Mei slowly crept closer to me until our faces were only a hair's breadth apart. Yet, I kept my gaze fixed on the window, avoiding eye contact by any means necessary.
She placed her hand against my lap and leaned in toward my ear. What would usually come off as a romantic gesture felt more like I was held hostage.
"Hey," she said, her frosty breath stinging my ear. "Why aren't you responding? I'm not mad or anything..."
What an obvious lie.
'I'm not mad' was just a way to bait me to admit my own faults. Of course, I would never fall for that.
Seeing me maintain my silence, Mei's eyes narrowed in displeasure.
She inched her hand up a little higher—then dug her nails into my thigh.
It didn't really hurt, but I couldn't help but let out a pained yelp.
"Ow! Okay! Okay! You win!" I said, swatting her hand away.
Mei's lips curled into a satisfied grin. "See? It wasn't that hard to be honest, was it?"
"Whatever," I said, leaning back into the chair. "Just sit back down. I don't need my glasses to drive, anyway."
"Really?" she asked, settling back into hers. "Every time you've driven, you've always had your glasses with you."
"Well, it's more for safety, but I don't really need them. I've driven without them before, so it'll be fine."
Mei let out a small breath. "You didn't have to explain yourself."
She paused before continuing in a slightly flatter tone.
"I believed you before you did, anyway. I was just asking for the sake of asking."
My movements halted for a brief moment before I turned to Mei. This time, it was her staring outside the window, and me watching her reflection. Neither of us said a word.
We continued to stay like that for a while longer before I broke it with a loud sigh.
"Whatever you say."
Without saying anything else, I put the keys into the ignition, started the car, and began driving home.
For the first stretch of the ride, Mei was on her phone, while I was focused on the road. It wasn't that we had nothing to talk about, or didn't want to—I was just tired after work, and she understood that.
This rule carried on until Mei put her phone down on her lap and looked over at me. I couldn't take my eyes off the road, so I shot her a quick glance to let her know I was listening.
"So what's the plan for today?" she asked, her excitement almost leaking out.
"What do you want to do?" I asked back, though I already knew the answer. She always had the same one.
Mei made a show of cutely pressing an index finger against her cheek, as if she were thinking hard. "Hmmm, I don't know. I'm fine with anything as long as it's with you."
I let out a small chuckle. "And there it is, your classic line. At this point, I don't know if you're fine with anything like you say you are—or if you just have no clue."
She didn't seem too pleased with my joke as she slapped my arm with a childish pout. "Oh, shut up! I'm being honest! Are you trying to say I don't enjoy spending time with you?"
Again—her trying to make me look like the bad guy.
"Uh, no. Stop putting words in my mouth," I replied flatly. "I'm just calling you clueless. That's completely different."
With her attempt to make me look like the bad guy having failed—again—I thought she'd give up. I would, at least.
Mei, however, stubbornly pressed her assault, hitting my arm. She wasn't trying to hurt me—she was trying to annoy me into conceding.
It was a ruthless tactic. Even if I were driving, if it had been Lily doing it, I could've used one arm to fight back. But because it was Mei, I was hesitant to be rough with her. If I made a mistake and hit her somewhere I shouldn't, I'd hurt her.
And she used that hesitation to her advantage.
I should've been out of options—but I was stubborn too. If I made it home and left the car to get changed, it'd be an automatic stalemate. And that was exactly what I did.
After about ten minutes, I finally arrived at home. Without warning, I parked a few streets down from my house and ran out, leaving Mei behind.
Mission success.
At the front door, I took a moment to steady my breathing before stepping inside.
The instant I entered, the same soft, angelic voice welcomed me back, just like always.
"Welcome home, Son. I hope you had a good day at work today."
Mom was standing at the entrance to the living room as she greeted me. I gave her a small nod, letting her know I'd heard her, and walked past her, heading straight up the stairs.
At this time of day, Mom was the only one at home—Dad was at work, and Lily was out with her friends. The house was basically empty.
Since Mei was waiting for me, I couldn't take too long. I took a quick shower, got changed, and packed the clothes I'd promised to give her when she came over into a small bag.
Once everything was ready, I returned downstairs.
Mom—who was sitting on the couch watching TV—turned towards me curiously as I came down the stairs fully dressed.
"Are you going out again today?" she asked. "Aren't you tired from work? And haven't you gone out the past four days already?"
I shrugged, continuing my pace to the door. "Well, it's summer. Obviously, I'm going to go out."
She gave me a small, almost understanding nod. "...You are a student, after all, so I guess it makes sense. Who are you going out with?"
She'd asked me this the past four times I'd left, and I'd always given the same two names.
"You've already asked, and I've already answered," I said coldly. "Yu and Luna. Just like always."
I put on my shoes and opened the door. I didn't intend to stay any longer, but just before I left, Mom left me with some final parting words.
"I see… then, have fun, Son!"
It was in the same angelic tone as ever.
I didn't even turn back.
*Slam*
Once I locked the door, I walked to Mei's car. I could've just parked in front of my house, but then there'd be a chance Mom would find out I was hanging out with her, and I'd rather that not happen.
The car should've still been unlocked, so once I was close enough, I just opened the door and stepped inside.
When I finally returned, I let out a long breath and sank against the seat, closing my eyes and savoring the cool air conditioning. For the first time all day, I was clean, refreshed, and I could simply relax.
I planned to bask in this moment for a little longer, but Mei tapped me on the shoulder, forcing my attention on her.
"If you're tired, you can go home, you know."
It was the kind of thing someone would say out of consideration or concern—but with Mei, it was just a formality. There was only one real answer.
"No, it's fine," I replied, my eyes still closed. "Just give me a minute. That's all I need."
As if pleased, she let out a small giggle. "Hehe. If you say so. But if you change your mind, just let me know."
I didn't respond to that, and she didn't expect one.
We spent the next few minutes sitting in silence in each other's company. She was presumably on her phone—I could hear the soft clicks of her nails against the screen—while I sat completely still.
Maybe other people would find this boring, but for Mei and me, just being in each other's presence was what we did best. Her nails tapping away in the background was also oddly satisfying, so that was a bonus.
Sadly, I couldn't stay like this forever.
Eventually, I opened my eyes with a loud groan. "Well, I've rested enough. It's time to go."
I shifted the gears of the car and drove off.
Now that our hangout had resumed, Mei put her phone down and turned her attention back to me.
"So where are we going?"
I didn't need to think of an answer since I'd already planned it the night before.
"Well, I want to go shopping for clothes since summer is here. After that, we can finally try my favourite food. I did say I'd take you there one day."
"Oh yeah, I forgot about that…" Mei's voice trailed off as her gaze dropped toward my feet. I followed her gaze and found her staring at the bag I'd brought.
Oh yeah, I forgot about this.
While keeping one hand on the steering wheel, I grabbed the bag and set it in front of Mei.
"Here," I said. "It's what you left behind last time. Make sure to take it home today."
Mei tilted her head, confused, but she didn't ask any questions. She just took the bag and opened it.
When she saw what was inside it, her eyes widened.
"This is…"
It was almost like she was in a trance, her grip going slack until the bag nearly slipped from her hands, only for her to catch it again. Even so, she never reached inside. In fact, she didn't even blink. She just stared.
I sighed. "You know it's real, right? It's not gonna disappear or anything. Just take it out."
Mei flinched, the sound of my voice snapping her back. Gradually, her eyes began to sparkle as it dawned on her.
Suddenly, her lips curved upward—revealing a smile I'd never seen from her before.
For a split second, I lost track of the road. Even at the edge of my vision, her smile was all I could see.
She brought the bag close to her chest and wrapped her arms around it, hiding the smile and allowing me to put my full attention on the road once again.
The bag crinkled as she squeezed it tighter, refusing to let go. And with it came a soft whisper.
"...Thank you for remembering."
It shouldn't have been a big deal. It was just a thank you. I'd heard many thank-yous in my seventeen years of living.
Yet, for the first time, a thank you felt… good.
I looked away from her, even keeping her out of my peripheral vision, forcing all my attention on the road as I drove.
But I couldn't let her thank-you slip by unnoticed. So, steeling my throat as much as I could, I forced out a monotone—yet trembling:
"No problem."