The boy who was about to put a sandwich in his mouth froze at the sound of leaves rustling.

“Hi.”

When Philip greeted him warmly, the boy said hello and greeted him with an awkward voice.

“Can I sit down?”

“Yes, ah, please sit down.”

The boy quickly removed the sandwich bag. Philip sat down next to him and took a book out of his bag and handed it to him.

“Here.”

It was the book that the boy had left behind without being able to pick it up. The boy took the book. An awkward silence followed. The boy who was fiddling with the book began to speak with difficulty.

“… I’m sorry.”

“What?”

Philip doubted his ears. Naturally, he thought that the other person would be angry with him or pretend not to know. Because he ignored the boy’s expectations. In fact, it didn’t matter how he reacted.

To him, others were the object of observation. It was necessary to pay attention to how they reacted and spoke depending on the situation.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were coming… .”

This was the first time he’d met this type. How can he be tempted to apologize in a situation like this?

“Of course I knew you wouldn’t come, but I didn’t leave any… .”

The boy looked down at the last piece of sandwich left and was confused. Philip looked at the boy blankly for a moment, then burst into laughter.

“Ha ha ha ha ha.”

The sound of refreshing laughter was carried by the wind and shook the leaves. Philip laughed for a while, as if he was really happy, then leaned his back on the bench.

“Yeah. I was expecting a sandwich.”

The boy made a sincere expression of regret for the lie he told.

“I’ll buy more tomorrow. Oh, if you don’t come tomorrow, even the next day… , no, if you tell me the day you will come, on that day… .”

He really was a nerd beyond imagination.

Philip looked at the boy softly, then said, “Yeah,” and smiled. It was an elegant and pretty smile. It was definitely something to be thankful to his parents for giving him an appearance that could plausibly hide rotten inside.

“But what happened after that?”

“Yes?”

“The main character suddenly betrayed the country and left the guild.”

“Did you read this?”

The boy looked up at the book in his hand and asked.

“Yes. It was fun.”

It wasn’t a complete lie. At least it was interesting enough for him to be curious about what happened.

“You have to read book 1 to understand that part, but you read book 2 first…”

“Really?”

“I have to return the first book to the library and borrow it again… .”

“It can’t be helped. It’s okay.”

Phillip laid down on the bench. He also had trouble sleeping yesterday. Philip closed his eyes, hoping he could make up for the lack of sleep.

“… Then can I briefly explain the contents of the first volume?”

Philip opened his eyes. Kind, big eyes look down at him. It was a harmless look that wouldn’t even suspect anything if a gun was pointed at his forehead.

“Do whatever you feel like.”

The boy began to explain the plot of the novel. Philip closed his eyes again. A cool breeze from the forest brushed his cheeks. A hoarse voice continued speaking.

It didn’t feel too bad.

***

“The writer you read before, it’s a new work.”

The boy took a book out of his bag and handed it to him. Philip said thank you and took the book. The boy smiled bashfully and turned his head shyly.

From that day on, Philip often borrowed books from the boy. The boy’s reading taste was not bad. After reading the book, Phillip returned his brief impression, and the boy nodded with his eyes wide open.

There were times when he met the boy at school. The boy passed Philip pretending to not know him or talk to him as before. The only point of contact between the two was the bench on the hill.

“And this.”

The boy held out a brown envelope. Today, it was a crepe with tomatoes, cabbage and cheese.

“I will eat well.”

“What is it?” the boy smiled slightly. A small tooth appeared between the smiling lips.

Even considering that he was Asian, the boy looked very young. The large eyes seemed innocent enough to evoke the sadism that lay beneath the human face.

So that’s why that fucking piglet follows him.

Philip took a large bite of the crepe and opened the book. As he turned a few pages, he suddenly felt a gaze and looked up, and the boy hurriedly turned his face. As Philip looked at him puzzled, the boy began to speak as if he were making excuses.

“Well, that book, I enjoyed it. … because it’s so much fun… .”

When the boy handed him his favorite book, his face became redder than usual. He wanted others to like what he liked. It was a simple mind like a child.

“Interesting.”

Although he only read a few pages, it was a work that clearly showed the author’s wit and storytelling ability.

“The previous works by that author are interesting, but I really liked this novel. This time, a movie was also made and released.”

The boy spoke with excitement. Fucking uninteresting, but Phillip said, ‘Is it?’ and matched his enthusiasm.

“The film is also very well made. The reviews were good too.”

“I see.”

“I’m going to watch it when it comes out on DVD.”

“Take a look when you get a chance,” the boy added cautiously, and then gave him a smile that made him look like an idiot. When Philip answered bluntly, “I will,” the boy slowly began to eat his lunch.

After eating all the crepes, Philip stood up.

“Are you leaving?”

“Yes.”

The boy didn’t say they’ll see each other again like before. Perhaps because of the previous events, the boy clearly kept the line.

“Hey, wait a minute.”

The boy got up and started looking through his bag.

“Here.”

Then he held out a small envelope.

“What is this?”

“It’s a tea bag. They say this tea is good for insomnia.”

“Ah, that.”

The boy had picked up a medicine box that had fallen out of Philip’s pocket before. The boy who was worried that he might be sick was bothering him, so he said it was an insomnia drug.

“Thanks.”

In fact, he wasn’t thankful for anything. It wasn’t Philip’s taste to boil water with leaves.

“It’s a tea that my aunt picked and made herself. Drink it before bedtime.”

Philip put the envelope he had been handed over to his pocket. When he saw a trash can on the way, he thought of throwing it away.

“I have nothing to give. I’m sorry.”

“No. You helped me then. I couldn’t even respond properly… . Anyway, don’t worry about it.”

“Hmm,” said Philip, pulling his lips together and smiling.

Each time he met the boy, he shared his lunch and lent him a book. He didn’t cross the line or pretend to know him presumptuously. Even if he considered how he helped him before, he had already received enough.

He didn’t have to give back what he received, but he had to make some social gestures. It was a way of blending in between people effortlessly. Moreover, if it was received, there was a high probability that at some point the other party would freely choose the method of reciprocation. It was Philip who was bothered by that.

“Do you have time this weekend?”

“Yes?”

“Movie. It’s the opening.”

Philip looked up the book and said.

The boy still couldn’t understand the meaning of the words, so he just stared at him with his eyes wide open.

“I’ll buy you a ticket.”

“Huh? Oh no. It’s okay.”

“I feel bad for just taking it.”

‘I don’t mean we’re going to the movies together.’

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Swallowing his words, Philip smiled sweetly.

“I’ll buy you two. Go see it with your girlfriend.”

“Ah. … Yes.”

The nape of the boy nodded his neck bright red. He knew that the boy had no girlfriend to go to the movies with.

Either that or not, he didn’t know.

It was a similar level of kindness to him, a movie ticket with no one to go to, or a tea bag in his pocket that would soon go into the trash.

“See you later.”

At Philip’s greeting, the boy nodded. Philip lightly waved his hand and went down the hill.