"W-Wei?" After she had realized it's really him, her movements suddenly got suspended, her eyes were in continuous daze due to Wei being there. It's been a long time since they have seen each other like this. 

"So you still go here huh?"

Wei slowly shifted his gaze from above the tree, to Nikee who's completely astonished.

Wei was glad he came here again. 

-

A while ago at the hallway where he was dashing to find Nikee, he's curious about where the class reps meeting is being held. He looked over his surroundings and saw the other building on his side.

"She's maybe in that building?"

But as he slowly walks into that direction, he realizes that it's the building where he used to go often. Not inside, but at the back of it. The memories he used to have in this place all flashed back in a second and he wanted to savor it more by actually going there again. He changed his destination instead.

"Ah this place, it's been a long time. Is the entrance still open.."

He went to the entrance with no second thoughts, he looked over it and was relieved to see that anyone who found it could freely go there.

"Ah, it's still here." He smiled as he remembered someone.

"Right, this is the place where we had our first conversation with each other. She used to be an outcast, not that she is still considered one, but she has become the class representative now." Looking back, he thinks Nikee has grown a lot.

He strolled around the mini garden and was still surprised by how it was still able to preserve its freshness. As soon as he saw the tree, he immediately made his way to it. 

"This is where I always sit during break time during the previous semesters." He sat closer to it, and took a rest.

"Ah, brings back memories." He closed his eyes and started recalling the past of how he knew of this place.

-

Wei was trying to escape from something as he was in a rush sprinting with no direction in mind but luckily he found the perfect hiding spot to stow away from them, which is at the mysterious narrow way at the back of the building he didn't know he was headed to.

"Those two are such a pain in the ass. Why do they have to drag me through their mess?" As Wei looked around this strange area, he noticed an open passageway to another place. He immediately went there as soon as he heard the faint voices from the two men he was hiding himself from. As he goes closer to it, the faint voices are replaced by a vague voice of a girl, it is not a speaking voice, but a weeping one. 

"Someone's crying?" He mumbled.

Wei didn't realize that he was already noticed by the girl who had stopped sobbing, she's at a loss for words by his sudden appearance.

"Were you crying? " He didn't know what else to say.

"Huh? Ah, no, I'm not. " She immediately wiped her eyes with her wrist.

Wei tried to come close to talk to her.

"Aren't you a classmate of mine?" He asked after scanning her face.

"Ah, yeah, I'm sorry, I should go-"

"Oh, no. It's okay." He assured her that it wasn't a big deal if she kept crying in this place.

"You probably don't want to go back outside yet right? I'm also the same, you can stay here with me."

"Ah, no. I'm goi-"

"Do you find it uncomfortable? Maybe I'll just cover my ears and turn away so I won't see you and it would be okay for you-"

She walked away a little, and stayed a little further from him instead.

"You sure you're ok there?" Wei could just switch with her so she could rest her back alongside the tree, but she nodded in agreement.

There was an awkward silence roaming around the mini garden they had found and was probably unknown to other people. As Wei's eyes checked around the beauty of this place, the girl caught his attention that he had to ask something.

"What's your name again?"

She slowly opened her mouth and called out her name.

"Nikee."

"Oh...so that's how it's pronounced? "Nay-ki" ? I thought it was "Ni-ki"."

"It is mistaken a lot of times."

Another awkward silence entered as they heard the wind brushed through the leaves. Wei realized he was actually more curious about why she was crying rather than knowing her name. 

"I know I shouldn't be minding your personal issues, but may I ask, why were you crying? It's okay if you don't want to tell" He had finally asked what he was curious about since the moment he heard her weeping voice a moment ago. 

They were facing each other, she was just in front of him but a little further away. Nikee realized that he seemed concerned and she was hoping someone could listen to her too, so without another thought, she decided to open up.

"I happened to eavesdrop on my group of friends' conversation and I heard my name being linked to unexpected mean terms. No wonder I always feel left out. They don't like me after all, they actually despise me. " Nikee was forcing herself not to shed a single tear.

"How would you call them friends when they dislike you?"

"They were kind to me."

"Is being kind the only standard for you? I think it's because you were oblivious to how some people use it. You need to be aware if it's true too." 

Nikee kept listening to him sincerely.

"Because you were oblivious, they succeeded in using that fake kindness against you."

Nike was caught off guard to hear this from a classmate she never really took notice of, he seemed like he knew the exact words he had to say, and explained it as if he had also experienced the same thing.

"I hope you'll be careful with those kinds of people." He gave him a warning, and looked away. "so that I wouldn't see you here crying the next time I come here again. "

For some reason, he suddenly looked different in Nikee's eyes when he mentioned those words, it was those words that made her go in this place again. For her it meant the start of a friendship.

"Oh, Nikee, you're here again!" Wei appeared by the entrance and came closer to her. "Oh? what is it that you're reading this time?" He checked the book and moved his face closer to it.

Nikee hid the embarrassment she was feeling as he leaned closer to her without him realizing.

They may be classmates and are under the same room during the half day in each day that passes by but they actually act like they don't know each other there. Instead, they can only truly be able to act like friends in that secret place, a hidden garden at the back of the building. Until the time came when Wei hadn't gone back to that secret place where Nikee kept going but ended up waiting for nothing. She got used to it until it became a place for her where she can peacefully study outside the noise of judgemental people.

But even though she's now alone in that place where she found comfort because of a man who suddenly lends her his wisdom during her melancholic moment, just being there reminds her of him. Although he's physically not there, his presence resides deep within her memory because that garden is filled with the ringing of the conversations they had that will continue to exist within every part of her senses. She will continue to go there and keep waiting for him. 

-

"Why are you here?" Nikee's voice sounds unwelcoming.

"Why am I here? I was waiting for you. "

"No, you're not. I was the only one doing that. "

Wei was confused for a brief second.

"Huh, What are you saying? I'm the one who's- "

He wasn't able to continue what he was going to say as soon as he saw her face who's forcing to not shed a tear.

She sat down on her knees immediately and lay down her head on both of her legs while covered around her arms. She didn't want him to see how relieved she was that he remembered going to this place. 

He slowly took a step closer and sat down in front of her, which Nikee noticed just by hearing the sound of his footsteps touching the grass.

"Why did you just appear today? You could have told me that you have stopped going here. I guess, I was asking too much if I had to know the reason behind it, but at least let me know because at some point, you did consider me as your friend right?" she exclaimed, without looking at anything, just the blacked out view around her arms. 

"I went here because I know you'll be here. "

He got no reply. 

"And there's something I want to ask you. "

He got no reply again. 

"You have to answer my question first. " She slowly showed her face and finally looked at him with her decisive eyes. 

"I appeared today because I wanted to ask something to you and I disappeared here because I had to due to personal matters that I don't want to burden you of. I might be able to tell you one day, but for now, let's just leave it at that. "

She stared at him looking disappointed

"Well, you know, seeing you this up close and being able to talk to you again after a long time, I've noticed that you really haven't changed a lot. " He wanted to ease the tension. 

"Huh?"

"At first, when you were chosen to be our class representative and you showed a whole different side of you, I thought it was because you changed, but nope, I was wrong. You're still the same old Nikee I know. " He smiled.

The gaze Wei makes when he utters a statement like this to talk about Nikee is enough to sway her attention. He knows how to make her feel embarrassed.

"Anyway, what is it that you want to ask?" Nikee finally opened the conversation Wei wanted but he was distracted by something. Wei had noticed the little details on Nikee's appearance that he hadn't seen before.

"What are you staring at? " She turned her face away.

"I noticed that you have glown up, from what I remember you don't look this pretty before..."

"What's with that tone?" Nikee was startled.

"Don't get the wrong idea, that doesn't mean you look ugly last time." He clarified.

'No, that's not what I mean. I don't think I look good either way." 

Wei remembered what Jetroharu had told him at the restaurant yesterday. "She agreed that she isn't pretty though." Wei doesn't like it that she isn't confident.

"I hope you don't think that way. If someone said you don't look good, it doesn't mean that others would also say the same thing. There will always be certain people who will see you in a way different from what the others say. " He reassures her.

"You seem like you only say that to make me feel good, but that's not what you really think, aren't you?"

"I do think you're pretty."

Nikee was caught off guard while Wei saw both of her eyes flickering. 

"You have become better at lying."

Wei started laughing.

"When did I ever say something to you that I never meant? I was always honest with you."

Nikee can feel the warmth in her cheeks that she hopes the color wouldn't show.

"You should stop that, because if you continue to do so, I'm leaving-" Nikee was about to stand up when Wei pulled her arm.

"Wait."

"Huh?"

"You forgot that I'm gonna ask you something. 

All of a sudden she was confused why Wei's gaze had turned serious.

"What's your relationship with Jetroharu?"