Sentience

03

Changmin and Belle sat together on the stairs leading to the rooftop; somewhere not many people passed by. For privacy they said.

He told Belle the details of the mother's story, trying not to leave even a small thing behind while they were having light lunch; chicken floss bread bought from the cafeteria. As a girl who naturally was softhearted, she could dive into the emotions too easily, having her heart wrenched further Changmin trailed into the storyline.

"Think about it..." She paused, downing the lump of the bread in her throat. "How sure you are that her daughter is now successful?"

Changmin flinched as he glanced over Belle who was taking another bite of the bread - the crumb was everywhere on her lips.

"What do you mean?" He questioned, taking out a piece of tissue and casually dabbing it on her lips.

Belle never found it awkward. Because it was normal between them. Too normal that people started speculating how weird their friendship was if they weren't dating. However, for them, that was how friends treated each other.

Or... that was how Ji Changmin treated a female friend.

"If she left the house when she was about... 20 or 21, how could she afford the life expenses?" Belle stated the fact, awaiting Changmin's response. The boy ended up storing the chewed food in his cheek, too stunned that he never thought of it.

"God... Belle..." He carefully sighed not to let the food in his mouth from rudely falling while talking to her. "You're right..."

"So, I think..." Belle dramatically paused, widening her eyes at the climax of her speculation which made Changmin unable to swallow, too nervous to hear further. "There must be someone who's helping her."

Then, the boy let out another sigh before he slowly resuming to chew. His shoulders slumped as he stared forward at nothing; only an empty corridor ahead. He couldn't believe it. Why couldn't he even have the same thinking style as Belle? And, above all, how could she be so brilliant like this?

Glancing at her who was now busy thinking; the faint furrow of her brows proved it, Changmin unknowingly spread a little smile on his face. He was not wrong, no, he was never wrong. Belle was the perfect partner in crime when it came to his sentience.

This moment showed it all. How he had missed so many puzzle pieces and Belle, she had completed them. She knew where to find the lost pieces and put them back to have a clear picture. If they were working on this together, Chanhee's concern would be all useless.

Ji Changmin must have been adoring her too well, he must have been staring at her for too long that at one point, Belle glanced over and met his shimmering orbs. But, she was the oblivious one, she had zero thought of it. She just let out a snort, noticing his cheeks that were full of food while he was being flustered.

"Swallow your food first, squirrel..." She nudged him with her shoulder. "My beauty won't fade away, don't worry."

Or... she wasn't really oblivious.

At that, Changmin grinned with sealed lips, nodding in the process. She's right, he thought.

"What do you intend to tell me?" He said after swallowing, Belle then pondered, quite confused. "Wasn't it because you wanted to tell me something that you turned around?"

Changmin knew he was right. Belle needn't confirm it, he knew his guess was always right. For, that was the uniqueness of their friendship. Some things could just be left unspoken because they could see it on each other's faces.

"I just want to say that... I'm admiring your perseverance," she started, softly smiling as she looked down on her lap. "You could've just ignored the woman but instead you stayed with her and gave her full support to overcome the hardship."

"Anyone could do that, you know," he nudged her, to which Belle then chuckled.

"Not anyone," she shook her head, getting an emotion ready. And from her face, Changmin thought, he knew what it was, nonetheless, he chose to be silent about it. "Me, Changmin... I could just pity her from afar even after knowing the whole story. I don't have any courage to walk up to her and convince her to tell me everything about her personal life. That's what makes you different."

Changmin didn't know how he could describe this situation. But, for now, he could just let her know that he was grateful to be seen as a kind human though he didn't think what he did would deserve praise. However, he could conclude on one more thing.

"I'll keep you informed about it," he assured, taking the empty plastic wrapper from her hand. "Hadn't for you, I couldn't have thought so far about mother's daughter. So, help me more in the future."

When he flashed her the sweetest smile that made his dimples prominent, he saw her eyes lit up with excitement as well. She was glad to be offered something she loved to do and Changmin was happy about it. Together, they could carry out this good deed.

Belle then playfully hissed as she pondered. "I wonder how you could tell what I was thinking so easily..."

Easy, Changmin thought.

Belle was an open book; he would say that. From the first day they met, he could unveil every little thing about her just from a simple glance. Because Belle would never hide her emotions or her thoughts. Changmin could easily see them from her face.

Maybe, that was when his sentience started. Because of his curiosity about why Belle kept her feelings to herself. She indeed had other friends; mostly girls, she could've shared but she chose not to.

So, he wanted to share everything she felt. Her sadness, her concerns, her opinions and also her problems. Especially right now when she wore an expression that wasn't really pleasant to see as she jolted up, fixing her attire.

"I need to go. Otherwise, I'll be late," she smiled but it was fake. Leaving wasn't her first choice.

"No more classes?" Changmin asked and she shook her head. "It's still early."

She went silent, and her lips quivered between smiling or to frown.

Changmin laid his chin on his palm as his elbow planted on his thigh. Carefully, he watched over her body language and unknowingly he chuckled next.

"Let's go..." He announced, jolting up as well. Belle confusedly looked at him collecting his stuff and crumpling the plastic wrappers of the breads, muttering a small where to? "Aren't you going to fetch Jinwoo from school?"

"Oh... yes..."

Jinwoo was Belle's brother; a cute 5 years old toddler. She was having a mental breakdown when suddenly she had a younger sibling in her 20s because her lifestyle changed so much to suddenly becoming an elder sister. Adapting to a new thing wasn't easy either.

And to worsen the situation more, her brother was clinging more to her than their parents. If Changmin wasn't mistaken, it all started when Belle fetched him from school that one day because both of her parents suddenly were out of town due to work and luckily she just finished her class. But, afterwards, Jinwoo insisted on having Belle all the time.

Changmin... Sometimes he would follow her to fetch the boy because he was the youngest in his family. So, once in a while playing with Jinwoo was an interesting activity. But, when Chanhee asked for the truth Changmin would say that Belle looked so awkward to handle her own brother. So, he helped.

"Tell me about it, what kind of fuss Jinwoo made to have you fetched him today?" Changmin queried as both of them started their journey down the hall.

"You will not believe me!"

It was the routine. When Belle started the rants, Changmin on the other hand wouldn't only lend his ears but also give out the reactions.

Though the rants weren't really big deals, he would keep wearing reactions on his face. For, Belle's story was always entertaining.