[Flashback – The Sudden Photo Moment]
In the middle of the mall's bustling crowd, Auntie Lily suddenly pulled out her phone from her bag.
"Come here. Let's take a photo together, just for the memories," she said cheerfully.
"Yaaay! Photooo!!" I squealed, running toward her with excitement.
But of course… Ches had the exact opposite reaction.
"No," he said flatly.
"Ches! Come onnn…" I whined, tugging at the edge of his shirt.
"No," he repeated, not even bothering to look at me.
He tried to make a run for the escalator. But his reflexes weren't quite as quick as his instincts. In a flash—click!
Auntie Lily snapped the photo just in time. My face was all smiles, Auntie Lily had her usual warm grin, and Ches… well, he was halfway turned around, like he'd just realized the trap. Half of his face made it into the frame — the rest was a blur. And that was exactly what made me laugh so hard my stomach hurt.
It became one of my favorite pictures ever.
---
[Back at the Café]
Today was supposed to be a fun day. We shopped, played, ate together. But somehow, I felt like… Ches didn't really enjoy any of it.
From the start, his brows were furrowed. He kept sighing, even ran his fingers through his hair in frustration a few times. He barely smiled. And whenever I tried to talk to him, his answers were short—almost like an empty echo.
"Is the bread good?" "It's okay." "Are you sleepy?" "No." "Wasn't that jumping cat plushie cute?" "No."
Auntie Lily remained calm. She looked at me with a soft smile and whispered gently,
"He's just not used to this yet, sweetheart. Give him some time."
I tried to smile back, but deep down… something kept tugging at me.
Ches.
He kept glancing around, left and right, like he was watching something no one else could see. His eyes were sharp, alert. Every loud noise made his shoulders stiffen. Every passing shadow had his eyes flicking toward it.
As if… he was expecting to be attacked.
Was he scared?
Had something bad happened to him?
Or maybe… he just didn't like crowded places?
But his expression wasn't just discomfort.
There was pain there. A deep kind of pain.
The kind I couldn't quite see, but could somehow feel.
I stirred my ice cream slowly.
I don't know. Maybe I was overthinking everything.
But there's one thing I knew for sure—
I wanted him to feel safe.
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*
It had been three days since Auntie Lily stayed in the apartment. At first, she refused to go home—she couldn't bear to leave me and Ches alone. But time kept moving, and another worry started creeping in. If she stayed too long, Dad might get suspicious.
Suspicious about why she was still here, when I was the one who insisted on living independently.
And so, in the end… she had to go.
Of course, Dad didn't know everything.
Tonight, after a simple dinner we shared, Ches and I sat together on the balcony.
The night sky above Virelia was dark, but the city lights reflected on the glass windows of the tall buildings, creating dreamlike shadows.
A soft breeze drifted past.
Ches sat beside me, silent.
I wasn't sure, but… I think he was starting to get a little more used to me.
Just a little.
But so far, the walls around his heart hadn't really come down.
"Ches…" I spoke softly, almost like a whisper,
"Tomorrow I start school. And now… Auntie Lily's gone back home."
I looked up at the sky for a moment, then glanced at him.
"At first, I thought you could stay in the apartment next door. But then people would get suspicious. You not going to school when everyone else does—it'd be too strange.
What do you think… what should we do?"
Ches scoffed, his voice a mix of weariness and irritation.
"Don't worry about me. I can live on my own."
I turned to him, staring in disbelief.
He looked away, his jaw clenched.
"What, you think I'm weak or something?" he snapped.
"I'm not afraid of being alone. I can take care of myself."
I took a deep breath, keeping my tone calm.
"That's not what I meant, Ches. But… remember? The last time I left for just a little while… you were already up on the rooftop!"
"Hah! That's my business. You don't need to get involved!"
I groaned quietly.
"Ches, you're my little brother now, you know!"
His eyes shot toward me—sharp, piercing.
"I've told you over and over… I'm not your brother."
And just like that… like two kittens hissing at each other, we snapped and clawed with our words.
But in the end, I gave in.
Because that wasn't what really mattered.
Because… more than who he was, I just wanted him to be safe.
"…Alright. You win," I sighed.
Leaning back in my chair, I looked out into the night.
"But just promise me one thing, Ches. Don't do anything dangerous again, okay?"
He said nothing.
But to me, his silence was better than another refusal.
"I'll take that as a yes," I said with a small smile.
Quiet settled over us for a while. Only the distant sound of traffic horns and the soft whisper of the night wind remained.
Then, out of nowhere, he spoke.
"…Where are we?"
I turned to him. "You mean… like, we're on the balcony?"
"Not that."
His gaze pierced through the dark horizon.
"I mean… this city. This country. This world."
"Ohh…" I nodded slowly.
"We're in the capital city, Virelia. The country is called Elaris. And this world is called Valcres. The human world, I guess you could say.
Why? Do you think… there's another world out there besides this one?"
Ches didn't answer right away.
He stayed quiet for a long time, as if digging deep into some hidden part of himself.
"…Valcres, huh?" he repeated softly, more like a whisper to himself.
I rested my chin on my knees.
"You know, you're kind of like an old man with amnesia. Forgetting your origins and your own world."
"Hey!" he huffed, clearly offended. "Don't ever say I lost my memory."
I laughed lightly, with no intention of hurting him.
"Well, you do look confused. Like someone who fell into a strange world and hasn't figured out which way's north."
Ches let out a loud sigh and turned away.
But I caught a glimpse of his cheeks—slightly red.
Maybe from anger.
Or… maybe not.