Aldy walked down the stairs. From the edge of his vision, he could see Maureen was taking something from the refrigerator.
At first, he was curious about what Maureen was doing. However, considering Maureen's attitude, which seemed to try to stay away from him, Aldy canceled his intention.
Aldy continued his steps towards the garage without greeting Maureen before leaving as he usually does.
Right in front of his motorbike, he was silent.
The image of Maureen hugging Heri, her father, with a happy face for some reason flashed through his mind. "Am I just disturbing the happiness of this family?"
Aldy shook his head, put on his helmet, and rode the sportbike. Without further ado, he drove out of the house.
On the other hand, Maureen takes a bottle of yogurt out of the fridge. She tried to open the cap.
She even tried to open it with the help of the shirt she was wearing. But the bottle cap still wouldn't open.
"Why is this thing so hard to open?" she complained.
Maureen was silent. Usually, if there was something she couldn't do, she would ask Aldy for help. However, for some reason, she didn't want to meet Aldy.
The girl put the yogurt bottle back in the refrigerator. Walk over to the kitchen pantry and see if there's anything that interests her.
There are several cups of instant noodles. Maureen took one, opened it, and took out the spices from inside the package. After brewing it with hot water, Maureen added the spices.
She walked over to the couch in front of the living room TV, turned on the TV, and opened the Netflix channel.
The choice fell on Itaewon Class, the currently ongoing Korean drama series.
Maureen took the noodles in her hands with a fork and blew on the still hot noodles. And the image of Aldy, who always blew her hot food for her, crossed Maureen's mind.
"Usually, it's Aldy who always blows food for me when it's too hot," she muttered, then put her noodles on the table in front of where she was sitting now.
Maureen decided to go upstairs and went to Aldy's room. Hesitantly, she knocked on the door.
"Aldy? Are you in there?"
No answer. "Are you playing a game?"
Maureen opened the door and found Aldy's very dark room. Maureen turned on the light in Aldy's room.
"All I know is Aldy is the neatest person in the world. Why is his room so messy?"
Before coming here, Maureen had convinced her heart. Maybe the thing between Aldy and Elanie was just a misunderstanding. That was why Maureen wanted to have a one-on-one talk with Aldy at this time.
But Aldy was not in the room. If she has not mistaken, she heard the sound of the motor earlier. Maybe Aldy is out. But, usually, Aldy would always say goodbye to Maureen before leaving.
"Seems like it's my fault. My attitude has been too much. But, I can't even admit that I'm jealous of his closeness with Elanie. I'm his sister. I can't say that."
Maureen stepped in and picked up Aldy's things on the floor. She opened Aldy's suitcase and took some clothes, brought them into the closet, and arranged them neatly.
But when Maureen opened Aldy's wardrobe, she found a book there.
Maureen took the book, sat on the sofa Aldy used to sleep on, and turned to the first page.
"The first day, I was accepted into a new family. I was adopted by Heri from prison and he invited me to live with him. He claimed to be a friend of my late father. I'm grateful that there are still people who care about useless trash like me. To be honest, I still have doubts make it back into the circle called 'family'. Hopefully, it will be okay."
Maureen smiled widely. "So this is Aldy's diary? Nowadays, are there still people who write in diaries like this? I didn't know that a thug like him had this adorable side."
Maureen opened the middle of the book and read what was written there. "For the past few months, all I have done is accompany Maureen in the hospital. Yep, she still hasn't woken up from her coma. Everyone says that I've softened up and no longer be the number one person in the school's gang. I also don't know why I want to spend time with Maureen like this. Even though I've never spoken to her, but only with her, I feel free to tell her anything. Reen, I hope you can wake soon. There are many things I want to know about you. And I hope I can be a good brother to you. Although I don't know if a bastard like me can do it, I promise I'll try."
Maureen was stunned to read what Aldy wrote in his notebook. Maureen kept going through page after page without reading it. She wanted to know what was the last thing Aldy wrote.
"Three days of vacation at the villa. If I remember again, the last time I vacationed with friends was a long time ago, long before I went to prison. Even though it was the people I considered friends who threw me in prison. Fucking asshole friends. But the past, let it pass. The point is, I'm also happy to be able to take Maureen on vacation. Even though, things didn't turn out as expected. Maybe I made a mistake somehow until I felt Maureen was starting to stay away from me. Maybe I was just thinking too far. But when Maureen stayed away like this, I feel that I have failed to be a brother to her. When Maureen hugs Heri happily, I think, is my existence only disturbing the happiness of this family? I don't know. I'm always sensitive to anything about her. Maybe I'm thinking too far. But, if it's really Maureen who feels uncomfortable by my presence, I don't mind leaving. I don't mind going back to living life as a useless bastard like before. I love you, Reen. I love you so much. So, I won't be able to forgive myself if my existence only makes you uncomfortable."
Maureen was silent.
Her lips curved into a smile. "Why are you writing such a tacky thing? It doesn't look like you."
Her tears fell without her noticing.
"You are a man. Why would you write something like this?"
Again, her tears kept flowing.
"Writing like this doesn't suit someone like you."
Her body shook violently. Maureen hugged Aldy's notebook, which she was reading. Her tears continued to roll down her cheeks. "Why did you think this far? I also love you very much. And I never want you to leave. I'm sorry."
Aldy stopped his motorbike on the side of the road. Her tears fell for no reason, and she felt a pain in her heart. He turned off the motorcycle and took off his helmet. "Why am I crying all of a sudden? Is this helmet glass leaking? Why is my chest suddenly hurting like this? There's no way I could have heart disease at this young age. It seems I really need to drink less alcohol."
Aldy wiped his tears that fell without knowing the cause, put his helmet back on, and started the engine.
He continued his journey.
Without knowing, Maureen was crying in his room, hugging his dairy book.