“You two are really close,” Arka finally said. He couldn’t stand sitting there in silence by himself.
Raka turned to him, one eyebrow raised.
“Who are you talking about?” Raka asked Arka.
“You and Alya. Who else?” Arka replied.
Alya immediately cut in, wondering why Arka had suddenly said that.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” she asked, just like Raka had.
Arka shrugged. “It’s nothing.”
Raka, on the other hand, smiled.
“She’s basically like my own little sister,” Raka said, immediately earning a protest from Alya.
“Little sister?” she echoed.
“Yeah. You’re already like my little sister. What’s wrong with that?” Raka asked Alya.
“Do I look like a little kid?” the girl asked, looking back and forth between Raka and Arka.
“Sometimes. But pretty often, too. Especially when you get spoiled. You’re like an adorable little kid, you know?” Raka replied with a bright laugh.
Alya grabbed a sofa cushion and threw it at Raka.
“Raka!” the girl snapped.
Raka laughed as he blocked the cushion. Arka laughed too as he watched the two of them.
“Don’t throw things around in someone else’s house,” Arka, the homeowner, protested.
Alya pointed at Raka. “He started it,” she said, making Raka the one to blame.
“He only said you were like his little sister,” Arka said gently.
“That’s exactly why! I don’t like it. He’s totally teasing me, you know?” Alya complained.
Raka picked up the cushion that had fallen. Then he put it back in its place.
“Come on, don’t be mad,” Raka said at last.
“I’ll buy your favorite food tomorrow,” Raka continued, hoping to put Alya in a better mood.
Alya’s sullen expression immediately lit up.
“Seriously?” she asked.
“Yeah.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
Arka fell silent again. He watched Alya’s expression change. Just moments ago, the girl had been annoyed. Now she was smiling again simply because Raka had promised to buy her food. Her happiness was so simple.
But for some reason, Arka couldn’t stop watching her.
“I want some too,” Arka suddenly said, making Raka and Alya turn toward him at the same time.
“You want some too?” Alya asked, narrowing her eyes.
“Yeah,” the young man answered briefly.
“What do you want?” Alya asked again.
Arka thought for a moment. He raised one index finger and rested it against his chin. His eyes turned toward the ceiling. He was deep in thought.
“The same food,” the young man finally answered.
Alya immediately laughed. “You’re just copying me. You looked so convincing, too. And in the end, you just wanted the same thing,” the girl said.
Raka shook his head and sighed. “You two are such a pain, you know that?” he complained.
Alya immediately looked at Arka.
“Did you hear that, Ka?”
Arka nodded.
“He said we’re a pain. Even though he was the one who offered in the first place. I think his brain’s already gone,” she said. Once again, Arka nodded in agreement.
“So, shouldn’t we get him back?” Alya asked, raising and lowering her eyebrows.
“How?” Arka asked curiously.
Silence fell. The two of them remained quiet, thinking together.
Arka looked at her for a few seconds. Then he leaned closer too.
“I have an idea,” the young man said.
Raka immediately grew suspicious when he saw the two of them.
“What are you planning?” Raka asked, eyeing them suspiciously.
Alya and Arka glanced at each other, then answered at the same time. “Nothing.”
Raka narrowed his eyes.
“You two are such liars!”
The three of them eventually burst out laughing. The mood became light again. But a few minutes later, while Alya and Raka were busy looking at something on Raka’s phone, Arka began watching them again.
Alya was sitting quite close to Raka. Their shoulders brushed against each other from time to time. Alya laughed when Raka showed her a photo.
Arka didn’t know why his eyes kept drifting toward them. He quickly looked away. They were close, and there was nothing strange about that. Raka was his best friend. Alya was their new friend. There was no reason for him to think about how close they were.
Arka drew a slow breath.
“Why am I even watching them?” he murmured, so quietly that no one could hear.
He didn’t have an answer himself. All Arka knew was that, that afternoon, he began to realize one small thing: Alya always seemed different when she was with Raka.