"Uh- Um, Charlie, thanks for saving me...I guess."

A little taken aback, Charlie replied, "Uh, it was nothing!"

The setting sun cast an amber glow around, illuminating them both. Although willow still hated yellow, It still looked pretty. He looked up to see Charlie's face, which was painted light orange in the sunlight. Honestly, even though there were unexpected incidents, this whole thing turned out better than he expected. More than the thugs, the thing he was most afraid of was Charlie just walking away from him indifferently. God knows what trash reviews they would have received then.

Looking at him now, he didn't seem as cold as before. Standing straight with a composed expression, he looked akin to a righteous hero. His ebony black hair lightly swayed in the wind, highlighting the shape of his face.

When he heard him quickly reply 'it's nothing' a little flustered, Willow even thought that this cold person was a little cute.

Soundlessly chuckling, his lips curved as he gazed at the expressionless boy in front of him with tender eyes.

Charlie watched with bated breath as Willow came closer. He even smiled! Oh god, bless him, what did he do to deserve to see such a heavenly sight? He must've at least saved the world in his last life to be able to be blessed with such fortune!

Previously, he thought that he might be okay with just admiring him from afar. Charlie thought that he'd be satisfied to see him smiling to others, even if all he got was a frown. But no. He wanted more. That's the way humans are. Greedy. When they have nothing and see a glimmer of hope, they start desiring even more.

But he was patient. Honestly, he wanted to capture those lips in his right now, but this wasn't the time. He has to be his friend first and the very first step was to first clear all those misunderstandings between them.

"Willow, I have to tell you something."

The shorter boy nodded at that, prompting him to continue.

Taking a deep breath, Charlie tried to calm his madly beating heart. No, no matter how nervous he is, he had to say it today.

"ImSoryIDidntMeanToScareYouYesterday.IWasn'tAnnoyedAtYou!" He blurted out, all in one breath.

A little confused, Willow asked, "Uh, what? I didn't quite get that. Can you please repeat what you were saying?"

Charlie stared at him blankly for a few seconds before nodding nervously. Taking a deep breath, he repeated, "I believe there are some misunderstandings between us. Yesterday, I wasn't annoyed at all though I might have come off as such. I'm sorry, I have some issues socializing so I've always been quiet and often cause others to misunderstand my intentions."

Willow almost couldn't believe his ears. Was the male lead apologizing? This should be considered a huge development, right? Also, it seemed like the male lead didn't hate him after all. Finally, it seems like they can live!

Willow was so happy that his face broke out in a big smile. Eyes curving into crescents, he grinned happily. "Oh, is that so?"

Since Charlie did his part, Willow also decided to give his belated apology. "...I'm also sorry for spilling food on you that day."

"Huh?" Charlie cried, startled, "You don't need to apologize! You already did before! It wasn't a big deal or anything anyway..." He trailed off, looking sideways.

Willow smiled at his response, feeling delighted. This male lead looked like a good person, just a little socially anxious. If not for this stupid novel, Willow even thought that they might've been good friends.

Little did he know, on the other side, Charlie was blushing profusely. Hah, he really needed to control that. His head was filled with the image of Willow standing there, basking in the sun, smiling. Smiling at him.

They walked in silence for a while. The air was cold and filled with the sweet scent of flowers, making the atmosphere seem kind of surreal.

Don't ask where those flowers came from. They just magically appear in a romantic moment.

'Now time for the final thing' Willow thought. This was something he and Adelia agreed upon the previous day. After everything was over, he'll ask Charlie to be his friend.

It was an important plot development and besides, Willow thought that it would be nice to know the person he has to have a romantic relationship with a little better.

"Uh, since all this is cleared up..." Willow looked around awkwardly, trying to search for appropriate words. He stuttered, "..D-do you want to be my friend?"

Even though he knew that Charlie didn't dislike him, he was still scared of rejection. It was kinda random after all. They've only known each other for a few days-

"Yes, yes!" Eyes shining with enthusiasm, Charlie cried suddenly, interrupting Willow's thoughts. He grabbed his hands in his and exclaimed, "I would love to!"