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Saturday Morning.
Leon stepped out of the bathroom, dressed himself, and tidied up his clothes before heading downstairs. There were a few things he needed to take care of today.
As he approached the stairs, he saw Rinia descending with a tired and listless expression. Leon associated it with their conversation yesterday.
Leon felt powerless seeing her like this, but he had to go through with it.
••••
After breakfast, Leon, Rinia, and Lilian relaxed in the family room.
Since their parents were busy at the company, it was just the three of them in the large house.
Lilian lay on the fluffy sofa with a beauty mask and cucumber slices on her face, wearing a pink tank top that accentuated her alluring and sexy figure, humming cheerfully.
Meanwhile, Rinia was browsing the internet while munching on potato chips. From time to time, she seemed to drift off into thought, her gaze unfocused.
And Leon? He was simply watching the news on TV, which was reporting a surge of tourists wanting to settle in Switzerland and obtain citizenship.
"Hey, didn't you say you wanted to visit the university? I'm free today, we can go for a bit…" Lilian said lazily.
The university Leon wanted to attend was one of the most prestigious in Switzerland—the University of Zurich.
And Lilian happened to be an alumna.
"Oh, I don't think I can today. I have an appointment with a friend."
Lilian glanced at him from the corner of her eye. "Suit yourself. But don't come begging me to go with you later. I'm a busy woman."
•••••
After freshening up, Leon came downstairs dressed in a casual outfit and sweatpants.
Just as he was about to open the door, he heard Rinia's voice behind him.
"Um… can I come with you?" Rinia asked nervously.
Leon turned to see his sister standing awkwardly, her eyes filled with hope.
"No! I'm meeting a guy friend. It'd be awkward if you came along." Leon turned away, not giving her a chance.
"But…" Rinia raised her hand to stop him.
"See you later." Leon shut the door firmly.
Rinia's outstretched hand slowly dropped, just like her heart, which grew colder.
••••
Leon instructed the driver to take him to the mall where he had promised to meet Alan to shop for camping gear.
"We've arrived, young master."
Leon opened his eyes and saw the mall across the street. He opened the car door and stepped out, closing it behind him.
"No need to wait for me. You can head back. Oh, and don't tell my sister where I am," he said to the driver.
"Understood, young master."
After thanking the driver, Leon headed toward the mall. He had received a message from Alan saying he was waiting in the lounge area.
A short while later, Leon spotted Alan and two other guys lounging on a bench, sipping their drinks in boredom.
Leon waved and walked over.
"Ugh, what took you so long? I almost died of boredom," Alan said, clearly displeased.
"I was just a few minutes late. Waiting won't kill you." Leon nudged his shoulder.
"'Died' might be an exaggeration, but not far off," said the guy next to him, playing with his phone.
"…What do you mean, Frick?" Leon asked, puzzled.
"You'll find out soon enough," he replied.
Frick was a tall guy—over 190 cm—making him one of the tallest students at their school, even by Swiss standards.
He had a lean and handsome face, a well-built frame visible even through his clothes. He was quite popular at school, known for his love of basketball and his social lifestyle, which attracted the attention of many girls.
"…Alright then," Leon shrugged, turning to the other guy. "Hey, you finally left the house. Good to get some fresh air now and then."
The guy just nodded at Leon and went back to his phone.
Alan rolled his eyes. "If I hadn't gone to his house directly, he wouldn't have come."
That guy had an ordinary face and a gloomy appearance. Earphones hung around his neck, with dark circles under his eyes. His aura practically screamed 'introvert'. His name was Alan Bill.
Since he shared a name with Alan, they called him Bill.
"Alright, let's go!" Leon said.
"Hold on a second," said Frick. "The girls went to the restroom."
"Girls?" Leon was confused. As far as he knew, only the guys were going.
Alan had invited him yesterday to buy camping gear together, and he had agreed—but he didn't know others would be joining them.
So he looked at Alan.
Alan scratched his head. "Ah, I forgot to tell you. They—"
"Leon!" a girl's voice called his name.
Leon turned and saw three girls walking toward them.
They drew attention with their stylish and elegant outfits and beautiful faces. The one leading them stood out as a rare beauty who easily turned heads.
"Ruby?" Leon was surprised.
"...I invited them too since we'll all be going camping together," Alan explained, moving closer to Leon and whispering, "You don't mind, right?"
"Of course not." Leon smiled, then walked over to talk to the girls.
Alan sighed. To be honest, he hadn't invited Ruby directly. He had just mentioned the camping trip to her yesterday.
But after hearing over the phone that he and the others were heading to the mall to shop, she insisted on coming along. He could tell her real reason was to see Leon.
Yes, Ruby liked Leon.
"Ugh, teenage girls…" he muttered.
••••
After spending more than three hours shopping for camping gear, the group rested at a café across from the mall.
Upon seeing the seats, the guys let out sighs of relief.
"…This is why I hate going out with girls," Alan said, rubbing his temples.
Leon nodded wearily, resting his head on the table with a long sigh.
'To think that buying gear would take this much time…'
What should've taken 40 minutes turned into three hours, thanks to the girls' enthusiasm. Their original purpose morphed into a shopping spree for clothes, accessories, makeup, and other "useless things."
"…Don't invite me again next time. I'm done," Bill said, depressed.
Bill, who never exercised, had sore feet from all the walking and standing. On top of that, he felt completely ignored, which only added to his frustration.
During the trip, he felt like a fly—an outsider—ignored by the group. Ruby and Leon were practically on a date, Alan and Anna acted like their matchmakers, and Frick and Airi chatted about health and fitness.
And him? He was reduced to a pack mule, carrying bags. His emotions were all over the place.
If his mother hadn't forced him to leave his comfort zone and join Alan, he would've tossed all the "useless stuff" in the trash and gone home.
"Oh, I forgot you were here, buddy. I thought you already left. No offense, but your aura is like a gecko—barely noticeable!" Frick said to Bill, who promptly smacked him with an empty bottle.
Alan and Leon just laughed at their antics.
Moments later, they saw the three girls walking over with drinks in hand.
"What took you so long? I was about to die of heat!" Alan groaned.
Ruby rolled her eyes. Anna and Airi took their seats.
"It's Ruby's fault. When we went to get drinks, a group of guys approached us asking for our FT numbers. Though obviously, they were only interested in Ruby—anyone could tell."
FT was a local Swiss chat app that used phone numbers to share photos, private chats, and make calls.
"Hey! I told you not to mention that!" Ruby nudged Anna and pouted. As she spoke, she glanced at Leon, who was sitting at the next table chatting with Frick and Bill.
Seeing his calm reaction, she felt a bit disappointed. She had hoped he'd show some kind of reaction—even a small one.
Alan, Anna, and Airi exchanged glances. Her two friends could only shake their heads at Ruby's not-so-subtle behavior.
Alan sighed and stood. "Alright. Let's head back—it's nearly evening. I promised Aunt I'd get you home before dark."
He quickly called Leon, Frick, and Bill to head out.
On the ride back, the group once again discussed their upcoming camping trip.
Anna: "Hey, are we allowed to take private cars to the site?"
Alan: "Mhm, Leon and I already discussed it with the organizers and teachers. As long as we follow behind the school bus, it's fine. A lot of others are using their own cars instead of the tour bus too."
Airi (confused): "But I heard Mr. Admon say that students were forbidden to use private cars a few days ago."
Frick (nodding): "Yeah, it was like that at first. But the ban was lifted after so many complaints. I was getting flooded with messages from students and teachers—that gave me a headache for days."
Airi: "Ah! I forgot you're part of the organizing committee too."
After dropping the girls off, the guys didn't head home right away. Instead, they stopped by a nearby café to relax and make up for the time lost earlier.
"But Leon, I'm seriously shocked you're joining the trip. You usually hate stuff like this," Frick said with a burp.
"Mhm, you're usually like Bill… what's the word? Introspect? Or whatever. The gloomy bunch who don't know how to live," Alan said, trying to remember.
"Hey! Leave me out of this!" Bill punched Alan's chest angrily.
They all burst out laughing. Teasing Bill had become a habit ever since they became friends—even Leon would occasionally join in. Of course, they never took it too far, and Bill was generally forgiving.
"Well… maybe this will be our last memory together before we go our separate ways," Leon said softly.
"Yeah, that's true." They all nodded, sighing.
After graduation, they would each go their own way. No one knew when—or if—they'd meet again.
"Ugh, what's with the gloom? That's a problem for later. For now, let's just enjoy the moment instead of moping." Alan stood and walked toward the café's band, confusing everyone.
He whispered something to the singer on break, then returned.
"What did you whisper to him?" they asked.
"…You'll see." Alan grinned.
A moment later, the singer cleared his throat and smiled, capturing everyone's attention—both men and women went silent.
"Sorry to interrupt your evening, friends! Tonight, we have someone special who's going to come up and sing a song just for us! Let's give it up for… Leon Bastein!"
The café erupted with noise as people looked around for the mysterious performer.
"What?!" Leon nearly spat out his drink when his name was announced.
"Huh?" His friends stared at Alan.
Alan just smiled and shouted, "Go on! Get up there!"