TPCF 74

Chapter 74

“You’re crazy.”

“If I were you, I wouldn’t say that.”

“What do you mean?”

As if he were the owner of the place, Rutger stepped naturally into Anita’s room and glanced around. Anita wanted to smack her past self for not cleaning today. Fortunately, Rutger didn’t seem particularly interested in her room. Before long, he leaned against the bare wall and sat down on the floor.

“It’s your birthday today. I came all the way here to celebrate, and this is the welcome I get.”

At that moment, every thought in Anita’s head evaporated.

“H-how did you know?”

“How could I not? Why wouldn’t I know that?”

His tone even sounded as if he were scolding her. For a second, Anita thought she must be dreaming. Maybe this was just a delusion born from her sadness at not hearing “happy birthday” from him. Rutger Vailan sitting in her room with a playful smile—that was far too unreal.

Anita loved his smile. The dimples that appeared when the corners of his lips curled upward, the graceful slant of his eyes—she was always weak to those.

Anita Rodel had always been vulnerable to his laughter.

“I even brought you a present, but… ah, damn.”

“What is it?”

His lips, which had been curled in a cheerful grin, suddenly fell. Pressing his forehead, Rutger let out a long sigh.

“I left it in my room. I’ll go back and get—”

“Wait! Just give it to me tomorrow.”

If she saw him climbing the ladder again, Anita felt she might actually die of a heart attack. She stopped him at all costs.

“What were you doing?”

“I was…”

She didn’t want to admit she’d just been doodling on scraps of paper. Not on her birthday, at least. While she fumbled for an excuse, Rutger took her hand.

“Sit and talk.”

It wasn’t that she sat because he told her to. Her legs simply gave out like a marionette with its strings cut. She was stunned at how quickly she obeyed, as if she were some well-trained dog.

For a while, silence hovered between them. Anita darted her eyes around, searching desperately for something to say. Rutger seemed just as lost.

Through the open window came a chilly breeze and the distant hoot of an owl.

“It snowed. Did you see?”

“Yeah. Mr. Müller was grumbling about how much more work he’s got now.”

Anita glanced around her room. Just a moment ago it had been the coziest hiding place in the world, but with just one visitor, everything felt different. The comfort was gone, replaced by an awkward tension.

Even the ticking second hand on the clock seemed slower than before.

“How’s school these days?”

Leaning against the wall, Rutger stared only at his hands as he asked.

“What’s with the parent-like question?”

Rutger chuckled. Even he must have realized how strange it sounded. How long had it been since they sat face-to-face and actually talked like this? While Anita tried to recall their last meeting, Rutger suddenly asked,

“Want a lemon candy?”

Anita’s face stiffened ever so slightly. Rutger, busy pulling the candy from his pocket, didn’t notice. With her expression still frozen, she accepted it and popped it into her mouth.

The candy’s faint graininess and the subtle sweetness spreading over her tongue weren’t bad at all.

“So… you only just now remembered it was my birthday?”

She hadn’t meant it as a rebuke, but Rutger’s blue eyes wavered uncertainly.

“No.”

His lips opened as if to explain, then closed again. After a breathless silence, he finally spoke.

“Were you waiting for me to say it? If you’d fallen asleep, would you have cried?”

Of course. Anita snapped her head away. Rutger Vailan’s first law: he can’t stay kind for more than five minutes.

“I’m not five years old, why would I cry? I’m sixteen as of today, you know? Wait… come to think of it, your birthday’s in winter, right? That means I’m older than you now.”

Anita blurted it out with feigned irritation, trying to avoid being teased, but then remembered her birthday came first. She declared it triumphantly.

“Yeah.”

Yet Rutger only answered blandly, making her proud moment feel flat.

Thud.

Anita’s heart dropped to her toes. Rutger had rested his head on her shoulder. She gaped soundlessly, struck dumb. The weight pressing on her shoulder, the soft strands of his hair brushing her neck—it was all too unreal.

It felt as if all her senses had been concentrated on her shoulder.

Did he not even realize he was leaning on her?

Probably not. If Rutger were in his right mind, he’d never do this. Anita cautiously lowered her head to check if he’d fallen asleep, but before she could, his hair tickled her cheek.

He smelled of a cool, fresh forest.

Anita stiffened, as if someone had placed fragile glass atop her head.

“I’m tired.”

If he was tired, why didn’t he just sleep in his own room? Why here, why like this? She had thousands of questions, but not one made it past her lips.

“……”

Even swallowing felt dangerous. She wanted to scream and bolt from the room, yet at the same time wished time would stop right here.

After about ten minutes, Anita couldn’t hold back anymore.

“It’s cold. I should close the window…”

She was about to rise under that pretense when she froze. She had only turned her head absentmindedly, but her eyes locked with his. His pale lime-colored eyes didn’t waver, as if he’d been watching her the whole time, waiting for her to notice.

Inside her mouth, the lemon candy rolled nervously against her teeth.

“Aren’t you cold?”