Sentience

13

Changmin had never thought why he could find the answer to all his questions regarding Belle rather easily and neither did he ever think why it had been so easy for him to unveil every petal of Arabelle's personal matter. Which, this also meant that never once did it cross his mind that all this was probably the fate that was granted to the two of them.

The same thing went for Belle. She had never cared about why she felt so comfortable talking about herself with Changmin or how she would easily open up whenever the boy was asking. She just thought that maybe they were having the same personality to understand each other.

When she asked him do you want to follow me back home, she never thought that her question would sound weird or Changmin might feel discomfort.

For, she simply thought that Changmin would've understood her meaning right away. Otherwise, he wouldn't agree with it.

That seemed to be correct as well. All of a sudden, the boy felt obliged to follow her back home because she wouldn't have proposed something ever so abruptly if she wasn't in trouble.

They left the campus by bus; only one seat was available, so Changmin let her sit and stand next to her. His evil thought could've let himself sit but as soon as they got in, he saw a strange man at two rows behind them eyeing Belle weirdly.

Luckily, their stop came first. Changmin never told Belle about the stranger even when he trailed behind her to get off until they stepped onto the curb. Suddenly, it worried him for some kind of reason. What if the man shows up again when she takes the same bus in the future?

"You've been quiet," Belle, the quick-witted girl, was fast to notice, every so often glancing over her friend while walking in the track.

Changmin subtly gulped, not intending to spill it now to her. He did not mean to scare her either. So, he wore another facade, hoping that it could cover his emotions well.

"Have your mom fetched Jinwoo from school?" Swiftly, he changed the subject. "Normally, she will pick you up afterwards, right? How come you're taking the bus today?"

Belle repositioned her tote bag's strap over her shoulder, "Both of my parents are busy today. Jinwoo has gone home with his friend's mom - our neighbour. So, we need to drop by their house first."

Changmin just smiled, nodding in the process. Anywhere and anytime, as long as he was with her, nothing seemed to matter. For, in his head, he existed in Belle's life just for this.

"Belle!" An energetic voice echoed through the lobby as soon as the two stepped into the building of the luxurious condominium, a toddler running out from a corner of the ground floor, arms spread widely. Jinwoo crashed over his sister who couldn't help stumbling.

Again, Ji Changmin was witnessing Arabelle being awkward, her hand placement on Jinwoo's head was full of hesitancy. She didn't say anything to the little boy, but, instead, she looked ahead at the said neighbour who was extending Jinwoo's bag forward.

"Thank you, Aunty," she was about to take the bag but Changmin reached for it first. "And sorry for troubling you. I have packed schedules today, so I was not able to fetch him."

"Don't worry about it, Belle. Jinwoo is a good boy," the lady reached to ruffle Jinwoo's hair but failed to notice how Belle's face fell. Again, people are complimenting him, which probably was what she thought. "He knows what time you will be coming home. So, he asked me to walk him out."

"I see..." Belle's statement was enough to alert Changmin to jump into the conversation.

So, he pulled Jinwoo closer to him before he knelt, whispering to the little boy. "Do you want to play with me?"