A cute boy

A boy who was of course Ilia stood beside a bench. In this public park, alone, he waved to no one. Those who happened to pass by and saw his behavior wondered; Did something bad happen to him? He's crazy, isn't he? Is he being possessed by a ghost? And so on.

Unfortunately, all those guesses were wrong.

Ilia stood there to process the events that had just happened.

Jeanne accepts him as her boyfriend.

As a lower-class citizen like him. Having a girlfriend from the high-class citizen - the conglomerates - is a dream above dreams. Those conglomerates usually establish relationships based on profits, both in the form of investment, cooperation between companies, strengthening bonds of their family, solidifying their reputations, or the other reason.

They wouldn't look at someone like him, someone who lived and worked hard just to continue living day after day.

So, once again, Jeanne accepts Ilia as her boyfriend is-

"Ouch! It hurts!" An outcry came out of his mouth, a moment after he pinched his cheek more strongly.

"This is not a dream?" Ilia looked at his right hand that he opened and closed to make a fist. A moment later he pinched his cheek again and he felt the pain, again. Ilia took a breath and, "THIS IS REALLLLLLL UOOO...!"

The boy screamed by using all his breath. Of course, his impulse automatically attracts the attention of people around him. They were startled by his loud voice while Ilia, he became embarrassed after realizing what he had just done.

His face reddened and as quickly as possible, he picked up and then packed up his belongings to left the park.

His goal is only one, his two-room apartment.

Go through school activities for hours, clean the chemistry labs alone, take part in basketball club practices, and get surprises in the park. All of that drains his energy both physically and mentally. So, as soon as he arrived at his apartment, he immediately took a shower and refreshed himself.

Ilia was exhausted and intended to sleep but he couldn't sleep.

Something supernatural held him to not close his eyes.

The boy sat on the floor and looked at his smartphone, which is lying on a circle, low table. Several times, he peered at the clock to make sure that seven o'clock hadn't passed.

Jeanne asked him to send a message at seven pm. So, here he is, sitting and waiting for seven pm. Then, a moment later...

"She said we were lovers but..." Ilia dropped his body to lean against the edge of his bed. "How should I behave in front of her when I see her tomorrow?"

Ilia looked at the ceiling of his room and began to think.

With this new relationship, what should he do or say when he meets Jeanne? Should he treat and talk to the girl as usual?

But... If he recall the things between him and her, he knew that they were just a stranger. They never speak except at the time when they do the class assignment together.

Ilia is like the other students. He admired Jeanne from a distance.

Now, if he treat Jeanne as a stranger, wouldn't she hate him? After all, they're lovers, right?

Ilia didn't know and still wasn't sure about this 'lovers' thing between them. He need to confirm this with her again cause, he didn't want to get the wrong idea.

His brain re-thought his attitude to her.

Acting, as usual, is not good. But, on the other hand, he couldn't suddenly be too familiar to her cause they were strangers to each other, no more and no less. The sudden change will draw ire from his classmates.

And if... If he suddenly became too familiar with her and then she kept her distance or even made an expression of disgust for him, he could die of shame.

Ilia thinks of various scenarios but in the end...

He sought guidance from grandma Gaagle.

That grandma with the surname Internet is the savior of the people.

Within minutes, he found articles that gave him an insight into this lover's things. The boy became serious and he read every article that caught his attention carefully. Then, he compared those stories in the articles with the matter that landed on his lap.

[A lovers that are formed by two childhood friends. Isn't that beautiful? They know each other well! So, when they become a lover, they do not need to force themselves to be romantic. They can start by holding hands and getting used to saying the sweet, love words.]

Ilia fell silent after reading the article and decided to read the other. After he read five articles, he became confused and a little panicked because of all the articles he read, all of them tell a couple who from the beginning had a pretty close relationship!

The boy did not find the article presenting a relationship made by two - if he may be rude - strangers.

Ilia becomes weak as his eyes follow the letters on the screen of his smartphone. [... If you and he are friends. You're not very familiar but know each other quite well, which means you're chatting quite often and there's no awkwardness. The first thing you should do after becoming lovers tries to get to know each other better.]

Ilia's eyes were wide open and he exclaimed, "This is it!"

The content of that article closes to what happened between him and Jeanne. So, he decided to use it as a reference. And with the help of that article, he got an idea of what he should do when he met Jeanne.

He doesn't know her well. So, from now on and onwards, he will try to understand her better. Then, about the issue of their exchange, he can fix it by inviting her to talk. And of course, he wouldn't be forceful or overdo it. With all of that, he decides to start this new relationship by greeting her, saying 'Hi' to her tomorrow.

"That's a good idea," Ilia nodded satisfied.

Then, another problem knocked on his door.

What kind of message should he send to her at seven pm? And isn't fifteen more minutes, seven pm is coming. Yes, he was panicked but able to calm down after taking a few deep breaths.

He opened the Message App and started typing; Hey, Babe, it's me.

BRAAK!

A loud noise arises after he hit the low table using his head. A mighty great shame struck his heart. He feels like he was hit by Truk-kun after realizing what he was writing.

"Gah!" He uttered. Then, he groaned with a red face like a tomato. "How could I be so shameless to call her babe?! We even didn't that close."

Once again, Ilia sought guidance from grandma Gaagle.

When Ilia was confused by the message he had to send, elsewhere or rather inside a moving car, Jeanne leaned her head against the window. Sighs occasionally came out of her mouth.

She had no regrets about choosing Ilia. She's just exhausted from thinking about what will happen when she tells Roman that she won't marry him.

Roman has a troublesome nature. She didn't want to face him because he would exhaust her and even! She was already exhausted before she talk to him!