Unbeknownst to Ruka, the man next to him could hear the voice resounding from her phone due to the silence in the car. “Why? Don’t you miss me?” the man grumbled.
“Of course I…. I do miss you! But you’ve just returned to the country. You should head home first.” “Then, we can meet up for a meal and a movie tomorrow. Your favorite sci-fi movie has just been released.”
“Really? I’m totally up for it.” She was on cloud nine. Not only did her crush return to the country, the movie she anticipated was also released. It was as though wonderful things were happening at the same time.
On the other hand, Ren turned his head to look out of the window as if he was deep in his thoughts. However, he kept listening to how happy her voice was while she talked over the phone; mixed feelings stirred in his eyes.
It was not until Ruka terminated the call that he turned to look at her, only to see the smile across her lips. Her joyous expression struck somewhere deep in his racing heart.
He stared at her while images of past memories flashed across his head. He could vividly remember the way she looked as she grew up like a butterfly.
They met for the first time when he was twelve; Scarlet carried a little girl home, who was weeping non-stop with her hands held onto Scarlet’s shoulders tightly. It was safe to say that tears did not stop falling from her beady eyes.
At that time, Ren was doing his homework at Scarlet’s house and the girl was so noisy that he was annoyed.
During the afternoon, she would snatch away his ball when he was playing basketball. Not only did she refuse to return it while hugging it, she even cried while lying on the ground like a brat!
Back then, she was only two years old, the age where even dogs found them annoying. It was her first time rebelling, but she was not someone to mess with.
Scarlet told him that she was going to take care of the child since the parents left the country upon receiving a job transfer at the very last minute. Meanwhile, Scarlet’s son was taken to the army base to be raised by his grandfather; the far distance rendered it difficult for them to meet up. Thus, she really wished to look after the girl.
“Ren, play with me.” The little girl chased after Ren after he finished school.
Scarlet pulled her and told her, “Ruka, Ren is your Uncle. You should address him respectfully.”
From that day onward, he had a faithful shadow who imitated everything that he did; whenever he was finishing his homework, she would sit beside him and pretend to write something on a small notebook while reading, “Rabbit, pig…. duck, baby… Done!”
However, the once puny girl, who learned new vocabularies next to him, was dating a guy right now.
Time flew by in a blink of an eye. When Ruka was still five, Ren left Scarlet’s house to pursue his studies abroad. He bet she did not remember anything before she turned five, but he maintained the recollection for all of it.
“Was that your boyfriend?” He turned his head to confirm the situation. “No. He’s my senior.” She waved her hand.
“Are you going out with him?” he questioned further.
Her expression turned sad as she scratched her head. “Nah, we’re just friends.”
His intense gaze fixated upon her as he claimed, “You’re still young. You have a lot of time to find yourself a partner.”
“You’re right. I don’t have plans to date one in the near future either.” She nodded like an obedient child.
