As Alum lay lazily on the couch with a book on his face, he heaved a deep sigh. His legs were restless, and his mind was clouded. He glanced over at his phone and noticed the notification LED blinking.

 “…..”

 For some reason, he felt oddly nervous and fidgeted with the pages. It was only 9 AM, and the weather was still hideous. And when he checked the message—it was from Noel.

— [Yo…do you have a power outage too?]

—[No. Are you feeling better?]

—[Ah…you know, the shock from yesterday kinda cured me]

—[Good.] Alum chuckled as he sent.

—[Have you texted miu?]

—[No.]

—[What? she hasn’t texted you?]

—[No.]

 Some time passed after his last reply, but suddenly, his phone rang—it was Noel.

 “Yes? What is it?”

 “Ah…umm,” a soft, unexpected voice echoed through the speakers.

 “Miu?”

 “Umm… Hi…” 

 “Yesterday…we’re dating, right…?” Miu hesitantly asked.

 “We are.”

 “I see…” she mumbled, later sweetly voicing her relief, “I’m glad.”

 “Yeah.”

 “…this is awkward and embarrassing, ahaha…I wanted to message you, but my phone died, and I forgot to charge it before going to bed…and now…the power went off…”

 “I see. That’s a little careless,” Alum sighed. “But… I feel a little less restless for some reason now that I’ve heard your voice,” he confessed softly.

 “H-Huh, I-I’m the one that’s supposed to make you fall for me! Not the other way around, right!?” Miu stammered. “B-But… M-Me too! I feel relieved hearing your voice! Yesterday’s event was on my mind. It had me fidgeting and rolling around in bed all night, ahaha… And…I had a pleasant dream as well…”

 But before Alum could say something, a voice echoed on the other end. “So…um…? Should I leave?” Noel asked.

 “Ah…Noel!? Ah—umm, Alum, I’ll talk to you later, Noel, here, your phone!” Miu exclaimed and ran off after handing Noel the phone.

 “Hmm, she ran away,” Noel chuckled.

 “Seems that way.”

 “Still, what did you talk about? She said so many embarrassing things,” Noel inquired. 

 “Nothing much,” Alum replied somewhat awkwardly. “You’re over at her place?” he asked hesitantly.

 “Yeah…it kinda made me mad that you didn’t message her—I also found it strange she didn’t text you either, but…to think I’d find her depressed for not being able to text you while blankly staring at her dead phone… I pitied her, y’know? So, I let her borrow mine.”

 “Right…”

 “Hmm?” Noel hummed teasingly. “Are you jealous?” he chuckled.

 “Maybe…” Alum replied while sighing.

 “Hahaha! That’s, Alum, man, did you fall for her already? Why not come over?” he jokingly remarked.

 “Sure, I’ll come over—”

 “Huh!? Are you crazy!? Look at the weather. It was a jo—”

 But before Noel finished the sentence, Alum hung up and walked to the hall. However, Emely grabbed him by the arm and stared at him with a raised brow.

 “Where are you going in this stormy weather?” she worriedly raised her voice.

 “Visiting Miu and Noel?” Alum tilted his head.

 “How are you going to do that exactly? It’s advised against going out unless it’s an emergency. You’re not going to walk, are you? Besides, public transport is out of service.”

 “Hm? I’ll just take the car.”

 “…wait, when did you…my car…? Or when did you buy a car? HUH!?” Emely cried in surprise. “A car?! Do you even have a driver’s licence?!” she suspiciously questioned.

 “I do, I bought one.”

 “Wait!? What did you buy!? The car? Wait… The licence?!”

 “Both.”

 “B-But that’s illegal!” Emely shook him by the collar as her eyes seemed to be spinning.

 “It’s an official license, so it’s fine.”

 “D-Did you bribe someone!?”

 “…..”

 “Al!?”

 “…..”

 “Hand me the keys and the license as well.”

 “…..”

 In the end, Alum’s car keys and licence were confiscated and locked away in a safe. Alum couldn’t help but glare at the safe while Emely was closely observed with a tingly headache.

 (Geez…I should perhaps keep track of how he spends money…but he’s an adult now, and… Ahh! I should’ve taught him when he was younger!) Emely held her head as she groaned in regret.

 As he kept staring at the safe, Alum gave up. Emely had the keys, but she wouldn’t give them to him no matter what. He could break into the safe, but it would be awkward to do so with Emely’s gaze behind his back.

 He heaved a sigh and went to his room. In the drawer, he found a satellite phone and dialled a number he hadn’t in a long while. After several fails, the phone rang.

 “Who is it calling so many damn times?” an annoyed voice mumbled.

 “It’s me.”

 “Huh?”

 “YB, did you already forget my voice?”

 “…huh? Alum!? It’s been a while! Is there something I can do for you? Are you coming back?” YB asked somewhat anxiously.

 “No.”

 “I see…”

 “Where are you?”

 “Sorry, can’t say.”

 “Then, can you clear the weather in this location?”

 “Oh…sorry, the cause of the storm there might actually be my fault.”

 “Can you fix it?”

 “I’ll try…”

 “Thanks.

 “…hey, do you mind if I visit sometimes?”

 “I don’t mind, but why?”

 “Well…” YB’s words trailed off. “I have someone I want to introduce you to.”

 “I see. A girl?”

 “Huh!? How did you know? W-Well, she’s a bit airheaded and will be my new colleague; it’s not like I like her.”

 “I never said anything about liking, though?”

 “HUH!? YB, you don’t like me?!” a sudden voice rang in the background.

*Beep, beep, beep*

 (He hung up…)

 He looked out the window and peered deep into his own eyes. He sighed at his own sight and prepared himself in case the weather cleared.

 …

  …..

 …

 An hour passed, and Alum was in front of Miu’s door. Miu shyly opened the door in surprise while Noel stared at him with a bewildered look.

 “Wow, you’re really here…” he voiced his astonishment.

 With a somewhat smug, deadpan look, Alum said, “The weather was just on my side, is all.” This naturally cracked Noel up, and he began to laugh hysterically at the absurdity of it all.

 “S-Seriously, you… you must really like her for coming in this weather,” Noel continued to laugh while somehow managing to tease Alum despite gasping for air.

 “Not really. It wasn’t difficult to get here; it was just a five-minute drive, after all,” he replied a little bashfully with slightly warm ears.

 Surprised, Miu asked, “I didn’t know you had a car…”

 “Yeah.”

 “I…I see… why don’t you come on in? The power is back, b-but don’t look around too much, please…I’ll feel embarrassed.”

 “So you’re fine with me but get all shy when it’s Alum? Aww, that’s so girly, Miu.”

 “—I am a girl, thank you very much!” Miu protested.

 Noel shrugged. “Have you eaten? No? Well, I’ll cook something for us back in my apartment. I’ll maybe be back in an hour, so have fun!” he abruptly cheered and walked past Alum. “In an hour.”

 Miu turned beet-red while Alum tilted his head.

 “I suppose?” he replied.

 “In an hour~ don’t forget protection~” Noel playfully reiterated while grinning smugly. “It’s plenty of time—”

 “Noel, that’s disgusting! Geez, we get it! Get out!” Miu exclaimed as she pushed him through the door. “Geez!” she huffed as she shut it close while Noel continued to laugh. She turned to Alum, and her face was bright red as she fidgeted with her hands. “S-So…do you…want something to drink?”

 “Do you have cacao?” Alum tilted his head.

 Seeing his nonchalant reaction, Miu chuckled a little. “Yeah, and marshmallows too!”

 “…Thanks,” Alum awkwardly scratched his cheek while avoiding her gaze.

 He closely observed her as they walked to the kitchen. This was the first time he’d been in her apartment, and yesterday, when they visited the sick Noel, it had gotten late, so he didn’t have the chance to. But per Miu’s request, he didn’t look around much and primarily focused on her.

 Alum wasn’t one to talk much. Meanwhile, the social and outgoing Miu was oddly quiet—at least, it was something he’d noted down whenever they were alone, which wasn’t frequent, but enough for him to get an idea.

 “Um…you can wait here while I make us something to drink…” Miu said.

 Alum nodded and headed to the table. He found some board games, a candle and some cards. (did they play board games?) he wondered. He glanced over at Miu, who looked around the kitchen for utensils in the cabinets. (She doesn’t really know how to approach me…or am I diffi—that’s a dumb question; it’s obviously the ladder. Or…is it a combination of both? Noel seemed always to be able to talk about something no matter how random it was.)

 Suddenly, a soft, surprised gasp escaped Miu’s lips, and Alum immediately cast his gaze toward her; in a split second, the jar that was about to crash down wobbled right on edge and came to a halt.

 Slowly opening her eyes, Miu sighed in relief as the predicted sound of shattered glass didn’t enter her ears. Quickly, she pushed the jar back so that it wouldn’t fall down. Her attention then turned toward Alum, and a small, awkward laugh escaped her lips as their eyes met.

 Alum lightly chuckled as he walked up to her, grabbing the jar for her. “Is there something else you’d need up here?” he teased.

 Miu puffed her cheeks and cast her eyes to the side. “Well, unless you don’t want any sugar in your cacao, there isn’t anything,” she sulked. She leaned toward him, and her head crashed on his chest. “Thank you…” she mumbled barely above a whisper.

 Slowly, Alum placed the cacao jar down, and Miu unexpectedly found his arms wrapped around her. Her heart skipped a beat as she, too, wrapped her arms around his. Albeit loose, the embrace was warm and comfortable, as if to drain all her anxiety away.

 (He…likes me. Right? At least enough to hug me suddenly…I hope.)

 “You might not make my insides a firework show. But…I feel relaxed and warm when I see you,” Alum said out of the blue. He later added, “I was restless, but it’s gone now.”

 Just as Miu was feeling calm, his words came like a comet crashing down her world. Her heart began to race rapidly, and her mind was jumbled as she was unable to form a sentence. The only thing to escape her lips was stuttering muddled words. “Ah…uuh, huh,”—barely, until she began giggling happily, squeezing him tighter.

 “For... for you, maybe not. But my insides are…messy and sparkly in a chaotic firework display—I’m so happy to hear those words. I really do like you, after all. So much that I don’t want ever to be apart. I know I’m crazy, and it was only yesterday we started going out, but…where else am I supposed to express these crazy feelings of mine?”

 “I see…” Alum replied.

 Miu nuzzled against him, but she eventually looked up into his eyes. “Say…why did you hug me? Or…the kiss on my forehead yesterday…why?”

 Alum somewhat shyly averted his eyes from hers. “I wanted to give it a try. It didn’t feel unpleasant—on the contrary, it was nice. I don’t know how to describe it,” he confessed. “But do you find my actions uncomfortable?” 

 “A-A little…but not in a bad way. It’s…just out of my comfort zone,” Miu softly uttered. “I’m usually the straightforward one, so…I find surprises a little…difficult.”

 “I see…”

 “Hey,” Miu reluctantly voiced, her eyes were sparking with curiosity and anticipation. “Why did you decide to come over?”

 “I don’t know. It doesn’t make sense. But I wanted to see you. Is that bad?” he answered while tilting his head.

 Miu shook her head. “No…” she shyly buried her face in his chest again. “It’s the best possible answer,” she happily added with an overjoyed smile only she knew of.

 “Miu—”

*Ring, Ring, Ring*

 “…..”

 …

  …..

 …

 “Phew…” Emely sighed and wiped off the sweat from her forehead.

 She’d just finished her last exercise on the treadmill, but before heading to the shower, she went to check on Alum—who was nowhere to be seen. Suspicious, she went to her vault and saw nothing strange, but when she opened it… the confiscated licence and keys were missing.

 “Argh?!” she groaned while grabbing her head. “Al, you little rascal!” she cried aloud as she ran to check the security cameras—where she saw him unlock it with ease and jump out of the window.

 “What the hell!? It’s the 5th floor?!” she panicked, dialling all his numbers to see which one would go through. “C’mon, answer!” she exclaimed with teary eyes.

*Beep, Beep, Beep*

 “Are you kiddiiiing meeee?!”