Novels by ZuviraKim

The rest of the school day went by quietly. Niko never came back like he had promised.I kept checking the door, hoping he'd appear, but he never did. For some reason, I felt disappointed, almost betrayed. I didn't understand why. Why do I even care so much?When the final bell rang, I packed my things and followed Sophia home as I had promised, her house was beautiful. I stepped into the living room and looked around curiously.There were pictures everywhere then I spotted one of Sophia as a little girl. I pointed at it. “Is that you?”She immediately laughed. “Don't you dare!”“You were so tiny!”“Mateo!” .We both burst out laughing.Afterward, Sophia went over to the television and turned it on. We settled down together and started watching the movie she'd chosen.At first, everything was normal. We watched quietly, our eyes fixed on the screen but then I realized what the movie was about.It was about two boys who had fallen in love with each other. One of their mothers couldn't

The next morning, I arrived at school expecting everything to feel normal but as soon as I entered the school grounds, I spotted Alex, Sophia, and the others.They immediately called me over. “Mateo!”I walked toward them. “Where's Niko?” Alex asked.“I haven't seen him.”Alex raised an eyebrow. “You didn't come with him?”I shook my head. “I haven't seen him since last night.” I almost added that I would have gone to his house to check on him, but I stopped myself. Why would I say that?Alex tapped my shoulder. “Come on. Let's go to class. I'll meet up with him later.”We headed inside. When we reached the classroom, Daniel and Sophia were already sitting together.A few students turned to look at us as we entered. Some waved, I waved back before heading toward my usual seat.Daniel leaned toward me. “So you're finally hanging out with them?”I shrugged. “Niko introduced them to me.”Daniel nodded. “I see.”Sophia, meanwhile, kept staring at me. I noticed.“What?”She didn't answer,

The court slowly began to empty. Students gathered their bags while the players celebrated their victory. The noise gradually faded as people started heading back toward the school buildings.I remained seated for a while. Sophia was somewhere around the court, probably talking to Nia, while Daniel had gone to greet some of the players he knew.I sat quietly, watching everything around me then I heard a familiar voice. “Mateo.”I looked up. Niko was standing in front of me, I quickly adjusted myself and gave him a small smile. “Hey.”He grinned. “So... did I do well?”I nodded. “Yeah. You did.”“Just yeah?”I shrugged. “You scored two goals.”“Exactly,” he said proudly. “So I did well.”I couldn't help smiling. “Yeah, you did.”He laughed then, without warning, his hand reached toward my hair. He gently ran his fingers through it. “Your hair feels tough,” he said, looking amused.I froze. My face immediately felt warm and before I could respond, he pulled his hand away and stood up.“

MATEO The chirping of birds slowly woke me. I reached for my phone and checked the time.5:40 a.m.I had barely slept. My mind had been restless for most of the night, and I had spent more time staring at the ceiling than actually sleeping.I picked up my phone and scrolled through it for a while.There wasn't much to see anyway. My parents regularly checked my phone, so I didn't have many interesting apps or things to look through.Eventually, I dropped it on my bed and went to the bathroom to freshen up. By the time I finished, it was past six. I went downstairs and joined my family for morning prayer.Afterward, we quickly ate breakfast before everyone went their separate ways. Dad worked as an editor, while Mum owned a large store. Dad usually dropped Lucía off at school on his way to work. I took the bus.I grabbed a slice of bread and headed downstairs, still chewing as I walked toward the front door then I saw Niko, he was standing outside his house.My steps immediately slowe

MATEO I finally reached my grandfather's house and quickly dropped my backpack by the door.Monday morning finally arrived. I hurried toward school, keeping my head down as I walked through the alley.rolled my eyes but secretly, I wondered if I really should go.Life always felt peaceful here. There was something about this place that made me forget everything waiting for me at home, the church, school, expectations, and being the priest's son.I immediately headed toward the garden, I knew Pa would probably be there and sure enough, he was. “Pa!”He turned around just in time to see me running toward him. I hugged him tightly, he laughed softly and patted my hair before giving me a gentle kiss on the forehead.“Mateo,” he said warmly. “I see you have something on your mind. That's why you're here.”I quickly shook my head. “Nothing's wrong.”He gave me a knowing smile. I didn't want to explain anything, so I walked around the garden, looking at the plants then I stopped. My eyes wi

MATEO Monday morning finally arrived. I hurried toward school, keeping my head down as I walked through the alley.For some reason, I hated telling people that I was a priest's son.People always assumed that being the priest's son meant I had no freedom and honestly... They weren't completely wrong.I couldn't do half the things my classmates did. Parties, hanging out late, going places without permission—things I secretly wanted to experience but there was always that expectation hanging over me.You're the priest's son. So I kept to myself, I didn't usually talk to anyone on my way to school then I felt a hand land on my shoulder. I stopped and looked up, it was him.Nikolai.“Hey, boy,” he said with a grin. “You're my neighbor, right? I saw you the other day, but I couldn't talk to you.”I nodded and that was it, just a nod. I had absolutely no idea what else to say. I'm so awkward.Nikolai didn't seem bothered. “I'm new here, and it's my first day,” he continued. “So I trust you