The television hummed softly atop a small cabinet with sliding doors.
In front of it sat a wide sofa—big enough for one adult to sleep on.
A hanging lamp glowed faintly from above, casting a calm, dim light over the room.
"So, first," Kael began from the sofa, his eyes fixed on Lyra, "why didn't you just come tomorrow? School's off anyway. What's so urgent that you had to study tonight?"
Lyra didn't answer right away. She looked down, both hands wrapped around her teacup, waiting—hoping—he'd ask something else.
"I'll decide the next question after you answer the first," Kael said flatly when the silence lingered.
"Ah… honestly, I'm scared," she admitted at last, voice small.
"Scared of what?" Kael asked, glancing away from her to the TV screen.
"Being home alone."
"What about your parents?"
"They went to Lotra Island the day before I first came to your house."
"Then why weren't you scared the days after that? Why only tonight?" Kael asked, suspicion creeping into his tone.
"Ah… you sound suspicious. I'm sorry if my being here makes you uncomfortable," Lyra said quickly.
"That's not an answer," Kael replied.
"I was with my grandmother before. But she left today—to visit an old friend in Kolit Village, on the far side of the island."
Kael suddenly reached forward, taking her wrist.
From his perspective, it was a simple test: check her pulse. If her heartbeat stayed steady, she was telling the truth. If it spiked—she was hiding something.
From Lyra's perspective, it was very different. The sudden contact, his calm face so close—her heart instantly raced.
"What are you hiding?" Kael asked, eyes narrowing slightly.
"Ahh—Kael, you idiot! What are you doing?!" she yanked her hand away, turning her face aside.
She didn't answer—only lashed out in panic. To her, that was the only possible reaction.
Kael blinked, confused. The reaction didn't match any of his predictions.
["Okay… maybe I should shift the context."]
"So," he asked, voice steady again, "what is it you want to study tonight, exactly?"
"I don't know. That's why I came—to ask your opinion. After all our discussions, I wanted to know what I should focus on next."
"Couldn't you have asked that like usual? Without… this?" Kael pressed, still unconvinced about her reason for showing up at night.
Before Lyra could reply—
Tring… tring… tring…
A small phone buzzed on the TV stand, its light flashing.
"Mrs. Lina?" Kael murmured, standing and picking it up.
He stepped outside the living room and answered.
"Yes, ma'am?"
"It's me."
"Hm? Ruby? What's wrong?" he asked, realizing the voice wasn't Lina's but her son's.
"Oh, you're home? Then—what about Lyra? Did you take her home?" Ruby asked rapidly.
"No."
"What—are you stupid?!" Ruby snapped.
"Why?"
"How can you ask why? Kael Arda Tirta, did it never occur to that genius brain of yours that maybe—just maybe—you should escort the girl who's walking home alone at night?!"
"Escort…? Alone…? At night?" Kael repeated, processing each word.
"Yes, you idiot!"
"Lyra's still here. Why are you talking like she already left?"
"…Wait—what? Hahaha, sorry! My mistake!" Ruby laughed awkwardly.
Then he froze. "But wait—why is she still there?"
"That's what I was trying to figure out before you called."
"Figure out what?"
"Use that 'smart brain' you brag about, Ruby," Kael said dryly.
"Hmmm… a girl staying overnight… in a boy's house… alone…" Ruby muttered. His expression twisted into mock alarm.
"Hey, hey, hey, Kael—this is dangerous!"
"Forget whatever your 'smart brain' is imagining," Kael groaned.
"Hahaha! Why would I forget a perfectly logical deduction?" Ruby's voice grew smug. "And look at that—you just acknowledged my intelligence."
"That was sarcasm, Ruby. Sar-casm," Kael said, exasperated.
"Aaah, damn it…" Ruby sighed. "Fine, fine. What did you find out, then?"
"She said she wanted to study."
Ruby burst out laughing. "Hahaha—oh, Kael, please. Trust me, that's not her real reason."
"That's my conclusion too."
"Wait, if you already know that, then…" Ruby went quiet.
"Kael, I think I get what you're trying to conclude—and you're one hundred percent, no—ten billion percent wrong."
"How can you be so sure?"
"Because I'm the only person in this world who actually understands you," Ruby said confidently.
"Well, except your parents. Maybe," he added after a pause.
"So listen. Just go with the flow, but don't overthink it. If she feels you're suspicious of her, she'll just get awkward and guilty. If I were her, I'd punch you in the face already."
"..."
"Relax. Her house is only a few blocks away. I know her and her family—they're decent people.
Stop overanalyzing, and go back to whatever you were doing. Byeee~" Ruby ended the call.
Kael lowered the phone slowly, his thoughts swirling.
["How did he know what I was thinking? And why is he so sure?"]
He placed the phone back on the shelf and turned toward Lyra, who still sat stiffly on the sofa.
Kael walked past her toward a side door, opened it, and said, "Come here."
Lyra looked up, startled. She hesitated for a moment, then followed.
"Whoa…" she whispered, frozen in the doorway.
Before her stretched a room lined with tall shelves—books reaching nearly to the ceiling.
In the center stood a large wooden table with two chairs.
It wasn't much compared to a city library, but here, in a quiet house at the edge of nowhere, it felt extraordinary.
She stepped inside slowly, eyes wide. Kael sat down at the table, quietly observing her awe.
To him, the room was ordinary.
To her—it was like stepping into another world.
"How did you collect all these books?" Lyra asked, her voice full of wonder.
"They were my mother's," Kael said softly.
"Really? I saw so many fascinating titles—some I've never found in the city library! How did she get such rare ones?"
"I don't know," Kael admitted with a faint smile. Seeing someone admire his mother's work warmed him.
"Ah—may I read one?" Lyra asked hopefully.
"Take whatever you like. But read it here. None of these leave the house," Kael said firmly.
"Yay! Haha—so it was worth staying!" she cheered, hopping between shelves like a child in a candy store.
Kael smiled again. Then Ruby's words replayed in his mind, and for once, he wondered if Ruby's "smart brain" wasn't entirely useless.
"Kael! Help meee!" Lyra's voice came from behind a shelf.
Kael rushed over—and froze. She was half-buried under a small avalanche of books.
"What are you doing?" he asked, crouching beside her.
"Hehe… I tried carrying them all to the table, but I lost balance," she admitted sheepishly.
Kael sighed, picking up the scattered books one by one, reading the covers as he stacked them.
"You won't understand these right away," he murmured.
"Are you underestimating me?" Lyra pouted.
"No. Just—ah, never mind." He stood, gathering another stack.
Thud. Thud.
Two heavy piles landed on the table—his and hers.
"So," Kael said, circling the table to sit again, "how long are you planning to read all this?"
"Until I finish," she said proudly.
"Huh? Then how long do you plan to stay in my house?"
"Eh? Right…" she mumbled, suddenly realizing her situation. "I can't take the books out, and I can't stay here forever."
"Just focus on one book for now. If you manage to understand even part of it before midnight, I'll think of a solution."
"Really?" she asked, her energy returning.
"Though, realistically, it's impossible to finish one tonight. Just tell me when you grasp some of the core concepts," he said, standing and heading toward the door.
"Hey—are you underestimating me again? And where are you going?" she called after him.
"Do what you need to. Ignore me," Kael replied, turning the corner and disappearing from sight.
Time passed quietly.
The soft sound of turning pages filled the house.
Lyra stayed absorbed in her reading, while Kael reclined on the living room sofa with another book.
When the moonlight vanished behind clouds, rain began to fall—soft at first, then steady.
Kael rose, closing his book, and gazed out the window at the shimmering drops.
The scent of wet earth drifted through the air.
After a moment, he turned and walked back toward the library.
"...What are you doing?" he asked sharply upon entering.
Lyra froze, startled.
Kael strode forward and gently took the object from her hands.
"I'm sorry," she said quickly. "I got stuck on one of the books, and then I saw this box… I shouldn't have opened it."
"What did you see?" Kael asked, eyes narrowing.
"Nothing—really! Just an envelope. I didn't look inside," she said, nodding toward the black envelope now in his grip.
Kael exhaled slowly. "It's my fault for not putting it away properly."
"C-can I ask something?" Lyra said quietly.
"What?"
"Sorry… again," she murmured, then added, "The batik pattern on that envelope—is that what you asked about at the end of class that day?"
Kael froze.
Inside, his emotions twisted—not in anger, but in calculation.
Should he confirm it? Deflect it? Deny it?
He weighed every possible chain reaction her question might trigger.
["If I answer honestly, what will it lead to?
If I lie… what will that change?"]
The rain outside grew heavier, filling the silence that followed.
---
To be continued...