The rain came down in sharp, icy needles.
Yuuto's clothes clung to him, but he didn't care.
All he could focus on was Aiden's face — pale under the storm, lips pressed into a line that betrayed nothing.
"Why am I here?" Yuuto finally spoke, his voice trembling from more than just the cold.
"Because you left without saying goodbye. Because you—"
His words caught in his throat. "Because I can't… just let you go."
Aiden's gaze flickered, just barely.
"You seem fine with him."
He didn't say the hotel owner's name. He didn't have to
"It's not like that," Yuuto said quickly, stepping closer.
"The diary… it wasn't mine. It wasn't even his. It belonged to someone who—"
He stopped, realizing his voice was breaking. "It belonged to someone who lost the person they loved. And I didn't want you to read it because I didn't want you thinking it was about you."
Aiden's brows furrowed, but his feet shifted dangerously close to the cliff's edge.
"Aiden, please—" Yuuto reached out, but the ground beneath Aiden's right foot crumbled with a loud crack.
In an instant, Aiden slipped.
Yuuto lunged forward, his fingers barely catching Aiden's wrist.
The rain made their hands slick, and Yuuto's boots scraped against the wet ground as he pulled with all his strength.
"Don't you dare let go!" Yuuto shouted, his voice raw.
For the first time that night, panic lit Aiden's eyes
Yuuto pulled harder, his muscles screaming until, finally, Aiden's body was back on solid ground.
They collapsed together in the mud, breathing heavily.
The rain washed over them in silence for a long moment… until Aiden whispered,
"You should've let me fall."
Yuuto's grip on his hand only tightened.
"Then you don't know me at all."