Three days.
Three days since Ren had left.
Three days since Arin had watched the apartment door close behind him.
Three days of silence.
No calls.
No messages.
Nothing.
After Ren came at Kael apartment Kael watched Ren everyday working even if he couldn't.
At first, Kael told himself to stay out of it.
The breakup wasn't his business.
If Ren wanted distance, then Kael should respect that.
That was what friends were supposed to do.
Right?
But every time he looked at Ren, the guilt grew worse.
Ren was working longer hours than before.
Sleeping less.
Eating less.
Pretending everything was fine.
And every day, he looked weaker.
Paler.
More exhausted.
Kael knew exactly why.
Because Ren was trying to outrun something that couldn't be outrun.
The worst part?
Ren still talked about Arin.
Not directly.
Never directly.
But in little ways.
"Arin used to hate this brand."
"Arin always forgot his umbrella."
"Arin would've laughed at that."
The words slipped out without him realizing.
And every single time—
His face would fall afterward.
Kael hated it.
Hated watching his friend suffer.
Hated watching him pretend.
Hated knowing that neither of them knew the whole truth.
By the fourth day, he couldn't take it anymore.
"Where are you going?"
Ren looked up from the table.
Kael was already putting on his jacket.
"Out."
"Helpful answer."
Kael ignored him.
"Kael."
The serious tone made him pause.
Ren frowned slightly.
"...You're not going to see him, are you?"
Silence.
That was answer enough.
"Kael."
"Someone has to talk to him."
"No."
The response came instantly.
Too quickly.
Too desperately.
Kael's expression softened.
"Ren—"
"I said no."
For a second, neither of them moved.
Then Ren looked away.
"...Please."
The word was quiet.
Almost fragile.
Kael felt something twist painfully in his chest.
"You still love him."
Ren laughed bitterly.
"That's exactly why you shouldn't go."
And that was the problem.
Because Kael knew Ren was right.
But he also knew something else.
Neither of them were being honest.
And people got hurt when things were left unsaid.
So he left anyway.
The entire day was spent searching.
It wasn't easy.
Arin's family was wealthy.
Influential.
Private.
But eventually, after asking enough questions and following enough leads, Kael found him.
A corporate building in the center of the city.
Tall.
Modern.
Expensive.
It suited Arin far more than the tiny apartment ever had.
For a moment, Kael simply stared at it.
"So this is where you are."
Then he crossed the street and waited.
Hours passed.
Employees entered and left.
Cars came and went.
The sun slowly drifted toward the horizon.
And still—
Kael waited.
Until finally—
The glass doors opened.
A familiar figure stepped outside.
Kael immediately straightened.
Arin.
For a second, relief washed over him.
Then it disappeared.
Arin looked terrible.
Not in the obvious way.
His clothes were immaculate.
His posture was straight.
His expression composed.
But there was something underneath it.
Dark circles beneath his eyes.
Tension in every movement.
The slight sway in his step.
The way he rubbed his temples like even standing hurt.
"...What happened to you?"
Kael frowned.
Arin looked exhausted.
Not tired.
Exhausted.
Like someone who hadn't properly rested in days.
Like someone running purely on stubbornness.
Arin began walking down the sidewalk.
Kael immediately followed.
"Arin."
The name stopped him instantly.
Arin turned.
The moment he recognized Kael, his expression hardened.
"...You."
Kael crossed his arms.
"Nice to see you too."
"I don't have time for this."
Arin turned away again.
But Kael wasn't about to let him leave.
"Then make time."
"No."
Simple.
Cold.
Immediate.
Arin kept walking.
Kael followed.
"We need to talk."
"No, we don't."
"Actually, we do."
"Go home, Kael."
The irritation in Arin's voice was becoming more obvious.
"I didn't spend four days tracking you down just to leave."
That made Arin stop.
Slowly, he turned back.
"...Four days?"
"Yes."
Silence.
Then Arin sighed heavily.
"You should've saved yourself the trouble."
Kael's patience was rapidly disappearing.
"Would you stop acting like this?"
"Acting like what?"
"Like none of this matters."
Something flickered across Arin's face.
Gone almost instantly.
"It doesn't."
"Liar."
The word landed harder than expected.
For a moment—
Neither of them spoke.
Then Arin laughed.
A short, humorless laugh.
"You're here because of Ren."
It wasn't a question.
Kael nodded.
"Obviously."
Arin looked away.
The brief reaction was enough.
Kael saw it.
The hurt.
The disappointment.
The anger.
All carefully hidden beneath layers of pride.
"Then go back."
"No."
"Kael—"
"No."
This time, Kael stepped forward.
"You're both idiots."
Arin's jaw tightened.
"Congratulations. Is that all?"
"No."
Kael grabbed his wrist.
The reaction was immediate.
Arin stiffened.
"Let go."
"No."
"I said let go."
"And I said no."
People passing by began glancing at them.
Neither noticed.
"You're not listening."
"No, you're not listening."
Arin yanked slightly, trying to free himself.
Kael held on.
"You're hurting him."
The words froze everything Kael said.
For a split second—
Something cracked.
Then Arin's expression hardened again.
"He made his choice."
"That's not—"
"He left."
The bitterness in his voice surprised even him.
"He walked away."
Kael stared.
For the first time—
He realized just how much Arin had been carrying.
The anger wasn't real.
The hurt was.
"Arin."
"Don't."
His voice sounded tired now.
So tired.
"I don't want to hear excuses."
"Then hear the truth."
Arin laughed weakly.
"The truth?"
Kael frowned.
Arin rubbed a hand across his face.
For a brief moment, he looked unsteady.
Then steadied himself again.
"You should leave."
"No."
"Kael."
"No."
The argument continued.
Neither willing to back down.
But as the minutes passed—
Arin seemed to grow paler.
His breathing became uneven.
His focus drifted.
"...Arin."
No response.
"Arin."
Still nothing.
Kael stepped closer.
And suddenly realized—
Arin wasn't looking at him anymore.
His eyes seemed unfocused he was looking somewhere else.
"Hey.."
Arin wasn't listening anymore.
His eyes remained fixed on the opposite side of the road.
And then—
The café door opened.
A familiar figure stepped outside.
Ren.
For a second, everything seemed to stop.
Even from a distance, Kael could tell something was wrong.
Ren looked pale.
Far paler than he had that morning.
His movements were slow.
Unsteady.
Like every step required effort.
"Ren," Kael whispered more concerned.
The world seemed to go silent.
Arin frowned at Ren's condition.
Three days.
It had only been three days.
Yet somehow Ren looked different.
Smaller.
Thinner.
Tired.
So incredibly tired.
Arin felt something painful tighten in his chest.
Across the street, Ren hadn't noticed either of them.
His attention remained fixed on the ground as he slowly walked away from the café.
One step.
Then another.
Then another.
His movements seemed strange.
Uneven.
As if he couldn't quite keep his balance.
Kael frowned.
"Something's wrong."
Arin was already moving.
Without thinking.
Without hesitation.
His feet carried him toward the road.
Toward Ren.
Toward the person he had spent three days trying to forget.
"Arin—"
Kael hurried after him.
Cars passed between them.
The evening traffic was busy.
People moved around them without noticing the growing panic in their expressions.
Across the road, Ren continued walking.
Then suddenly—
He stopped.
For one brief moment, he simply stood there.
Frozen.
Still.
Like his body had forgotten what it was supposed to do next.
Kael's stomach dropped.
"Ren!"
The distance was too great.
The traffic too loud.
Ren didn't hear him.
Or maybe he couldn't.
His knees wavered.
His body swayed slightly.
Then—
Everything happened at once.
Ren collapsed.
The world seemed to slow.
People nearby gasped.
Someone shouted.
A bag slipped from Ren's hand and hit the pavement.
Arin felt his heart stop.
"REN!"
The scream tore from his throat before he could think.
He ran.
Ignoring the traffic.
Ignoring everything.
The only thing he could see was Ren lying motionless on the ground.
By the time they reached him, a crowd was already beginning to gather.
Kael dropped to his knees first.
"Ren!"
No response.
His face was frighteningly pale.
His eyes remained closed.
Completely still.
"Ren, wake up!"
Nothing.
Kael's hands trembled violently.
Arin knelt beside him.
For a moment, he couldn't move.
Couldn't breathe.
Couldn't think.
Seeing Ren like this felt wrong.
Terrifyingly wrong.
The person who had always been strong.
Always stubborn.
Always moving.
Now looked fragile.
Breakable.
As if he might disappear at any moment.
"Call an ambulance!" Kael shouted.
Several people immediately pulled out their phones.
Arin barely heard them.
His attention remained fixed entirely on Ren.
"Ren..."
The name came out quietly.
Almost helplessly.
No response.
The sight made panic crawl through his chest.
Why wasn't he waking up?
What happened?
Was he hurt?
Was he sick?
Questions flooded his mind faster than he could process them.
None of them had answers.
Minutes later, the ambulance arrived.
Everything became chaos.
Paramedics.
Questions.
Movement.
Voices.
A stretcher.
Kael answered what he could.
Arin stood nearby feeling completely useless.
For the first time in years—
He was terrified.
Not angry.
Not heartbroken.
Terrified.
The ambulance doors opened.
The paramedics began loading Ren inside.
Kael immediately climbed in after him.
Then paused.
Looking back toward Arin.
Their eyes met.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then Kael sighed.
"Are you coming or not?"
Arin didn't hesitate.
A second later, he was inside too.
The doors slammed shut.
The siren began.
And as the city blurred past outside the windows, both men sat beside Ren in silence.
One was his ex-boyfriend.
The other his closest friend.
Arin didn't understood what was happening.
Neither knew the truth.
Neither knew why Ren had collapsed.
But as he watched him lying unconscious beneath the harsh ambulance lights—
He felt the exact same fear.
And neither was prepared for what he would learn next.