Chapter 11…
Thanks to that, I felt a little embarrassed and withdrew my hand—but how else could I teach him to use chopsticks without touching him?
“Um, your thumb doesn’t move. Try thinking that only your index and middle fingers move.”
“Like this?”
“Hmm, no. The top chopstick should be held like a pencil.”
“Li—like this?”
“Ah, not quite…”
Hesitating, I corrected his hand position once more, and Erik chuckled.
“It tickles, Vivi. Hold it tighter, it won’t break.”
Just as I shyly pulled my hand away, Erik finally succeeded in the proper way to hold the chopsticks.
“I think I get it now.”
I forgot all about my embarrassment and looked up at him with a bright smile.
“Right? Now you can do it, I think.”
I never thought I’d have a moment to smile face-to-face with Erik Branel.
Because of that, our lunch took longer than expected.
On the way back to school, we decided to cut through the park instead of taking the usual route.
Erik had mentioned that on weekends, a market is held in the nearby park and busking performances are common.
Sure enough, from the park entrance, loud music and applause reached us.
“Looks like there’s actually a performance!”
Since I was planning a special library project called a “book busking” event, I happily quickened my pace.
Following the sounds, we saw a magician in a red cape pulling a white dove from his hat.
“Wow…!”
We approached and joined the audience, clapping along.
But just as we stopped walking, the magician raised his microphone and said:
“Now! Let’s get some help from the cute couple who just arrived!”
I didn’t imagine that the “couple” the magician mentioned could be us.
No way, right? We’re not a couple, and Erik, at 190 cm tall, hardly counts as “cute” to anyone. Well, maybe if he were handsome…
Yet the ominous applause surrounding us started to swell.
“First, I need an assistant. Boyfriend, will you help? What’s your name?”
Next to me, Erik calmly answered without missing a beat, blinking at me casually.
“Erik.”
What? Why does he respond so promptly as if he’s been waiting for this?
Of course, the park was right near the school.
“Waaah!”
Students who recognized Erik cheered loudly.
“Right this way.”
Unlike me, flustered and unsure of what to do, Erik walked to the magician with ease and knelt as instructed.
The magician whispered something in Erik’s ear, and he even laughed lightly.
Even being dragged into this, he could smile like that—maybe because Branel and Sweden always revolve around him?
But unlike the sun, Erik Branel, I’m just a tiny celestial body, like Ceres, so no one on the street really needs to remember me.
The magician then turned to me.
“And what’s the girl’s name?”
In a voice barely alive, I answered:
“…Vivi.”
“How many dates is this for our couple today?”
Technically, we weren’t a couple, and this wasn’t a date—it was just helping a new student find their way. Would saying that ruin the show?
While I hesitated, Erik jumped in:
“It’s the first.”
What?
“Wow, first date…!”
The magician prompted applause, and I must have been blushing so badly it felt like my face would explode.
Please, I hoped no one would remember Ceres’ colors…
“Alright. You shouldn’t keep your boyfriend kneeling too long on a first date, so now go and help him up.”
It’s a magic show, so there must be some trick, right?
But Erik was just kneeling in the center of the stage facing me, and I carefully walked toward him step by step.
“Vivi, stop there and reach your left hand toward your boyfriend.”
Wasn’t that a bit far to reach?
I stretched out my left hand as instructed, but Erik didn’t move.
The magician mischievously added:
“Oh, guess it won’t work just like that. This time, say, ‘Let’s go home now.’”
Seeing Erik laugh with the audience seemed unreal.
Hey, stop laughing and let’s just go back to the dorm…!
“…Let’s go home now.”
Finally, as I spoke, Erik reached out toward me.
Just as I thought to pull him up and leave, a rose suddenly bloomed between our nearly touching hands.
“Waaah…!”
The audience cheered again, and I was so surprised I forgot to be embarrassed.
How…? I was empty-handed, wasn’t I?
“Going home?”
I blinked in astonishment, and only when Erik asked jokingly did I finally burst out laughing.
“How did you do that?”
Erik held my hand as he stood and shrugged. The artificial rose felt rough between our palms.
“Trade secret.”
Trade secret? He had just been called on stage and sat down…
I had seen him exchange a few words with the magician, but how did he prepare that trick in such a short time?
The magician soon took back the rose prop, so I couldn’t figure out its secret.
“Shall we go now?”
Once the amazement faded, I blushed again and quickly nodded at Erik’s question.
We quietly left the park, where cheers still echoed, and walked under the soft autumn sunlight. Green leaves, not yet changed, danced freshly in the gentle breeze.
Thanks to the music echoing in the corners of the park and the stirring autumn wind, the magic of the single flower blooming between our hands lingered for a while between us.
As we walked in silence, Erik muttered a little regretfully.
“It was fun, but taking it away after giving it isn’t great.”
“Huh?”
I asked absentmindedly and then realized he was talking about the rose, letting out a small laugh.
“No, I had fun too.”
“Really? That’s good then.”
Erik said that and added:
“I still owe Liam for lunch.”
Ah, Liam.
My light, elevated steps, as if walking on another planet, suddenly felt grounded again at the mention of a familiar friend’s name.
The sun, which should have been far away, walked briefly by my side at the friend’s request, while I had just started the intense life at a private school.
“I’ll definitely tell Liam I had a good time and got to see something fun.”
“See you in class then.”
I parted ways with Erik in front of the school.
His dorm, Sigvan, is on the opposite side of our dorm, Lagerlöf.
Anyway, come Monday we’d have overlapping classes and library internship together, so there’d be plenty of chances to see Erik face-to-face.
Walking with slightly complicated feelings, I noticed a familiar figure in front of the dorm.
“Vivi!”
Liam called my name and approached cheerfully.
“Liam? I heard you went to the hospital.”
“I did.”
He answered briskly and, as if to a younger sibling, placed his hand on my head, messing up my hair.
Tch, just because you’ve grown taller…
I frowned a little from under Liam’s shadow and asked:
“Is he okay? I heard a first-year fell in the water.”
“Oh, worrying about a guy I don’t even know, yet refusing my Instagram follow—how could I forget that…”
Liam joked nonsense before finally telling the truth.
“He’s fine. His name’s Benjamin. Fortunately, he’s tough.”
“That’s a relief. You must have been surprised too.”
“I was worried he’d quit after getting scared, even though he seemed strong. Luckily, that didn’t happen.”
Liam spoke as if his life depended on rowing. I chuckled and looked up at him.
“Is rowing really that fun?”
His sky-blue eyes sparkled seriously.
“Yeah, they say rowing is a five-minute sport.”
Five minutes is a bit of an exaggeration, but most actual races finish in under ten minutes.
“But you train for a year for those five or six minutes. That’s why it’s more nerve-wracking than something where results are obvious, and the joy of achievement is greater. Of course, training is fun too.”
“Hmm, sounds like the words of a captain who holds his team since six on Saturdays.”
I teased him jokingly, then added:
“Olivia said you’re super popular during rowing season?”
“What? Olivia Salvius, utterly useless, huh?”
Liam said seriously:
“No, Vivi. I’m not just popular during rowing season.”
I shook my head in disbelief.
“Ah, right, right. I made a slip to a celebrity with 6,000 followers.”
Then Liam smiled gently.
“Actually, I was happier seeing your name than when I hit 6,000 followers.”
