After the entrance exam, the school’s atmosphere was chaotic.
I wasn’t sure why my class was so noisy, but it could have been because it was next to the third grade classroom.
The teachers who arrived in the corridor to take control of the students, began shouting, “Are you in third grade?” and “Aren’t you going to be quiet?”
There was still no silence.
“…”
I sat quietly with my workbook open. I sat, propped up my chin, and rummaged through the workbook.
I answered with a mechanical pencil.
“Ah…”
I knew this. There were a few mistakes made by carelessness. Then I set my pencil down. I shifted my gaze to the back seat.
“…”
Alan’s seat was empty. I pursed my lips as I gazed at his seat.
He did not come to school. A peach emoji arm pillow, soiled no matter how much it was washed, was quietly laying on the desk on his seat.
After looking at his seat for a moment, I turned my head forward again.
The bell rang, and the teacher entered the classroom.
I scanned the room and looked at Alan’s deskmate.
“Alan, ain’t coming?”
“Yeah.
Instead, the class president answered.
“He started doing good in class, why is he like this again?”
The teacher spat out a sentence.
I silently gazed around the classroom, lowering my head as much as I could.
Kenta, who had turned around and looked at Alan’s empty seat, met my eyes.
Kenta’s mouthed, ‘Why didn’t he come?’
I shook my head as I didn’t know the reason.
“What happened to Alan?”
Kenta approached me and asked.
He slid between my seat and the seat in front of me, bending his knees.
He kept his chin on the desk, and opened his eyes, I avoided his gaze because I didn’t want to look at his questioning expression.
“Why didn’t Alan come?”
Kenta grumbled, as though he expected an answer regardless.
After shaking my head, I folded and unfolded the end of the textbook on the desk and repeated it.
“Did you guys fight?”
“…No.”
“Then…”
Kenta covered his mouth with his hand and lowered his voice.
He seemed to be careful, but he didn’t know that he looked more suspicious.
“Did you break up?”
When he asked the question, he formed a circle with his lips and moved them here and there.
Did you break up? Did we break up? Didn’t you usually break up after saying you wanted to? Was this also one of the break ups?
I couldn’t think of anything to say in response to the situation, so Kenta rolled his eyes and opened his mouth.

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SWEET LIKE CANDY
Romansa"Let's slowly become adults." Jeff Thanapon, who was in school, suffered from the heat and had to leave early. He runs across Alan Hemmawich, a well-known bully in the alley on his way home. Jeff, who is afraid of him, attempts to walk pass him as i...