To Be the Perfect Childhood Friend - Chapter 49

Could it be that Rutger brought it for her? Wasn’t he just teasing and pretending to take it? How did he know her schedule?

Ah, she had put her schedule in the bag.

She marveled at her own foolishness and took out the book. Absentmindedly flipping through the pages, a piece of paper fell out.

What are you learning anyway? Why do you need things like the primary and secondary structure of proteins?

Anita’s lips curled up slightly. Even without looking, she could imagine his chubby expression. Smiling subtly, Anita pretended as if nothing had happened and adjusted her expression, ignoring the warm glares from the student sitting next to her. She folded the note back in half and tucked it back into the book.

The professor finished the lecture by assigning an assignment that would take several nights to complete. Anita rubbed her forehead with a tired expression.

Until students who took the same class left the lecture hall, Anita sat in her chair without moving. The excessive effort to avoid putting too much strain on her right leg while walking had drained her energy.

The thought of walking across campus again made her tired.

She rested her chin on her hand and absentmindedly flipped through the pages of the book.

She tried to study in the empty lecture hall until her next class, but the words in the book were unreadable.

Staring at the black letters for a while, her eyes began to hurt. As she pressed her stiff eyes with her fingers, the wind from the window turned the pages. When Anita released her hand and looked back at the book, a different page was already open.

It was the page where Anita had tucked the note.

At that moment, the wind blew again. Before Anita could grab it, the note flew away like a butterfly. Worried that it might escape through the window, Anita, forgetting the pain in her ankle, quickly stood up.

The paper eluded Anita like a living butterfly. Ignoring the pain in her ankle, she chased after it. She reached out her hand and grabbed the paper.

“Huh…?”

At that moment, her field of vision was blocked by someone. As the tension in her fist eased from reaching the paper, the paper fell down like a leaf. Awkwardly, Anita lowered her arm, and while she put it down, all she could see was a broad upper body.

Her gaze slowly rose.

“Oh, what are you doing here?”

Anita awkwardly spoke.

Standing in front of her, Rutger looked down at Anita with a surprised face. His blue eyes touched Anita’s face as they descended from her raised arm, then quickly shifted towards the fallen piece of paper.

Without saying a word, feeling awkward unnecessarily, Anita pushed the paper aside with her sore ankle. Rutger, who had been looking at the piece of paper on the floor, lifted his gaze.

Covering her ankle with a long skirt and having no knowledge about Anita’s ankle, he probably didn’t know anything. Anita subtly hid her right foot from his sight.

“Suddenly the wind blew it away. I can’t have trash in the classroom, no matter what, so.”

Awkwardly justifying, Anita wanted to smack her forehead. She should’ve just made an excuse without calling it trash. How would he feel if she referred to the note he wrote as garbage?

“So, I didn’t call the note you wrote trash. Just to others, it seemed useless…”

As Anita’s voice moved backward, she lost confidence and shrank, eventually fading away.

His gaze, which had been shaky and lacking in confidence, lowered to the floor. Anita wished he would say something, anything, to break the awkward atmosphere and resolve it. So she stared intently at the pattern on the floor.

“I came to pick it up.”

Anita raised her head at his words, trying to understand what he meant. Earlier, when Anita was doing something stupid alone, he seemed absent-minded, but now, his expression was as usual.

“What?”

That note? Anita’s gaze turned to the note she had left rolling on the floor.

“Not that. My books.”

“Why are your books here…”

Trying to figure out what he meant by his words, Anita opened her mouth in surprise. Could it be about the note? Was he claiming her books as his own? His attitude was so confident that anyone might believe Anita was a thief who stole his books.

“I lent it to you because you needed it. I was still studying.”

“Are you sick?”

“It’s fine.”

“What if you took it?”

“You study every day anyway. Take a day off.”

With those words, Rutger picked up Anita’s bag and left the classroom. Anita just stared helplessly at the door he left through.

If he said that, and yet, Anita’s bag was left in the next classroom she entered. This time, there was no note.

She didn’t expect much, but somehow, disappointment crept in.

And this series of events repeated throughout the day.

Anita couldn’t imagine what was on his mind. There was no way he knew she’d broken her leg.

A whim.

Anita once again concluded that Rutger Baylan was being capricious. He was always like that, doing things his own way. There was nothing particularly fresh about it.

It happened as Anita, having completed all the scheduled events on her timetable, was walking down the corridor.

“Anita. Will you attend?”

Startled by the sudden voice, Anita’s body twitched. After a moment, the real Anita turned to look beside her.

It was Lilliana, with her brown hair tousled in a complex pattern and adorned with numerous gold hair ornaments. She was always dressed flamboyantly, but today was exceptionally so.

Ignoring Anita’s resentful gaze, Lilliana asked again.

“I’m compiling the list of attendees for the freshman welcome party.”

“….”

Was that event so important?

Perhaps sensing Anita’s doubt, Lilliana, with her perfectly arranged hair, replied.

“Of course, it’s important. It’s not just for freshmen and current students; big like the chairman or the minister also attend. Isn’t that enough?”