Chapter 1

LEVI’S POV

“Stop playing like a kid, will you?” I scolded Caius after he got a low score with the exams we took yesterday.

“Ne, alget seum nida abeoji,” Yes, I understand, father, he said teasingly, bowing his head.

“Crazy.”

I rolled my eyes.

“Kidding!” He chuckled, then looked over his test paper. “I guess it’s not that bad to get a low score at times.”

“Do whatever you want. Tss.”

“Hi!”

We turned our head to the hallway when Adalee suddenly drew near us.

“Oh, the other pair of the broken heart.”

I turned to Caius. He was smiling from ear to ear as if it was the funniest joke he ever threw at me.

I glared at him.

“Why? I’m just saying. She’s the piece that completes you, right?” he said.

“You talk too much. Just go!”

“Hey, guys! Fighting?” Adalee asked, barely laughing as she clung her arms around me.

It definitely turned my face red which Caius laugh about.

Caius shook his head. He said, “Fighting? No, of course not! We’re just talking with some... some sweet stuffs, you know?”

“Oh. A Levi? Talking about sweet topics?”

Adalee moved a little away from me, trying to look at my face.

I rolled my eyes for the second time as I they laughed in chorus.

These two sometimes could really make me so annoyed! I shouldn’t let them be that close in the first place!

“Alright. I don’t want to die yet. I’m going, okay? See you guys around.”

“Better,” I uttered as Caius waved his hands goodbye.

A moment of silence after Caius left the two of us, I turned my gaze to Adalee.

“Hey, annoying woman!” I stormed off and made a face.

Adalee turned her head to me, and I saw her frowned. “Again?” she complained. “How did I annoy you?”

“I just find you annoying today. Why?”

She pouted which I found a little cute. I smiled in my head.

“You’re being cranky again,” she mumbled, crossing her arms.

I tried to look serious as possible before I said, “Just come here.”

“Come to where?” She frowned in wonder.

“Here,” I replied, “beside me.”

She barely smiled, a teasing one. “What’s with you?”

“I said come here!” She startled the moment I suddenly raised my voice. 

“Hey! You’re scaring me!” she complained and acted as if she was scared. She instantly walked beside me when I gave her a death look, and it made me smile secretly.

We later found ourselves near the department’s garden; blade-like leaves, rough barks of the tree, vegetable patch, tree foliage, and caterpillar-eaten leaves-the grass in the garden was mowed so short that the ground showed through. The moss was scuffed, rolling it away from the soil like a carpet.

“Grass cut like that takes a longer time to grow back,” I said as we made our way to the bench in the garden area.

“Are you even a gardener now?” She chuckled.

“I am not because I am Levi, the cold and cranky guy you know.” She giggled as she agreed.

I added, “It satisfies the gardeners, though. More time for other work.”

“Do you even know their other job?” she asked.

“Um... let me see,” I said.

I stopped from walking as I looked at the center of the garden where a middle-aged man in a green, dirty shirt was pulling off the weeds. 

“He’s Kakang Julio,” I said and pointed him. “Aside from being the school gardener, he also works as a helper at the wet market at around 4 in the afternoon.”

“Really? How hardworking of him. Wait, how did you know that?”

Adalee looked at me with a trace of curiosity on her face, but I just shrugged my shoulders and gave her a smile. 

Moving on to the next one, I turned my head on the other side. 

“That one, he is Kakang Ben,” I said as I pointed the white-haired old man sweeping the dried leaves on the ground. “He’s a cowherd and a right-hand man of a wealthy rancher.”

Adalee gasped, holding her mouth with her right palm.

“Whoa! How did you know that? Are you a stalker? An informant? A private investigator of some sort?”

I literally laughed because of what she said. Stalker, my foot.

“I am not one of those what you say,” I replied as we walked again around the garden.

“But you sounded like you’re one of those people.”

“Am I?”

“Right. You know what? You have something similar to one of the characters I saw the last time I watched Korean drama. He’s the most famous informant in their town. A smart, good-looking guy who knows almost everything,” she described with an amazement in her voice.

“Tss. You and that Korean actors!”

“Why? They’re all good-looking!” she appealed that made my right eyebrow to arc.

“Really? I won’t believe you unless you bring me one Korean guy of your fantasies!” I snorted, slipping my hands both inside my pockets.

She nodded. “Sure! Do you want me to bring Caius here? He’s a good-looking guy!”

Then I remembered that Caius is a half Korean and a friend of mine, but despite of it, my face suddenly turned into some disgust. 

“Caius? No. Not at all. He’s just an ugly little pig in my eyes,” I said nonchalantly.

“W-what? Little pig? Oh, come on! You’re bullying your friend!”

“He’s my friend, that’s given, but I don’t really think that he’s handsome and such! Gross!”

Of course, it was just a joke, but in front of Adalee, I must be the only handsome guy.

Adalee bursted out laughing while playfully hitting my arms. I just couldn’t help myself, but to stare at her.

“Well, do you think...” I mumbled.

She looked at me as she cleared her throat.

“What?”

“Do you think... I mean, am I good-looking, too?”

She stared at me. Confused, but more like what-are-you-talking-about was all over her face.

“Oh? Well... um...” she said, avoiding my gaze. “That thing, I mean...”

“Hey! It’s just a matter of saying yes or yes!” I protested.

My face.

Am I really not that... handsome?

“Why... why are you shouting?” she asked as if I didn’t notice how hard she tried not to laugh with my question.

“Tsk! Is it really hard to answer between yes and yes? Goodness! Come on, say yes!” I demanded.

She bursted out in laughter again, hitting my arms, saying that I was a good joker.

Right. Smile. Laugh. Stay like that, Adalee.

“Such a witty. Okay, fine. I’ll say yes between yes and yes. You’re definitely such a handsome guy.”

“I know,” I said, barely smiling.

“Oh,” she mumbled, pointing at the mowed grasses which she stamped on. 

“Shorter cut of the grass allows tge gardener to do more jobs aside from gardening. The shorter, the better, right, Mr. Bonifacio?”

I glanced at her and said, “Yes, but not always.”

“What do you mean?” she asked and looked at me.

I tilted my head skyward that eventually dazzled my eyes due to the bright light of the sun.

“30°C, North East wind direction, and it will be partly cloudy throughout the day. Humidity ranges at 75%, precipitation at about 0.008mm, wind chill is 32°C, cloud covers at about 33%, 10km/h wind speed, dew point at about 21°C, pressure at 1101mbar, Ozone at 238.6 DU, UV index reading is at 7 which is high, and rain probability is just 17%,” I uttered as I remembered the weather today. It was written in the weather app which I had come to memorize.

“You never really fail to make my jaw dropped. From being a gardener to weather forecaster? Really?”

“I just wanted to say that the weather is good, but the UV index reading is high, so it’s not good for us to stay under the sun,” I said as I gently pulled her under the shade of an old Narra tree.

“Why didn’t you just tell me that the weather is fine instead of telling me those science-based facts?”

“Proofs.”

“Proofs? Proofs that the weather is fine?”

“Yes.”

“I have eyes, you smart kiddo!”

“Well...” I smiled. “To see is to believe, but it’s more believable when you have proofs.”

“Oh?”

“Even when it comes to liking someone,” I paused as I watched a butterfly flapped its wings over the flowers. 

“You can say that you like a perso , but it’s not that easy to make him believe you without giving or showing him proofs. Giving him the material things... luxuries, money, and everything is for the eyes to see and to believe, but it’s more believable when you show that person how you really feel.”

"Fine. If you say so,” she said, then smiled. “Let’s drop it already.”

She sounded like she was already accepting her defeat. I heaved a deep sigh after as I looked at the mowed grasses in the area.

“Grass cut like that takes a longer time to grow back. The shorter the better, but not in the lives of people,” I said, glancing at Adalee.

“Huh?”

“Life is short, but became shorter because some people wants to end it much sooner. Lucky are those grasses when mowed, but will still grow back. Unlike people’s lives, when cut and ended, no matter how long you’ll wait, you can never take it back,” I whispered, then smiled bitterly.

We sat on a bench. It was a nice place to see the beauty of the garden.

“Then those who are left behind needs to endure the pain of loss. I wonder how hard to be that smart, Levi!” she complained as she massaged her temples.

The corner of my lips arched as I watched wind blew the leaves of the tress.

“Knowing everything is a wonderful thing, but there’s still a consequence with it.”

She turned her head to me like what I did to her.

“It’s like, the more you know, the more chances you’ll get hurt,” I said.

She breathed. “So I guess it’s better than knowing nothing.”

“It is, at times. You know,” I said, “there are things better left unsaid. Words are sharper than a dagger, a slowburn, and could kill you emotionally. It’ll be better if you learn how to control your curiosity.”

“Why?”

I barely laughed and said, “It’ll be better if you learn how to control your curiosity.”

“You're so mean!”

Silence followed between us as we enjoyed the fresh air at the garden.

“The weather is good and beautiful, right?” she asked smiling with her eyes closed.

“Absolutely,” I whispered as I stared at her lovely face; the view that I would always wanted to look at, the sight that I would always be craving to see. I smiled.

“Just like you,” I added as I roamed my eyes around the garden once more.

There were bonsai tress lined the perfect lawn in their wooden boxes. There was a pond at the center with flowering lily pads and a wooden bridge that crossed the middle so you could look down to watch fishes of different kind.

“I never wished to be beautiful.”

A little surprised, I turned my head to her again. She was pulling the end of the jacket’s sleeves she’s wearing. The corners of her lips rose as she opened her eyes and glanced at me.

“Why?” I simply asked.

Adalee was indeed a beautiful lady, but she never bragged about it. Her fair skin was completely flawless. I doubted, she never use any expensive skincare products. Her hair was straight black, eyes were dark, and figure a perfect glass hour.

“Being beautiful is fearsome, upsetting, and tiring. It’s excruciating,” she whined. “I never wanted attention, all I want is peace. Can you just make me ugly, Levi?”

I was expecting that she would laugh after what she had said, but she didn’t. Her eyes were begging. For what? To be ugly? Her emotions couldn’t hide at her innocent face, but as I gazed intently into her eyes, there was a flicker of emotion I couldn’t identify yet.

Would that be pain?

“Hey!” she laughed and playfully hit my arm. “You look so serious! I’m just kidding,” she said, then smiled like she used to do. I felt relieved.

I smiled back and pat her head. “Stop thinking such things. You’re making me worry,” I said in a low pitch voice and hugged her close.

Being so close to her now made me remember when, and how I made a move to approach her for the first time. It was already months ago since the story about us started.