Your Hoodie still smells like me - Move-In Day

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Episode 1 — Your Hoodie Still Smells Like Me

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“Move-In Day”

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Rain hit the campus sidewalks in uneven waves, turning the streets around Westbridge University silver under the evening lights.

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Move-in day was chaos.

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Cars lined the dorm entrance. Students dragged suitcases through puddles while parents argued over parking spots. Somewhere nearby, someone blasted music loud enough to shake the windows.

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Eli Navarro stood under the dorm awning with two heavy boxes in his arms and regret already forming in his chest.

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“Why did I bring so many books…” he muttered.

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A raindrop slid down the back of his neck.

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“Great.”

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His phone buzzed again.

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MIN JUN

room code’s 4B btw

if u die carrying boxes that’s not my fault

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Eli snorted softly and adjusted the stack in his arms.

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The top box immediately slipped.

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“Oh, come on—”

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Before it could crash onto the wet pavement, another hand caught it.

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Steady. Fast.

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Eli froze.

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His breath stopped before his thoughts did.

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Because he knew those hands.

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Long fingers. Silver ring on the index finger. Black sleeve pulled over the wrist.

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No way.

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Slowly, Eli looked up.

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Kai Arden stood in front of him beneath the rain-streaked lights, expression unreadable as ever.

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Black hoodie. Dark hair falling into his eyes. Same cold stare that used to make Eli nervous and comfortable at the same time.

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For one terrible second, neither of them spoke.

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The world around them kept moving — people laughing, tires splashing through puddles, doors slamming — but Eli only heard the pounding in his chest.

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Kai glanced at the box in his hands.

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“You still carry too much stuff.”

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His voice was deeper now.

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Eli hated that he noticed immediately.

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He swallowed hard. “You still act like helping people annoys you.”

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Kai handed the box back carefully.

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Their fingers brushed for less than a second.

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Still dangerous.

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Still familiar.

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Kai pulled his hand away first.

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Eli forced himself to breathe normally. “What are you doing here?”

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“Living here.”

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“…Seriously?”

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“Unfortunately.”

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Of course. Of course the universe would do this to him.

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Two years.

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Two whole years without seeing Kai, and suddenly he was standing three feet away wearing the same blank expression he used during their breakup.

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Eli tightened his grip on the box. “You go to Westbridge now?”

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Kai nodded once.

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“Architecture transfer program.”

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Eli laughed quietly in disbelief. “Wow. Cool. Awesome. Amazing.”

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“You sound stressed.”

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“I wonder why.”

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Kai looked like he almost smiled.

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Almost.

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And somehow that hurt worse.

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A loud voice suddenly echoed across the entrance.

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“ELI!”

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A tall guy wearing headphones jogged toward them while dragging a suitcase behind him.

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Min Jun.

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He stopped beside Eli, slightly out of breath before noticing Kai.

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“…Oh.”

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His eyes moved between them once.

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Then twice.

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The silence became painful immediately.

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Min Jun pointed carefully. “You didn’t tell me your ex looked like he belongs in a luxury watch advertisement.”

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“Min Jun,” Eli said flatly.

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“What? I’m easing tension.”

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“There is no tension.”

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Kai raised an eyebrow.

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Min Jun looked unconvinced. “Right. And I’m emotionally stable.”

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Eli wanted the ground to open beneath him.

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Kai adjusted the hood resting against the back of his neck, and Eli’s eyes caught on it instantly.

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Dark gray.

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Oversized.

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A small faded white print near the sleeve.

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His stomach dropped.

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No way.

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No actual way.

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That hoodie.

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Kai noticed where he was looking.

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Their eyes met again.

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And suddenly Eli remembered: sleeping against Kai’s shoulder on late bus rides, stealing hoodies after dates, wearing that exact one during thunderstorms because Kai said it smelled like his cologne.

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Kai still had it.

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After all this time.

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Before Eli could stop himself, he asked quietly,

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“You still wear that?”

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Kai’s expression flickered for the first time all evening.

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Small. Almost invisible.

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But Eli saw it.

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Then Kai looked away first.

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“It’s comfortable.”

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A lie.

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Both of them knew it.

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Rain continued pouring around them while something old and unfinished settled heavily between their shoulders.

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Not anger.

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Not closure either.

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Something worse.

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Something alive.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTNFFA9TkT2

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