"What do you want us to talk about?" Ren asked with a chuckle.
"Who knows. Maybe it's about the ants that like to march," replied Ozi. Alen looked at him with a flat gaze, while Ren was used to such discussions when he was with Ozi. Ren even smiled broadly at Ozi.
"Do you always talk about useless things like that?" asked Alen irritably.
Ozi's expression that used to look happy now looks lazy. "What is the problem? You're not a scientist or a regional leader who has to always talk about important things."
Ren sighed tiredly. she was getting bored because the two men were always at odds in front of her. "Come on, friends. Let's just eat in peace. I have to get some rest today." Alen and Ozi nodded simultaneously.
"Because of you," Ozi hissed to Alen.
"Not. It's because of you," replied Alen.
After dinner, Ren sat on the bed and got ready for bed. Just about to close his eyes, Ozi sneaked into her room. "Ren, may I ask you something?" Ozi asked in a low voice.
"Just ask. Why did you ask permission?" Ren said with a small laugh. Ozi sat down next to him. "I'd be nervous if you ask permission like that," he continued.
"Do you still really want to fly?" asked Ozi matter-of-factly.
"You are the one who understands the magnitude of my desire," Ren said with a faint smile. After that, she took the book that was kept by him on the nightstand. "This book, I never opened it," Ren said as he rubbed the cover of the book.
Ozi gripped Ren's palm. The girl looked at him with a confused look. "Ren, let's stop here," he said hesitantly.
"Huh?"
Ozi cupped Ren's cheeks. Staring closely at Ren's two clear eyes. "It doesn't matter if you can't fly. Like before, we can still have fun even though we can't play in the air. If you want to go to the cliffs to see the scenery, I will carry you," Ozi shouted.
Ren pushed Ozi's hand away from her hand. "What's wrong with you? So what if I want to keep flying? You don't like watching me fly?"
"Ren, listen to me first."
"You know how tired I am of always being looked down upon by the people around me? However, I can't deny it because what they say is true," Ren said in a hoarse voice. Tears started to well up in his eyes.
"About me who was a nobody, also about me who was destined to fly. I thought you would support me in proving to them that things can change. But, I didn't think that you ... the only person I trust, even made me disappointed like this," Ren continued at length with tears flowing freely.
Alen woke up when he heard sobs. When he wanted to check in Ren's room, he instead heard it from the front door.
***
Alen stood with his back to Kim on the roof. Ozi and Tobi were downstairs and were measuring where the drains would be. Kim tries to channel her magic power. However, it still doesn't work on Alen's wings.
"Kim, when I met Mr. Baron, he told me something," said Alen breaking the silence that had created.
"About what? Is he going to thwart our plans again?" worried Kim.
"No. It's about me channeling power to the white wings. he said that there was another way so that I could stop it without sacrificing my life," explained Alen.
"Serious? What did he say?" Kim asked with a big smile.
"He said, I have to transform within 150 days. However, it was very painful because I had to remove my magic power, then replace it with a new one," explained Alen.
"Alen, you can't possibly be able to do this. What if you disappeared while failing to last that long?" Kim asked very emotionally. His eyes started to heat up and he was ready to burst into tears. Once again, her overthinking brain managed to make her overcome by anxiety.
"Only that way, we can do it without hurting anyone," replied Alen trying to convince Kim to agree with his decision.
Kim realized that Alen was the only person who would be hurt later. For him, the only safest way was to no longer be involved in any situation. "Allen, that's enough. Why did you have to do it? she is nothing to you. she is a stranger who accidentally appeared in your life," Kim said with tears starting to flow.
Alen wiped Kim's tears with his palm while shaking his head. "Kim, you won't understand."
Kim sobbed even more. She couldn't hold back her tears anymore. she couldn't imagine what would happen if Alen disappeared from this world. "What don't I understand? I understand you more than anyone else."
"It seems, I ... like Ren ... as a woman," said Alen with a little doubt.
"Hah?" Kim suddenly froze. At that moment, Kim's heartfelt very painful, suffocating, and he never thought about it. Kim backed away slowly, with tears in her eyes. Finally, she flew away leaving Alen standing on the rooftop alone.
***
A week later, Ren was able to get out of the house and go to the tree planting area. Alen said that the process of making the water distribution site had been completed. she felt it was fast enough for something to be done without relying on a professional builder. So, she was curious as to what the water distribution area was like.
"I didn't think that Tobi had ever been a builder. I think he's just living idle by continuously printing counterfeit money," Ren said while flying next to Alen.
"At first, I thought so too. However, after I chatted with him while we were building the water distribution system, he said that his work was a mess since his younger brother wasn't around," said Alen, remembering the conversation he had with Tobi a few days ago. "Then, he was fired and no longer has a job because no one wants to accept him. Because of that, he started printing counterfeit money."