The Place by Your Side

The alarm woke them both with a loud, jarring scream. Lily groaned, fumbling to silence it while Jin sat up slowly, rubbing his eyes. They went through their morning routine side by side, falling into an easy rhythm that had already become familiar.

When they finally settled down for breakfast, Lily’s nervousness was impossible to miss. She kept glancing at Jin, fiddling with her spoon — and of course, he noticed.

“Is something bothering you?” Jin asked, his voice soft and curious.

“Hm? No… nothing,” she answered quickly, but the way her eyes darted away told a different story.

“What is it, Pri—” He caught himself just in time. “Lily?”

She sighed deeply, finally giving in. “Jin… you know I have a really tight schedule. I have my studies, then work — I don’t get home until 8 or 9 p.m. And… I don’t like the idea of leaving you alone all day. You don’t know anyone here, and everything’s so unfamiliar.”

“Lily, it’s okay,” he said with that calm, reassuring smile that always seemed to put her at ease. “You go to work — I’ll be fine.”

“But what will you do all day? Won’t you get bored?”

“Yeah,” he teased, his eyes sparkling. “It will be boring… without you. But don’t worry — I’ll… I’ll tour the place. Explore a little.”

“On your own? Alone?” Her eyebrows knitted with concern.

“I’ll manage,” he promised. “And if it makes you feel better… we can meet at the park in the evening. I’ll wait for you there.”

Her lips curved into a small smile. “Okay. Same place, then.”

“Same place,” he echoed softly.

Lily glanced at the clock and sighed. “Alright, I should go. You take care, okay? Bye, Jin.”

“Bye, Lily,” he said, watching her go — and somehow, the apartment already felt a little emptier without her.

---

A week passed in a warm, easy rhythm. Jin had become a surprising — and welcome — part of Lily’s life. Every evening, they met at the park, sharing stories from their day as they walked home together. They’d grown so comfortable with each other, and Lily couldn’t deny how much she looked forward to those moments.

As for Jin, his curiosity was endless — and his fascination with technology made Lily laugh more often than not. But nothing had captured his attention quite like the lift.

Ever since he’d figured out how it worked, he spent far too much time riding it — pressing every button just to watch the doors open and close, traveling up and down every floor of the building. Strangely, no one ever seemed to notice there was someone playing with the lift all day. And honestly… the sheer joy on his face whenever he talked about it made it hard for Lily to scold him.

One evening, as they walked home, Jin suddenly came running toward her, excitement written all over his face.

“Lily! I love that thing — the… what do you call it again? The lift!”

She burst out laughing. “Yeah, I know.”

“But how do you guys do that? It’s like magic!” he said, his eyes wide with wonder.

“It’s called technology,” she explained, still grinning.

“Who’s that?” he asked seriously.

That made her laugh even harder. “No one, Jin. It’s… never mind.”

He watched her with a soft smile, clearly enjoying the sound of her laughter. Then his face grew a little more serious. “Lily… I wanted to ask you something.”

“What is it?” she asked, her laughter fading into curiosity.

“I know you’re busy… but I get really bored when you’re not here. And I want to do something — to pass the time, you know?”

“Oh,” she said, surprised. “What do you want to do?”

“Well… I was thinking… is it possible if I join you at your shop? For work?”

Her eyes widened. “That’s… actually a great idea!”

“Really?” His face lit up instantly.

“Yes! I’ll ask the owner tomorrow — I’m sure we can figure something out.”

“Thank you so much, princess,” he said softly, his voice warm and grateful.

The word hung between them for a second — and Lily felt her heart skip a beat. But she didn’t correct him this time.