15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwVWstDbEgn
It was Friday. Late afternoon.
The golden light of the setting sun melted through the trees as Ren walked slowly through the quiet path behind campus, a shortcut between the library and the main road. He hadn’t planned to take it—but Ric had waited at the corner again, leaning against the same lamp post, as if they hadn’t gone almost two days without properly talking.
Ren had been avoiding him, and Ric had let him. But now… there he was.
“You gonna walk past me, or will I be blessed with your presence today?” Ric teased, one eyebrow raised, a crooked smile playing on his lips.
Ren paused. His backpack felt heavier than usual—maybe because his chest was heavy too.
“…You waited?” he asked quietly.
Ric shrugged. “You always walk this way after Lit class. Thought maybe you needed someone today.”
Ren said nothing. But he didn’t walk past him either.
So Ric fell into step beside him.
They walked in silence for a few moments, their steps matching in an almost natural rhythm. Birds chirped overhead. Somewhere far off, the sound of someone’s scooter buzzed faintly. But here… the world felt slow, quiet. Just them and the gravel crunching underfoot.
Ren glanced sideways.
Ric’s sleeves were rolled up, his hair slightly ruffled from the breeze. He had a camera slung over one shoulder, but his hands were in his pockets. Relaxed. Like he belonged in every place, including this one—beside Ren.
“You haven’t texted much,” Ric said after a while, not accusatory, just stating the fact.
“I’ve been busy,” Ren replied.
“You say that like it’s a good excuse.”
Ren hesitated. “…I didn’t know what to say.”
Ric didn’t look at him, but his voice was soft when he asked, “Because of the note?”
Ren flinched slightly. “Kind of.”
“I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable,” Ric added. “But I also… didn’t want to lie about how I felt.”
“You wrote it so easily,” Ren mumbled, eyes on the ground. “Like it didn’t cost you anything.”
Ric stopped walking. Ren felt the stillness before he turned.
“I don’t do that with everyone, Ren,” Ric said quietly. “I don’t wait at lamp posts. I don’t write notes. And I don’t offer my heart if I think it’ll be stepped on.”
Ren looked up.
Ric stepped closer, lowering his voice. “But I keep showing up for you. Even when you don’t ask. Even when you push.”
His gaze was so clear, so unwavering, that Ren had to look away.
“I don’t know what this is,” Ren admitted, arms crossed over his chest like a shield. “I don’t know how to do… this.”
“This?” Ric echoed gently.
Ren nodded.
Ric took another step, barely a breath away now. “Then tell me the truth, Ren.”
Ren glanced up. “What truth?”
Ric’s eyes searched his. “We’re not friends, are we?”
The silence between them was deafening.
Ren’s fingers tightened around the strap of his backpack. His lips parted, but no words came out. What was he supposed to say? That Ric made his heart stutter? That he looked forward to their walks more than his favorite book? That sometimes, in the quiet of night, Ric’s laugh echoed in his mind like a lullaby?
“We’re…” Ren started, voice trembling, “not just friends.”
A small smile tugged at Ric’s lips. “I know.”
Ren looked at him. “But I’m scared.”
“I know that too.”
Ric didn’t push further. Didn’t close the space. He just stood there—offering safety without pressure, warmth without demands.
“I’m not asking for anything right now,” Ric said softly. “I just wanted to know if I was alone in this.”
“You’re not,” Ren whispered.
The breeze danced between them like a secret.
Ric finally smiled—soft and real. “Good."
---
🌙 Later That Evening – At Ric’s Apartment
“HE SAID THEY’RE NOT JUST FRIENDS,” Ric announced as he walked in, tossing his bag onto the couch.
Kao nearly dropped his phone. “NO WAY.”
Tae looked up from his psych notes. “Define ‘not just friends.’”
“I mean… we’re something. Something new,” Ric said with a sheepish grin, grabbing an iced tea from the fridge.
Kao gasped. “Did you kiss?”
“No.”
“Hug?”
“No.”
“Touched pinkies at least??”
Ric laughed. “No. But he admitted it. He admitted I’m not just his friend.”
Tae shook his head, but his lips twitched. “That’s… actually big for Ren.”
“I know,” Ric said, voice softening.
For a moment, none of them spoke.
Then Film barged in through the door, dramatically flopping onto the couch. “Someone tell me why my boy Tae hasn’t proposed yet.”
Kao groaned. “Please not this again.”
But Ric just smiled to himself, thinking about a boy with too many books in his backpack and rain in his eyes.
---
🧁 Meanwhile, at Ren’s House
Ploy peeked her head around the hallway. “You’re smiling at your phone again.”
Ren blinked and quickly turned the screen off. “I’m not.”
“You are,” she said triumphantly, walking in with her plush frog. “Is it Ric?”
“No.”
“You like him.”
Ren turned pink. “Ploy—”
“I like him too,” she interrupted. “He always brings snacks.”
Ren blinked. “…You little traitor.”
“Tell him to bring Oreos next time!” she called, skipping away.
From the kitchen, Auntie Mali called out without looking up from her icing tray. “Tell him yourself next time he comes over. I’m baking his favorite next week.”
Ren covered his face with both hands and groaned.
The world was moving fast.
But strangely… he didn’t want to run anymore.
ns216.73.217.1da2
然後按「加至主畫面」