The place was quiet, filled with the aroma of coffee. My eyes scanned the room nervously. In a corner by the window, a familiar figure was waiting.

When our eyes met, I froze. It wasn’t a stranger—it was my classmate, the one I had always thought of as just a friend.

He smiled, a little shy but warm:

“Sorry for hiding it for so long. I’m the ‘mysterious friend.’”

I was speechless. All the doubts and worries melted away, leaving only astonishment and the loud thumping of my heart.

With a trembling voice, I whispered:

“So… it was you all along?”

He nodded gently, replying:

“Yeah. I wanted to be by your side, but I didn’t know how—except by hiding behind the screen.”

At that moment, I realized that every word, every comfort, every laugh from the mysterious friend had been genuine. And the biggest surprise was this: he had been right beside me all along.