The man walking toward them with a wrapped box in one hand and poking the other into his pocket, was undeniably Rutger. He looked at Anita and waved the box around and upon seeing Edmund standing by her side, he furrowed his brow.

“Who’s this?”

“Me? She’s my girlfriend.”

Anita’s mouth fell open. What is this man talking about?

Seeing Rutger’s face growing increasingly rigid, Anita quickly grabbed a hold of Edmund’s clothing and whispered urgently.

“What are you doing? You didn’t mention helping like this.”

“It’s said it’s effective in dealing with stalkers.”

“He’s not a stalker!”

“What? You should have said something sooner.”

“Why are you whispering to each other? Girlfriend? What’s going on here…”

Realizing his mistake, Edmund tried to make amends. Gently retrieving his left arm from around Anita’s shoulders, he blurted again.

“Sorry, sorry. I’ve been a little disoriented lately. You know Dr. Ray? That renowned psychiatrist I see for counseling every Sunday and he told me not to believe most of the things that come out of my mouth.”

Anita touched her forehead. He was thoroughly ruining his own image.

“Senior, please stop.”

“So you’re saying you’re mentally ill?”

As Rutger’s annoyed voice butted in, Anita felt like crying. How the hell was she supposed to fix this situation? She almost felt like confessing her feelings to the guy she had met earlier was more peaceful.

“Senior, thank you for helping me in many ways. Do you want to have something to eat or drink?”

“Me? Wellington Ice Cream across the street.”

“Well, I’ll buy it by the flavor and send it to the student council office, so could you please leave today?”

“Well, alright. But if that guy does anything strange, make sure you come to find me. Don’t let him get away with it.”

“Yes, yes.”

Anita poured out a flurry of words, hastily removing Edmund from Rutger’s sight. She felt the sharp gaze on her back but swallowed her dry throat.

Sure enough, Rutger was there, arms crossed, squinting at her, his gaze seeming to say,’Now, Anita, let’s hear your excuse.’

On the other hand, Anita’s defiance swelled in response to his attitude. She didn’t like how he acted as if he could come and go as he pleased whenever it suited him. She had grown tired of him being all friendly when he wanted and then pushing her away when it didn’t suit him.

“Anita.”

“Stop calling me.”

She turned her head in a different direction and stared at the ground, ignoring Rutger.

“All right, fine, for now, just take this. You like this, don’t you?”

“…….”

Anita looked at the box that he had handed her with a confused expression. It was beautifully wrapped in pink with a yellow ribbon. Opening the box, a refreshing fragrance filled the air.

“Lemon pie….”

If it had been the Anita from a year ago, she would have been excited just because he gave her a gift. She might not have been able to sleep at night due to the excitement of receiving something so nicely wrapped.

“I don’t like this. Take it away.”

Anita has never liked lemon pie in her life. Despite hating the sour foods, she gobbled it down, pretending it was delicious. Just to have a little something in common with Rutger.

“What?”

“I hate it now.”

Lemon pie was actually Rutger’s favorite food, though he would never know it.

Back in her room, Anita flopped gloomily onto her desk. As she let out a long sigh, the pages of the book spread out on the desk flipped over swiftly.

I can’t avoid Rutger forever. Sooner or later, either Anita’s patience will run out and she’ll drop out of school, or Rutger will do something. He’s a man who needs to have what he wants to get his way.

Anita reminds herself why she chose biology she originally wanted to major in creative writing and become a writer.

But at that point in her life, she’d had a lot of trouble with the mysterious Rutger, and for her, biology was like dogma.

Even Rutger, made up of blood, bones, flesh, and muscles, as an organism, breathing and living with Anita, was a great comfort to her.

It’s not that she loves Rutger, it’s just dopamine.

Anita kept telling herself that, as she always did

Of course, life would be so much easier if it were that simple. Knowing the principles alone does not mean you know the reasons and principles behind your actions. No matter how many times Anita brainwashed herself, the mere presence of Rutger dried her lips and made her head stiffen.

***

The next day, as Anita stopped by the Wellington Ice Cream shop, she wrapped the gift for Edmund. Even though he inadvertently got the brunt of Rutger’s inquiries, Edmund had tried to help her, after all.

Vanilla, strawberry, chocolate, coconut—seeing various flavors all laid out, Anita paused. It was the fresh lemon scent that triggered last night’s memory.

She shook her head slightly to rid herself of the scent that was coming up through her nose.

As Anita indulged in this seemingly meaningless act, the shop attendant finished the wrapping.

“Please send this to the Aberdeen University Student Council room, and the recipient is Edmund…he’ll know.”

Now that I think about it, she couldn’t recall his last name. Nevertheless, in the student council, there couldn’t be two Edmunds. Anita paid and left the store. The clear sky and mountain breeze greeted her. Aberdeen, in the southwestern part of the Empire, was a sunny and peaceful place year-round.