One afternoon, while we were sitting in the corridor as usual, he told me something.
His voice was calm.
"I'm going back to my hometown for a while."
I turned to look at him.
"Going home?"
He nodded.
"I need to prepare for my trip abroad."
I had always known that day would come eventually. But when he said it out loud, everything suddenly felt more real.
I asked,
"So when will you leave?"
He thought for a moment.
"Not yet. There's still some time. But I need to go home first."
Then he added gently, as if asking something very small,
"The day I go to the airport… can I stop by here and see you for a bit?"
I nodded immediately.
"Of course."
I didn't think much about that sentence. In my mind, he was still simply a special friend.
The morning he returned to his hometown was quiet.
I was in my room when I heard a car stop outside the boarding house.
When I stepped out into the corridor, I saw a car parked at the entrance. A middle-aged man stepped out first.
He had just pulled his suitcase out of his room.
He saw me standing by my door.
"Lilly."
I walked toward him.
He said,
"This is my father."
I was a little surprised.
I bowed my head politely.
"Hello, sir."
His father looked at me with gentle eyes and nodded.
"You live in the same boarding house as Khang?"
I nodded.
"Yes."
Standing beside him, he said to his father,
"She's a very special friend of mine."
I heard that but didn't think much of it.
At that time, the word special only meant someone a little closer than ordinary friends.
His father asked me a few simple questions.
What I was studying.
Where I was from.
Whether I had gotten used to living here.
His voice was warm, and I noticed that he and his father looked almost exactly alike.
After a few minutes, he carried his suitcase to the car.
Before getting in, he looked at me.
"I'm going home first."
I nodded.
"Okay."
He smiled softly.
"I'll call you when I have time."
I smiled back.
"Alright."
The car drove away.
I stood at the gate of the boarding house for a moment before returning to my room.
From that day on, the boarding house suddenly felt quieter.
The door across from mine was closed.
At night, the familiar light was gone.
There were no more conversations in the corridor.
The place began to feel a little lonely.
But he still called me whenever he had time.
Not every day.
But sometimes.
He would ask how my studies were going.
How life had been.
Whether I was eating properly.
The conversations were simple.
But they were enough to let me know he still remembered me.
Time passed quickly.
The day of his flight approached.
One day he called me.
"My family will go to Saigon one day before the flight."
I asked,
"Where will you stay?"
He laughed softly.
"At a hotel with my family."
Then he added,
"But I'll come see you."
⸻
On that day, he came.
Not alone.
He came with his parents and his younger cousin.
His family stayed at the hotel, but he still came to the boarding house first.
When I saw him standing at my door, I suddenly felt very happy.
Like seeing a familiar person return after a long time.
That evening he took me to dinner with his family.
The restaurant wasn't luxurious, but it felt warm and welcoming.
He introduced me to everyone.
"This is Lilly."
Then he added,
"When I lived here, Lilly was the person closest to me."
Everyone in his family was friendly.
His father smiled kindly.
His mother asked me a few questions about school.
The atmosphere felt comfortable.
His younger cousin looked at me and teased,
"Khang said you're someone very special."
He laughed.
"So how special exactly?"
I suddenly felt shy.
I didn't know how to answer.
So I just smiled.
He looked at me with gentle eyes.
Then he said,
"Extremely special."
Everyone laughed.
And I felt my face grow warm.
⸻
After dinner, he walked me back to the boarding house.
It was the last night before his flight.
We sat together on the bed, talking for a long time.
The room was very quiet.
Neither of us hurried to sleep.
He asked me many things.
About my life.
About my studies.
Whether I was doing okay living alone.
Then he asked,
"To you… what kind of person am I?"
I thought for a moment.
Then I answered honestly,
"You're very special."
He looked at me.
"In what way?"
I shook my head.
"I don't know."
"I just… feel like you've always been very good to me."
I said it simply.
Because at that time, everything in my mind was simple.
I wasn't trying to define what kind of relationship we had.
After a moment he asked,
"What if someday someone cares about you the way I do?"
I was surprised.
"Why would you ask that?"
He smiled.
"Just asking."
I thought for a while.
"I don't know."
"Because I've never met anyone like you."
He was quiet for a moment.
Then he spoke softly.
"If someday, when I'm not here… someone takes care of you and treats you very well."
He looked at me.
"If you want, you should accept that care."
"Don't worry too much."
I listened to him.
But honestly, I didn't fully understand.
At that time, in my mind, he was simply someone who cared about me a lot.
Like an older brother.
Or a very special friend.
I didn't think it was romantic love.
I only thought I was a lucky girl to have someone who always cared for me like that.
That night, we talked for a very long time.
About many things.
But I didn't know that some of the things he said that night would take me many years to truly understand.
⸻
Message of Chapter 12
Sometimes we hear words
without fully understanding their meaning.
Only after time passes
do we realize that
someone had loved us deeply
even in the days when we didn't yet know what love was.