Just one single dreadful glance from her morbid eye glare sent a chill down my spine.

Both Sana and I entered a section of silence that was so ever allowed to happen because Yulia was silently walking up to us by taking very slow steps which immediately spelled the omen that something bad was about to happen.

Or, so I thought.

"Oh, you two are here. I was looking everywhere for you guys, haha."

Yulia, upon saying those words, flashed a smile suddenly. It seems that she isn't mad over the fact that I purposely ignored all of her calls and that I am here with Sana all alone, as Hyunda instructed me to be.

Weird.

Nevertheless, I spoke to Yulia in return.

"We were here discussing some things regarding the events of the festival. Hey, did you know that the last day of the festival will contain all the mandatory events?"

This is something I found out recently. Apparently, throughout the whole festival, only in the last day will all students from every class have to attend the mandatory events, because the mandatory events will only happen at the end of it.

Furthermore, this implies that before the last day, it will be a round of optional events only.

However, for us, they are mandatory as well. Therefore, what I just said makes little to no sense to say.

So, why?

Well, because the atmosphere is fucking awkward as fuck and I needed to break the ice, okay?

"In other words, what Daniel meant to say was that on the last day, it will be extremely hard for us to get some sort of progressive progress in."

Not sure if I agree with what Sana has just said. As long as I excel in the area, there shouldn't be any problem whatsoever.

She's just speaking about her insecurities.

In the meantime, Yulia sat beside me, while still radiantly smiling to both of us.

"Oh, I see. So, I'm not allowed to discuss this with you two?"

Oddly enough, Yulia clasped both of her palms together on the brick of her face and asked that question which seemed to be slightly sarcastic.

Instead of me answering it, Sana went straight ahead.

"No, that's not it!"

"Really? I really would like to be part of these sessions you two have by yourselves. I even called you both, but no response. Why was that the case? Oh, I'm so sorry if I'm being obstinate or obnoxious, I would just like to know the reason, that's all."

So she has started to suspect it. I mean, why would she not? I purposely ignored all of her calls and Sana also has been complaining about her SIM card missing somehow, which meant that Sana's phone would not be able to receive calls.

This only applies if the phone is nowhere near a place with a good Wi-Fi connection, which, in this scenario, it isn't.

Because the connection here is actually terrible.

"I understand, I understand! But, get a load of this! My SIM card isn't here! Normally, I should be able to still receive calls despite not having it but for some reason, but..."

This is probably Hyunda's work. No, the one that Hyunda had in mind back then.

That's really the only explanation I can think of. Regardless, this was a little bit too thought out for someone that constantly claims that he hates responsibility.

"When did that happen?"

I wasn't going to complain about it, but Yulia was going hard on this on her part.

"I don't know... I only noticed that it was gone not too long ago. Coincidentally, it was when I thought of you and that you would call me. So, I was surprised that I saw no calls at all! Then I realized that for some reason, my SIM card wasn't there!"

"Okay. I believe you, Sana. And, so..."

With Sana out of the way, I was the only one left.

It's not like I didn't have enough time to think about this though and so, given that there was little time until Yulia arrived here, I wasted every energy that my phone had to offer by making it go through a bliss.

In other words, by opening every possible app in the process of consuming every ounce of battery.

"Why did you not return my calls nor reply to my texts?"

Almost instantly, I showed her my phone while simultaneously pressing the unlock button. By doing so, after a short while, Yulia saw that the phone was lacking battery energy in the first place.

"As you can see, no battery. Just like Sana, I never knew that you had called me. My bad, I should've told you something ahead first..."

"You're right about that. Please do that from now on."

"Yeah..."

Yulia's being rather strict. I almost feel no emotion in her words.

And while this exchange of words was happening, Arkalee and Hyunda ascended from the floor below via staircase.

As they approached us, I noticed something that had caught my attention.

Arkalee was not clinging to his arm like usual. I found that completely strange.

"Oh! Everyone's here!"

Excited, Sana stated the situation.

"We took a little longer than usual."

Administring the actuality, Hyunda informed us that he and Arkalee were late for a special reason perhaps.

"Did you do it?"

"Yes, Yulia. I apologized to her. Isn't that right, Arkalee?"

Wait, what? What is Hyunda talking about?

"Yup. That was really emotional. Thanks."

How come Arkalee is wearing a sad expression? What exactly happened? Did Hyunda and Arkalee had a fight or something?

"Really? What did you say? I want to hear it."

Yulia's being demanding, once again.

I didn't expect Yulia, of all people, to ask something that personal to Hyunda himself. As a matter of fact, she's been hostile ever since she has arrived here.

"Yulia... That might be personal, you shouldn't ask..."

"Sana has a point Yulia. Someone's quarrel isn't exactly our business."

Purposedly, I defended Sana's point.

"Not now, please."

"Why not now? What happened? You've been somewhat obstinate for a while..."

"Yeah, Yulia, what happened...? Are you angry that we didn't receive your calls?"

Not that I asked her, but Sana followed me up pretty well.

"You two seem to have developed a nice synergy. When did that hap--- Um, forget that. I was just curious to know why they had that fight, but you two are right. It's none of my business!"

Yulia looked ready to rant but stopped half-way by changing the trajectory of her speech.

Sana, perplexed couldn't help but probably wonder what exactly Yulia was thinking about.

"Ahh, nothing happened! Hyunda just apologized for no reason, that's all!"

Huh?

"Arkalee."

"Oh, right! There was a reason! My bad there! But, it's over now! So, let's forget that!"

This is even weirder now. The way Arkalee said those words made it sound like there was never any fight whatsoever.

Not that I am curious about it, but I can't help but notice the obvious misconnection here.

"By the way, what's the plan for today? I would like to know what every single one of you is thinking about doing today, regarding the events. Hey, maybe we should all participate in events together!"

Accordingly, I can't really agree with Sana here.

Because that would put the plan at a disadvantage. If the aim is for me to spend more time with Sana, then if we all partake the events collectively, then it's bound to backfire.

There is also a better logic here, which I'll just go ahead and say.

"I don't think that's possible, Sana."

"Eh? And why is that? We can all just participate together in any given event!"

"But that would mean that if we five stood evenly matched in the events that two of us would always take the loss. Wouldn't it make more sense to not do that?"

That's assuming that we would all partake in the events and have the same level of skill when it comes down to nailing the whole thing which I highly doubt.

I can speak for myself, but not for others.

For example, Hyunda said that he wasn't going to take this exam seriously because he doesn't have a reason to, so the only ones that will try minimally or, realistically speaking, with all they have got, are me, Sana, Yulia, and Arkalee.

"I was just thinking about the collective effort..."

"We could alternatively just form pairs. I'm not taking this exam seriously, so you four could form pairs between you four."

Hyunda's suggestion doesn't exactly eliminate Sana's offer. And I see where he is going with this.

As I trade glances with him, I surely understood what he meant with those words.

However, to my bad luck, someone just had to go out of her way to be utterly fucking obnoxious.

"Again with that?! You'll take this exam seriously! You have to!"

Of course, Arkalee just wouldn't be able to resist it. Yulia, in response, looked completely puzzled for some reason.

This is good. She actually took the bait. All this time, there was one thing on my mind. Ever since yesterday, when I brought a certain name up, Arkalee would have a strange reaction to that name.

Now... I know that this is just me being an asshole, but I can't help myself when I think about what sort of reaction she'll make once I open my mouth again.

Will she squeal? Will she scream? I'm dying to know to the point where my smile's corners keep on further increasing with each thought.

"Arkalee, it's Hyunda's choice. You can't force him to do it. If he doesn't want to defend himself by making the correct choice here, then that's it. Ah, speaking of self-defense... Isn't it just pathetic?"

"Daniel, I have no idea what you are trying to insinuate, but Hyunda should take this seriously. As a matter of fact, I'll make sure he does!"

And just for how long do you think you can maintain that strong posture? That persistent and consistent confidence that you have around you all the time, Arkalee, I wonder how it will respond to this.

"No, but hear me out. As a matter of fact, all of you. As I was saying, it's pathetic to not defend yourself, but according to Hyunda, he doesn't have to take this seriously because he doesn't have to. But, what if you were in a situation where someone clearly targetted you and made fun of you while not revealing his/her's identity? Wouldn't that be called cowardice?"

My point was never to criticize Hyunda's choice nor to call him a coward in the process, but instead, it was for the purpose of leading the conversation to the point where everyone present would have a slight hint at what I was initially insinuating.

And just like that, Yulia spoke her thoughts in correspondence.

"Are you talking about Ikkiri?"

"Yeah, I am talking about Ikkiri. Oh yeah. Why don't we all discuss who might've done the whole thing? Like, who in class could've done something so horrendous to Ikkiri like that?"

"Haven't I told you yet? No, I have spoken my honest thoughts about this. She did it all by herself. Attention whore..."

Yulia's opinion aside, I noticed how Arkalee's arm started to weirdly tremble.

Naturally, before anyone else could say a single thing after Yulia had spoken, Arkalee intervened.

"Yup. That's all there is to it. So, back to what I was say--"

"Mhm, I just don't agree with that, you see. It seems way too strange for her to do that all by herself. I mean, all that work, just for that mediocre result? Not worth it, in my personal opinion."

Even though my words just now were just a device to keep my topic going, if I put that aside and consider the reality of the situation, then I want to test something out.

Would Arkalee, on occasion, be the actual mastermind here? Judging by her reaction, she hates Ikkiri being a topic.

Yet, why?

"Now that you mention it... The result was pretty mediocre... But what if that was the whole point of her act? To make it seem mediocre?"

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

"Yulia, you are giving Ikkiri way too much credit. Are you sure you aren't over-thinking? What if there was actually someone that harbored hatred for her and just went and done this for the purpose of creating doubt?"

Aw, look at you. Clinging to your crush's arm like no tomorrow. What's with the expression?

Did I hit a nerve with my conversation? Even your expression can't hide it. You are skeptical about this topic, Arkalee. However, what's actually funny here is that every time, in specific, when I mention Ikkiri's name and only her name, Arkalee's eyebrows twitch like crazy.

Essentially speaking, from my quick understanding, the whole topic doesn't matter, but what does matter is when Ikkiri is mentioned. And only that.

"Okay, guys, we can just talk about something else! This is not that important, right?!"

Unfortunately for you, Arkalee, these two have the same opinion regarding this topic, so they are naturally intrigued by my sudden persistence in this topic alone.

"It's fine, Arkalee. After all, this is pretty interesting. As someone who is convinced that it was Ikkiri who had done it all by herself, Daniel brought up a fair point. We might just be overrating her..."

Sana's on point today.

"Hahah, who cares...? This topic is so bland if you think about it. You aren't going to achieve anything just by thinking about it because you'll never find the culprit."

Well, well, wasn't that just an extremely confident statement, Arkalee?

Are you sure you thought before speaking your mind? Because, to my eyes, that was the most instinctive reaction you could've given out.

You just told everyone here that the culprit had no way to be found out, so I'll just ask a simple question.

"Arkalee, why is that the case?"

"Mhm?"

"I mean, why are you speaking with such confidence? How are you so certain that we won't find out who the culprit really is? Are you implying that whoever has done this to Ikkiri has absolutely no chance of being discovered?"

Friendly reminder that Arkalee said 'You aren't going to achieve anything'. That statement right there is way too confident.

There is no reason as to why she would just say this out loud like that. Plus, she's always been this huge introvert yet now she can say stuff like that? Stuff that confident? I'm not buying it.

"This topic is meaningless. The investigation thus far has proven that the culprit played it out perfectly and that there is no way for the culprit to be found out. Soooo, in other words, stop talking about this already..."

She did not answer my question whatsoever. Arkalee just attempted to drive away from the topic by saying her thoughts regarding the situation, but she didn't answer my question concretely to the core, which means she's hiding something.

"No. The investigation was done pretty abruptly. As a matter of fact, it was bad. Back to what I was saying, if Ikkiri didn't do it by herself, then this means someone else orchestrated that. My guess is still Tatsu... But, I've been thinking and it just doesn't click anymore..."

For obvious reasons though.

I'm not sure if I would've ever noticed if Kawahara hadn't spelled it out for me entirely.

But the way that Arkalee is conducting herself right now can only imply that she harbors some sort of grudge against Ikkiri. Fuck, it's so obvious now that I look at it.

She gets gradually pissed off every time that I mention Ikkiri's name, so that's a start.

"Eh? But wasn't your guess based on the same reason that you just mentioned now? Tatsu supposedly hates Ikkiri so to you, wouldn't it make more sense to still believe in that? So, why did that change?"

Yulia's question is a good question and in order to be completely honest about it, I'll have to speak the information that was given to me by Kawahara.

The aim of this isn't to straight-up confirm the truth, but just to analyze her reactions and words. Alternatively speaking, whatever Arkalee will say from this point on will actually matter.

"Well, the thing is-----"

"Yo, Daniel, this is boring. Let's take a walk."

Out of nowhere, before I could continue, Hyunda spoke out to me, which angered Yulia straight away.

"Excuse me here, but we are having a conversation! Stop interrupting!"

"But it's urgent. Really urgent. It's also something only men can do together."

Something only men can do together? Why did Hyunda speak words that suggest very controversial things?

Nevertheless, Yulia didn't back down.

"Don't care. Save it for yourself. Continue, Daniel."

"I need to take a leak, so to say. Daniel, you too, right? You've been holding it for quite a while, right? Come on, be honest here."

.........

After that question was asked, all eyes fell on me.

Surprisingly, this is incredibly embarrassing. I have no idea how to answer this so to say.

"See? He's not even replying, because he prioritizes the fact that we were having a conversation with one another!"

"No, I don't think so, Yulia. You just don't know the male gender well enough, do you? A man that has to take a leak will not be so open in saying so. It's peak knowledge."

For fuck's sake, it's not like that, man.

It's just really embarrassing to actually say it out loud.

And, just like that, Hyunda got up from his seat while saying words of sheer confidence.

"Let's get going. No need to say anything else."

Awkwardly, without facing anyone's eyes, except Hyunda's, I got up from my seat and joined him as he descended down the stairs.

Lastly, some side comments couldn't help but be spoken out loud.

"Ew..."

"I never knew..."

Sana's reaction was the correct one, but Yulia's curious reaction actually made her look gullible as hell.

So, in all of this, as I attempted to join Hyunda's side, why did I do it? Well because Hyunda clearly lied just now and that means that he wants to have a conversation in private.

However, a certain fucking leech just would not let go of his arm.

"Arkalee, this is serious. We are about to go into a bathroom and so, individuals of the opposite gender can't come along. Sit back with them."

Hyunda just handed out a pretty reasonable argument.

If you are a girl, then going into a boy's bathroom is out of the question. This is the apex of common sense. The norm that even an ill-minded criminal will know and probably respect it.

I'm not saying that the opposite can't happen, but you would have to be massively perverted or obsessive to deny this argument.

Which, just so happens to be the case with Arkalee...

"Nope, pass. I'll come along. I-I won't look, well, I'll try not to look, hehe..."

Are you fucking serious?

Is this actually happening? I am sick and tired of having this leech interrupt every single one of our conversations. It's not like I just adore our conversations but it's Arkalee's presence that's bugging the fuck out of me.

I fucking swear if I was in Hyunda's position or if Yulia did something like this to me, I would literally slap the shit out of her without giving any second thoughts.

"Arkalee, you're insane. You need medical help."

"You're the one that needs help, Daniel. Shut up."

Well, okay. You started this.

Don't blame me for what's about to happen to your mental state.

"Hey, Hyunda."

"Yeah?"

"I've asked you this once but you never actually replied to me. Why are you hanging out with Arkalee instead of Ikkiri? Ikkiri wasn't this obnoxious, what gives?"

How will you handle being compared to your arch-nemesis?

Will that drive you insane?

"Okkkkkkkaaaaaaaaaaaayyyy, just go away now, Daniel, before things get out of control. I'm asking you nicely, so kindly jump off this building, and that way, you'll stop talking!"

"You are so fucking insane. It's not even funny. What's the matter? Can't handle a comparison? What? Too scared of knowing the truth? That you aren't even as important as she is to h---"

"Daniel, stop. That's not true. There's no need to compare them both. Arkalee, I'll get to you later. If you don't let go right now, then I might just change my mind about what I have just said and what I said previously."

"Okay. I got it. Um, don't take too long. Bye-Bye!"

What the fuck!

This is the second time this shit happens. Arkalee's so mentally warped that she just obeys every single one of his orders like it's damn nothing! How the hell did Hyunda submerge so much control onto her very own being?!

I'm not even mad that I didn't get to mock her even further, I'm just so damn impressed by how in control he always is when it comes to a lunatic like her.

Ultimately, as Arkalee regressed back to the table where Yulia and Sana currently are in, we descended down the stairs, but we didn't go to the bathroom at all and just kept on venturing the campus aimlessly without talking until we reached the back of block E.

On the back of it, stood a long asphalt that matched the horizontal length of the block's size.

Just by looking at the right side, an empty football field covered in dark yellow sand with empty beacons trendless.

By contrast, subjectively way more colorful for a view, on our left, in front of the gigantic tree that had a tendency to block anyone's vision from this current position of ours, stood, on a faraway distance, a field that had the mixture of the themes of football and basketball into it.

Generally, this would cause confusion by itself, but currently, there are only ongoing basketball games and not football ones.

If there is one thing about the current scenery is that it's refreshing and calming. Hyunda does take me to places that we have never gone to before.

True enough, going to the same place over and over is platonically boring and immensely sporadic; as it offers nothing new.

Thus, with our backs against the block's wall, covered in the emitting shadows contrasted by the sun's reflection, we relaxed transiently.

"Pretty cool, right? You can observe a lot of stuff from here without doing much by yourself. Back when the semester started, I found this place way back then and noticed that not a lot of people come here. In a massive school, there are places that will eventually be left out. Which just reflects one thing. The space in this school is so badly used. If there are places that are left out, then something is wrong. It's a misusage, wouldn't you agree?"

Certainly, there is way too much free space in this school. It's still a mystery to me as to why this school has such a vast space to its own structure.

As I extended my right leg and contracted my left one closely, I began to wonder if Hyunda was implying something else with his words.

"Yeah, it's a waste. But, what can we do about it?"

"Do you want to do be in charge of changing this school someday?"

Hm? Is he joking?

"Dude, what's up with that joke?"

"Just asking. But, what would you do about this if you were, hypothetically speaking, in charge of it? Wouldn't you want to make better usage of this empty space?"

Hm...

"I think I would have to think about what I would want to put here. There are enough blocks for classes, as each block contains a plethora of classrooms, so, in other words, maybe something outside of classrooms? But, doesn't this school have everything though? I mean, just look at it..."

"Everything isn't really necessary. As a matter of fact, it has pretty much way too many unnecessary things. When you think about what a mall has to offer, if you just take a minute to notice how there is, around the school, stores that are exactly the same as the stores inside the mall, you start to notice that the very existence of the mall makes no sense whatsoever. So, it's just a waste of money. There are plenty of restaurants inside the mall, but outside of it, around the school, there are also plenty of it. So, it's all for the sake of diversity. This school treats its students like they are all worthy of this luxury while they are not. Ultimately, what I am saying is that there is a very false sense of reality here."

I mean...

That makes sense, yeah. Having so many attractions that serve the identical purpose of the same ones that the school already has elsewhere is just wasting money.

But...

"What do you mean by a false sense of reality though?"

"Self-explanatory. Did you know? Only our class' students have to pay in order to buy something inside the attractions. The other students do not."

"Wait, for real!?"

"Yeah. But that's really not the point though. Despite that difference, the treatment remains still fairly well to us. We can enjoy what the school has to offer, but we just have to pay for it. Nevertheless, every student here will actually think that this is what they deserve. That it's alright to have access to all of this, as long as they can afford it. However, that's exactly what I mean by a false sense of reality. Students will gain a degree of value that they should not have for themselves because they don't have to try. That has to change. Everyone in this school should have the same degree of value. Or... Maybe not."

"Huh? That's confusing. You just bothered to explain all of that but then you denied your whole point, Hyunda."

"The truth is, why should there be practitioners of the idea of equality when it's just boring? The scenario I'm referring to is not an equal scenario because we don't get free access, but if we did, it would be equal. But, so what? It wouldn't make you go and scream from happiness. It's just something that you find convenient, but, it should be so much more! Something that will actually make you want to fight against all the others and stand on top! That's why I think it's useless to hold the idea of equality. If the school held the idea that not everyone is equal and that those that actually deserve the right to benefit from something instead of everyone else, then... Wouldn't that become something worth watching?"

I'm not sure if I agree with him.

I do like the idea of equality. As long as everyone gets equal treatment, then that's all it matters. Going as far as he is saying might just be unnecessary...

"Sure, but it's fine if everyone is equal. I just dislike inequality, so I can't really relate to what you are saying, Hyunda..."

"Then change that way of thinking. Equality can only offer you so much. Being in charge of something and dictating the tempo along with the process of equality is far greater. Not everyone deserves equal treatment."

"No... Equal treatment is what everyone should strive for. Not for the opposite. That's why there's injustice in this world. Because the authority lacks the ability to apply equality."

Authorities always play a big role because they are the ones responsible for applying methods that revolve around the ideology of equality.

However, that often fails due to incapacity at the hands of the authority...

"No, that's not it, Daniel. There's no need to apply equality to your surroundings. There are those that deserve more than others. For example, those that break the rules should be treated in ways that are harsher than the others while those that do not break the rules should not receive harsher treatment in the first place. Your ideology is flawed because it implies that if one receives a certain treatment, then everyone else should too. That's not ideal."

That was not what I was trying to imply...

"Nah man, listen. If just about every single person follows the same ideology, then there shouldn't be any problem."

"That's way too unrealistic. People can't follow ideologies that easily and that's why there are moments of rebellion and disorders. Fragile ideologies aren't necessary at all. Equality is one of them."

"If the order is strict enough, then everyone else should be able to follow them, no?"

"Daniel, are you insinuating that on the choice, you would behave like a dictator?"

Was that what I just insinuated?

"No."

"Really? Sad. The thing about dictatorships that I actually like is that despite being commonly detested, it usually never fails in achieving its common goals or just its goals in general. A dictatorship is harsh and cruel, but maybe it's because it has to be that way. Because in order to succeed you have to be able to do everything in your power. And that power can come as evil, which people do not like."

"They don't matter, do they? But, this is all just hypothetical, man. We got a lot serious about this just now, huh?"

"Fair enough, true."

This is why I like to talk to Hyunda. We can exchange ideas without sounding like we are aggressively arguing with one another.

In our serene and calm words, every time we talk to each other, it's as if we can communicate without any difficulties whatsoever.

Normally, I have trouble speaking my true mind, but not when I'm around this guy.

"Well, I did want to talk to you about something. You know who I'm going to mention, right?"

"Arkalee, I bet."

"Yes. Avoid mentioning Ikkiri in general in front of her. I know what your intent is and I don't mind your actions, but she does. Don't alter her mental state too much, Daniel."

"Why though? It's fun. She gets hella mad whenever Ikkiri's name is mentioned."

Not to mention that it's super fun seeing her trying to dodge the subject like a caged rat running from a blazing scouring fire chasing after the rat's life without showing any signs of stopping.

"The consequences might just not be to your liking. If you know that she's easily emotional, then it's wise not to attempt anything stupid such as provocations."

"Hyunda, I'm not afraid of her."

"I know that. But you might not be able to predict what she's capable of when she gets upset. Emotionally unstable individuals are often unpredictable. With that said, just do that favor for me."

Emotionally unstable individuals are often unpredictable? Yeah, that does... make sense.

Except...

"Wait, I was just fucking around, so I'll stop. But, when you said that emotionally unstable individuals are unpredictable, I couldn't help but wonder... If she's unpredictable, then how come she's totally under your control?"

"That's because she's predictable. Emotional people are predictable. This goes up if they are highly emotional."

"So, you can just tell me what she might do in response to my so-called actions, right?"

"No, that's the thing. She's predictable to me, but her methods aren't so predictable on the other hand. Though, yes, I could just tell you. It's not beyond my ability. I suspect that she might've killed someone recently."

"Huh... Dude, are you fucking serious?"

No way he's serious. We're talking about actual murder. That's just impossible.

"Very serious. I'm not saying that you should respect her, but just avoid saying that particular word in front of her. You might not like what she has to offer."

"Dude, you're making me think that Arkalee is this mentally unstable creature who has this inability of controlling her actions. But, how did she fall under your control? That's what I want to know. You must've done a lot, right?"

"I actually didn't do anything, believe it or not. And besides, it's not as if she's under my control. It's optional. She can either be under my control or not. She has times where she goes fully independent mode without being under my control. Only if I allow her, that is."

"Wait, then I'm correct. If you said that last sentence then it means that you really are able to control her. That's awesome. You can basically have someone else do everything for you."

Though, that comes with a heavy price.

A leech like Arkalee around you 24/7 might just be the most annoying thing of all. There's also the fact that she's madly in love with him to the point of obsessing with him.

Something I've been wondering is just how much she's in love with him. Is what she shows all there is to it, or does it go any deeper?

Christ, I get chills just thinking about it...

"Still not it. It's just indirect control. If you force someone under your control without their consent, then their emotions will run rampant. That ruins the whole point of control. If you console their emotions constantly and offer words of value along with actions of care, then the consent will eventually become more and more accessible. For example, even if I'm able to have the ability to exercise control onto her, if she doesn't like it, then it's not really 'control'. It's a brute tyranny."

"Oh, I see... Damn, you know so much, so why don't you do something major with all your knowledge? Don't you think it's a waste to just be someone like you are? Someone who doesn't try his hardest? Hell, you don't even try your minimum. It's as if you lack the will to live, hahaha!"

I could understand if Hyunda just lacks the will to live in general. Or just has negative thoughts that restrict him from achieving something that might be considered as 'beneficial' for him.

We're both lazy in that sense, I suppose.

"Eventually, the time will come when I will put all my knowledge into action. If I don't, then I might as well die now. Hey, do you want to kill me?"

"What the hell? You serious?"

"Hell yeah. Snap my neck right now. I don't mind. Go ahead."

"You want to die that badly?"

He's just joking around though.

"I'm not sure. Am I supposed to answer 'yes' just because I'm discontent with what life has to offer to me? So, what if the next life just does the same? Do I repeat the same process over and over? Sorta pointless once you think about it. That's why it's best to do something major with your life and then when you think to yourself: 'This is it, there's nothing else I want, I'm done.' you can just accept that you were here and that it's alright to move on."

"We can just stop existing. The after-life is just a possibility. But, isn't it just so revolting?"

"What is?"

"Hyunda, if we have to think about the constant meaning of life and the meaning of our actions, then by default, that means that something is wrong. Are we just here momentarily? Do we even matter?"

"Then, let's matter."

...

"How?"

"How else, Daniel? By making a difference. That's the only way to matter in this world. If you don't make a difference, then to the world, you will not be remembered. Think about all the previous lives that have lived on this planet and then think about those that are only majorly remembered or just minimally remembered at all. If our goal in this life is to matter, then that's our only option. That's why, one day, should the opportunity come, let's matter."

Nobody has ever said these words to me ever.

All my life, I never had this type of interaction. Is this it? What I seek and label as genuine interaction?

This might be it.