“It’s two thousands, please.”

A certain middle-aged man said. In front of him was a lone school girl. Her waist long hair was tied into a ponytail. Though there were teenagers like her in this city, her white uniform stood out in this crowded street. He was holding a vanilla ice cream. His feeling was bad right now, but he still extended his right hand. The girl accepted the ice cream and gave him two brown coloured papers. The middle-aged man took it with a forced smile.

Reya enjoyed her ice cream while looking at the crowd. She then noticed the wide screen on a certain building’s exterior. While thinking at it for a few moments, she realized that the screen was new. She wondered when did it was placed there.

It was still 9 a.m. and she just didn’t know what to do. She watched a few random advertisements for a few minutes.

“Hey, girl, why do you always visit my stall just like this time right now?”

“Hmm? What’s wrong? It’s not that I disturb your business.”

“It’s not that… my question is, why are you skipping your school right now? Don’t you realize that people are watching you right now?”

Too much ‘right now’, she thought. But she realized her feeling of being watched right now was actually real. She too realized that wearing a school uniform right now was really inconvenient. Even at this year, a student skipping their school was still being looked down in this city.

It was not like she wanted it. No, she didn’t skip just to buy a vanilla ice cream. Though she really liked it, it was not the reason.

Reya believed that she was a stubborn person. She would never give up until she get what she wanted. But she felt that this time she wouldn’t get it any time sooner. Though it was only a hour since she started, but it seemed that any sign from Claude vanished into nothingness.

The wide screen then changed its content. It was a news program. Reya was not interested in that kind of thing, so she walked away. Before that, she didn’t forget to wave away toward the kind middle-aged man.

She kicked a pebble as she walked. With that, she sunk under a random thought. Well, that advertisement before was boring, she thought.

She realized that she still needed to search for Claude.

She looked at a certain food stall. It seemed that all the effort she will give was not worth it. With that, she stopped for being a stubborn person.

Reya approached it and said, “one burger, please.”

“You again? Kids these days really like to skip studying. They really don’t know what’s best for them.”

That similar speech started again. She felt that all vendor in this street had many hidden grudges against her. Though the vendor said that, he still went to prepare her burger.

“Ah…”

The ice cream in her right hand had disappeared. She should’ve licked it. Swallowing it seemed had made it vanished quicker. Now she didn’t know what do to.

She gazed at the swaying green tree as if lost in thought for a few minutes. What should she say toward Jino? That she had lost Claude?

“Here’s your burger.”

“Ah... thank you.”

She quickly ate the ice cream cone before she took the burger. While it was still hot in hand, she took out a piece of brown coloured paper from her pocket and gave it toward the vendor. Until now, she still can’t understand why the ice cream from before was more expensive than this single burger in her hand.

“I know what’s in your mind right now. Not only that I’m an expert in burger-making, but I’m actually a master of love too. When I was at your age, my friends called me a player.”

With that, he rambled his past story. Because Reya didn’t know what to do, she listened just to waste the time.

“So you see. That’s why a single period of love shouldn’t make you mull over your life. There are still many things to do, like studying. The only reason I become like this is because I took love too seriously in the past.”

Reya was relieved that she still didn’t know his name. If she knew, she felt that it would be too unfair to people who bear the same name as him.

She looked at her watch. It was still 09.18 a.m.

She sighed as she crumpled up the sheet of aluminium wrapping that she got after buying the burger and tossed it into the trash

She really hated Claude.

She looked at a certain building, she believed that it was in the east direction. The building was eight floor tall. It seemed that the sun was hidden by it. She actually wanted to see the sun.

With the sun as the subject, she remembered that her house was actually a good place to view it.

It was the perfect time. At least she should make use of her skipping the school right now. Claude was not important at this moment. She only wanted to enjoy this day.

So she walked away. She didn’t bother to say wave at the vendor this time. Her ponytail bobbed each time she stepped.

Before even a hundred steps, she suddenly saw something interesting. Well, it was actually a person. It was obviously not Claude, as she wouldn’t have just stopped and let him be carefree.

A man in white rode a bicycle. He wore similarly a white hat. On the hat, there was something written as: ‘Uncle Shor’s Milk Shop’.  His face was not young. It was at a level where Reya can call him uncle.

Sweat flowed out from his skin. A pair of baskets was set on his bicycle’s backside. It was filled with milk bottles. He was obviously doing his job. Though looking at it, he seemed to get tired easily as it was still morning.

She knew this person. People like her was rare. Even in Yangkung City, with just ten fingers, she can count people who can do something that was impossible for normal humans. This uncle was such person.

What interested her was his face. It was his right eye. That eye looked as if someone just punched at it. A purple circle was around his right eye. It swell so much that it almost sunk his right eye underneath it.

She made up her mind. Before she return to home, she will talk with him. Whatever it was because, she felt that she would get a nice laugh. No matter what,  she will use any method to make him spill out the reason. She will not rest until he do so. It was because she was a stubborn person.