World Between Pages

Episode 3

-Episode 3-

"Friends, I told you before. I have art class that day so I can't come."

"Come on Vita, you always have art class. Of course you can come."

Vita rubbed her forehead as if Lillian's sentence had caused a headache. Ah, she must have gotten too close to those kids at the birthday party that day. Otherwise, why would they travel together as if they were stuck together for 4 years without breaking up? Vita looked at Lillian and Liam, who were integral parts of the team. And to little Benjamin, who sometimes joins them.

After the birthday party, Liam had joined their team in a way they hadn't realized. With his calm disposition, he would usually solve the problems between them and ensure that all issues were resolved. Ah, the male co-leader's aura worked even for small children's problems.

"Why don't you join us for just this time, Vita? You know this is important to Lillian."

There was only one problem. This co-leader was a partial shamelessness, openly supporting Lillian. How can you defend Lillian in any situation, Liam? Vita thought as she stared at the duo, who had clearly united against her. What was wrong with this story? In the book, the man Lillian did everything she would do to marry was standing next to her, yet Vita had never once seen Lillian look at Benjamin with interest.

Vita looked at Benjamin, who was smiling quietly in the corner, and Lillian, who was holding onto Liam as if that would fix everything. How could these children have changed so much? No matter how he looked at it, it didn't seem logical. Normally, he should have thought that it was because it changed the story and he should have relaxed, right? However, why did the Vita feel like something was wrong? It was like he was missing something very important.

"Vita. Vita. Let's go, okay? I want to go too."

Vita looked gravely at the quiet boy who was lightly holding his arm. My god! This kid was really cute sometimes. Then she looked up at the others. Using Benjamin to put pressure on Vita, Lillian sticks her tongue out at her from behind, and Liam, trying to lightly cover Lillian, spreads his hands slightly as if he had no other choice. Vita looked at the children, seeming unsure of what to do with those children, and shook her head slightly, as if looking helpless.

"Oh, poor me. I really can't handle you."

Vita pinched little Benjamin's cheeks lightly as Lillian screamed with delight. Well, it had nothing to do with Benjamin's cheeks being so soft, it was just revenge. Then she took Benjamin's hand, which was clad in various shades of red, and walked over to the others. Oh well, you know, there are times in life when you have to drop your class to celebrate your friends' acceptance into the high school of their dreams, even if it is already the 3rd celebration .

***

Vita looked at the building across from him. She had never been to high school, even in her previous life. This was her first high school. She felt her heart beating slightly. All right, let's do this properly.

***

Time went by so fast, Vita was already in her senior year of high school. He couldn't believe he was already 18. She worked hard throughout her high school life, and she spent her day and night in order to be able to carry out both school lessons and painting studies at the same time. And finally, the last year of high school, when she thought she could breathe after all her studies, the exam year had begun. Despite everything, she was grateful for being able to paint, being with her family, and for her friends.

And today she was going to meet her cousin, who was going to start the same school as her. No matter how big she got, Vita thought back to the past years as she bounced down the stairs with an unchanging habit. God, Benjamin was already 14 years old. It had already been 8 years since Vita met Benjamin. She had watched that little boy grow slowly. For a moment, Vita felt as if she were filled with pride, like a mother. By this time, Benjamin was even taller than her (although that fact didn't make Vita very happy).

The male leader was slowly growing beautiful before her eyes.

Vita was on her way to the main door to greet Benjamin, but paused for a moment at the sound of voices coming from the lower floor of the school. She couldn't understand why there was noise on a floor that is generally used only for storage. She listened carefully to the voices.

"Haha. You stupid pig. I can't believe you came to get robbed with your own feet. Half-witted."

Before she knew it, her feet had already changed in the direction that she was going.

***

Vita went downstairs to take a look at the situation. Well, I guess they were in the art warehouse. The art warehouse was actually a hall rather than a warehouse. This used to be a school performance venue, so it had a stage and also a balcony that had a direct view of the stage. After a moment's hesitation, Vita made her way to the balcony, where she could both see the situation and quickly call for help if she decided something dangerous was going on. Well, if there was a dangerous situation, it would have made more sense to leave without being seen and letting someone know.

Then Vita quietly leaned behind the railing and observed what was ahead of her. On the stage, a chubby boy with green eyes was sitting on the floor. Standing in front of him were three children who looked like vagrants. As is the case in this situation, the moment the green-eyed boy stepped into the school, it seemed as if he had been dragged there by the others without realizing what had happened.

"Oh, come on, buy your brothers some cigarettes, little pig. Look, you're pretty greasy anyway. You don't look like the type to die for not eating a meal, right?"

The leader-like boy openly insulted the one sitting on the ground, while the others nodded rapidly as if he were uttering the most true words in the world, and smirked slyly as if to show his approval. Just as Vita decided to call her teachers to tell her about the bullying incident, she realized something that didn't fit with the situation.

***

Entering the schoolyard, the chubby boy thought again that a lousy school life awaited him. Elementary, middle and high school, all people were the same. They were all the same simplicity and bullies. So he was not at all surprised when he was surrounded by 3 bullies the moment he entered school, just like the situation in middle school. God, he was getting tired of this routine. The boy who looked like their leader looked at him with a happy grin as if he had found a treasure.

"Oh, I see a new face. Do you want these brothers to help you find your way?"

He was also grinning slyly as he supported the words of the hyena-like young leader.

"Yes, yes. Come with us. Your brothers will help you."

Oh well, it was all the same. He just wanted this to end as soon as possible, so he followed them silently without saying anything. He waited in silence as they took him to a place that looked like a warehouse. Ah, the warehouse this time was a little different, huh. The boy felt himself being pushed to the ground by a hand as he stared at what he thought was a performance hall. As soon as the other children entered the hall, they were already starting to insult him, as if they were getting impatient. While the other kids were standing in front of him and insulting him, he seemed to be in a completely different world. She thought quietly.

"This isn't much fun anymore, huh? Anyway, for now, let me have some fun."

***

Vita looked a little surprised at what she saw before her. She had spent eighteen years in an orphanage. She had a life where she was constantly trying to understand the feelings of others so as not to be exposed to their anger. She was kind of an expert at reading people's facial expressions. And, of course, she could distinguish that look. But that's exactly why she was so surprised. Frankly, this didn't look like the kind of look people would make if they were bullied by others. It was more like the appearance of a person bored with

something. Unable to understand what was happening, Vita decided to observe some more.

At this moment, the boy's gaze slowly began to change. A look that looks like he's not having much fun but trying to enjoy the food served to him. Vita knew that look. Well, I guess this case will sort itself out. First of all, the other kids had caused this incident, so she didn't think there was a situation that required his involvement. But still, unable to contain her curiosity, she leaned down slightly from the banisters.

"Hey!"

The four people standing in the middle of the stage quickly turned to her. The three of them were staring at him with panicked eyes. Just one of them was looking at her with a grumpy look, as if someone were asking why she was interrupting his meal. Vita looked directly into the eyes of the owner at a second glance.

" Are you having fun?"

The boy's eyebrows rose for a moment, as if he had been pleasantly surprised. Then he smiled sarcastically.

"Yes, very entertaining."

Vita looked at the boy as if he wasn't quite sure about that.

"You know, you don't have to lie. You can just stop doing it if it's not fun."

A chuckle echoed in the hall. The chubby boy looked at Vita as if he had seen something very interesting.

"What do you mean, that's a lot of fun?"

Vita shrugged and looked at the boy.

"If you say so, I won't have too much fun until school's over. Please understand, I don't want my senior year to be messed up. Hm?"

The boy looked at Vita as if he had found a treasure. Just as he looked like he was about to say something, the sound of Vita's phone filled the room. Ah, she had completely forgotten about Benjamin. Vita looked at the boy before she left.

"I think we agreed. Am I right?"

"Oh, well, I'll admit it because I'm having fun today. What do you think about letting me learn your name in return?"

"Vita."

"Oh, pretty name. I'll keep mine as a secret for now."

As Vita hurriedly left as if it didn't matter, the blond boy stood up, turning to the trio who were watching as if they couldn't make sense of the two of them.

"I think I'll help you get through this easily because I found something fun today."

His green eyes squinted with delight as she walked towards the group, still trying to figure out what was going on.

"Vita, so. Well, I guess we're just continuing to meet. Okay, I'm just going to let it go."