Until this moment, Weeby doesn't know where her boyfriend is taking her. Since this morning at school, Marcell hadn't said anything. The boy was still keeping it a secret from Weeby. Weeby herself must have felt curious about death. And actually, she had no problem going anywhere, Weeby would not protest. Just going alone with Marcell like this made Weeby happy. Weeby had already realized that she couldn't stay away from Marcell. Although that boy often stirred her emotions to a boil, Marcell also often made Weeby happy.
Clearing her throat softly, Weeby patted Marcell's shoulder, asking questions again, perhaps this time Marcell was ready to answer all the questions Weeby asked.
"Where exactly do you want to take this? There's no need to use all the secrets, tell me now quickly."
"Can't you guess for yourself?" asked Marcell, instead, the boy turned to attack, making Weeby snort and roll her eyes lazily.
"I have some guesses, but I don't like uncertainty. And you'd better tell me right now."
We could hear a rough sigh from Marcell's nostrils. "Actually, I don't know whether you'll like it or not if I invite you here."
"Where did you invite me?"
"Novan has two movie tickets, he said he wanted to give them to me for free. Do you want to watch the movie, By?"
The corners of Weeby's lips lifted up. "Now this is how you explain it, I don't have a problem, I just like it. As long as it's with you."
Behind his full face helmet, Marcell nodded. "Okay, we'll go after Novan first."
"Where is that kid now?"
"He's at the restaurant, with his father. He has the tickets, and we'll take them there."
"For the sake of free tickets, we're willing to follow your friend, but I thought the tickets were already in your hands."
"The tickets are still with Novan, he hasn't given them to me yet," Marcell replied, then two seconds later he continued his sentence. "So what if it's free? It's not like we're happy, right? We rarely get freebies."
"That's true too, so whatever you say. I'll follow." Weeby didn't mind any of that at all.
Meanwhile, elsewhere—at a ramen restaurant, to be more precise, Novan was sitting on a bench with his father. They were, of course, waiting for their order to arrive.
Novan looked around him, the atmosphere of the restaurant tonight was quite crowded. Novan had never been here before, this was his first time.
"Have you ever eaten ramen here before?" asked Novan, turning his face away and fixing his eyes back on his father.
Jonas shook his head. "No, I haven't either. This is my first time trying ramen here."
"I see. Then why did you choose this place?"
"I don't know, I just suddenly wanted to come here when I saw it. You were also asked, the answer is up to me."
Novan nodded in understanding.
"Do you have any objections? Do you want to move and find another restaurant?" Jonas asked in a condescending voice. His eyes were straight, piercing Novan's eyeballs.
"No, it's comfortable here too. Novan was just curious."
At the same time, a notification came from his phone. Novan quickly looked down, grabbing his phone, which was currently lying on the table.
Novan just received a text message, apparently from Marcell, which he hurriedly read.
Marcell: I've arrived at the restaurant you're referring to, I'm in front, where are you now? I'm outside here.
After reading it, Novan hurriedly typed a reply message for his friend.
Novan: I'm inside, just a minute, I'll follow you there.
Marcell: Okay, hurry up. No need for a long package, I don't like to wait.
Novan clucked his tongue, already asking for something for free, insisting anyway. Novan pocketed the flat object, then said to his father.
"Well, Dad, i will be out for a while, okay?" Novan said.
"Out? Where are you going?"
"Just for a while, to see Marcell."
"Oh, that friend of yours, why don't you invite him here? Let's eat together."
Novan replied quickly. "No, Marcell is leaving after this. We have something to talk about for a while. It won't take long, Marcell is also in a hurry to leave."
"Okay, I'll wait for you here."
After getting permission, Novan immediately stood up from his seat, his nimble steps making him arrive outside the restaurant quickly. He looked around for a while, searching for his friend's whereabouts.
"Hey Van, I'm here!"
Following the direction of the sound, Novan finally found Marcell, who was standing next to his motorcycle. The boy waved his hand. Besides Marcell, of course, Novan saw Weeby too. And the second he saw both of their faces, Novan approached.
"Hey, you've arrived too." Novan spoke to Novan, then he turned his back to Weeby. "Hi By."
"Hi." Weeby waved her hand slowly while smiling warmly.
Without further ado, Novan gave his friend what he needed. "Here are the tickets, there are two of them. Perfect for those of you who are dating."
The two small pieces of paper that Novan handed Marcell were immediately accepted. Marcell didn't even look at them. The boy continued to sculpt his gaze on Novan.
"Thanks Van."
"Yes, then I'll go inside first, okay? There's nothing else, right? You two are leaving too."
"Yes, you can come in. Thanks for the movie tickets again."
Before actually leaving Weeby and Marcell's presence, Novan took the time to smile while waving his hand. "Just relax with me. Alright, I'll go in first."
As soon as Novan moved away from the two of them, Weeby grabbed the two tickets in Marcell's hand, feeling like something was wrong.
"Let me see." Weeby examined and read the pink tickets, then she chuckled and snorted softly. "This is not a movie ticket."
"Ha? What does that mean?" Shocked by her boyfriend's response, Marcell pulled the paper from Weeby's hand again.
"Try reading it yourself," Weeby said.
Blinking his eyes, Marcell followed Weeby's instructions. And that's when the boy rounded his eyes wide.
"It's not a movie ticket, is it?"
"But Novan said-" Marcell looked at the restaurant again, where his friend was inside. Damn, Marcell felt cheated this way.
"Novan lied to you, but not completely. These are tickets to a local concert, it looks like a lot of fun." Weeby said, "I want to go, let's go!"
Marcell, who had clenched his hands, now began to relax again. The boy relaxed his muscles along with his long breath. He would rather discuss this matter later, tomorrow at school.
Even though they were both tickets, Novan was still lying. And Marcell hated being lied to like this.
"Alright, let's go. Let me see again, where the concert is held."
"There's no need to look at the ticket, I know this place. It's not too far away. We're also right on time, the show hasn't started yet."
"Hm, then let's go now."
Once again, Marcell glanced at the restaurant in front of him. He wasn't angry, just a little annoyed that Novan wasn't telling the truth. Surely his best friend would make excuses when he discussed this matter tomorrow.
Weeby realized that Marcell was currently a bit annoyed with Novan. "Just giving this ticket to us is already good, Novan," he said, giving Marcell an understanding.
"Yes, let's just go."
While they were already focused on their next destination, Novan was back in his seat. And this time, on his table was ramen that looked very appetizing, as well as a drink.
"Are you done with your friend?" Jonas asked, to which Novan immediately replied with a nod of his head.
"I'm done, it was just a while ago."
Jonas opened his mouth, wanting to ask what was the matter, but he abruptly dropped the idea, afraid of interrupting. Jonas felt reluctant, of course.
"Eat the ramen then, it'll get cold."
"Yeah, yeah." Novan began to prepare himself, first rubbing his hands together, before finally focusing on his food.
Not wanting silence, Jonas occasionally asked questions. The man chewed his food, then after swallowing it whole, he began to ask, "How is the laptop you bought earlier? Are you satisfied?"
"I'm satisfied. Thank you very much."
"Yes, you're welcome. It's my job to fulfill your needs."
"I will take care of the laptop."
Novan and Jonas looked at each other with a smile coloring their lips.
Novan picked up his drink, his throat was tight, he needed water. Next, Novan took a tissue to wipe his mouth. "Dad, I have a question."
"What do you want to ask?"
"Do you want to stay after this or go straight away again?" asked Novan, who had been quite curious since earlier about this matter. He looked at his father, who seemed to be thinking, not answering immediately.
Novan's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"I don't know about that, but I don't have a schedule at the moment. Most likely I'll stay at home, but I don't know if any of my work friends will call, or maybe I have a client to meet."
"I see, i was just curious."
"But I'll be home as much as possible if there's something that's not really important."
"No, Dad." Novan's shake of the head made Jonas round his eyes. "You have to prioritize your work; I don't mind being left behind. It's always been like that. I'm afraid there will be something wrong."
Having been left behind so often, Novan was now used to it. And now he even feels guilty if his father decides to neglect his work in order to be with him. Novan feels that it is very unfair. And Jonas himself was even more plagued by guilt.
"Novan."
"Yes?"
"Now you have to be honest with me." Jonas swallowed, and the middle-aged man leaned forward, sitting with his chest puffed out. His hands were on the table, and his eyes were looking straight into Novan's eyeballs.
His father's face looked very serious, Novan took another swig of his drink before focusing on his father's conversation.
"Honest about what, Dad?"
"You've been lonely, right?"
A question that Novan couldn't answer immediately. He looked away, looking down at his bowl of ramen. trying to think of the right answer.
What kind of loneliness did his father mean? Novan felt fine all this time. He didn't think he felt the loneliness his father was referring to. That's why Novan firmly shook his head quickly.
"To be honest, i was quite surprised why my father suddenly asked me this," Novan said honestly. He moistened his lips before saying, "I have been fine so far; I know that Dad is busy working, but Marcell and Erza always accompany i anyway. So, I don't think he's lonely."
"Yes, I know. But I don't mean that you."
"Then what do you mean?"
"Family loneliness. That's what I mean. You've felt it, right? You must have, it's a lie if you say you haven't."
"Yes, I have once in a while. Sometimes I think that it would be nice if our family was still together, just like before."
In fact, Novan didn't even know when that was. It had been too long, it had been too far away, it had been hard to reach in his memory, everything had melted away until Novan felt that everything could not be reached anymore. Novan was getting more and more immune and fine.
Novan forced a smile to come out. "But now, I think that I am much better. I have also let go of Mom. So, I don't need to worry about i. Yes, to be honest, I do get lonely sometimes, but I am also self-aware. Dad can't come home all the time. What else can you do? You work for me too."
"What if you come with me, Novan?"
Surprised by his father's sudden question, Novan held his breath. The place where his father worked was very far away, Novan knew that. To be precise, if Novan decided to come, it meant he would also have to change schools, away from Marcell and Erza, and away from Uti, a girl who had recently caught Novan's attention.
"We can live together, and you'll see me more often, we'll live in the same house. What do you think?" His father asked again.
"What about my schooling?"
"Change schools."
Novan grimaced, it wasn't an easy decision, nor was it something he wanted. He felt at home here, and moving was not an easy thing to do. Novan had to prepare himself to adapt to a new environment and get to know new people too. And it was exhausting.
"I don't think i can do it. I already feel at home here; I don't want you to come with me."
"If that's what you want, of course I can't force you. Okay, I understand."
"I don't need to think about it; I'm happy. I have many friends here, and Dad is also good to me; my needs are always easily met. And I do everything for my happiness. That's more than enough. You don't need to feel guilty, because you've done nothing wrong."
"Novan." Jonas squeaked softly, swallowing his saliva roughly.
"Alright, we don't need to discuss such unimportant issues anymore. I must emphasize once again that I am very happy, and I am proud to have a father who is good to me."
Jonas was touched by everything Novan had just said. In fact, his eyes now looked teary, and his vision was blurred. Truly, his son had grown up.
"Let's talk about something fun, okay?"
And Jonas smiled, followed by a quick and bold nod of his head.
"Then, do you have a girlfriend? Introduce her to me, my son is so handsome, he can't be single, right?"
Novan almost choked on his own saliva at Jonas' question. It was completely out of Novan's mind and reach.