"Sometimes I wonder how Prapai tolerates you."
Peach gasped.
"Take that back!"
"Make me."
He picked up a file and pretended to throw it at me.
I laughed and hurried towards my department before he could actually attack me with office supplies.
Working at Prapai's company had its advantages.
The salary was decent, my colleagues were friendly, and I got to see Peach almost every day.
There was only one disadvantage.
Prapai.
Not because he was a bad CEO. Quite the opposite, actually.
He was a good boss, which meant he had absolutely no excuse for the amount of work he occasionally gave us.
And then there was Kim.
Prapai's manager.
The man who appeared to have been born wearing a perfectly tailored suit and an expression of permanent disappointment.
I had met him properly only recently, but I had already decided that he was one of the strangest people I'd ever encountered.
He was rude, serious, and almost impossible to read.
And yet...
I couldn't stop thinking about him.
Not in a romantic way!
I barely knew the man.
I was simply curious.
There was a difference.
A very important difference.
I sat at my desk, switched on my computer, and opened the documents I'd been working on.
For approximately twelve minutes, I was a productive employee.
Then Peach appeared beside my desk.
"Ren."
"No."
"I haven't even said anything."
"I can see that look on your face."
"What look?"
"The look that says you're about to ruin my peaceful morning."
He pulled a chair towards my desk and sat down.
"So, how was your evening yesterday?"
I continued typing.
"Fine."
"Just fine?"
"Yes."
"Interesting."
I stopped typing.
"Why are you saying it like that?"
"Like what?"
"Like you've discovered a government secret."
Peach grinned.
"Did you enjoy spending time with Kim?"
I stared at him.
Then I slowly turned back to my computer.
"No."
"Really?"
"Really."
"Then why are your ears red?"
I immediately touched my ears.
They weren't even warm.
I turned towards him.
"YOU—"
Peach burst out laughing.
I grabbed a cushion from the nearby sofa and threw it at him.
He caught it, still laughing.
"You're so easy to tease!"
"Get out of my department!"
"Fine! But just so you know, I think you and Kim would make a cute couple."
I nearly fell out of my chair.
"WHAT?"
Several people looked in our direction.
I lowered my voice.
"Have you lost your mind?"
Peach shrugged.
"Maybe."
"He's your boyfriend's manager!"
"And?"
"And he's—he's KIM!"
Peach blinked.
"That's generally what happens when someone's name is Kim."
I picked up a pen and pointed it at him threateningly.
"Listen to me carefully. I am not dating that man."
"Nobody said you were."
"And I'm not going to!"
"Okay."
"I don't even like him!"
"Of course."
"I mean, he's arrogant, irritating, and talks like every conversation costs him money."
Peach nodded thoughtfully.
"That's true."
"Exactly!"
"But you noticed all those things about him."
I opened my mouth.
Closed it.
Opened it again.
Peach smiled triumphantly.
"Interesting."
"GET OUT!"
He laughed all the way down the corridor.
I slumped against my chair.
I hated him.
I loved him.
But mostly, I hated him.
---
KIM'S POV
"Mr. Kim, are you listening?"
I looked up from the document in front of me.
"Yes."
Prapai raised an eyebrow.
"What did I just say?"
"That the revised marketing proposal needs to be approved before Friday."
He stared at me.
I stared back.
After several seconds, he sighed.
"Fine. You were listening."
"Was there ever any doubt?"
"Yes."
I returned my attention to the documents.
Unfortunately, my concentration wasn't what it should have been.
Because through the glass walls of Prapai's office, I could see Ren.
He was sitting at his desk, frowning at his computer screen as though the spreadsheet had personally offended him.
A moment later, Peach appeared beside him.
Ren said something.
Peach laughed.
Ren threw a cushion at him.
I looked down at my paperwork.
Then, despite myself, I looked up again.
Ren was smiling now.
It was a small thing.
A perfectly ordinary moment between two friends.
And yet, I found myself watching longer than I should have.
Twenty-one years.
I had watched him grow from a baby into a young man.
I had seen his first day of school from across a street, his graduation photographs through public posts, and his life unfold from a distance.
But watching him now was different.
He was right here.
Close enough that I could hear his laughter if I stood near his desk.
Close enough that I could speak to him without inventing an excuse.
Close enough that I had to remind myself not to stare.
"Kim."
I looked at Prapai.
"What?"
He followed my gaze towards the glass wall.
Then he looked back at me.
A slow smile spread across his face.
"Oh."
I immediately knew I was in trouble.
"Don't."
"I haven't said anything."
"You don't need to."
Prapai leaned back in his chair.
"Interesting."
I closed the folder in front of me.
"If you value your continued employment as CEO, I suggest you return to work."
"You're threatening your boss?"
"I'm advising him."
"Right."
He glanced towards Ren again.
"He's cute when he laughs."
I said nothing.
"Don't you think?"
"Your opinion is irrelevant to this meeting."
Prapai laughed.
"That's not a no."
I stood up, gathered the documents, and headed towards the door.
"Where are you going?" he asked.
"To deliver these documents."
"To whom?"
I looked at him.
He looked at me.
Then his smile widened.
"Ah."
I considered throwing the folder at his head.
Instead, I left his office.
---
REN'S POV
I was beginning to suspect that the universe had a personal grudge against me.
First, Peach had spent the morning trying to convince me that Kim and I would make a cute couple.
Second, I had accidentally sent an unfinished report to my supervisor.
And third, the man himself was now walking towards my desk.
Wonderful.
Absolutely wonderful.
"Ren."
I straightened immediately.
"Mr. Kim."
He placed a folder on my desk.
"These are the revised figures for the upcoming campaign. Please check them against your department's report."
"Sure."
I reached for the folder.
Our fingers briefly brushed.
And suddenly—
Rain.
A tree.
Someone calling a name.
My hand froze.
The images vanished almost as quickly as they had appeared.
I blinked.
What was that?
For a moment, I couldn't hear the office around me.
Then Kim spoke.
"Ren?"
I looked up.
He was watching me carefully.
"Are you alright?"
"Yeah. Sorry."
I forced a small laugh.
"I think I need more coffee."
His expression remained serious.
"Have you been sleeping properly?"
I stared at him.
That was an unexpectedly personal question.
"Why?"
"You look tired."
"Oh."
I glanced towards my computer.
"I had a weird dream last night. That's all."
Something changed in his eyes.
It was so brief that I almost missed it.
"A dream?"
"Yeah. Nothing important."
I laughed awkwardly.
"Probably just my brain being weird."
Kim was silent for a moment.
Then he nodded.
"Get some rest tonight."
And just like that, he turned to leave.
I watched him walk away.
Strange.
Very strange.
Why had he looked at me like that?
And why did his voice make the strange feeling in my chest grow stronger?
I shook my head.
Nope.
I was not going to think about this.
I had work to do.
---
LATER THAT AFTERNOON
"REN!"
I nearly dropped my coffee.
Peach appeared beside my desk with the expression of someone who had just discovered the most entertaining gossip in the history of mankind.
I narrowed my eyes.
"What?"
He pulled his chair towards me.
"I have a question."
"No."
"You don't even know what I'm going to ask!"
"I know you."
He ignored me.
"Why was Kim talking to you this morning?"
I stared at him.
"He brought me some documents."
"Just documents?"
"YES, JUST DOCUMENTS!"
Peach nodded slowly.
"Interesting."
I closed my eyes.
"Please stop saying that word."
"Did he ask whether you were sleeping properly?"
My eyes snapped open.
"How do you know that?"
Peach's grin became positively evil.
"I walked past your desk."
"You were spying on me?"
"I was walking!"
"Very suspiciously!"
He laughed.
Then he leaned closer.
"Ren, I think he likes you."
I choked on absolutely nothing.
"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?"
"Nothing! I'm simply observing the situation."
"There is no situation!"
"Okay."
"He's not interested in me!"
"Okay."
"And I'm not interested in him!"
"Okay."
I glared at him.
"Stop agreeing with me!"
Peach burst out laughing.
I covered my face with both hands.
This was my life now.
My best friend had apparently decided that his new hobby was ruining my dignity.
After a few moments, I lowered my hands.
"Even if he did like me—which he doesn't—why would I like him?"
Peach tilted his head.
"Maybe because he's not as cold as he pretends to be."
I frowned.
For once, he wasn't smiling.
"You noticed it too, didn't you?" he asked.
"Noticed what?"
"That he looks at you differently."
I immediately looked away.
I had noticed.
I wasn't going to admit it, though.
Because admitting it would mean acknowledging the strange curiosity I felt whenever Kim was around.
And I had absolutely no intention of doing that.
"You're imagining things," I muttered.
Peach smiled again.
"Maybe."
He stood up and patted my shoulder.
"Anyway, if you two ever get married, I want to be the best man."
I grabbed the nearest cushion.
He ran.
I threw it.
Missed.
And heard him laughing all the way down the corridor.
I sighed and turned back to my computer.
Kim.
That strange dream.
The name Aren.
The unfamiliar feeling that kept appearing whenever I looked at him.
I rubbed my forehead.
This was getting ridiculous.
I didn't know Kim.
I had no reason to feel that strange sense of familiarity around him.
And yet, somewhere deep inside me, a quiet voice insisted that there was something I was forgetting.
Something important.
Something connected to a life I couldn't remember.
I stared at the folder Kim had left on my desk.
Then I shook my head and returned to work.
Whatever was happening, I would figure it out eventually.
For now, I had a report to finish.
And a best friend to murder.
Metaphorically.
Probably.
KIM'S POV
From the other side of the office, I watched Ren laugh at something on his computer.
I didn't know what Peach had said to him.
But judging by the cushion lying abandoned in the corridor, I could make a reasonable guess.
I smiled before I could stop myself.
Then I looked down at the report in my hands.
I had spent centuries believing that loving someone meant keeping my distance.
That protecting them meant making myself invisible.
That if I remained in the shadows, I could spare them the pain of losing me.
But Ren was no longer a child who needed someone to watch over him.
He was a young man with his own life, his own choices, and his own future.
And I was beginning to understand that if I wanted to be part of that future, I would have to do something I had never truly learned how to do.
I would have to let him know me.
Not as a memory.
Not as a shadow.
But as Kim.
The man sitting across from him at dinner.
The man who brought him documents at work.
The man who found himself smiling whenever he heard his laughter.
I glanced towards Ren one last time.
He looked up at that exact moment.
Our eyes met through the glass.
He smiled casually and lifted his coffee cup in a small greeting.
I nodded in return.
Nothing extraordinary happened.
No memories returned.
No promises were remembered.
No centuries-old secrets were revealed.
Just a smile.
A simple, ordinary smile.
And somehow, it was enough to make my entire day feel different.
Perhaps that was how it would begin this time.
Not with fate.
Not with tragedy.
But with the smallest of things.
A conversation.
A shared smile.
A reason to see each other again.
For the first time in centuries, I didn't want to rush towards the ending.
I wanted to discover everything that came before it.
To be continued...