To Be the Perfect Childhood Friend - Chapter 100

“Just anything.”

“……?”

“It’s strange. I’ve never met someone who doesn’t ask about me.”

Though Finian added his comment playfully, Anita thought he seemed to have some worries on his mind.

To be honest, Anita had no real questions for Finnian. The rumors about him, his relationship with Rutger, or whether he seemed to have some trauma—all of these were irrelevant to her and didn’t pique her interest.

“I’m an exception, I suppose.”

Eventually, Anita found an appropriate response.

“An exception?”

“Yeah. We weren’t close, but you came to our neighborhood often because of Rutger, so I’ve seen you around a lot. I already know a lot about you, and well…”

“……”

“You know that you sold lemonade on the street to earn pocket money, too.”

To be precise, Anita hadn’t witnessed it firsthand but had heard about it from her father, Nathan Rodel. He complained about how Finian tried to sell a glass of lemonade for nearly 10 Ridel, saying he could have bought a whole box of lemons for that price.

“Was it 10 Ridel for a glass of lemonade? At that price, I could buy a whole box of lemons.”

“You still remember that?”

Finian seemed to find it amusing, as he laughed and rubbed his forehead.

“At that time, I thought 10 Ridel was the price of dog treats.”

“And now?”

“Now it’s 12 Ridel. Prices have gone up.”

He laughed again.

“I guess you’re buying expensive dog treats now.”

“Because it’s organic.”

As they were engrossed in their trivial conversation and working on the puzzle, another presence was felt outside. Anita, assuming it was probably another staff member, continued to rummage through the puzzle pieces without turning around.

“Didn’t you go?”

Finian addressed the person who had entered the room. Just as Anita was about to turn around, someone sat down next to her. The sudden shift in weight caused the sofa to tilt. Anita’s body leaned to the left.

It was clear she was about to rest her head on the shoulder of the person sitting next to her. As Anita grabbed the armrest to stabilize herself, someone’s palm pressed against her head.

“Why does it seem like you’re always on the verge of falling whenever I see you?”

The question didn’t sound genuinely curious but rather seemed like a reprimand tinged with frustration. Anita, with her face resting on the extended palm, rolled her eyes to look up.

Meeting those green eyes, Anita involuntarily swallowed.

“…What’s going on?”

“……”

“……”

He didn’t answer and just stared down at Anita. She tried to meet his gaze, aware she might fail, and attempted to read his thoughts. As usual, it was Anita who averted her eyes first.

“It’s raining.”

Rutger’s gaze shifted to the window, where thick rain was pouring down, just as Finian had said.

“On rainy days, you can’t miss that.”

“What’s that?”

“Cheese. And wine.”

Anita was puzzled about the connection between cheese and rain.

“I saw that Liliana brought in some nice Emmental cheese last time. I’ll just go get a bit from the kitchen.”

With that, Finian left the sitting room. Anita watched the rain-soaked window, starting to worry about Liliana and the others who were out at sea in the heavy rain.

“Unless a typhoon comes, it should be fine.”

“……”

In that moment, Anita realized it wasn’t the time to worry about others. She turned her attention back to the puzzle scattered across the table.

She hoped Finnian would return soon and focused her gaze downward. For a while, only the ticking of the clock and the sound of the rain filled the room.

“It looks like you two were having a good time. Did I interrupt?”

Anita’s hand, which had been wandering over the puzzle pieces, froze. She chose not to respond. While assembling the puzzle with Finian had been somewhat enjoyable, it was more because she had found an activity to occupy her time rather than anything to do with Finian himself. Anita could easily tell that Rutger wasn’t genuinely asking if she was enjoying the puzzle but was hinting at something else.

Anticipating that any response might lead to an unpleasant conversation, Anita chose to ignore him.

She tried to place a puzzle piece between others, but the piece was quickly displaced by Rutger’s hand.

Anita placed the puzzle piece back into its spot, but his hand flicked it away again.

“…What’s wrong with you? Did you eat something bad?”

It was the most petty and childish behavior he had shown this year, leaving Anita with no choice but to ask.

“I thought you couldn’t talk, but it turns out you can?”

“……”

This time, Anita was left speechless. To think that he would act so pettily just because he didn’t like her not answering.

“You know as well as anyone that I’m not mute.”

“Then why aren’t you answering?”

“If someone who isn’t mute doesn’t speak, there must be a reason, don’t you think?”

Anita picked up the puzzle piece he had knocked away and placed it back into its spot. This time, he didn’t interfere. She began to piece the puzzle together with a sense of urgency. Her hands moved quickly, but the pieces were still stubbornly out of place.

Her frustration rose without a clear reason. Finally, she jumped up from her seat.

“I’m tired. I’m going to head in.”

Anita announced curtly, and as she tried to move away, his hand grabbed hers, as if to prevent her from leaving.