Thinking it must be about time, I scan the area and spot that back across the crowd in front of the station. Even in the rush hour throng, I recognize him instantly. The hair color, the height, the clothes, the way he walks. There is no mistaking it. It's him.

A man like the sun, who draws people to him even if he does nothing. He has been that way since we were students. Someone who was confessed to by someone almost every day, yet just laughed it off without a hint of pressure. That's why, when I confessed my feelings on graduation day, I thought of it as a final commemorative gesture. And yet, he said "Let's date" so casually. While bewildered by that lightness, I couldn't help but be overjoyed.

Years have passed since then. After we both started working, he was transferred far away for his job. It was my first long-distance relationship and I was anxious, but I sent him off without being selfish. At first, we connected by phone every night. The conversations were just silly small talk. And yet, recently, our contact had become sporadic, with both of us citing exhaustion and busy schedules as excuses.

Even so, I wanted to see him. Stopping many times thinking I might be a nuisance, I came all this way.

But it seems he felt differently. The scene reflected in my vision tells that story. He is walking happily, arm-in-arm with a woman I don't know. A distance that suggests natural intimacy, a familiar smile. Eyes I don't recognize, looking as if at something precious.

I felt a sensation of cold spreading from the core of my brain.

Ah, I knew it couldn't last. I understood it deep down. I must be the only one who loves the other.

With my feet unable to move, I just stared at his back. Finding neither the courage to call out nor the courage to turn back. ...What should I do now?