Like Paper Lanterns: Always You: Book Two

Sohee doesn't believe in safe places-not really.
Jeno's still learning how to stop hiding in plain sight.
But in the quiet between classes and the hush of after-school walks, something is beginning to grow.

After the fragile connection they built in Book One, Sohee and Jeno are left navigating the blurry space between almost and maybe. They aren't friends in the way people expect, and they aren't more than that-at least, not yet. But there's a borrowed hoodie that smells like home, a sketchbook with pages Sohee doesn't mind being seen, and a steady presence at his side that makes Jeno feel like he doesn't have to pretend.

Every chapter in this gentle, slow-burn continuation brings them closer:
- A shared walk under gray skies
- A secret smile in the back of the library
- A first nap shoulder to shoulder, too scared to move and ruin it

But with growing closeness comes growing fear-because being seen also means being vulnerable. And for boys like Sohee and Jeno, who've each spent years surviving behind masks, letting someone in might be the hardest thing of all.

Will they risk stepping out of the quiet safety they've found in each other? Or will the past-full of silence, rejection, and expectations-pull them apart before they can learn what love truly means?

Like its title, Like Paper Lanterns is about light held gently in thin skin. Fragile. Beautiful. Real.
This second installment in the Always You series continues the emotional journey of two boys learning that love doesn't have to be loud to be life-changing.

Themes: queer identity, first love, emotional intimacy, found family, gentle romance, trauma healing
Perfect for fans of: Sasaki and Miyano, Aristotle and Dante, Given, and anyone who believes love can be soft.