To Be the Perfect Childhood Friend - Chapter 31

“Huh?”

Not catching what she said correctly, Rutger responded with a question. He suddenly withdrew his hand, realizing what he had been doing and the feeble warmth around her neck disappeared.

An awkward silence settled between them.

Their eyes briefly met, and almost simultaneously, they both turned their heads away. Anita’s gaze, which had been awkwardly rolling her eyes, landed on his hand. It was the hand that had been gripping Anita’s neck just moments ago. Rutger awkwardly looked down at the ground, clenching and unclenching his fist.

For some reason, Anita couldn’t bear to watch, so she spoke in a lighthearted tone to lighten the mood.

“So, what’s the plan now? You didn’t just come out without any plans, did you?”

“….”

“Oh. You really didn’t have any plans.”

Mockingly exaggerating her tone, Anita continued, and he lifted his head abruptly, wearing a rather unjust look.

“Seems like there were no plans to be heard from a spontaneous person like you.”

“What do you mean…”

About to refute his words, Anita remembered that she had skipped her morning lecture. She quietly closed her mouth.

“No plans… I have my own plans.”

“Sure, whatever.”

Although Rutger had suggested going out without any plans, Anita wondered why she felt stung by his words.

As they walked aimlessly, they engaged in mundane conversation. Discussions about the weather and professors who assign too much unnecessary homework.

For an unknown reason, perhaps because Rutger was unusually easygoing, Anita found it slightly less exhausting to converse with him. There’s nothing as tiring as carefully choosing each word and contemplating how the other person might take it.

As they passed through a row of shops lined up in the middle of the road, hey came to a large plaza. A fountain themed after a rider on a horse, or the red-roofed buildings nearby, seemed oddly familiar. Anita realized it was near the café where she worked.

Of course, Anita didn’t mention that. It was the last place she could choose to escape from him later.

“Wanna sit for a moment?”

“Yeah, why not.”

Anita agreed readily. Her legs were starting to ache a bit. They sat in front of the fountain. A few drops of water splashed as it fell from above. Children playing with a ball, elderly couples on a stroll, and even pigeons picking up scraps left by tourists—everyone was there.

It was a peaceful scene, almost to the point of being boring.

Chin rested on her hand, Anita, who had been quietly observing the scene, suddenly became curious. How would they appear in the eyes of others?

Friends? Or would they look like a couple casually sitting by the fountain?

Either way, neither description perfectly defined their relationship.

“Aren’t you hungry?”

His voice broke Anita’s reverie. She blinked slowly, taking in the view of the plaza. She turned her head. After checking the large clock on the clock tower, she replied.

“Yeah. It’s lunchtime.”

Actually, she wasn’t hungry. Anita hoped this peace wouldn’t be broken for nothing more than lunch. The warmth of the sunshine and the cool sound of the water against it made her sleepy.

“Stay here. I’ll be right back.”

There was no reason to refuse, so Anita nodded quietly.

As he disappeared from view, Anita’s hand instinctively moved toward her neck. Her fingers traced the area where Rutger’s hand had been.

It was strange. Earlier, her heart had been racing as if she might die, but now, it was calm.

What on earth was the problem?

Anita, who was touching her neck, quickly composed herself as she spotted Rutger walking towards her. It was as if she hadn’t moved at all since he left.

Since coming to college, Anita had always avoided Rutger. This was the first time she had faced him properly. Their relationship hadn’t been great before coming to college.

So, seeing him walk confidently toward her felt strangely unfamiliar.

Was he always this tall? Or was it an illusion? His bangs seemed longer.

Watching Rutger reach her with one stride, where others needed two, Anita felt oddly out of place. She looked down at her leg dangling under the fountain for no apparent reason.