HOW I DIED.

四

épisode four / shi.
THE MOON AND YOU、004.

OWL CREEK LAKE, 1993

SHE HATED MONDAYS that's for sure, but today seemed to be an exception. A-kio and Michiko had been sitting on the edge of the wooden lake deck, their feet soaking in the water for 30 minutes already. He still hasn't talked to her for the whole while. It was the first time Kio had acted like that and she found it rather pretty interesting.

"Hey, Kirby," she nudged him as they both sat at the end of the wooden deck, "no word for me? Even just a hum?"

Instead of replying, Kio just scooted 3 feet away from her.

  "Can you please just tell me what's wrong? Please," she pouted. "It's my birthday today, 20th to be exact. Don't make me sad," she gazed at Kio's seemingly breathtaking side profile, distracting her from her real objectives.

     She then realized that it had been two years now since they first met each other; she had already witnessed things way past his first heartbreak. The boy had grown into an undeniably attractive young man right before her eyes. One thing she fairly noticed was the way his flubby cheeks had toned down, revealing his fine jawline and cheekbones. Damn it, but now was definitely not the time to fangirl over that, so she ended it by finally averting her gaze.

    "Kiooooo..." she dragged out his name, "a little happy birthday from you would be fine." Not really though, she wanted him to talk to her. Kio was normally a sweet boy, warm and kind towards her, and seeing him act this way just broke her heart.

    "Happy birthday," he said in a cold tone while looking away.

     "Ugh," she groaned, "just tell me what's the problem so we could get this over with."

     She was startled when he suddenly looked at her straight in the eyes, his stare was fierce enough to make her stop breathing. "Forget it."

    But instead of actually forgetting about it, events of last night flashed back in her head as she saw the look in his eyes, instantly remembering how Yi-shan, her classmate, stopped by her house to give her a human-sized teddy bear and a bouquet of flowers.

That couldn't be, right?

     But she couldn't see anything else as the reason, so she cleared her throat and tested it out, "Yi-shan stopped by to give me gifts last night," paying close attention to how the boy reacts to the statement.

     Kio clenched his fists and furrowed his brows, strong jawline becoming more prominent than ever before. Bingo.