“I just finished reading this one. It’s quite good. You should read it too Via.” He beamed at me, which made my heart skip a beat.

“Wait, that fast?! Did you even understand everything?”

He takes off his glasses to wipe them. “Yeah. I’m so awesome right?” He made a smug face. It was then when he set the book aside and sat beside me. I can feel my ears turning red again. I took off my hair clip so that he wouldn’t see how flushed I already am.

“So… Via, let me help you.”

“Wait! Uh—I mean no, you don’t have to. I’m almost done. What time is it already?”

He glanced at his watch and replied, “It’s almost six. It’s already five-thirty and—”

“Will it be okay with you if you can wait for me a little longer? I promise I’m almost done” He just nodded and took off his specs and rested his chin on the table. I got a feeling that he’s sleepy. Why so? He would stay up late playing Genshin or read books. How’d I know? Of course, he would text me in the middle of the night. Telling things related to his game or to the story he’s reading. Sometimes he’d text me at three in the morning while I’m studying for any upcoming exams.

After a few minutes that felt like forever, I’m finally done and I’m starving.

I look at the surroundings and realized that it’s already dark outside and there’s only a few of us now inside the library. Mrs. Deetz, Ricky, me and the three other students sitting at the entrance near the counter.

I tapped Ricky’s shoulder and whispered. “Ricky, I’m done now. Wake up.” But it wasn’t effective. He’s suddenly in a deep sleep. It must be like this when you get sleep deprived. If I’m in this kind of position, I’d look ugly, like a meat bun for sure. But damn, he still looks so handsome even if he’s sleeping like a kid. His bangs covering half of his face. Which makes him even hotter. Sigh, I could stare at him like this forever. That would be enough.

Enough with the thoughts Via. I should wake him because it’s already dark and before the librarian would notice.

I shook his arm to wake him up. It was then when he grabbed my hand and pulled me towards him. Then he placed his head on my arm like it’s a pillow. Wow, his grip is firm.

Oh, just shut it! No one’s allowed to sleep in the library and anybody could get the wrong idea once they see us!

‘It’s okay if we stay like this forever.’

Snap out of it, Via! I still have to go home and prepare dinner! After I prepare dinner, I have to do my laundry, then study, and sleep. My brother comes home late because of his part-time job, so I’m usually the one in charge.

I tried my best to let go of his grasp. But damn, his grip is quite strong. “Ricky, wake up! Mrs. Deetz might see us. Wake up!” I warned him as I kept on shaking him.

“Hmm… Don’t want to.” He yawned and wore his glasses. “Sherry…” He called.

“What?”

“I’m hungry.” He pouted.

“That's why I was trying to wake you up earlier!” I shouted in a whisper. “And sorry if I kept you waiting.” I added.

R

“Good night Via. Take care.” I smiled as I waved at her when she went inside her house and waved at me back.

I started walking away as I fixed my hair. I went straight for the shortcut to a store that’s opposite Via's house. It’s a good thing that the passage is dim, even if it smells a little. I’ll just have a cold shower when I get home and after that, I have to attend dad’s dinner party because he just arrived in the country a few hours ago.

The chances of him visiting Parkstones University would be high. That’s why I’m preparing myself for this.

‘Being Richard Park is hard. If only I could be some free guy who plays video games like Rickson Lemuel Lee.’

I’m on the highway after passing through the shortcut. Just in time, my car arrived, and I saw my butler, Mister Lee, in the driver’s seat. Guess where I got the inspiration of my fake last name? No other than Mister Lee. We’re not related by blood, but he has been around the family for 20 years and I call him that because we’re close. Also, he’s still like a father to me, especially when he’s the one who’d attend every meeting at school, and everybody thought he’s my dad. Even Via Celine and Anton.

“Good evening, young sir. We’ve prepared, and we set everything up.” He greeted.

“Thank you. That’s good. Take me home first, please.” I went inside the car and took off my glasses. There’s a makeup kit in here as well. You know, just in case of emergencies like this. Good thing that I know how to use makeup. I don’t have to schedule an appointment and wait. I hate waiting. But I have to take a shower first.

While I’m inside the car, I can't help but to feel sleepy. I flinched a little when Uncle Lee just spoke suddenly. “Young sir, I am seeing dark circles under your eyes. Are you sleeping well these days?”

Recently, I can only sleep two to three hours a day. Especially now when I heard that dad’s going to visit his properties in the country. Including Parkstones and me. Let’s also consider my homework and projects inside and outside the school. I have two movies coming up this year where I’ll be starring as the main lead and I always have to be on track. A minor flaw or I’ll be left behind. That’s why everything will go as planned. Everything has to be perfect. He will visit the school for a short while this Friday. If I make my whole introduction as Richard Park this Wednesday, then everything will go on naturally. The thing is, dad doesn’t know my double life. That’s how responsible of a dad he is, sarcastically speaking. It’s been years since we last seen each other. Not gonna lie. Every time I hear that he’s in the country, it always makes me nervous as hell.

“I was busy… I mean, I’m always busy. But I didn’t expect that dad’s already in the country and I almost got myself behind schedule. I thought he’s busy with his other mistresses.” I scoffed. Knowing him, he never makes time for his legitimate family. I’ve always wondered how my mom tolerated him. All I know is that he's a pain in the ass.

“Young sir, I just received a message from Jia when you were at school this morning. That Sir Park will visit Parkstones this Wednesday.”

I almost dropped the brush in panic when I heard what Uncle Lee said. “What the heck?!” Shit! Screw that old man!

“So, what’s your plan now, Richard?”

Well, damn it. Planning to be myself by myself to the public is pretty hard. But if it's just to be by her side, I'd do whatever it takes. Even if it means making a new strategy at the very last minute.

OLIVIA

When someone gets a good night's sleep, of course! They’ll wake up happily! Who am I kidding? I barely slept a wink. Who can sleep peacefully after what happened yesterday afternoon? It keeps on repeating and replaying in my mind. I want it to happen again.

But, come on. It’s not like I thought about it on purpose. Like I said, it just pops up repetitively! The more I try to forget about it, the more it makes me think about him. I can barely sleep just by thinking about him when he grabbed my arm and slept on it. My heart is still beating so fast that I want to scream! I want to explode!

I glanced at the clock by the window. Nice, it’s already five in the morning. I need to get ready for school. I walked towards the kitchen to cook breakfast. Kairo was sleeping soundly on the couch, still wearing his uniform. The twins are still asleep, too. That's why I’m going to be in charge of today’s breakfast. Even though I barely slept, I am still in a good mood. I want to spread the positivity in my cooking today. Like come on, I mean, I’m just going to fry some fish and egg for today’s meal. I have full confidence with cooking and it’s one of the few ways to make me relax.

Little did I know, Kairo was already behind me as he spoke suddenly. “Wow, Via. You seemed to be in an excellent mood. What’s with the humming and dancing?”

I cheered. “Good morning, big brother! Awake already I see. What time did you come home last night?”

He just yawned and fixed his glasses. “Twelve. There were more people last night than usual and I still have a class at eight in the morning. Step aside, I’ll cook.”

“No, you don’t have to! Just go back to sleep. It is still early, after all. This is the least I can do for you, since you’re mostly doing the work for us while our parents are away.”

It’s true and I love him for that. He’s been taking care of us ever since our parents left the country to work overseas. He’s like a jack-of-all-trades. It’s just sad how he had to risk his youth to take care of us. At his age, he should study and having fun with his friends. But here he is, being a parent to us when mom and dad are away. That’s why I want to help him.

“Oh gosh Via, those words were so touching that I’m gonna cry.” He pouted as he pretended to cry and wiped his cheeks. I smiled at him till he grabbed the spatula from my hands.

“You should go get ready.” He said while cooking. “You know that my brother-in-law would pick you up early. It’s rude to keep someone waiting for you. Considering that you’re such a slowpoke.” I choked on what he said. Brother-in-law?!

“What the heck? B-Brother-in-law?! Hahaha.” I laughed sheepishly as I kept rubbing my elbows to keep myself composed. I know I am overreacting, but I’m feeling myself blushing. “What do you mean? Ricky and I are just friends. Don’t be—I mean, don’t get the wrong idea.” I rolled my eyes, trying my best not to scream.

“Got you! See? I knew it! You like that nerdy boy! What if the one I was referring to was Anton? I didn’t mention anybody Vi. God Via, you’re finally blooming into ladyhood.” This guy should be thankful that he’s my brother or else I could’ve already knocked him out already.

“Why did you even bring up Anton?–”

“Via, chill. I’m just kidding. But seriously, I have to tell you this. No boyfriends till you have a job. Okay? Unless it's going to be Ricky or Mr. Laxea’s son. Ricky’s such a nice kid. So is Anton. But Anton is more energetic than Ricky, who’s more chill. You and Anton have lots of similarities, while you and Ricky are the opposites. But dang, Ricky! Kudos to him on picking you up every morning so that you two could walk to school together. It’s like in those cheesy dramas, right? You’re so grown up now Via.”

I stepped outside the kitchen. I can’t handle my brother once he talks about stuff like this. Ugh, I should take a bath now. I still have a school to attend to. And then I’d do the stuff I usually do every weekday. Go to school, study, hangout at the secret spot for like a few hours, unless if there's work.

It wasn’t that long till I got a text from Ricky. He said that he’ll be absent for the day because he feels sick, which is very understandable. That’s what you get for sleeping less and playing more.

‘Get well soon and take care.’ I replied. Now that I think about it, this feels new. I mean, it’s not that he always comes to the house every morning so that we could walk to school together. Of course, sometimes he wakes up a bit late or gets sick. He also doesn’t like to stay at the clinic and prefers to stay at home whenever that happens. Still, it feels strange today.

It’s probably nothing. I should wake up the twins and take a bath. I should prepare myself today since we’ll be having a 200-item quiz in Arts class. It makes me cry just by thinking about how long it is. I just hope that everything will go in my favor.

It’s now seven in the morning and I'm heading straight to the classroom. It feels so tiring since I barely slept. But also, it feels like a work-out even if you’re just walking because you’ll sweat. Especially now that I’m running down the hallway. It’s a good thing that there are only a few students. Usually, the hallway would be crowded with students from different year levels. Since the school is so big, the students from the college department would bring their bikes and cars. Oh, right? I still have to go to the library to return a book. Good thing I remembered. I should hurry to the corner—

THUMP!

The next thing I knew was that I’m already on the floor being on top of someone.