Nina stopped moving, fearing that if they continued, they would inevitably fall into an irretrievable abyss. But while she stopped, Luka couldn’t. He couldn’t hit the brakes. He had practiced what to ask over the past few days, but now, he couldn’t utter a single word.
Luka’s gaze darkened, he licked his lips, and leaned in to kiss the girl’s lips.
The girl tried to resist but was caught by him, her waist held tightly. The boy traced the perfect shape of Nina’s lips, whispering, “Be good, don’t be naughty, I miss you so much, let me kiss you.”
Nina’s cheeks flushed, her long eyelashes fluttering as if she didn’t understand what the boy was saying.
Luka smirked, proudly kissing the girl’s brows and eyes. “Close your eyes, listen to your heart, your heart will tell us the answer…”
Nina closed her eyes… feeling a brave abandon. She didn’t dare to think about whether this was right or wrong; she only felt a painful ache in her chest. No longer hesitating, she relaxed her body and wrapped her arms around him.
That night, the boy became a man… but the girl became a sinner.
Nina regretted it, but it was too late. She carefully guarded this stolen love. The two acted like a real couple, making their home warm and cozy every day, yet they tacitly avoided mentioning the future.
Such days came to an abrupt pause with Lanky’s first return from leave.
Though Lanky was taciturn, it didn’t mean he felt nothing. The whole house was filled with traces of lovers and brothers, and his return felt almost superfluous.
For the first time, he lied to Nina.
“I… have to go back early. I came back this time to bring you your salary, don’t tire yourself out too much! Don’t worry about money; I’ve got it covered!”
Nina opened the envelope; there wasn’t much money inside, but it was all that Lanky had saved up by being frugal. Guilt crawled into her heart. “Ah Lanky, do you really have to rush? It’s not easy for you to come back once.”
Lanky looked at the reluctance in Nina’s eyes and thought of the embrace from last night… the girl’s stiff body.
“No, it’s really urgent! Don’t think too much…” At this point, he couldn’t help but pull the girl into his arms. Her tears soaked his shoulder, and Lanky… could only tenderly kiss her hair.
Leaving home, Lanky had only 2000 dollar left after deducting travel expenses. He still had three days before returning to the army… but now he had nowhere to go. The emptiness in his home was not just in his room, but also in his heart, hollowed out by longing.
Lanky arrived in Town by car, and all the way… his tears never stopped falling. He suppressed the urge to scream, quietly savoring this unique heartache that belonged solely to him.
On the first day, he sat by the coast watching the sun set and then rise again. Lanky began to doubt himself; what had all his efforts over the years been for?
Perhaps it was from the moment he decided, at the age of nine, to give Nina a home that it was destined for Lanky to never live solely for himself in this lifetime.
On the second day, Lanky transitioned from refusing to believe to attempting to understand… He began to convince himself that Nina was just too miserable and too tired, and during this time, the only person who could be with her was Luka. It must have been for this reason that she sought another harbor to rely on.
