Yaroslav woke up with an aching body, surrounded by the corpses of his comrades and the shattered remains of aircraft and weaponry. As he staggered through a cornfield, he searched desperately for his beloved, the one who had always lingered in his thoughts. Her voice echoed in his mind, a bittersweet melody that refused to fade.

  "My dear one, once again, you've drifted far from me.

  Maybe it's simply that

  We were never young before we grew old.

  maybe it's nothing strange at all,

  Just as leaves fall and flowers bloom.

  Has she followed another man,

  Leaving behind the seeds she once planted in me?"

  His thoughts drifted with the wind

  He waited for the silhouette he had longed for, the one etched deep in his heart. The flower in his hand had already withered…

  Then, she appeared...her presence as radiant as ever. A pure, innocent girl, her dark eyes glistening like the morning sun, deep and shining under the golden light.

  Yaroslav: Duong… When this war is over… Will you marry this American soldier?

  Yaroslav waiting for an answer from the girl he longed for... Yeah, in the depths of his mind, Yaroslav was an American soldier, hopelessly in love with her.

  Suddenly waking up, Yaroslav Shcherbakov found himself in his small room. He quickly brushed his teeth and tidied himself up in a hurry to make it to his outing with Duong. Duong's father had agreed to let them go out together as a reward for her diligent studies over the past month. Of course, he needed a local to accompany Duong since she often got lost...she had once even gotten lost in the parking lot near her home :)

  Yaroslav arrived at Duong's house to pick her up, and they spent the whole day together. He watched Duong with happiness, look at her cuteness, look the smile she reserved just for him, looks the way their hold hands, and marveling at the beauty of that "girl" inside her...

  He was intoxicated by this moment—just him and Duong, in a world of their own. His eyes lingered on her lips, soft and inviting. His breath grew heavier as he looked into her eyes. At that moment, he realized and was really he truly like Duong. A sinful love he could never confess, a feeling that could only exist within him. He couldn't see Duong as just his little sister… she was more than that.

  Yaroslav: You are so beautiful, Duong...

  Duong: I am always beautiful.

  She smiled at Yaroslav’s compliment. Duong truly cherished Yaroslav, he was so kind to her.

  Duong: Soldier… you’re not just my teacher, my friend, or even an older brother to me… you are too good. If I walk down on my wedding one day in the future, I hope you’ll be there to see how beautiful I'll be.

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  Yaroslav: …Yes, I'll be there.

  Although Yaroslav understood what Duong meant, but he couldn’t stop his mind from wandering a wedding where children tossed flowers, where Duong’s father smiled, where Nikolai’s family, little Ivan and Misha were all present... and where the most beautiful woman of that day would be Duong.

  Yaroslav could no longer control himself in front of Duong. He leaned down slowly, intending to press his lips against hers once. Closing his eyes, he moved closer and closer…

  But a voice shattered his thoughts.

  It was Ivan. The Nikolai's son was calling out to him.

  Ivan ran toward Yaroslav but suddenly stopped in his tracks when he saw Duong.

  Ivan: Yaroslav...? Are you on a date?

  Yaroslav: No! You idiot. Have you been so dazzled by this Vietnamese girl’s beauty that you’ve gone dumb? She’s just a neighbor from my building.

  Yaroslav hastily denied it—he didn’t want people thinking he was some kind of pedo or something.

  Ivan then turned his attention to Duong.

  Ivan: Are you Vietnamese? My mom is Vietnamese too! My name is Ivan Minh, but you can call me Minh or Ivan if you want.

  Duong: Wow, I’m Duong! I’m 16. How about you?

  Ivan: Same! I go to that school near Yaroslav’s building.

  Duong: Really? I’m going to start studying there soon. We’ll be schoolmates!

  The two teenagers hit it off immediately, chatting animatedly. Watching them, Yaroslav couldn’t help but feel a twinge of jealousy.

  Ivan and Duong had so much in common like video games, jokes, soccer, sports, movies, even their taste in music. They talked for so long that Yaroslav felt like a babysitter trailing behind them.

  But all fun had to come to an end. Before they parted ways, Ivan gathered his courage and asked for Duong’s phone number. She happily gave it to him.

  While Duong went to buy some ice cream, Yaroslav and Ivan waited together.

  That’s when Yaroslav noticed the way Ivan looked at Duong—his slightly flushed face, his goofy smile… Yaroslav knew that expression all too well.

  The look of a boy falling for someone.

  An uncomfortable feeling stirred inside Yaroslav.

  When Duong returned with three ice cream cones, the trio sat together, enjoying their treats before calling it a day. Duong sat next to Ivan, laughing and chatting about topics Yaroslav didn’t understand.

  Yaroslav felt a deep discomfort watching Duong laugh and joke with Ivan. A heavy sadness settled in his chest, how could he ever tell her that he loved her? It was like she was standing before the vast ocean, staring straight ahead instead of looking at him. When she walked away, he smiled… but she never saw it. She just never saw it.

  That feeling lingered inside Yaroslav as he walked together. He tried to ignore it, to push it down, but in the end, he couldn’t stop himself from asking.

  Yaroslav: Duong… what do you think about Ivan? And why did you give him your number so quickly?

  Duong: Ivan? Oh, he’s quite cute. I like him, I guess… maybe just a little, just a tiny bit.

  Yaroslav's heart just broke a little. :(