After a fight with my boyfriend, he video-called me from his dorm to apologize. In the background, his roommate scoffed: "What a pathetic simp. I'd never beg a woman like that in my life." The next second, he walked past, and our eyes met through the screen. I found myself staring at my ex-boyfriend, whom I had broken up with a year ago. The last memory I had of him was the day we broke up. He was kneeling in front of me, eyes red, begging. "I'll do anything. Just don't leave me." 1 I haven't seen Liam in a year. He's changed a lot. His features are still sharp, but the reckless arrogance has been replaced by a brooding steadiness. Our eyes locked for a second before he quickly looked away, sneering. "She's nothing special." Then he walked away. But as he left, he stumbled, his left foot catching his right, almost tripping. My boyfriend, Chase, wasn't happy. He turned and yelled at him. "My baby is the most beautiful! You're just jealous I have such a gorgeous girlfriend." "Jealous? Bullshit." Liam’s face darkened as he pulled out a chair and sat down. Chase turned back to the screen, voice soft. "Babe, don't listen to his nonsense. I was wrong today. I really didn't know you hated peeling shrimp. From now on, I'll peel them all for you." I didn't say anything. He continued, "Didn't you say you liked that new Chanel bag? And that watch you were eyeing? My mom is a VIC client, no waiting list. I'll take you to get them tonight, okay?" I looked down at my nails. "Getting a manicure tonight. No time." Chase's voice remained gentle. "Then I'll buy them and bring them to you. Do you like black or white?" "Both are nice. Can't choose." "Then I'll buy both. Babe, please don't be mad anymore? I'll buy a bucket of crawfish and peel them for you too." I finally nodded. "Fine, I forgive you this time. But don't make me angry again." Relief washed over Chase's face, his smile returning. "I know. It won't happen again." If anyone saw Chase, the stoic Computer Science genius, acting this clingy and submissive, their jaws would drop. Liam sat nearby, staring at a blank phone screen. Every time we spoke, he’d let out a cold laugh, like a heckler in the audience. Finally, Chase couldn't take it anymore. He turned around. "Liam, what's your problem today?" Liam said coldly, "She's this high-maintenance when you just started dating? You're in for a world of pain. I advise you to break up now, or you'll suffer later." "I'm happy to suffer. It's not your problem anyway." Chase looked Liam up and down. "Liam, you usually don't give a damn about girls. Why are you reacting so strongly to my girlfriend?" Liam's face turned even darker. He sat there, stony-faced and silent. "Hang up," I said, glancing at Liam's collarbone. Suddenly, it all felt pointless. I didn't want to flaunt my new relationship in front of my ex. It felt petty. I used to hate Liam. I used to imagine finding someone better and rubbing it in his face, showing him I didn't need him. But now, I realized I had truly moved on. "Okay," Chase kissed the screen. "I'll pick you up for class later." 2 I didn't expect Liam to show up first. "Where's Chase?" I looked behind him. "You said you didn't have an umbrella. He went to buy you one." Liam held his umbrella over my head, his expression grim. "How do you still not remember to bring an umbrella after all this time?" I ignored his question. "Why are you here?" His tone was aggressive. "I'm taking this class too. What, is that forbidden?" In the pouring rain, the umbrella cast a shadow over us, creating a small, isolated world. The scent of wet earth and freshly cut grass instantly pulled me back to the summer I was seventeen. I pouted, looking out the window at the torrential rain. "Liam, I just bought these sandals. They were expensive! They can't get wet." He looked impatient. "Why wear them if you knew it was going to rain?" "Because they look good! I wore them for our date. If you're going to be mean, I won't go out with you anymore!" "Fine, fine," he sighed, squatting in front of me. "Hop on. I'll carry you. You hold the umbrella, okay?" I smiled and jumped onto his back. The faint scent of mint and verbena on him mixed with the rain, creating a humid, earthy smell. I rested on his warm, dry shoulder, feeling the sting of the blisters from my new shoes fade away. Liam hefted me up. "Why are you so light? Did you skip meals again? Dieting secretly?" I mumbled, "It's summer. I want to wear cute dresses. Don't I look good skinny?" "You look like crap," he tilted his head to dodge the umbrella I was struggling to hold up. "Skinny and ugly. Sarah, can you hold the umbrella properly? You hit me like three times!" "Oh." I leaned close to his ear. "Do I really look ugly?" His face flushed red, the color spreading down his neck. He was speechless. I pressed my ear to his back, listening to his heart beat faster and faster. After a long while, a muffled voice came through the rain. "You look good. Happy?" Back then, I always felt that street was too short. So short that we'd arrive home before I finished talking, and I'd cling to him, dragging out the goodbye. But now, standing together, we had nothing to say. Chase arrived quickly. "The store didn't have any nice umbrellas left, just this pink one. Use it for now, I'll buy you a better one later." He handed me the umbrella, then looked at Liam. Liam was holding his umbrella almost entirely over me, half his body soaked. His wet T-shirt clung to his collarbone, revealing a faint tattoo underneath. NZ "I didn't know you had a tattoo," Chase said curiously. "What is it? Your ex's initials?" "Yeah." Liam's expression was blank. "You simp, and you have the nerve to call me one," Chase smirked. "Funny coincidence, my girlfriend has a tattoo right there too." Liam raised an eyebrow. "Really? You don't mind?" "Mind what?" Chase didn't catch the drift. "The tattoo? No, as long as she likes it." Liam looked genuinely surprised. "She tattooed her ex's name on her body, and you don't mind?!" "What ex?" Chase looked at him. "It's not an ex's name. It's a little fish." Liam froze. Just then, a gust of wind blew my hair back, revealing the tiny, delicate fish tattooed on my collarbone. Liam stopped dead in his tracks, staring intensely at the fish. As if trying to see through the ink to the name buried underneath. 3 When I decided to get the tattoo, Liam mocked me for ages. "You? You cry for three days over a paper cut. A tattoo? Go home and drink your milk." I wasn't having it. "You got one, why can't I? If only you have one, it's not a couple's tattoo!" "Fine," Liam ruffled my hair, took out a pen, and wrote three letters on my wrist: HYC (Liam's initials). "There, couple's tattoo. Go play." He was right. I was terrified of pain. I hesitated for a long time, finally deciding to do it on his birthday. Liam didn't lie. It hurt like hell. I regretted it instantly, tears swirling in my eyes. The artist kept handing me tissues. "Almost done, just hang on." But seeing Liam's reaction made it all worth it. At first, he smirked. "Nice tattoo sticker. Looks real." But when he touched it, he froze. I thought he'd be happy. "Looks good, right? I thought about the design for ages!" Liam didn't speak. He just stared. After a long time, he hugged me tightly. So tight I couldn't breathe. I pushed him. "Liam, stop! It hurts!" His voice trembled. "You're so scared of pain. Why did you do it?" I grinned. "Because it's your name. It doesn't hurt." After a silence, he sighed softly. "Idiot." "Liam," I teased him. "I heard laser removal hurts way more than getting a tattoo. Don't break up with me, or I'll have to suffer twice." He looked me in the eye. "Never. We will never break up. "I won't let you hurt again." I laughed. I believed him. We grew up together. He had always been good to me. I was spoiled and dramatic, and even my mom said Liam enabled all my bad habits. She'd say, "Treat him well. Don't always boss him around. If he gets fed up, you'll never find anyone who treats you this well again!" I swore, "No way. Liam said he'd never leave me!" I genuinely believed nothing could separate us. I didn't know that six months later, we would be strangers. When I went to cover the tattoo, I looked out the window at a fish swimming in a bowl and changed my mind. "Make it a little fish." From now on, I'd be fine on my own. 4 The rain hadn't stopped when class ended. My shoelace had come undone, and I frowned, shaking my foot. Liam instinctively squatted down to tie it. Chase, who had just lit a cigarette, clamped it in his mouth and squatted down, shoving Liam aside. "What are you doing?" He squinted at Liam through the smoke. "My girlfriend's shoe is untied. Why are you squatting?" Liam's outstretched hands froze in mid-air. He seemed to have forgotten that he was no longer the person entitled to tie my shoes. Chase looked away and quickly tied a perfect bow. He used to be clumsy too. I always complained his knots were ugly. Now he was practiced. Just like Liam used to be. And the first real fight I ever had with Liam was about tying shoelaces. ... The first time I met Ruby, it was at Liam's house. Liam had a serious illness as a child and needed frequent blood transfusions. He had Rh-null blood—"Golden Blood"—making donors scarce. Once, he almost died from blood loss. His parents spent a fortune finding donors. Ruby was brought by her parents, a pair of compulsive gamblers who saw a cash cow. They didn't care that she was just a child. Liam's mom couldn't bear it and only took 400cc, finding other donors to make up the rest. But Ruby's parents saw an opportunity. Every time Liam needed blood, they brought Ruby. Sometimes, desperate, Liam's parents had no choice but to accept. You could say Ruby saved Liam's life. But after Liam recovered, Ruby got sick. Her parents neglected her. A teenager, she looked like a ten-year-old. The frequent blood donations destroyed her health. Afraid she'd become a burden, her parents abandoned her. The Hendersons (Liam's family), grateful for her help and pitying her, paid for her treatment at a sanatorium. When she recovered, they took her in. They didn't formally adopt her, but she lived like a daughter. She received the same treatment as Liam. Ruby wasn't pretty. She was plain, a bit countrified, and had a limp from an old injury. Liam's parents transferred her to our school and told Liam to take care of her. At first, I pitied her. She knew nothing, didn't even have a uniform. When kids mocked her worn-out dress, I lent her my spare uniform. In badminton class, when no one partnered with her, I volunteered. I liked Liam. She saved Liam. So I was nice to her. Until I noticed her feelings for Liam were... off. She always tagged along on our dates, saying she had no friends. Liam, soft-hearted, let her come. After school, she walked with us, saying people mocked her limp. Liam couldn't bring himself to chase her away. Over time, our couple time disappeared. It was always the three of us. I complained to Liam multiple times. He was helpless. "She's new and adjusting. Once she makes friends, it'll be fine." I believed him, until the shoelace incident. I went to find Liam to walk home, only to see him squatting on the ground, tying Ruby's shoelace. The setting sun stretched their shadows long. Ruby's plain face was flushed, her expression tender. Like a scene from an anime. Rage flared. I rushed up and shoved Liam. "What are you doing?!" Liam stumbled. "Ruby's shoe came untied. Her leg hurts, she can't squat. I'm helping her." Maybe I was sensitive. But tying shoelaces felt too intimate. I kicked Liam. "If she can't squat, she shouldn't wear shoes with laces! Is she going to make you tie them every time?!" Liam was confused. "Why are you making a big deal out of this? It's just tying a shoe. I've done it for you." I felt wronged. "Am I the same as her?!" Ruby looked panicked. "Sarah, don't be like this. My leg really hurts. Be mad at me, not Liam. I won't let him do it again. I'll do it myself!" She tried to squat but lost her balance and fell hard, face paling in pain. Liam rushed to help her up, then turned and yelled at me. "Is this necessary?!" It was the first time he yelled at me. For another girl. Tears welled up. "Liam, I'm breaking up with you!" ... The cold war lasted three hours, ending with Liam apologizing. In the pouring rain, he stood downstairs with my favorite cake. Even my mom felt bad. "That's enough. Let him in before he gets sick." I went down reluctantly with an umbrella. Liam's black hair was plastered to his forehead, water dripping from his lashes. His voice was raspy. "I was wrong. I shouldn't have yelled at you. She saved my life, I have to look out for her, but I promise it won't happen again." He held my hands, his palms warm in the cold rain. "Forgive me, okay?" I glared at him, still a bit angry. "From now on, you only tie my shoelaces." Liam laughed. "Fine. Only yours. You really are my little ancestor." He hugged me gently. "And you can't just break up with me whenever. Who else is going to tie your shoes?" I raised an eyebrow. "Plenty of people! Don't be ungrateful!" It was true. Plenty of guys chased me after we broke up. I believed any of them would do it. Including Chase, who treated me no worse than Liam did back then. Chase stood up, the ash on his cigarette long and precarious. I reached out, took a drag, and shared the Marlboro menthol with him right in front of Liam. He held me, smoke swirling between our lips, creating a barrier against Liam. Liam's eyes darkened. "You let her smoke?" Chase exhaled a cloud of smoke, looked Liam up and down, and said: "She can do whatever she wants. Who am I to control her?" "But you, Liam... you seem a little too concerned about my girlfriend." ... After Liam left with a black face, Chase walked me back to the dorm. I decided to tell him about my history with Liam. Chase finished his cigarette and smiled. "I guessed. I'm not blind. He's obvious. Usually so cool, but loses his soul when he sees you." "You aren't mad?" "Mad about what?" He tossed the butt in the bin. "You broke up with him and chose me. Doesn't that mean I'm better? Besides, I know you, Sarah." He tilted the umbrella toward me. "You look soft, but your heart is harder than anyone's. Once you're done, you don't look back." We locked eyes, rain falling around the umbrella. "So I won't give you a reason to break up with me." Chase put a hand in his pocket and lowered his head to kiss me. The lingering taste of menthol and rain filled my senses. I looked up, accepting his gentle but firm advance. The world went blank for a moment, as if only we existed. When he pulled back, I was lightheaded from lack of oxygen. I heard Chase chuckle as he wiped the corner of my mouth with his thumb. "Not enough? Want another one?" I blushed and pretended to kick him, but as I moved my leg, I saw Liam. In the torrential rain, he stood under a black umbrella, watching us. Who knows how long he had been there.
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