Sunlight peeked through the curtains, soft and golden. Ren blinked slowly, waking up to warmth for the first time in what felt like forever. The fever had gone down a little, but his body still ached. He sat up, rubbing his eyes, then looked around.
It took him a second to remember where he was.
Oh right… Noah's place.
Noah was sitting on the floor with his laptop open, wearing glasses and sipping black coffee. He glanced up when Ren moved.
"You're alive," Noah said.
Ren gave a tired smile. "Barely."
Noah stood up and walked over, holding out a phone. "You can call your sister now."
Ren's eyes lit up. "Really? Thank you!"
"Just one call," Noah warned. "And no weird long-distance love confessions."
Ren laughed and took the phone. "I'm not that dramatic."
He dialed the number slowly, fingers shaking a little from both nerves and leftover weakness. After a few rings, a woman's voice answered.
"Hello?"
"Sis? It's me—Ren!"
"Oh my God, REN! Where are you? I've been searching all night! Are you okay?"
"I'm fine now," he said. "I got lost and… I lost my phone. But someone helped me. I'll explain everything. Can you come pick me up?"
"Yes! Just tell me the address."
Ren turned to Noah. "Uh… where am I, exactly?"
Noah sighed and gave him the building name and street number.
Ren passed that info to his sister, then hung up.
"She'll be here in about thirty minutes," he said, handing the phone back. "Thanks again."
Noah took the phone and sat down. "Don't worry. You'll be someone else's problem soon."
Ren smiled. "Do you always act cold when you're being nice?"
Noah raised an eyebrow. "Do you always accuse kind people of being thieves?"
Ren lowered his head. "Touché."
A quiet pause followed. Then Ren looked around at the neat apartment.
"Your place is nice," he said. "It feels calm."
"Too calm," Noah replied. "You ruined the peace."
Ren chuckled. "Sorry for being a walking disaster."
"Yeah, well… you're lucky I don't hate strays."
Ren looked at him curiously. "Why did you help me, really? You could've just walked past."
Noah leaned back on his hands and stared at the ceiling for a second. Then he said softly, "Because I know what it feels like. Being alone. No one noticing. It sucks."
Ren's eyes softened. "You've been through that too?"
"Yeah. Once." Noah shook his head. "Anyway, I didn't want to leave someone in the snow like that."
Ren smiled gently. "You're kinder than you act."
Noah looked away, clearly flustered. "Don't make it weird."
Just then, the doorbell rang. Ren stood up carefully and walked to the door, still wrapped in the blanket. When he opened it, a young woman rushed in and hugged him tightly.
"Ren! I was so worried!"
"I'm okay now," Ren said, hugging her back. "Thanks to him."
She looked at Noah, who was standing awkwardly in the background, hands in his pockets.
"You helped my brother?" she asked.
Noah nodded. "Yeah. He was freezing. I couldn't just leave him."
"Thank you," she said warmly. "Really."
Ren turned to Noah and said, "I'll bring back your blanket."
"Keep it," Noah replied. "You need it more than I do."
Ren smiled. "I'll return it with something sweet."
"Don't bother," Noah said, but his voice was softer than usual.
Ren walked to the door with his sister, then paused and turned around.
"Hey, Noah."
"Yeah?"
"…Maybe we'll meet again?"
Noah met his eyes for a long moment. Then, with the tiniest smirk, he said, "Maybe."