The boy had unilaterally cut off contact with Ya Ya.
Now, when he wanted to rebuild his relationship with Ya Ya...
Ya Ya wasn't giving him the chance.
And that red maple leaf Ya Ya had given him...
After an unknown number of days without contact with Ya Ya, he thought of her and searched through all his notebooks.
Nothing?
Nothing?!
It wasn't anywhere...
He froze.
Then he searched his entire room.
He thought he must have remembered wrong.
Maybe he hadn't tucked the maple leaf into a notebook back then.
Or maybe he had at first, but later put it somewhere else?
He didn't know.
But even if there was only a one-percent chance, he wasn't willing to let it go.
Still nothing.
Looking at the room in complete disarray, the boy sat blankly on his bed.
In the crisp autumn weather, his forehead was covered in fine beads of sweat.
The commotion in the room brought his mother over.
Seeing the state of the room, the woman raised an eyebrow.
What had happened?
But she was more curious than angry.
Ever since the boy's father had left, he'd been especially well-behaved.
She felt both heartache and relief.
She thought this might be the first time she'd seen him make such a mess of his room.
So...
What exactly had happened?
Mom?
The boy suddenly came to his senses.
His anxious bewilderment paused.
But soon, the boy looked as if he'd found a lifeline.
He hurriedly asked,
"Mom, have you seen a maple leaf I tucked into one of my notebooks?"
"A maple leaf?"
The woman was surprised.
He'd made such a commotion, practically turning the whole room upside down...
All to look for a maple leaf?
The woman shook her head slightly.