Koi no yokan (恋の予感) is not love at first sight. It is the feeling, upon meeting someone, that falling in love with them is inevitable. Not that you love them now — but that you will. It is a premonition, a sense of what is coming, a recognition that this person is about to become important in your life. There is no English equivalent because English distinguishes between the beginning and the middle of love. Japanese recognises the moment before the beginning — the breath before the first word.

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