“Does this have to do with why you’ve been acting weird ever since you got back?” Cahya contemplated, then turned and ordered a chocolate shake.
I glanced down at my mug, the steam swirling between us. “It’s about Yesoh,” I said finally, my throat tightening around her name.
“What the— my sister?” That got his attention. His fingers froze on the glass, and he leaned back slightly, his dark eyes narrowing. “What about her?”
I hesitated, the words catching in my throat. “I haven’t been able to quite pinpoint when exactly I started to feel this way. For a while I didn’t know what was happening,” I admitted. “But lately, I cannot help but be drawn to her, for a long time she was always just a friend, your baby sister I couldn’t see her outside of that. She was like the blurry part of a film photograph. But now…” I trailed off, unsure how to explain the strange pull I’d started to feel whenever she was near.
“Now,what?” Cahya’s voice was calm, but there was a tension underneath it, like he was holding something back.
“Now she’s in full focus,” I said, feeling my cheeks heat. “She’s—she’s kind, and intelligent, witty and funny. And she looks at me like…” I stopped, shaking my head. “I don’t know. I don’t know what to do with it. I just felt that I should let you know.”
Cahya stared at me for a long moment, his expression unreadable. Then he let out a low breath, setting his mug down with a quiet thud. “You don’t know what to do with it,” he repeated, his voice soft but edged with something sharp.
I nodded, feeling small under his gaze. “Yeah.”
He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. “Wynter, let me ask you something. All those summers ago, when we were kids, did you everreallysee Yesoh?”
I blinked, caught off guard. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, did you ever notice her? Not just as my sister, not just as someone who happened to be there—buther?”
The question hung between us, heavy and unanswerable. I wanted to say yes, but the truth was, I hadn’t. She was younger than me. But I hadn’t really seen her—not like I am starting to now.
Cahya seemed to read the answer in my silence, and his jaw tightened. “That’s what I thought.”
“Cahya, I’m not saying—”
“Whatareyou saying, Wynter?” Cahya interrupted, his voice still quiet but laced with disappointment. “That you’re justnowrealizing she’s more than a fixture in your life? That you’re finally starting to notice how amazing she is? Do you have any idea how much she—” He stopped abruptly, pressing his lips together like he’d said too much.
I sat back, my heart pounding. “How much she what?”
He shook his head, leaning back in his chair. “Forget it. The point is, you’ve had years to figure this out, and now you’re here, talking about her like she’s some new discovery. Do you even know what you want?”
“I want to be there for her, I want your blessing, I want you to allow me the opportunity to prove myself even the slightest bit worthy of her. If I wasn’t serious about my intentions would I be here asking you to respect it, to accept it? Or would I just go behind your back?” I explained.
Cahya let out a slow breath, leaning forward to rest his elbows on the table. His expression softened, but only slightly. “That’s what scares me, Wynter. You’re asking for my blessing, but you don’t even know how you got here. What happens if you wake up one day and you don’t feel this way anymore? What happens to her then?”
“I won’t let that happen,” I said, a quiet desperation slipping into my voice. “I care about her, Cahya. I mean it. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t.”
His gaze softened further, but there was still a shadow of doubt in his eyes. “Do you haveanyidea what you mean to her?” he asked quietly, his voice almost hesitant, like he didn’t want me to hear the question.
The words made my chest tighten. “What do you mean?”
Cahya shook his head, leaning back again. “Again, Forget it. The point is, thisisn’tjust about you, Wynter. It’s about her. Yesoh doesn’t need someone who’s going to drift in and out ofher life. She’s had enough of that with our parents. She needs someone who’s going to stay.”
“I’ll stay,” I said quickly, the words coming out stronger this time. “I’m not going anywhere, Cahya. I promise.”
“Okay then.” He sighed leaning back.
“Okay?”
“OK as in what would it say about what I think about your character as my best friend if I didn’t let you be with my sister? I’m not the kind of guy who’s going to sit here and tell you what you can, and can’t do. You and her are both adults, and at the end of the day it doesn’t matter what I say—”
“But it does, it matters to me.” I pleaded. “ I wouldn’t want for you to despise me for it or to misconstrue my intent, and think that I’ve always been plotting this or something.”
“And it is because I know you that I don’t think that way. It’s up to you to prove me right now.” He declared. “Go for it, hold onto her but I also want you to know that if you let go and hurt her again in the process, you’re going to losemorethan just her. for good this time.”
“I'm willing to take that risk,” I assured him.
