I barely made it before closing time and picked up the cake I had ordered.

By the time I got back to the apartment, Shahzad was already gone.

The meal I had prepared in advance had been completely eaten.

The dishes were washed and properly put away in the cupboard.

On the note that said, "This is for you, brother," he had written in the blank space, "It was delicious. Thank you for the meal."

That was just like the meticulous Shahzad.

There was another note as well, stating that he had gone camping at the Bashundhara Dungeon in Dhaka.

"It looks like we just missed each other."

"Well, it can't be helped. My brother only has camping on his mind. More importantly, let's eat the cake."

"..."

"What's wrong, Keya?"

"This morning, I told you to stop pretending to be strong, didn't I?"

"It's not like I'm pretending..."

Nadia's words trailed off.

After a moment...

"...But at least on my birthday, I wish he could have stayed with me the whole time."

She said it weakly.

"That's fine. If you ask him, he will definitely listen to you."

"...Yeah."

"Honestly, I think the reason he left so quickly for camping was because of some weird consideration on his part. He probably thought staying at home too long would be an inconvenience. So for his sake too, you should just tell him what you really want."

Since we had eaten so much at lunch, we skipped dinner.

But cake was a different story.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

I cut the fruit-covered cake into pieces.

Since eating the whole thing between the two of us would be impossible, I decided to put the rest in the fridge,

"…Nadia."

"What?"

"Let's save this cake for tomorrow."

"Huh? But won’t it go bad? We should eat it soon."

I took a paper box out of the fridge and showed it to Nadia.

It wasn’t there this morning.

It was from a small, privately owned bakery in the neighborhood that specialized in simple, traditional cakes.

Since the prices were reasonable, I often bought from them even on ordinary days.

For the birthday, I thought I should get something a little more expensive, so I had placed an order at a famous shop, but...

Even though it was something we ate regularly, this one was special.

"You're right... Since he went out of his way to buy it for me…"

Nadia looked embarrassed but also happy.

When Nadia opened the box, there was a shortcake and a Mont Blanc inside.

"Ah…"

"What's wrong, Nadia?"

"Nothing. It's nothing."

Nadia transferred the cakes onto plates and carried them to the table.

Keya brewed decaffeinated coffee, drinking mine black, and made café au lait for Nadia, pouring them into their brand-new mugs.

(Nadia: My brother... He remembered that I like Mont Blanc…)

After finishing the cake, Keya took a quick shower.

---

Keya's POV:

So much had happened since the morning that I didn't have the energy to clean the bathtub.

Even though it wasn’t even midnight yet, we were both exhausted and naturally drifted off to bed.

Our bedrooms were separate.

Since it was an apartment meant for families, that was how the layout was designed from the start.

With a walk-in closet in the center and the beds placed apart, it suited me just fine, as I preferred to keep my bedroom a private space.

Besides, Nadia and I weren’t the type to be overly mindful of each other.

"Good night, Nadia."

"Good night~"

We exchanged goodnight wishes and slipped into our beds...

But in the next moment, I jumped up.

I lost balance and tumbled out of bed.

"Wh-what happened, Keya? That was a really loud noise..."

"It's nothing! It's really nothing! I just slipped a little…"

"Really? If you say so…"

Holding my pounding heart, I climbed back into bed.

Wrapping myself in the blanket, I took a deep breath.

(Shahzad’s scent…)

Now that I thought about it, Shahzad had never entered our bedroom before.

So there was no way he could have known which bed was Nadia’s.

(Then why didn’t he just ask…?)

Knowing him, he must have worried about something strange again.

I could easily imagine him flustered, pacing back and forth in the room.

"Which one is Nadia’s bed? I can’t exactly use Keya’s bed… But if they didn’t specify, does that mean either one is fine…? Should I go back and ask? But wouldn’t that seem weird…? Like I’m too conscious of it or something…? I mean, she probably doesn’t see me as a guy at all… But if I start overthinking this, wouldn’t that be even worse…?"

I could picture him getting caught up in his own thoughts, hesitating, and pacing.

The image made me laugh.

Not wanting Nadia to notice, I buried myself under the blanket.

Wrapped in Shahzad’s scent, I continued to chuckle to myself.

For five minutes. Ten minutes.

That was how I desperately tried to look away.

From this ache in my chest.

Because I wanted to stay friends with Nadia forever.