"Who is HE?" they ask.
And I never know how to answer.
He isn't my ex.
He isn't my boyfriend.
He isn't my friend.
He's not even just a simple crush.
We don't have a name.
He's simply... the biggest chapter of my heart... written without a relationship.
---
His name is Rigel.
[In Yuri's room, 1 AM. Kaizo is on video call.]
Kaizo: Okay, so help me. If Rigel isn't your boyfriend, what do I tell people? My cousin saw you guys at the mall and said you looked like a couple.
Yuri: We are not a couple.
Kaizo: Then what are you? You talk every day. You know his coffee order. He knows when you're on your period.
Yuri: I don't know. If someone asks me "Who is he?" I freeze.
Kaizo: Ex?
Yuri: We never dated. How can he be my ex if he was never mine?
Kaizo: Boyfriend?
Yuri: I wish. But no.
Kaizo: Friend?
Yuri: Friends don't make you cry at 2 AM because you're full and you had a beer and you suddenly miss them.
Kaizo: Crush then?
Yuri: Crushes fade. This stayed for two years. Through another relationship. He's not a crush. He's the biggest chapter of my heart. And we didn't even have a relationship.
[Later that night, Rigel texts]
Rigel: You up?
Yuri: Yeah.
Rigel: Can I call? Quick lang.
Yuri: Sure.
[On the call]
Rigel: Where were you today? I went to our usual place. You weren't there.
Yuri: I was avoiding you. Because people keep asking me who you are, Rigel. And I don't know what to say.
Rigel: Then tell them I'm yours.
Yuri: But are you?
Rigel: What if I don't want to be your ex, your friend, or your crush? What if I want to be your person?
Yuri: There is a name for that. But you have to choose it.
Rigel: Okay. Then... can I be your boyfriend? For real this time? Not an almost. Not a no-name. Yours?
Yuri: [crying now] Say it again.
Rigel: Can I be your boyfriend, Yuri? Can I finally give our chapter a name?
Yuri: Yes. God, yes. Finally.
Rigel: I'll see you tomorrow? At our place? 9 AM?
Yuri: Yes. 9 AM. I'll be there.
Rigel: I love you, Yuri.
Yuri: I love you too, Rigel. Finally, I can say it back with a name.
She smiles, closes her eyes, feeling his voice still in her ear, feeling lighter than she has in years.
Then —
_BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ_
_BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ_
_BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ_
The alarm won't stop.
Yuri frowns. She reaches out, half-asleep, slapping her bedside table.
_BZZZZZZZZZ_
"Ugh, shut up..."
She sits up and hits the snooze button hard.
Silence.
Her room is dark. Cold. 5:30 AM. No video call open. No call from Rigel. Her phone screen is black — no messages, no "You up?" No "Can I be your boyfriend?"
Her cheeks are wet. She was crying in her sleep.
It was all a dream.
Rigel never called. He never asked. She still doesn't have a name for him.
And her phone buzzes again — but this time it's not him.
It's her alarm again. And a Facebook memory notification from December 2021.
"Who is HE?" they ask.
And she still doesn't know how to answer.
The end
