Chapter 388: Leo Karumi [22]

Why was it that every time Leo came to the mall with this girl, he ran into someone he’d rather not see?

Was he cursed?

Leo wasn’t the type to believe in that kind of thing, but Lea was making it increasingly hard not to.

Especially because he was now seated in the exact same café as last time—when it had been him, Lea, Lia, and his mother.

Only this time, it was Leo, Lea, and Sarah—Nathan’s mother.

Leo and Lea sat next to each other, while Sarah sat across from them.

After they’d run into her near the fitting rooms, Lea’s little fashion show had come to an abrupt end. Apparently, Nathan’s mother had been here to try on clothes as well. But the moment she saw the two of them together, she’d asked if they wanted to grab something to eat.

Leo would’ve objected at first, but Lea—who was meeting Nathan’s mother for the first time, and was still riding that high mood—wanted to go. So, once again, Leo reluctantly agreed.

And before Leo could even recover from that, Lea went to the counter and bought

every single outfit

she’d tried on in front of him. Leo thought it was overkill, but then again, girls did tend to have bigger closets than boys—at least, from what he’d seen.

The staff even let her wear one of the new outfits out of the store. After using the changing room one last time, she came out in the first dress she’d shown him: the summery white one. Leo and Sarah waited while she changed.

They offered to let Sarah continue shopping—since Leo and Lea still needed to pick up their costumes—but she said it was fine and tagged along anyway, cheerful about it.

The funniest part was that Leo and Lea didn’t even have to choose costumes. Apparently, Nathan had called the store earlier that day and told them exactly what to prepare, so they could just pick everything up right away.

Naturally, Lea had a maid costume waiting for her.

And Leo... had a creepy clown costume.

He was annoyed that Nathan had chosen for him without asking, but the thought of scaring Dave with it softened the irritation.

And now they were here, sitting at the café.

"Leo. Leo." Lea leaned closer and nudged his side with her elbow, whispering while glancing at Sarah—who was smiling at them kindly. "What the hell? Nathan never told me his mom was so hot. How is she that beautiful? I don’t think she’s even wearing makeup!"

Leo’s eye twitched.

"Don’t fall for it," he muttered, eyeing Sarah like she was a villain in disguise. "Behind that smile is a sadistic demon who gets off on torturing others."

"L-Leo!" Lea stared at him, horrified.

But despite Lea’s shock at how he spoke to an adult, Sarah only laughed—warm and unbothered.

"It’s alright," she said. "I’m already used to it."

"R-right..." Lea mumbled, still stunned.

Of course, she knew Leo could be rude. She’d seen it plenty of times. But she’d also learned he often didn’t mean it—not fully. Especially with people close to him. With his parents, he was careful. With Nathan, it usually felt like teasing.

But with Nathan’s mother...

Lea could tell Leo meant every word.

"I must say," Sarah continued, smiling at Lea, "Nathan has told me a lot about you. You really are pretty."

"Wha— um... t-thank you..." Lea said, instantly bashful. She lowered her gaze.

"No, really." Sarah’s tone stayed light. "My son has been gushing nonstop about the student council president. I can see why."

"Y-yes... thank you for saying such kind things," Lea said, voice small.

"Oh, you’re welcome," Sarah replied, flashing a smile that showed her teeth—one that, to Leo, looked more like a predator enjoying its meal.

"Yet..." Sarah added.

And there it was.

"From what he’s told me, you’re kind to everyone around you," she said gently, "but you always said no whenever my son—or anyone else—invited you to hang out."

"Ah, well—"

Sarah then placed a hand on her cheek, turned her face away, and covered her eyes as if she were hiding tears.

"Clearly my son was lying because he was embarrassed," she said sorrowfully. "I apologize for him. And for his behavior, which I imagine can be... off-putting at times."

Lea instantly panicked. Seeing the mother of someone she knew so well bow her head like that made her flustered beyond reason.

"P-please—raise your head!" Lea blurted. "N-Nathan hasn’t been trouble at all! Sure, he can be silly, and unserious, and a bit too addicted to his hobbies, b-but he’s really responsible. He’s got a good head on his shoulders, and he gets things done!"

"I see..." Sarah murmured.

But instead of looking reassured, she sighed even more solemnly.

"So then," she said softly, "it must mean only Leo here managed to meet your standards as a friend... and not my precious son."

"Wha—no! That’s not what I meant!" Lea protested.

Embarrassed, Lea dropped her gaze and spoke in a hushed voice.

"Nathan is also a dear friend of mine... it’s just..."

But Sarah suddenly burst out laughing.

"Hahahahaha! You really—hahaha—you’re adorable! Hahahaha!"

Lea blinked, then looked helplessly at Leo, silently begging him to do something.

Leo only looked back at her with an expression that clearly said:

I warned you.

Deciding to save Lea from further torture, Leo sighed and spoke up.

"Aren’t you a bit too old to do stuff like this?" he asked. "Maybe you should get another hobby. I heard knitting is good for old people."

Immediately, both Lea and Sarah froze.

Then Sarah turned to Leo with an offended look and snapped,

"I am

not

old! I’m still in my early thirties!"

"Late thirties," Leo corrected without hesitation.

Sarah’s eye twitched.

"You and your mouth... How is it possible that such a cute girl even wants to hang out with you? Did you deceive her?"

"The only one who’s good at deceiving people here is you," Leo shot back, "with your hobby of getting under their skin."

"Ah! Speaking of hobbies!" Sarah suddenly did a complete one-eighty. Her expression brightened, and she shoved her phone in front of Leo, leaning over the table with excitement.

"Look at what Nathan painted for me yesterday! Isn’t this gorgeous?!"

Annoyed, Leo still leaned in—and his gaze softened the moment he saw the screen.

"Not bad," he admitted.

Leo had always liked Nathan’s paintings. They were aesthetically pleasing, and Nathan had a real talent for anything artistic. For Leo, on the other hand, art was probably his weakest point.

Lea, curious to the point she couldn’t sit still, leaned in to peek at the screen too. Her eyes widened.

"Oh," she breathed, genuinely surprised. "Nathan always said he painted when he could... but I never imagined he was

this

good..."

The painting was simple, yet striking.

An apple tree stood in full bloom, its branches bent low under the weight of white blossoms. Petals clung to grass and sleeves, turning the ground beneath the tree pale and speckled—as if it had been dusted with snow. Beneath the canopy stood a lone figure, nearly swallowed by the white. The dark fabric of their clothes absorbed the light, setting them apart from the brightness around them.

Neither Leo nor Lea could tell if the figure was a man or a woman. Their face was hidden.

For some reason, Leo couldn’t stop staring at them. Something about it felt... off.

Satisfied by their reaction, Sarah leaned back and nodded repeatedly, pride written all over her face. Then she glanced at Leo with a smug look—one he noticed, of course, but wisely ignored with Lea sitting there.

Lea leaned toward Leo’s ear and whispered,

"Um... Nathan’s mother is certainly something."

"Trust me," Leo murmured back.

"You don’t know the half of it."

"R-right..." Lea mumbled.

Still, she could tell Leo and Sarah were close—like family, even without sharing blood. It wasn’t hard to see. Leo’s words were crude, but there wasn’t a trace of hatred in his eyes.

For a brief moment, Lea felt self-conscious.

Out of everyone in Leo’s life, she was probably the least important. He was surely closer to others than he was to her.

And for some reason... it bothered her.

The feeling faded when Sarah suddenly held out two banknotes in front of Lea.

"Dear," Sarah said sweetly, "could you please get me two drinks? Anything you recommend is fine. I’ve had a dry throat in this heat since early morning and haven’t had anything to drink."

"O-of course!"

Lea took the money. Leo stood and shifted aside to make room for her, and Lea thanked him before hurrying off.

Leo sat back down with a quiet sigh. Sarah chuckled, looking amused.

"She’s a kind and smart child."

Leo glanced at Sarah, then nodded.

"She is. Though she can be a bit naïve about certain things."

He shot Sarah a scornful look as he said it. Sarah only chuckled again.

"But I must say," Sarah added, "I’m a bit surprised by you."

"Me?" Leo asked, suddenly awkward under the warmth in her gaze—soft and maternal, like she was looking at her own son.

"Yes. Aren’t you the captain of the festival committee?" Sarah’s smile didn’t fade. "You decided to help your school this time, and you’re out with someone other than Nathan."

"Well... yeah, I guess," Leo said, still not sure where she was going.

Sarah tilted her head.

"Isn’t this the first time you’ve done something significant without thinking about your mother’s wishes first? She didn’t ask you to do all of this, right? You took the initiative because

you

wanted to. And you’ve never done that before—at least not on this scale."

"—!"

It felt like a truck hit him.

Sarah burst out laughing. "Hahahaha! You didn’t even realize it yourself, did you? You’re always so funny, Leo. It’s adorable!"

Ignoring the way her teasing didn’t quite match her face, Leo stared down, pinching his chin.

’I see. That’s why I’ve been feeling so off... so hesitant about all of this.

I want these memories... ones that haven’t been shaped by my mother.’

"Seems like you finally entered your rebellious phase," Sarah said, calmer now. "A bit later than Nathan, but still." Her voice softened. "I’m glad it happened. I don’t want you getting hurt any more than you already have."

Then Sarah’s expression turned serious. She studied him closely, scanning his face as if searching for something beneath the surface.

"...It’s been more than a year since that incident."

Leo’s jaw tightened.

"I know."

"I know you do," she said softly.

"But if it happens again... come to me, alright?"

Instead of agreeing, Leo furrowed his brows.

"Didn’t you say last time that if it happened again, you’d tell my mother?"

A look of exasperation crossed her face.

"That was because it kept happening. It was becoming too dangerous

not

to tell her."

Leo knew she was right. He averted his gaze.

"...I guess so."

"Leo."

Her tone sharpened—serious enough to pull his eyes back to hers.

"Are you happy?" she asked suddenly.

The question stunned him. He blinked a few times, caught between confusion and something quieter.

Then, hesitantly, he answered—uncertain whether it was the question that shook him, or his own response.

"...I guess?"

Sarah laughed, gentle this time.

"Good enough for me."

"Here!"

Lea returned humming happily and set two cups of cold orange juice down in front of Sarah.

"Thank you very much, dear," Sarah said—and then, to Lea’s surprise, she stood up.

"But you two should drink them. I need to get home before Nathan burns down the kitchen."

"Ah, but—"

Lea glanced at the two drinks she’d bought with Sarah’s money and looked up, flustered.

"T-then let me at least pay you back—"

Sarah cut her off by patting her head over her hat and shaking her head.

"It’s my treat," she said. "For being such a good friend to Nathan—and especially to Leo. I imagine it wasn’t easy."

At that, Lea glanced at Leo and, for some reason, pouted slightly as she looked away.

"Well... my persistence and perseverance

did

pay off in the end," she mumbled. "Like at the very,

very

end..."

Sarah laughed.

"Enjoy yourselves, you two," she said, then looked at Leo. "And Leo, make sure she gets home on time, alright? Don’t be late yourself. And remember what I said—tell me if anything happens. Anytime."

"I get it," Leo replied flatly. "Just go already."

With one last laugh, Sarah walked away.

Lea slid into the seat across from Leo and pushed one of the glasses toward him. Leo thanked her, and Lea smiled, satisfied.

"She’s much nicer than I thought," Lea said.

Leo only hummed and took a sip.

"I guess even the rich have their problems, huh..." Lea whispered.

Leo still heard her.

He took a long drink, then set the glass down with a quiet gasp and looked at her. Lea was sipping with her eyes closed, smiling like nothing had happened.

"I guess you were listening," Leo said.

Lea froze immediately—probably realizing she’d been too loud. Her eyes snapped open in panic, but before she could explain herself, Leo spoke again.

"It’s alright. And it’s not something you need to worry about."

"...T-that’s not true," Lea said, and for some reason she couldn’t accept how easily he tried to brush it aside.

"A problem is still a problem. It shouldn’t be ignored—especially if it caused pain, no matter how small."

Leo stared at her for a moment.

"...I suppose you’re right," he admitted. "Still, it’s nothing for you to concern yourself over."

"Y-yeah..." Lea mumbled.

She knew she’d probably overstepped. Building this connection with Leo had already been difficult—so in all honesty, she didn’t want her curiosity, or her own selfishness, to ruin the fragile bond between them. Before, she might’ve been bolder. They weren’t really friends then, so she could afford to be pushy.

But now?

She didn’t want to risk it.

Still... she wanted to help him. Even a little. Even though she didn’t know what, exactly, she was supposed to help with—someone like Leo, who could do anything if he set his mind to it.

Lea took another sip, thinking hard, and then she remembered something from the last time they’d been here.

It was when she’d asked why he acted like he hated everyone around him when he didn’t...

And he’d said—

"Because I don’t know the answer myself."

Lea drained the rest of her juice and set the cup down. She took a steadying breath.

When she looked up, she realized Leo was watching her. That alone made her nervous, so she dropped her gaze to her hands, clenched in her lap.

Then she spoke.

"It might be obvious, but... when I was finally allowed to go to middle school, I didn’t have any social skills," she said quietly. "Like—seriously. Zero."

She risked a glance up and felt relieved when Leo didn’t look like he planned to interrupt.

"I... I was basically the ultimate introvert, you know?" She gave a wry smile, remembering. "All I had was the internet and my books. The only social interactions I had were with my parents or doctors, so... I didn’t know how to even begin trying to be friends with someone my age."

Her fingers tightened.

"And it scared the hell out of me. What was I supposed to say? Do I just say hi? And what comes after that? I read about it online, I read it in books, but the moment I stood in front of kids my age, all of it was useless! I shook so badly I thought I’d faint!"

She let out a small breath.

"But then I realized something. They were nervous too—just like me."

Leo still looked confused about why she was bringing this up. That made Lea talk faster, a little more forcefully—half out of nerves, half because she didn’t want to lose her nerve now. Still, Leo kept listening, even if he didn’t understand. Lea was internally grateful for that.

"I realized something important," she said.

"Do you know what?"

Deciding to humor her, Leo answered without much emotion.

"I don’t."

"Everyone is nervous," Lea said.

"Almost everyone our age—back then, and even now—just

acts

like they have confidence, or social skills, or whatever. A lot of them are faking it. Some even lie about it."

"...Alright," Leo said.

For a second, Lea almost forgot what she was trying to say.

"S-so what I’m trying to say is..." she stammered, forcing herself to continue. "I did the same. I acted. I lied. I pretended I wasn’t some extreme introvert who wanted to crawl back under my bed covers."

She gave a shaky laugh.

"It was hard, of course. But with time and practice, I got better—until it started feeling real. Basically, a ’fake it till you make it’ strategy." Her eyes flicked up. "And it worked!"

"I see," Leo said. "Good for you."

"Ugh..."

He still wasn’t getting it, and she couldn’t even blame him. She was terrible at this. Maybe it was because Leo already knew her secret—maybe that made her drop her guard, and now her nervousness was showing too much.

So she tried again.

"W-what I actually wanted to say is..." Lea took a breath.

"If you ever decide you don’t want to be everyone’s enemy—and you want more friends, or you want to be kinder, but you don’t know how... this might be an option."

Her voice softened.

"At least, it’s what I used. And it helped." She hesitated, her cheeks feeling warm. "And since you’re... good at acting, I thought it might work for you too. If you ever wanted it."

At her words, Leo’s eyes widened slightly.

Then, slowly, his expression softened.

"Thank you," he said.

"Huh?"

Lea had been looking down to hide her face, but she snapped her head up, stunned—half convinced she’d misheard.

"Thank you," Leo repeated, and this time his smile was different—intense, almost unsettling in how captivating it was.

"For telling me something that important about yourself... for my sake."

Lea’s mind blanked for a moment.

Then she jolted back into herself and nodded far too many times.

"R-right—no problem!"

To distract herself, she quickly looked at her phone.

"Ah... I guess since we got the costumes, we can head back now."

Leo stood up, and Lea did too. Because Lea had gone a little overboard with how many clothes she’d bought, the bags were a lot. Embarrassed but grateful, Lea accepted it when Leo wordlessly took half of them.

She clutched the remaining bags like they were protecting her dignity—which already felt like it had taken a beating today.

"So?" Leo asked as they started walking.

"Where do you want to go now?"

Lea blinked at him, confused.

"What do you mean? We go home, right?"

"But didn’t you want to visit more stores?"

"Huh? Y-yes, but you only came for the costumes, and I already dragged you around too much with all the clothes I bought. I don’t want to inconveni—"

"Nonsense." Leo cut her off and walked ahead, forcing Lea to hurry to match his pace. "I told you I had nothing to do today. Besides... hanging out with a friend every once in a while isn’t bad for the mind."

’...Friend.’

Lea’s eyes went wide.

He... he was being way too kind.

"A-are you already practicing the strategy I gave you...?" she couldn’t help asking.

Leo stopped abruptly and looked at her, genuinely confused.

"Why would I do that to someone who already knows me for who I am?"

"Ah... yeah," Lea said softly. "I guess that makes sense."

It did.

It should have.

But for Lea, it didn’t.

Still, she walked a step behind him.

’He called me his friend...’

Lea understood why his words made her happy, but the warmth of it still surprised her, and she couldn’t stop smiling.