“You and Anita Rodel, I mean.”

“Who did you—what did you just say?”

Rutger, who had assumed Finian Nigel had found another innocent victim to mess with, initially dismissed the question. But suddenly, he frowned. It wasn’t a name he could just ignore.

If Anita chose Finian, there was nothing he could do to stop it. In fact, there was no reason for him to intervene. As far as Rutger could tell, people their age seemed to get together and break up with ease.

Among them, Finian’s relationships were particularly short-lived. Rutger would bet everything he had that even if they started dating, they wouldn’t last more than a month.

“What do you think?”

“That’s for you to figure out, not me.”

Rutger’s indifferent response made Finian narrow his eyes.

“What I’m curious about is what’s going on between you two.”

What kind of relationship?

When Rutger thought about it, calling them “friends” didn’t seem quite accurate. Unlike Sarah and Elina, who shared everything, there was a noticeable distance between him and Anita. Of course, that was a distance Rutger himself had created.

“Well, that’s….”

Did he really need to define their relationship? In Rutger’s mind, Anita Rodel was simply Anita Rodel. Like the sun rising in the morning or the moon hanging in the sky at night, Anita was always there in the places his gaze unconsciously landed.

She wasn’t family, and she certainly wasn’t a lover. They were close, but… had they grown more distant recently? Maybe he had been keeping too much distance?

As he mulled over this sudden thought, a familiar woman approached them.

“What’s this, what are you two talking about?”

Allison Schneider. Rutger glanced at her with a tired expression. Allison had been lingering around him for the past few months. She wasn’t exactly subtle, and Rutger had long realized that she had feelings for him.

But Allison always maintained a casual, nonchalant attitude, so drawing a clear boundary with her had been tricky. Even though Rutger was straightforward by nature, he wasn’t the type to bluntly reject someone without good reason.

“We were in the middle of a pretty important conversation.” 

“Oh, I see.”

Allison smiled politely.

“Wait. Now that I think about it, you must know Anita Rodel pretty well, right?”

“Anita?”

At the mention of her name, Allison glanced at Rutger with curiosity.

“I wouldn’t say I don’t know her. We were in the same class this morning. But why are you bringing her up all of a sudden?”

“Let’s just drop it. From the way you’re talking, it doesn’t seem like you two are that close.”

Finian joked playfully, but Allison kept her eyes fixed on Rutger, even though he hadn’t said much at all.

“I’m leaving.”

Rutger stood up. He didn’t want to waste any more time on this pointless conversation.

Now that he thought about it, Anita’s birthday was coming up. After ignoring and being cold toward her for the past few years, he felt like he needed to make up for it by preparing something special.

***

His plan had been simple—just deliver the gift and leave. Maybe exchange a few words, offer the usual birthday wishes, and that would be it.

So why had he kissed her?

Trying to hide his confusion, he pretended to be calm as he left Anita’s room. If she hadn’t stopped him and told him to use the door instead of climbing out the window, he might have embarrassingly fallen right out.

As a result, Rutger didn’t sleep a wink that night. Sure, Anita had feelings for him, so she accepted the kiss, but it was him who had made the first move. After tossing and turning for a long time, he finally got out of bed and opened his window. He stared at the darkened room across from his for a while before pulling the curtains shut.

Just looking at her closed window made Rutger’s mind swirl with confusion.

They had been friends for so long, and yet, now, everything felt uncertain. He couldn’t be sure if it was just a momentary impulse or if it was something deeper—an emotion he hadn’t even realized he had. Rutger sighed deeply.

He thought that seeing Anita the next day would help him clear his thoughts, to figure out whether it was just a fleeting feeling or something more.

But Anita Rodel didn’t show up the next day.

‘Could she have changed her mind already?’

That was a possibility.

After debating for a while, Rutger eventually knocked on her door.

“Why didn’t Anita come to school? She said she wasn’t feeling well today. Maybe it’s better if you see her another time.”

Selfishly, Rutger felt a bit relieved hearing that she wasn’t feeling well. At least it wasn’t because she hated him so much that she had skipped school to avoid seeing him.

He couldn’t understand why he was thinking this way.

The next day at school, Rutger saw Anita with Finian. He started to approach her without thinking but stopped short.

“…We’re nothing, really. We’re just neighbors. There’s no reason she’d tell me about every little thing in her life.”

Just neighbors? Then what about last night?

That was the distance Rutger had always wanted to maintain between them, but hearing Anita say it out loud made him feel strange.

“Talking about someone behind their back, huh, Nigel?”

He had intended to call out to Anita, but instead, he addressed Finian. For some reason, her name wouldn’t come out of his mouth.

“So what? When else would I talk behind someone’s back if not when they aren’t around?”

Only then did Anita notice Rutger’s presence, turning to look at him. They stared at each other in silence. The warmth that usually filled her eyes was gone, replaced by a cold gaze.

Rutger had always thought he knew Anita well. He had been confident that he could understand what she was thinking just by her expressions or gestures. But right now, he had no idea what was going through her mind.

“What’s with the awkwardness between you two? First time meeting? Should I introduce you?”