The next day at school, Leo arrived as usual.
As he walked into the corridor, the three girls from yesterday approached him. They looked nervous.
"Hey… Leo," one of them said hesitantly. "Excuse me… we need to talk to you."
Leo looked at them coldly. "What do you want?" he asked, his tone slightly sharp.
The girl lowered her head. "We… we're really sorry about yesterday. For what we said about you and Claire…"
Leo turned away, ignoring them.
The girl quickly continued, "I know what we did was wrong… maybe even unforgivable. But we really are sorry."
All three of them bowed their heads. "We're sorry, Leo."
Leo stayed silent for a moment. Then he noticed Claire entering the classroom.
He looked back at the girls.
"If you're really sorry," Leo said calmly, "then you should apologize to Claire too."
The girls looked at each other, a little hesitant.
"…Fine," one of them said.
They walked over to Claire.
"Hey, Claire… about yesterday," one girl began awkwardly, "we're really sorry for what we said about you and Leo."
Claire looked surprised.
"Oh… I see," she said softly. "It's okay. I forgive you."
The girls sighed in relief and returned to their seats.
Leo watched from a distance, a small smile appearing on his face.
"I'm glad she's okay," he thought.
Soon, the class began.
After school, Leo walked around the school grounds. The weather was calm and beautiful.
He then noticed Claire sitting alone on a bench, quietly looking at the sky.
Leo started walking toward her.
But suddenly—
"Hey, Leo! What are you doing here?"
Leo turned around.
It was Emily.
"Oh… it's you, Emily," Leo said.
Emily smiled. "How are you? And how are your parents doing?"
Leo nodded slightly. "I'm fine. And my parents are fine too. What about you?"
"I'm good," Emily replied.
Before she could say anything more, Leo simply nodded and walked away.
Emily stood there, watching him leave.
"Why is he always like this with me…" she thought sadly.
As Leo walked, his expression slowly changed.
He looked a little upset… and lost in thought.
"Why was Dad always like that?" he thought.
"I showed him my results… but he was always busy with work… every single time…"
Present moment
But then, he stopped walking.
A realization hit him.
"No… I was wrong," Leo thought quietly.
"I didn't understand him back then…"
"He was doing all of that… for the company… for everything…"
Leo sighed softly.
"That was so foolish of me…"
Later that day, Leo reached home.
He sat on the couch, waiting.
"I wonder if Father has come back yet…"
At the same time, at Werren's place—
"It was great meeting you, Mr. Fred," Werren said politely.
Mr. Fred smiled. "Likewise, Werren. But tell me… where is Leo? I haven't seen him since I arrived."
Werren replied, "He's not here. He went somewhere for work."
"I see," Mr. Fred nodded. "Take care, Werren. And don't overwork yourself. You're handling a lot on your own."
Werren gave a small smile. "Thank you. You take care too."
After Mr. Fred left, Werren sighed.
"I need to talk to Leo… I can't handle all of this alone," he thought.
Back at Leo's house—
Leo was still sitting in the living room when the door opened.
Mr. Miles had returned.
Leo stood up immediately.
He wanted to talk to him… about everything.
But then he looked at the time.
"It's already late… he must be tired," Leo thought.
Quietly, Leo walked toward his father's room.
He gently knocked on the door.
"Father… can I come in?" Leo asked softly.
From inside, a tired voice replied—
"Oh, Leo… yes, come in."
Leo opened the door and stepped inside.
Mr. Miles was sitting there… looking exhausted and deep in thought.
Leo paused for a moment.
Something didn't feel right.