"Crackle, crackle!"
Not long after, a rack for grilling fish had been set up beneath the eaves.
Of course, Wuye had always remembered that Konan's favorite food was grilled fish.
"Creak."
The wooden door behind him suddenly opened. Wuye turned around to see Konan supporting herself against the wall as she walked out. She slowly knelt down beside him, quiet and still.
Firelight reflected in the depths of her eyes, silently burning...
How long had she waited for this moment, and how long had she avoided it? She could no longer remember.
Yet no matter how calm or clear-headed she was, the moment she saw him, every defense around her heart began to slowly collapse.
It only needed the gentlest push to crumble completely...
"Konan..."
Wuye turned the fish over as he spoke. "All these years, you..."
But he did not finish, because he could no longer continue.
Konan's hand gently grasped his arm.
Not one hand, but both.
The gesture seemed somewhat strange, yet Wuye somehow sensed how she felt.
She wanted to get closer, yet was timid in her heart...
"I never forgot you."
He spoke the most fitting words, straight from his heart.
Konan's expression remained calm.
But her eyes, once as still as an ancient well, suddenly rippled as if a huge stone had been cast into a deep pool.
"And I never intended..." Firelight reflected off Wuye's face, making it gleam. "...to let you go."
Konan's slender body suddenly trembled. Then, both hands clutching his arm loosened.
Wuye seemed able to sense the immense relief in her heart.
"Mm," she said softly.
Both of them looked at the grilled fish and said nothing more.
Yet these simple movements and words shattered the sense of unfamiliarity between them.
Time seemed to rush backward, returning to that