As I was trying to insert the key with a clatter, the door opened by itself. Then a dark-haired boy emerged, backlit by the fluorescent light.

A black turtleneck reaching down to his neck and a pale face. Black hair falling down to his eyelids and light jade-colored eyes…

A man with a sensitive-looking expression.

The backlit face retained traces of an appearance from an old album here and there.

The man looked down at me with a languid expression, arms folded.

I gasped as soon as I recognized that face.

It was Alan Jade.

“A-Alan? Why are you here?”

Alan Jade was in our house.

I hurriedly covered my mouth.

As a result,

“Hic, hic…”

Hiccups burst out.

* * *

“So I came home from work, and there was Alan standing in front of the house? He’s changed so much I almost didn’t recognize him!”

Father laughed heartily as he spoke.

It was dinner time.

After Timothy left, a warm atmosphere filled the whole house for the first time in a while. And I had never been fond of this kind of atmosphere.

It was because my parents welcomed certain people more than others.

I poked at the salmon steak in front of me, thinking to myself.

‘Damn, you should have just kept not recognizing him. Why did you let this kid into the house, Dad.’

Unlike the cozy atmosphere at the dinner table, I felt like I was sitting on pins and needles right now.

It was because of Alan Jade sitting right next to me.

According to my parents, when they came home at quitting time, Alan was standing in front of the house.

My parents recognized Alan and immediately invited him in. Then they made dinner together while waiting for me, they said.

Mother chimed in:

“Seeing the two of you side by side like this really reminds me of the old days. You know, when Alan lived next door, you two played together every day. Back then, you two were so inseparable that I thought you’d end up marrying each other when you grew up!”

“Mom, stop talking about that. It was years ago.”

I cut off Mom’s sentimental talk, having lost my appetite.

Indeed, ever since we picked up our utensils, it had been nothing but reminiscing about childhood. My parents seemed overjoyed to see Alan after such a long time.

To begin with, the childhood Juno only had vague memories in her head, not my own experiences, so I couldn’t indulge in nostalgia like my parents.

Yet Mom chuckled happily and whispered to Alan in a low voice.

“Alan, I think Juno has frozen up because you’ve shown up as such a handsome young man. She’s even stiffer than usual.”

“That’s not it. And I can hear you, you know?”

“Well, when you were little, Alan, you were a bit shorter than Juno. Back then, you had a bit of a little brother vibe, but now you’ve shown up all tall and handsome… Even I would be too flustered to say a word.”

“That’s right. Juno can’t even look at Alan! She must be shy!”

With Dad joining in, I finally clamped my mouth shut.

No matter what I said now, I would just look like an eighteen-year-old girl who had become terribly shy because of her suddenly handsome childhood friend.

I swallowed some cold water to quell my bubbling insides. Then Alan set down his fork silently and smiled.

“We were certainly close when we were young. I’ve never seen her as a romantic interest, but as you said, seeing her after so long does make me feel more tender and glad. I think I made the right choice in coming.”

“See?”

My parents beamed, apparently having discarded the “never seen her as a romantic interest” part and only heard the rest.

Even as I searched Juno’s memories, all I could find were memories of breaking our front teeth while riding the slide backwards together, rather than any ticklish or embarrassing childhood memories.

‘What exactly are you remembering? Have your memories been beautified?’

As Alan started eating again, Dad suddenly asked:

“Alan, so you came to Connecticut today because of Juno? It did seem like contact became less frequent after you moved to England… I heard you’re attending school in New York now? Did you move back from England?”

“Ah, yes. That’s right. It hasn’t been long.”

I quietly pretended to drink water while turning my head away, but kept my ears open.

Alan glanced at me like that and said:

“Yes, I haven’t been back in the States for long. My parents were reassigned to America.”

“Ah, I see. They must have been transferred to an American research institute.”

Mom nodded.

Alan’s parents were a famous scientist couple even in academic circles. As a result, Alan spent a lot of time alone since childhood, so he spent time at our house.

“After that, I was busy adjusting to the new school I transferred to, but after returning to America, I missed Juno and tried contacting her after a long time. But there was no reply, so I came in person.”

“Oh my, is that so? There was no reply?”

Ouch.

A piece of grilled salmon stopped as it was passing through my throat.

“Yes, it seems Juno’s number has changed in the meantime. I couldn’t get in touch, so I thought I’d get her new number while I was here.”

Ack.

I immediately covered my mouth as I choked. As I coughed with a red face, Mom brought me some tissues.

Yet she looked at Alan with a puzzled expression.

“Hmm? That’s strange. Juno has had the same number since she got her phone…”

“Me! You came in person because of me, Alan?! Really?! That’s so touching! We should definitely catch up over coffee at Starbucks sometime and talk about old times for hours. Right?!”

Having finally calmed down, I turned my head abruptly to look at Alan and spoke rapidly. I had to quickly change the subject before Mom could say anything more about my number.

Then I met those pale green eyes at close range.

Alan’s eyes widened for a moment, then he smiled and tilted his head towards me.

“You’re finally making eye contact?”

“…Huh?”

“You wouldn’t even look at me throughout dinner. If you kept that up, I might have really felt hurt, Juno. Did I become that awkward to you after not seeing each other for so long?”

At the gentle question mixed with laughter, I stammered in confusion. I thought I had become immune to handsome faces, but maybe that wasn’t entirely true.

“When did I… act awkward…”

“You did. You’ve become distant because we haven’t seen each other in a while, right?”

Alan glanced at me and burst into laughter as if dealing with a cute little sister. It was a moment when that sensitive, feline-like face crumbled.

Then Alan leaned forward and stared intently at my face, as if finding something fascinating and delightful.

I pulled back in surprise but still glared at him.

‘Hey, was he always this type of character…’

He had clearly cut a goblin in half without batting an eye on the news, but seeing Alan chuckling happily in front of me made me wonder if it was even the same person.

Anyway, making eye contact with a handsome yet suspicious boy was truly a difficult task.

I finally turned my head straight ahead, unable to withstand that gaze.

And I discovered my parents looking at me fondly, my face red from choking.

‘Ah, I think I can guess what they’re thinking…’

But that’s really not it, honestly.

* * *

After dinner, I went straight up to my room.

My parents were excited about finding photo albums, apparently reminiscing because of Alan.

I made an excuse about taking a bath and went up to the second floor.

The truth was, I wanted to avoid being with Alan as much as possible.

It wasn’t so much personal animosity as not wanting to give any chance for my identity to be discovered.

‘Moreover, even if I just breathe next to Alan, they’ll turn it into a romance. That’s burdensome too.’

Of course, I understand Juno’s parents’ feelings.

In her 18 years of life, Juno has never once brought a boy home – she’s a lifelong single.

While Timothy was lovey-dovey with Jessica and even living together in Boston, Juno always came straight home without straying and spent time watching TV programs with her parents.

Has she ever even held hands with a boy in her life?

Of course, Alan is excluded. He’s just the childhood friend from next door.

But now that childhood neighbor boy has shown up all tall and handsome, so they must be curious about how things might progress with their only daughter.

I couldn’t help but chuckle as I could clearly imagine what was going on in my parents’ minds.

“Anyway, ending up with your childhood friend is something only teen drama heroines do. It doesn’t really apply to me.”

Come to think of it, he’s not even my real childhood friend. Moreover, Alan doesn’t even appear in the original story. He’s not even Timothy’s friend.

I grumbled as I opened the closet door to grab my pajamas.

Since I had already made the excuse of taking a bath, I planned to stick to the bathroom for a very long time to avoid the uncomfortable meeting.

That’s when someone knocked on the door.

“Juno, it’s me, Alan.”

‘So much for being a gentleman.’

I paused and rolled my eyes. Then I reluctantly called out to him through the closed door.

“Alan? What is it?”

“I have something to talk about. Do you have time?”

“Well, time. I don’t think so. I’m going to wash up. I did some outdoor activities, so I feel smelly and sticky, and I’m going to scrub everywhere. It’ll take a long time. I also have homework to do.”

I spoke in a shrill voice, acting as if I was really too busy to spend time with a childhood friend from the past.

Immediately, a cheerful response came from outside the door.

“Then I’ll wait. Until you finish all your busy tasks.”

“…The bath alone will take two hours.”

As I unconsciously frowned and lowered my voice, I heard a chuckle from beyond the door.

…He laughed?