The walk to college with Samy began and Ember was few steps ahead of him.
not fast nor slow but just a clear expression of excitement.
It was her first day, and the excitement showed in everything— the way she looked around, the way she walked a little faster than usual, the way she kept glancing at everything like the whole road itself was part of the experience.
Meanwhile, Samy walked behind her, watching her quiet joy with the emotional stability of a man carrying both guilt and a small stone cat in his pocket.
At this point, he knew he couldn't keep delaying it.
Before he could say anything, Ember turned slightly and broke the silence.
"What do you think?"
Samy blinked. "About what?"
"Me joining college as a transfer student this late in the year," she said. "Will people think it's strange?"
Samy thought for a moment.
"Well… transfer students are already rare no matter what time of the year, so I guess people will definitely be surprised."
"I see," she said softly.
He gave a small smile.
"But honestly, after everyone saw you on stage with me yesterday, I think it'll be even more shocking."
She looked at him with curiosity. "How so?"
He shrugged.
"You performed before attending your first class. That's not an entrance—that's an announcement."
She laughed.
"I guess it'll be worth seeing their reactions."
They kept walking, talking about small things— nothing important, and somehow everything important.
But Samy's real thoughts were still sitting heavily in his chest.
Quietly, he slipped his hand into his pocket and held the small stone cat which was not his but felt like it belongs.
Then finally—
"Hey, Ember."
She slowed her steps a little.
"Yes, Samy?"
He took a breath.
"Why are you so good to me?"
She looked at him. "What do you mean?"
He looked down for a second before speaking.
"I didn't even know your name, yet you trusted me."
His voice softened.
"I insulted your father, and you're still being kind to me."
He let out a quiet breath.
"I didn't even apologize properly, and you still treated me the same. You didn't flinch. You didn't pull away. You just kept being warm."
He looked at her again.
"I just want to ask… why? Or maybe how?"
A small pause.
"How can you be so kind to someone like me?"
Ember didn't answer immediately.
She turned forward again and started walking slowly.
Her eyes drifted toward a small flower blooming quietly by the roadside.
"Do you think this flower would stop blooming," she asked softly, "if no one stopped to admire it?"
Samy stayed silent.
Next to it, she noticed a spider carefully building its web between two branches.
"And do you think that spider would stop building its web, just because no bugs came?"
She looked ahead, her voice calm.
"I think when life gives us a blueprint, noise and circumstances stop mattering. We just keep doing what we were made to do."
She pointed gently toward the flower.
"God made the flower to bloom. So it blooms— unless it runs out of what it needs."
Then toward the web.
"And the spider keeps building— unless it runs out of thread."
God gave them a blueprint and they are following it.
She turned and looked at him.
"And I think… the blueprint of our life is kindness."
Her voice was soft, but certain.
"You might not know it, but there are many reasons why I'm kind to you."
A small smile appeared on her face.
"But when I really think about it…"
She looked at him—warmly, simply.
"Do I need a reason to be kind?
Samy looked at her.
No— he really looked at her.
There was something in her eyes now, something clearer than words. Emotion. Guilt. Admiration.
And something else he wasn't ready to name.
He didn't know what to say.
So he stayed quiet— and kept listening.
Ember walked back toward him.
Then, gently— she held his hand.
"If you're worried about not apologizing to me…"
She smiled softly.
"I'm listening."
That was it.
The moment her hand touched his, his entire brain resigned.
He couldn't look at her properly anymore. His thoughts scattered. His heartbeat became unnecessarily dramatic.
His mind went into complete autopilot.
"I'm sorry," he blurted.
Ember nodded.
"Alright."
Then she tilted her head slightly.
"Okay… what exactly are you apologizing for?"
And just like that, he started to recall everything.
The guava. The stall. The panic. The accidental insult. Uncle Joe. Everything. Try to answer, why?
The first thing that should have came to his mind was simple—for insulting her father.
He had never properly apologized for that.
But as he slowly looked up, trying to catch even the smallest reaction on her face—
he saw it.
That same unfiltered kindness.
That same unbothered smile.
That same gentle calmness.
The kind of warmth that never once asked him to earn it.
And in that moment— he understood.
This was never just about Uncle Joe.
Never just about the guava.
Never even about the apology.
It was about him— and how badly he had been overthinking something pure.
He let out a quiet breath.
"…I'm sorry."
Ember listened quietly.
"For what exactly?" she asked softly.
Samy looked at her— properly this time.
And this time, he answered honestly.
"I'm sorry for overthinking."
A small pause.
"For turning your kindness into something complicated. For doubting something that was simple."
His voice softened.
"What we have is genuine… and I failed to understand.
"Good."She says with a proud smile on her face.
"Because if you forget it again, I might have to use the hammer method."
Samy blinked. "The what?"
She smiled sweetly.
"Hitting your head until the lesson stays."
Samy nodded immediately.
"Ah. A very educational method."
"Exactly." She nodded.
"Never forget this: respect is earned. But kindness— kindness can be given for free."
"And the one who gives kindness freely… has already earned respect."
Samy stayed quiet.
But Ember smiled to herself.
And reminded herself in her heart
"You might not know but your kindness have already earned my respect, Samy."
"Well then," she said, turning back with that same bright smile, "let's go to college. It's my first day, and I refuse to be late.
And just like that— she started pulling him forward.
Not with force. Not with pressure.
Just warmth.
And somehow— that warmth reached deeper this time.
Samy felt it.
Not around him.
Inside him.
Something quiet.
Something familiar, but odly new.
Something dangerously inconvenient.
Like some locked room inside him had been kicked open and now his emotions were moving furniture around without permission.
He didn't know what this was.
He let her pull him forward, walking behind her like a man whose soul had just been gently kidnapped.
Ember kept talking— about college, about first impressions, about the reactions.
And Samy listened.
Or at least, he pretended to.
Because honestly, half his brain was still stuck on the fact that she is holding his hand.
She kept smiling. Kept shining. Kept being effortlessly herself.
And for the first time—
Samy stopped wondering why she was so kind to him
and started wondering
what exactly she was becoming to him.
That thought alone felt like the beginning of trouble.
The good kind.
The kind, people write songs about and regret later.
Soon, they reached the college—
Samy had absolutely no idea how.
He wasn't sure when they got there,
What they talked about on the way.
He just knew he had arrived physically.
Mentally? Still somewhere back on the road holding hands.
It felt strange.
Not bad. Not good. Just… strange.
A kind of quiet confusion he couldn't explain nor understand
Like something inside him had shifted.
"Where's E3?" Ember asked, looking around as she tried to find their classroom.
Samy blinked back into reality.
"Oh—right. It's over there."
He pointed toward the classroom.
Ember nodded.
"Let's go."
And just like that, she walked ahead again.
Samy followed behind her slowly, still processing life like a badly updated software, trying to understand the weird feeling.
When they reached the classroom door, Ember stopped and turned to him.
"Okay, next question—where's the teachers' room? I need to talk to the teacher about the transfer process."
"Right… this way."
Samy guided her to the staff room and introduced her to their homeroom teacher.
After a while, everything was settled, and class was about to begin.
Students started returning to their rooms. The usual morning noise filled the hallway— chairs moving, friends talking, someone running for absolutely no reason.
Samy and Ember walked back to E3 together.
The moment they entered, half the class looked up.
Their homeroom teacher walked in behind them and cleared his throat.
"Everyone, settle down."
"We have a transfer student joining us today."
He stepped aside slightly.
"This is Ember."
A second of silence.
Then—
the classroom exploded.
"WAIT—that's the girl from the dance!"
"No way—she's the stage girl!"
"Hold on, why did she come in with Samy?!"
"Are they dating?!"
"BRO EXPLAIN YOURSELF!"
"Since when was this man living a double life?!"
Samy stood there, already trying to understand himself and now he's facing yet another obstacle.
Ember, meanwhile, looked oddly calm.
Which somehow made it worse.
She is so pretty!" someone in the class exclaimed.
And for some reason—
that bothered him.
Just a little.
A very small, completely unreasonable, absolutely unnecessary amount.
Samy frowned slightly.
Of course she was pretty. That wasn't new information. He had functioning eyes.
But hearing someone else say it out loud— so casually, so confidently—
felt strangely irritating.
Like someone had walked into his thoughts without knocking.