Color bloomed on Haruki's cheeks, painting them a vivid red, and for a fleeting moment, Lanling thought he saw the soft glow of sunlight framing his face. It was as if the warmth of dawn itself radiated from him, illuminating the dim corridor.
Lanling's heart skipped a beat, an involuntary flutter that left him unsteady. Haruki's grey eyes, so steady and filled with unspoken emotions, seemed to draw him in like the tide. He couldn't look away, couldn't even think—those eyes had become his entire world, pulling him into a daze where nothing else existed.
"Lanling~"
With ease, Haruki let the name roll off his tongue, his face fully expressing how delighted he was at hearing it and having said it. It felt so natural, as if he had done this countless times before.
Lanling's trembling eyes widened in terror, his heart stopping as images of Ruki flooded his mind, crashing against his once-stable thoughts.
