Sentience

32

Personal feelings?

No, he didn't have to numerously check with his brain to confirm that Chanhee was wrong. No personal feelings were related to this problem; his intention was still the same: to be a friend Belle could rely on.

Changmin was persistent that his existence was nothing but to always be on standby next to Belle because nobody knew when or how she would break. He had to be the supporting system she could easily access whenever she was in need.

Staying with her from the start, after Brianna's passing, Changmin saw a new light in her. She used to cry a lot to comprehend her loss; she was a different person compared to Arabelle he knew from the simple introduction through Brianna. Days passed by, and finally, he could see the same Belle again, though the girl sometimes was still haunted by the past and struggling to take over Brianna's position as the eldest child.

Belle used to rely on Brianna; she used to have someone checked on her constantly, although her parents were busy. So, Changmin knew how stressful it must be for her to suddenly adapt to new things, how crumbled she was to deal with her feelings; her sister wasn't there anymore to hear her out.

And maybe Changmin came into her life had brought thousands of colours to repaint her dull and grey world. She felt comfort; she felt secure to be in his presence, knowing that someone as good as her sister was with her all the time. She was relieved that she finally had someone else to rely on.

How is she keep going now? Changmin thought.

Despite the pressure over the promise he made with Mother; to bring Belle to her, he was more worried about the girl. Maybe his caring for both of the females wasn't balanced. Because he was prone to put Belle first before anyone else.

No romantic feelings included, he planted in his head.

And maybe, because of that thought, Changmin left the campus, dragging his feet to somewhere he wished he could see her even from afar. He told himself that it was okay if she didn't want to see him; they needn't see each other eye to eye for him to know that she was doing good, though he doubted it.

But, for some kind of reason, his instinct was telling something different. That, Arabelle wouldn't be coming to fetch Jinwoo from school. The kids were waiting for their parents to arrive, obediently sitting together in a group at the facade of the building under the teacher's supervision; Jinwoo was one of them.

Normally, if Belle was assigned to pick him up, she would never let Jinwoo wait. She would be here before the dismissal.

"Did... something happen?" The boy couldn't help but think the negative.

Then, without Changmin realising, he had dragged his feet forward, closer to the kindergarten, and he soon found out that he had been standing behind the gate, waving at Jinwoo, who looked sullen, waiting for anyone to pick him up.

"Changmin!" The little boy beamed, immediately jolting up as soon as he spotted his favourite brother.

It wouldn't be an issue for the female teacher to let Jinwoo go with Changmin; she had seen the latter numerous times coming to pick up the little boy from school with Belle. Therefore, when Changmin requested to bring Jinwoo out for a while until his mother came, the teacher instantly agreed.

The two boys walked hand in hand towards an ice cream shop not too far from the kindergarten, hoping that they could catch the sight of the black MPV used by the mom passing by.

The older bought a cup of chocolate ice cream with colourful sprinkles on top for the younger; Jinwoo was ecstatic that his focus was nowhere but the dessert. He almost climbed up the table to express his excitement for having a cold and sweet thing.