𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 6

But in that moment, I realized something-

Some promises don't need sunshine to be real.

Some promises survive anyway.

One year later, the drawer didn't hide anything anymore.

That was the first thing I noticed when I opened it.

No false bottom.No secret photograph.Just neatly stacked folders and a pen with a fading ink blot on its cap.

It felt symbolic. Like maybe he didn't need to hide the past anymore because he'd finally let it become part of the present.

I smiled to myself and slid the drawer shut.

Hao had gone out for a client lunch, leaving behind his tea half-drunk on the windowsill, a soft grey scarf thrown over the back of his chair, and his cologne still lingering in the air like he had only just walked out.

He still wore suits every day. Still typed like the keyboard owed him money. Still carried himself like someone who had built an empire and never stopped worrying about whether it could crumble.

But he smiled more now.

He laughed now.

He brushed his fingers against mine in meetings just because he could. He left Post-it notes in my lunch bag when he had early calls. Sometimes, when no one was watching, he'd look at me like he couldn't believe I was real.

And sometimes, I'd look at him and wonder if maybe fate wasn't cruel.

Just dramatic.

We didn't make it public right away.

There was no grand announcement, no posted photo, no company-wide memo. We kept it private-not a secret, but ours.

We built something steady. Something that wasn't made of flashbacks or could-have-beens. Something present. Something now.

The kind of love that wakes you up with sleepy texts. That remembers how you take your ramen. That doesn't need to shout to be heard.

We still argued. Still challenged each other. Still had days where the sky felt too heavy.

But we always found our way back. And we always left the drawer open.

It happened on a Wednesday.

The kind of sunny, perfect Wednesday that felt like it had been handpicked by someone who loved symmetry.

Hao came back from his meeting, looking calm, which was always suspicious. He walked in, nodded at the staff, then closed the door behind him.

𝙳𝙾𝙽'𝚃 𝙵𝙾𝚁𝙶𝙴𝚃 𝚃𝙾 𝚅𝙾𝚃𝙴 𝙽 𝙲𝙾𝙼𝙼𝙴𝙽𝚃 𝚈𝙾𝚄𝚁 𝚃𝙷𝙾𝚄𝙶𝙷𝚃𝚂 (⌒‐⌒)