MWith spring came the season of renewal.

For many university students, it brought a new school year.

For Kuro and Yui...

It brought the transition into adulthood.

Not the romanticized variety of dreamy snow walks and cozy lunches.

The real deal.

The version of adulthood full of responsibilities and hard choices.

---

Acceptance letters had been replaced with contracts.

Internships.

Residency assignments.

Professional careers.

Their dreams slowly becoming a reality.

---

Yui was looking at the resident placement board in the medical university.

Names of dozens of students covered the big sheet of paper.

Other students were anxiously gathering around it.

One by one, cheers and sighs were filling the hallway.

Yui was looking for her name.

And finally found it.

Yui Takahashi.

Assigned Resident Position: Seihoku Regional Medical Center.

Yui froze.

It was a highly reputed hospital.

With excellent education.

Skilled physicians.

Everything she could wish for in her dream position.

There was only one drawback.

It was almost four hours away from the university by train.

---

That evening, Kuro was meeting her in their usual café.

She silently passed her residency assignment paper to him.

He read it.

Then looked back at her.

"...That’s far."

She nodded.

"I leave next month."

Silence fell between them.

Neither of them was complaining.

They both understood.

This was an inevitable part of the life they had been working for.

---

A week later, Kuro got similar news.

He was accepted as an intern in a community counseling center connected to the university.

His supervisor gave him the documents with a smile.

"You will spend most of your time observing licensed counselors there."

Kuro nodded.

"I understand."

"It is not a glamorous choice."

"I didn’t expect anything else."

She smiled.

"Good."

---

Weeks flew by fast.

Much faster than both of them could expect.

Before they knew it...

The day of Yui’s departure came.

The station was full of travelers with luggage.

Yui carried only one suitcase.

Kuro was standing next to her.

Neither of them knew what to say.

After a while...

Announcement was heard throughout the station.

"Train boarding now."

Yui quietly laughed.

"I guess..."

"This is goodbye."

Kuro shook his head.

"No."

"...See you soon."

She smiled.

"I like that better."

Before boarding the train, she embraced him.

It wasn’t a dramatic embrace.

Quite the opposite.

Soft, warm and comforting.

"I will call you."

"I know."

"You’d better answer."

"I will try."

She laughed.

"I will take that."

The doors of the train were closing.

Slowly moving down the track...

Kuro was still standing on the platform watching it.

---

First few weeks went well.

They communicated a lot.

Good morning texts.

Goodnight ones.

Photos of food.

Fun stories from work.

Late-night phone calls which continued until one of them fell asleep.

It wasn’t the same anymore.

But it was something to hold on to.

---

Then...

Reality struck.

Yui’s residency became harder.

Long shifts.

Emergency calls.

Nights on duty.

She was coming back to her apartment too tired to eat anything.

Some nights...

She was falling asleep before answering Kuro’s messages.

---

Kuro wasn’t having an easier time.

Confidentiality.

Professionalism.

Observation reports.

Listening to the difficult stories of counseling patients.

By the time he was arriving home...

He was too tired himself.

---

One evening...

Phone call woke him up.

Yui.

He answered it immediately.

"...Hello?"

Silence.

Only quiet breathing.

"...Yui?"

"...Sorry."

Her voice sounded tired.

"I just wanted to hear your voice."

They were talking only for five minutes when she quietly whispered,

"...I can’t keep my eyes open."

"Go sleep."

"I’m sorry."

"You don’t have to apologize."

"...Goodnight."

The call ended.

Kuro was looking at his phone screen.

He hadn’t even managed to ask how she was.

---

Weeks were passing.

Their conversations were becoming shorter.

Not because they wanted it.

Because they didn’t have time anymore.

---

One Friday evening...

Kuro called her.

No answer.

He tried again.

Nothing.

An hour later...

Still nothing.

He was putting the phone back to the desk.

"...She is probably working."

---

The next morning...

A message finally came from her.

Yui: I’m sorry. Emergency surgery observation. Didn’t get home until 3 AM.

Kuro sighed in relief.

Then stopped.

Relief was turning into disappointment.

Not at her.

At the situation.

---

Another week passed.

This time...

Yui was calling him.

Kuro was observing a counseling session at this moment.

He couldn’t answer.

When he finally was looking at his phone...

There were three missed calls and one message.

Yui: It’s okay. I know you are busy.

---

She had written "It’s okay."

But somehow...

It wasn’t really okay.

---

Eventually...

Distance started creating something neither of them was expecting.

Loneliness.

Not because they loved each other less.

Because they missed spending everyday moments together.

---

One rainy evening...

They managed to set up the video chat.

Yui looked tired.

Kuro looked tired too.

Neither of them was mentioning it.

Instead...

They were smiling.

Trying to protect the other one.

---

"You are eating properly?"

Kuro asked.

"Mostly."

"Mostly?"

"...Sometimes."

He frowned.

"You need to—"

Yui sighed.

"I know."

"You always say that."

"You never listen."

"I don’t have time!"

The words had slipped out of her mouth without her realizing it.

Silence.

Yui immediately lowered her gaze.

"...I’m sorry."

Kuro was rubbing his forehead.

"I wasn’t criticizing you."

"I know."

"I just..."

She was taking a deep breath.

"I’m tired."

"So am I."

Another silence was following.

A dangerous one.

The kind that could easily turn into the fight.

---

Kuro was the first to speak.

"...Can I be honest?"

Yui quietly nodded.

"I miss you."

"So much that sometimes..."

He was smiling bitterly.

"I get frustrated by things which are not even your fault."

Yui’s eyes were getting watery.

"...Me too."

"I keep pretending that everything is fine."

"So you wouldn’t worry."

"But..."

"I’m lonely."

Admission was weighing heavier than both of them had expected.

---

For several minutes...

Neither of them was trying to fix the issue.

They were talking honestly.

Missed each other.

Were tired.

Afraid.

Wondering if they were doing enough.

No accusations.

No blame.

Only truth.

---

After the conversation ended...

Both of them felt lighter somehow.

Nothing has changed.

Distance was still there.

Work was still there.

But now...

They didn’t have to pretend anymore.

---

Three months later...

Yui was finishing another night shift.

She was feeling numb.

She was slowly walking towards the station.

"I just want to sleep..."

she whispered.

---

Meanwhile...

In another station, several prefectures away...

Train was quietly pulling in.

Kuro was coming out of the station with the backpack in his hands.

Checking the clock.

5:42 AM.

He had taken the first train of the morning.

---

His supervisor saw how distracted he was.

"Go."

she told him.

"You’ve earned the day off."

"Really?"

"Sometimes listening to others means remembering your own heart too."

---

Kuro was smiling as he was leaving the station.

He knew exactly where Yui would end her shift tonight.

He has remembered the route months ago.

Just in case.

---

As Yui was approaching the hospital’s entrance...

She stopped.

Beneath the morning sky...

Holding two warm cups of coffee...

Stood Kuro.

He was smiling softly.

"...Morning."

Yui was staring at him in total disbelief.

"...Kuro?"

"You look like you could use a breakfast."

For a minute...

She couldn’t move.

Then tears quietly appeared in her eyes.

Not because of any dramatic events.

Because after months of being apart...

The person she has missed the most...

Has come all this way...

To say,

"Good morning."

For some seconds, Yui just stood there.

Was she still dreaming after the overnight shift?

"Kuro..."

He smiled and waved the paper bag in front of her face.

"I didn’t know what you preferred, so I bought a little bit of everything."

She smiled through her tears.

"You really took the first train?"

"I did."

"... Just to have breakfast with me?"

"I missed you."

It seemed so simple.

But Yui’s heart hurt.

She hugged him tightly.

Neither of them bothered about the doctors, nurses and medical students passing by.

Gentle hands returned the hug.

"I missed you too," she murmured.

---

They found a small bakery located right behind the hospital which had just opened.

The air was filled with the sweet scent of fresh bread.

They ordered toast, scrambled eggs, coffee for Kuro and hot milk for Yui.

And for the first time in months...

They ate together without using their phones.

Yui looked at him and smiled.

"I forgot how it feels."

"What?"

"To have breakfast with someone."

Kuro silently spread butter on a slice of toast.

"It feels normal."

"Exactly."

She looked out of the window.

"I’ve spent so many mornings leaving the hospital alone that I forgot how morning could feel like."

---

They exchanged stories of all the things they had missed during this time.

Kuro told her about his experience in the counseling center.

An elderly woman who needed just to talk to somebody.

A boy who brought his drawing proudly and finally started talking in a therapy session.

Yui listened to him with shining eyes.

Then she told her own stories of residency.

A doctor who kept giving snacks to exhausted residents.

A nurse who could calm crying kids with a smile.

An old man who insisted on thanking all the medical students individually.

Neither of them noticed how time flew.

---

Eventually, Yui looked at the clock.

"I should go home and sleep."

Kuro nodded.

"I’ll walk you."

The way to her apartment wasn’t long.

When they reached the entrance of her building, Yui paused.

"...Thank you."

"You’ve already thanked me."

"I know."

"But I don’t think I could thank you enough."

She looked into his eyes.

"This distance has not become any easier."

"No."

"But today... It made me remember something."

"What?"

"No matter how far away we are..."

She took his hand.

"... We are still going to the same destination."

Kuro smiled.

"And until we reach it..."

"I will continue taking the train."

Yui smiled.

"And I’ll continue waiting for you."

She leaned towards him and kissed his cheek before entering her building.

Kuro looked at her window until the light in her room appeared.

And then he started to walk back home.

This way would take almost four hours.

He would be tired when he reaches home.

He wouldn’t regret any second.

Some distances cannot be measured by kilometers.

They are measured by people waiting at the end of the road.