Gua walked in through the door.
There was no particular joy or disappointment on his face, just a faint, detached expression as he walked in. He called out along the way.
"I'm home, Mom."
The expressions on his mother Nai's and his father Dashan's faces froze slightly at the same time, their smiles gradually fading.
This wasn't what they had imagined.
They had figured their son would come home beaming, practically glowing, with that refreshed look a guy got after landing a girl.
Why did it feel like a dark cloud was hanging over his head?
Gua hadn't shown much, but as his parents, they still sensed it.
His mother Nai and his father Dashan exchanged a look, each seeing the concern in the other's eyes.
"Gua, did you walk Izumi home?"
After considering her words for a moment, his mother Nai asked tentatively.
"Yeah."
Gua nodded as usual and headed toward his room.
Nai: ...
Dashan: ...
"Hey, since you got back so late, did you and Izumi go out and have some more fun?"
Seeing his son about to enter his room, his father Dashan hurried to squeeze in one last question.
"No."
Gua went inside.
"Dad, Mom, get some rest."
Gua even showed a rare bit of concern for them.
That left Dashan and Nai vaguely uneasy.
Gua didn't notice.
He felt no different from usual.
Back in his room, Gua sat on the edge of the bed instead of going straight to sleep.
He went idle, thinking.
How can I prevent suffering from happening?
Gua thought all night-not because he finally figured it out, but because dawn arrived.
The next day, Gua didn't go to school.
He had his mother request leave for him.
He needed to keep thinking.
The third day.
Gua took leave again.