Sentience

26

Ji Changmin saying I love you to Belle might have been one of the normal things in their friendship. Because the boy didn't find it awkward after saying those and the girl didn't find it uncomfortable, they still could sit next to each other with the rest of their friends at the basketball court after getting ice cream and watching Juyeon and Eric play.

Of course, after Belle unwillingly spilt the content of the conversation with her father last night.

Belle was struggling with her ice cream wrapper and the sight alone was frustrating for Changmin to keep seeing. So, he snatched the ice cream from her hand and swiftly tore the slightly tight sealed plastic to reveal the content before he opened his.

Another normal thing, their friends could've said, despite the abnormal gesture.

"Juyeon, Eric! Don't you want the ice cream?" It was Chanhee, screaming at the top of his lungs. "Changmin will eat them away!"

"Why me?!" The said boy was enraged, and a slap landed on Chanhee's thin arm.

The bicker went on and on with Kevin tried to calm them down but soon gave up when he just realized that his effort was useless. So far, nobody could stop the two until there would be a distraction.

"You two surely are loud," Belle then spoke up, sniffling as she poked her finger into her ear. "You guys could make a team of choir."

Secretly Kevin cheered inside his head, finally!

Belle did not know that the distraction that used to stop the bickering was actually her. And it was proven when Changmin's attention was no longer on his friend but Belle, stern look was staring down at her.

"I definitely will recruit you and Amy..." He said, an angry raised brow on his face which made the girl laugh instead.

But, it all died down when Juyeon and Eric joined them on the grass a while later, the playful air suddenly turned serious, tensed even. If something needed to be blamed, it would be the festival.

"How's your progress anyway?" It was Eric, half curious and half disappointed.

He was exempted from joining, so, unlike the rest of them, he didn't have any club to join to hold a booth. He wasn't sure whether he could attend the festival either. A tournament might be started around that time too. So, maybe getting the feelings first didn't sound bad.

"We've decided to do a haunted house," Juyeon announced, already guessing who would be the most excited among them. "Changmin, come to our booth first later."

The said boy already had his eyes widened with joy in the first place, he had already imagined the happiness that would engulf him on that day. None of his friends could relate because, for Ji Changmin, scary things were cute.

"But, speaking of that..." Chanhee paused, glancing over at the girls. "Belle... I'm sorry to say this, but Changmin is in a very tight situation. He doesn't have any outline yet for his photos and the time is running out."

"Oh!" Belle flinched, a bit angry at herself for putting the boy in that situation. Wiping her lips that were stained with the ice cream, she found Changmin's face, "We should plan it out faster. I'm sorry, it's delayed for so long."

"It's not a big deal," the boy shrugged.

Belle then felt an impact bumping on her right shoulder; from Amy's direction. And when she glanced over, the girl had a playful smile on her face.

"You two can spend all the time together, why do you need to worry?"

"What are you talking about?" Belle nudged her friend back. She was about to spit a paragraph of retaliation when suddenly Changmin rose to his feet, making all attention be on him.

"Belle, let's go. Your mom will be here any minute."

When Belle stood up, dusting off dried grasses from her jeans, Amy was internally screaming at the sight she saw. She knew it was again a normal thing to see between the pair, but, her girly heart couldn't really endure the squeal when Changmin took out a single grass stuck on Belle's shirt.

And when the two started walking away after bidding them goodbye, she finally let out her thought. "I don't know which one is problematic... Belle or Changmin?"

Then, Kevin snorted. "I know what you are thinking about..."

"Didn't Belle say anything about Changmin?" It was then that Chanhee asked the girl, and Amy just shook her head.

"I mean... If I were Belle, how could I not fall for someone like Changmin? He came right on the time when she was in need," Amy scoffed, pointing to the pair, who were now laughing together on the sidewalk. "See!"

"Then..." It was Eric trailing off, a slight smirk on his face. "Both are oblivious of their feelings then despite the sentience..."

Maybe their friends were right about the pair's obliviousness. Because the farther they walked next to each other, they definitely didn't talk about the conversation sparked back there from the circle; it almost seemed like it never happened. Instead, they were talking about how Mother had encouraged the boy which led him to approach Belle's father.

Belle was awestruck, her jaw hanging low at the story. It just sparked so much curiosity about this lady that she wanted to meet her really fast. Indirectly, Mother had helped her with her feelings as well, she needed to thank her properly.

"We will go see her, right?" She beamed, slightly springing on her feet which made Changmin smile at the cutesy.

"Of course, we will. What about tomorrow?"

"Sounds like a plan!"

Changmin laughed, he liked this version of Belle. The version that was always bright, like a sunny day. The version that seemed to have no worries welled up inside her. Although the boy knew there was still something else that hadn't changed yet, for instance, her acceptance of her little brother, he knew Belle would do good.

Time will help, he thought alone.

"Mother has been asking for you too many times already," he informed. "I guess my existence alone is not enough."

"Are you jealous now?" She teased, nudging him with her shoulder.

Changmin chuckled, "No! I think it's understandable. Because she has a daughter, so, seeing a girl instead of a boy will heal her more."

"I really... really... really want to help her," Belle prayed to the sky, chanting the prayers inside her head. "This might sound harsh but I hope she will forget about her daughter forever!"

"Hey... How could you ask that?!"

"Why not? Anne made her mother suffer! So... as long as I'm here, I'll be Mother's daughter! I'll give her another chance to live as a mom and I'll give her the chance to be happy."

"You are stealing someone's mom."

"Don't care!" Belle stuck her tongue out before she dashed forward, leaving Changmin speechless at the back.

But, then, he lightly laughed before he started chasing after her. They both seemed to have thought that everything had fallen into its original place and so, they could focus to drive everything towards a better place.

However, despite knowing that there was no guarantee that everything would be easy, they seemed to have gaslighted themselves that things still would go well.