When Kaija was offering her final bows to the audience after finishing her performance, she caught a glimpse of a familiar figure in the furthest back row.
With her 10/10 vision, and with the small black bag the young man always carried everywhere, along with the black leather jacket he always wore to their weekly photoshoots, it wasn't hard for her to tell it was Juho Isota.
Though everyone else was on their feet, Juho remained seated coolly, alone among the empty red chairs, arms folded in front of him like he refused to join the crowd cheering for her.
Not that she was upset he didn't appreciate her performance. What surprised her was the memory of asking him, during their shoot just a week ago, whether he'd come to see the festival.
"I'm not a fan of crowded places," he'd said nonchalantly as he packed his gear into that same small black bag now sitting by his side.
She paused briefly at the memory, before quickly retreating backstage.
