Aki felt like he had been sleeping for a long time but it was still not enough. He groaned and shifted his head to the other side in an attempt to catch some more sleep.

Something light and cold brushed against his cheek, tickling him. It made contact a few more times as if drawing an invisible line. Aki stifled a giggle.

“Hmm,” he groaned again. But this time because another line was drawn and it felt good.

A voice called out to him, warm air tingling his ear. “Aki. Wake up.”

“Hmm?”

“Wake up.”

He squinted before squeezing his eyes tight again. “No.”

Aki heard a chuckle. “No, you need to wake up. The library’s closing.”

His eyes flew open and sat up straight. “I... fell asleep.”

“That you did.”

Aki turned to his side and saw Liam smiling beside him. Then he looked around, trying to reorient himself. How long had he been asleep? He glanced at the window and confirmed that was already dark outside. No wonder, they were the only ones left in the library. He could not believe he wasted so many hours when he could have been studying.

But… why was Liam sitting beside him, watching over him? When did Liam notice that he was there even? Aki looked around the library again as though the answer lay on the corners of the library.

Liam seemed to take that the wrong way.

“Don’t worry I made sure no one’s around. You don’t look like you’re going to wake up soon and the library is closing so I came over,” he abruptly stood up without giving Aki a second glance. “I’ll get going now.”

“No, that’s…” Aki scrambled to his feet too.

But Liam had already left.

=======

After what happened in the library, he did not know how he would act in front of Liam and feared meeting him in their apartment. He dawdled around first, even thought of going to Moonlight, then rejected the idea as soon as it came and willed himself to just go home. On the way, he thought of all the things that he should say and came up with nothing. Until he found himself standing in front of their unit, dread and guilt washing over him. But he had to face him sooner or later?

He reached for his keys tentatively and unlocked the door. He would apologize. He would clear things up. It was not fair of him to ask Liam that kind of thing. He did not even ask Aki to be his best buddy. Putting aside his questionable rent, he had been so welcoming with his easy smiles and delicious foods. If Liam would forgive him… well, that was the question Aki could not answer. The door swung open as he held his breath, preparing himself for the worst.

But only the darkness of the house greeted him.

“He’s still not here?” he tiptoed inside the house and strained his ears to listen for any sounds or movements. But there was only a deafening silence.

It had been a while since he left the library. Aki thought for sure that he had gone home.

‘What am I thinking? Of course, he’s got a life too.’

Aki crossed towards the living room and plopped down the floor. He could not begin to describe what he was feeling. Relief reared its head a bit before dread came back in full force. He did not know when Liam would come back so he better be prepared at all times and anxiously wait for the time to pass.

The apartment felt like it had grown ten times larger since his first day. He sat there for what seemed like forever, taking in the emptiness of the space.

It was so empty and hollow, just like what he felt inside.