Iris's POV
The moment the washroom door opened, both Anya and I stopped.
Grace stood near the sink.
For a second, I almost failed to recognize her.
Her clothes were slightly wrinkled, her hair looked disturbed as if she had been running her fingers through it repeatedly, and there was something strangely empty about her expression...as though she had just walked out of something exhausting enough to drain all reactions from her body.
Then her eyes lifted toward us.
And the entire washroom turned awkwardly silent.
Anya crossed her arms almost immediately.
"Well," she said dryly, "were you hiding from punishment here?"
I instantly held her wrist lightly.
Not now.
Grace looked toward Anya quietly before lowering her gaze again.
"I'm sorry."
That was all she said.
Simple.
Tired.
And honestly, she looked like she meant it.
She turned slightly as if preparing to leave, but Anya spoke again before she could.
"Yes, some people say sorry and move on without realizing what they blabber with that mouth of theirs."
I sighed softly.
"Anya—"
But before I could stop the situation from becoming worse, Grace suddenly spoke.
"I didn't spread it."
The washroom became quiet again.
Grace slowly looked toward us.
"I only asked someone if it was true," she continued quietly. "That's all I did."
Her fingers tightened slightly around the edge of the sink.
"I thought maybe… maybe it explained why you stayed distant from everyone."
I stayed silent.
Anya too.
Grace laughed faintly under her breath.
A bitter kind of laugh.
"But that person spread it around like I said it myself."
For a second, nobody spoke.
Then Anya finally said coldly,
"You still believed it."
Grace nodded immediately.
"Yeah."
No excuses.
No defense.
Just acceptance.
"That's why I'm not innocent either," she said quietly. "Even if I didn't spread it… I still believed it for a moment."
Something about the way she said it made the anger in the room lessen slightly.
Not disappear.
But soften.
Grace looked toward me then.
"I wanted to apologize earlier," she admitted. "But you looked happier now… and I thought maybe my presence would ruin it again."
For a moment, I simply looked at her.
Then finally said softly,
"You could've still texted."
Grace smiled weakly.
Tiny.
Almost relieved.
Beside me, Anya exhaled sharply through her nose but thankfully stayed quiet this time.
I looked between both of them before speaking calmly.
"This matter is closed now."
Both of them looked toward me.
"Nobody is going to speak about it again."
Anya looked like she still had several arguments prepared mentally, but after a few seconds, she only muttered,
"…Fine."
Grace nodded slowly.
And somehow,
the heaviness in the washroom eased a little after that.
---
By the time I left the café later that night, the streets had already become quieter.
Cold wind brushed lightly against my face while I adjusted my bag on my shoulder and walked toward home, still thinking about everything that had happened today.
Grace apologizing.
Kaizer acting strange.
November.
The calendar.
Honestly, my brain was exhausted.
But the moment I reached near the house gate,
I stopped.
That little girl was sitting there again.
Completely alone.
The same small figure.
The same strange calmness around her.
She looked up the moment she noticed me.
I walked closer carefully.
"What are you doing here alone?"
"Nothing."
"…Right."
I sighed softly.
I had finally understood one thing about this child.
She liked speaking.
Just not answering properly.
I crouched slightly near her.
"Are you hungry?"
Immediately,
her eyes lit up.
A warm smile spread across her face so suddenly that for one second even I became surprised.
Then she nodded.
That smile honestly looked too pure for someone this mysterious.
"What do you want to eat?" I asked.
The little girl pointed directly toward me.
I froze.
"…Excuse me?"
She kept pointing at me calmly.
I stared at her for two seconds before finally realizing I was still holding a packet of snacks in my hand from the café.
"Oh."
Then immediately afterward another thought crossed my mind.
Why did it sound like she wanted to eat me personally?
This child was genuinely too much.
I sighed dramatically before handing her the packet.
She accepted it happily.
And then,
just ran away.
Like always.
I stared after her for a moment.
"…Weird child."
Then finally entered the house.
The clock inside showed almost nine at night.
Which meant Kaizer was probably inside his room studying again like a disciplined old man trapped in a teenager's body.
I quietly placed my bag aside before walking toward the kitchen.
And stopped.
Kaizer was cooking.
Actually cooking.
I blinked twice.
"…You know how to do that?"
Without looking back, he replied calmly,
"I can survive independently, thank you."
The kitchen smelled warm.
Comfortable.
Something simple was cooking in the pan while faint steam rose around him.
For some reason,
the atmosphere instantly felt calmer after entering.
Then Kaizer glanced toward me briefly before saying,
"I accidentally made too much."
I narrowed my eyes slightly.
"That sounds fake."
A tiny laugh escaped me before I could stop it.
Then he added casually,
"So help me finish it."
Honestly, I was tired enough to agree to almost anything involving food.
"…Fine."
And somehow,
his expression softened slightly at my answer.
We ate quietly afterward at the small dining table while random conversations came and went naturally between us.
Mostly meaningless things.
The café.
Lux being annoying.
About how Rian tried to learn philipino once but was only able to learn a single word which was 'Kuya' means big brother and unfortunately, Kaizer was forced his entire life to call him that.
Nothing important.
Yet strangely,
it felt nice.
Dangerously nice.
---
Kaizer's POV
"Kuya."
> "Wow. You only call me that when you need something."
I sighed while standing near the park gate early the next morning.
"Can you send me some pocket money in advance?"
Silence.
Then immediately,
> "You got kidnapped?"
>"Are you gambling?"
>"Did Lux start a cult?"
>"Did you secretly get married?"
"…Can you behave normally for once?"
He laughed loudly from the other side.
> "So why do you need money?"
I stayed quiet for one second too long.
Which was apparently enough for him to become suspicious instantly.
> "…Oh."
>"There's a girl involved."
"No."
> "That was a very fast no."
I pinched the bridge of my nose tiredly.
"Are you giving it or not?"
Another dramatic sigh came from the phone.
> "Fine. I'll transfer a little."
>"But if this is for romance, I deserve emotional compensation."
I hung up immediately.
---
By evening, I found myself standing awkwardly inside a jewelry store questioning every decision that had led me here.
It had been many days since I went somewhere crowded without Iris nearby.
The surrounding thoughts were already becoming irritating noise inside my head.
Still,
I stayed.
An assistant approached politely.
"Looking for something specific?"
"…A bracelet."
"For your girlfriend?"
"No."
Too fast.
The assistant smiled knowingly anyway.
Traitor.
"What kind of style does she like?"
I paused slightly.
Then unexpectedly,
images of Iris started appearing in my mind automatically.
Her silver rings.
Loose sleeves covering her hands.
Black hair falling around her face while she stared outside bus windows quietly.
The way she disliked flashy things.
The way she always looked comfortable in softer colors.
"…Something simple," I finally said. "Not overly shiny."
The assistant nodded.
"And her vibe?"
I stared blankly for a moment.
What kind of question even was that?
"…Calm," I answered slowly.
Then after a second,
"Cold at first."
Another pause.
"…But not actually cold."
The assistant smiled again.
I regretted coming here.
"What size?"
And immediately,
my mind flashed back toward the bus incident.
Her fingers suddenly grabbing my hand while running.
The warmth of her wrist against my palm.
For one brief second, I could almost feel it again.
Without realizing it, I lifted my hand slightly to estimate the size.
The assistant noted it down before finally taking out a bracelet.
Silver.
Simple.
A tiny "I" charm attached to it.
I looked at it quietly.
And somehow,
it immediately felt right.
---
Iris's POV
I stared at the calendar again.
14 November.
Why did this month feel so important to everyone except me?
I sighed before trying Anya's number again.
No response.
"This woman disappears whenever needed."
Right then,
the doorbell rang.
I walked toward the door absentmindedly before opening it.
"…Rian?"
He grinned casually.
"Miss me already?"
"No."
"Painful."
He walked inside anyway.
Completely uninvited.
Like usual.
A few of my maths worksheets were scattered across the table, and before I could stop him, he casually picked one up.
His eyes scanned the page once.
Then he pointed toward one solution.
"You solved this part wrong."
I frowned immediately.
"I did not."
"You did."
I walked over.
And froze.
"…Oh."
It actually was wrong.
And somehow,
the method he wrote looked ridiculously simple too.
I looked up suspiciously.
"What exactly are you studying in college?"
"Computer science."
"That explains nothing."
Rian laughed before leaning back comfortably.
"I also run a startup."
I blinked.
"You what?"
"Small company," he corrected dramatically. "Future billionaire organization."
"Your confidence is concerning."
"Confidence builds empires."
"Confidence also builds clowns."
"That hurt personally."
Despite myself, I laughed softly.
Then for the next half hour, he explained bits about coding, investors, business meetings, and how exhausting college life actually was while helping me solve questions in between.
Surprisingly,
talking to him felt easy.
Not emotionally exhausting.
Just… natural.
Eventually, he finally stood up.
"I should leave before Kaizer accuses me of corrupting his peaceful house."
"You already have."
"Excellent."
After he left, silence settled inside the house again.
I tried solving another question.
Then another.
But slowly,
my eyes started feeling heavier.
Maybe because of work.
Maybe because of exhaustion.
Maybe because my brain had simply stopped functioning.
The front door opened faintly somewhere far away.
Kaizer was back.
I lifted my head slightly.
"I'm not sleeping," I mumbled weakly.
No response came immediately.
And honestly,
I didn't even realize when my eyes finally closed on the table.
---
Kaizer's POV
The moment I entered the living room, I stopped.
Iris had fallen asleep over the table.
One arm folded beneath her head while scattered worksheets surrounded her messily, her pen still loosely trapped between her fingers as if she had been trying to fight sleep until the very last second.
The room light fell softly across her face.
And somehow,
the entire house felt quieter because of it.
I walked closer slowly.
She had probably tried waiting awake.
That realization alone made something warm settle silently inside my chest.
A few strands of hair had fallen over her face again.
I stared at them for a moment before quietly pulling a chair beside her and sitting down.
The calendar hanging near the wall stayed in my peripheral vision.
14 November.
Just one more day.
My eyes slowly returned toward her sleeping face.
Careless.
Peaceful.
Completely unaware.
A tiny breath escaped me.
Then, without realizing it fully myself, I leaned forward slightly and lowered my head onto the table too...just enough to match her level.
From here, she looked even more unreal somehow.
The same girl.
The same eyes.
The same presence.
Only now sitting inside my home as if she had always belonged there.
For a few quiet seconds, I simply looked at her.
Then very softly, almost like a secret meant only for the night,
I whispered,
"Isn't the moon beautiful tonight?"
Of course,
no answer came.
She remained asleep peacefully beside me.
A small smile slowly formed on my face anyway.
Then I looked at her once more before murmuring quietly,
"No… the moon was always beautiful."
"The admirer just returned late to it."