by Seo Han-Nee
They didn’t fall in love instantly. It was one of those gradual, subtle things that happen between people today – through late-night texts that never ended when either expected them to, shared playlists, the small, comforting certainty that someone else was on the other end of the screen, just as awake.
When they finally met, there were no fireworks. There were no grand, movie-esque moment but just two people seeing each other and recognizing something, as if they had been traveling towards that moment for a lifetime, without knowing it.
They spoke of everything and nothing. Their jobs, the strange solitude of the modern era, the little habits that gave their days structure. They laughed with each other easily. They listened. And in the center of it all, a quiet stability started to build.
Love was revealed in the specifics:
Remembering each other’s order from the coffee shop.
Sending a text out of the blue, just to say, “Hope your day is going kindly.”
The comfort of sharing a silence that didn’t feel empty, but safe.
They weren’t without their flaws, however. Sometimes, they miscommunicated. Their lives diverged, on some days. But each time, they both made the decision to come back. To listen, and to try again.
One evening, sitting next to each other on an empty street, one of them murmured, “I never thought this would happen.”
The other smiled. “Me neither. I’m so glad it did.”
Art by Seo Han-Nee, “Affection“
About the Author
Han-Nee is an artist and an emerging writer. She explores identity, culture, and the world around her. She plans to major in Cultural Studies and minor in English, hoping to continue growing as both a thinker and a writer.