Love is complex. The word itself sounds easy yet hard to grasp. It's easy to call something love, yet hard to truly define it. Everyone in the world knows love, not just in romantic relationships, but the romantic kind is always the most complicated. If love is lost, can it be reborn? Do people forget or remember past love?
Yes, people do wait for others. Even though Mr. Vira (Likan's father) has spent years drinking away his pain, and Aunt ja has never had the chance to confess her devotion to him directly, she waits in silence. She is content, regardless of the outcome. Few people wait for someone with nothing to gain, yet those who truly wait likely have a deep connection. Even if the result is not what they wished for, the past connection be it a long or short friendship, or shared memories (even if only one side remembers or acts ignorant) is reason enough. They wait with peace, not pain.
Aunt ja was like that. As she sat gazing at the moon, a slight sound made her turn. It was Mr. Vira, who had shaved his beard, revealing a better appearance, unlike the drunkard he was before. Seven years had passed since his wife died, leaving an unhealable scar. Though he appeared constantly drunk, a part of him still thought of Likan. He worked and became an alcoholic, which is why he rarely came home.
He took 'aunt ja's hand and spoke a painful word: "Sorry." He had nothing else to say, only apologies for causing trouble. Aunt ja replied, "It's nothing. I won't give up on you, and what I do, I do because I love my niece, Likan. And if possible, I will wait for you forever." She then got up to go to sleep.
The night was long. Why was it so hard to fall asleep? The morning breeze usually woke Likan, but not today. She woke before the wind arrived. And just as she thought, he was gone again! She comforted herself, "It's okay, it's just habit." She went to make breakfast. Her routine was a light workout, a shower, and a quick revision, as the exam was approaching. Today, she had to be brave to question the junior boys.
Her navy blue skirt, folded to below the knee, a short-sleeved white shirt buttoned all the way up, properly tucked in, showcased her petite 155cm figure. With her old sneakers, the sound of her footsteps mingled with the rustle of her pleated skirt as she rushed to the bus stop.
She arrived. She was always the only one this early, coming to finish her own tasks and the teacher's duties. She was surprised the broken window must have been fixed yesterday! "Does that mean I don't have to investigate?"
Suddenly, someone tapped her shoulder. It was Teacher Phan, her homeroom teacher. "Fixing the window makes it look better, but we still need to find out who did it." Likan only replied, "Yes, Teacher." They parted, and Teacher Phan watched Likan walk away. Her eyes held a look of guilt toward the girl.
During the first break, the school was noisy. Likan sat, waiting at the football field. A moment later, a group of 10th graders appeared. She walked towards them, her heart pounding, but she had to go through with it.
Her steps were heavy, filled with doubt, as she stopped in front of the tall group. She was only as tall as their shoulders. She looked up and asked, seeing their confused eyes on her: "Did you play ball on this field last Thursday during the first break?"
They asked who she was. Likan introduced herself as a 12th B student and that she wanted to find the person who broke her class's window. They laughed. "Why ask us? We didn't do it, and we don't care." Likan asked for their names and wrote them down. They were puzzled. She told them she needed the names for further consideration, not to accuse them, and thanked them for answering. She asked again if they saw anyone else. They replied that she wouldn't believe them, but they saw no one. They left, mumbling behind her back, "Senior students and still so stupid!"
While lining up to buy food, they saw another student, whom they called Chhay. After chatting, they mentioned the girl: "There was a senior student asking around, trying to find out who kicked the ball that broke the glass!" Chhay, chewing his food, seemed to think. "Did you say anything?" They assured him they were cooperative and didn't say anything foolish. They split up.
Chhay walked around the school, looking for the girl who was asking questions. He spotted her and was about to approach, but she was called by the Physics Teacher. Likan received a call from Brother Khai out of the blue. The teacher kindly allowed her to answer. Khai's voice was likely audible over the phone, but she suddenly hung up without saying much. Likan was confused. She turned back to the teacher, asking him a question she wanted help with: "Are the 11th-grade boys fierce?"
The teacher laughed. "Why do you ask that?" Likan sighed, "I'm not brave enough to ask them!" The teacher noticed her shirt was untucked. He held her shirt hem and showed her. She said she'd fix it later. The teacher reassured her, "They're not fierce at all. Our students are kind and follow the rules." Likan simply replied, "Yes, thank you," knowing the answer was just to reassure her.
She headed toward the 11th-grade area when someone called out, "Hey! Hey!" Likan turned. Though she didn't know him, she walked over and asked, "Do you have something to tell me about the ball incident?" He replied, "If the senior treats me to milk, I'll tell you everything." While talking, he saw a boy enter classroom 11F. Chhay walked silently past Likan, seemingly unsure what to say.
Suddenly, Vi, Jin, and Phea saw Likan and called out, "Senior?" Jin and Phea were shocked. "Why is Senior Likan walking with a delinquent?" Vi confirmed, "Is he in your class?" They nodded. Likan waved at them. Chhay seemed to wonder did Likan was friends with the 10th grader from before. Likan had no words.
Later, Likan bought the milk and asked his name. He asked Likan, "Will the senior be fair in the investigation?" She said she would question everyone. He asked, "Why don't you ask the 12th graders? They play ball too!" Likan repeated that she would ask everyone, but now she needed to know if he saw or played ball on the field the day the window broke. He challenged, "What if I said no? What if I said yes?" Likan looked at him, frustrated by his games.
A rushing sound came closer, and something heavy was approaching! A carton of milk was thrown, nearly hitting her from behind! Chhay caught it, but the milk splattered all over Likan. She turned and saw a girl a 11th grader she remembered walking with Sara; it was Lin, but Likan didn't know her name. Chhay asked, "What are you doing? She's a senior!" Lin pretended to apologize. "Oh, a senior?" Then she recognized Likan. "Oh, you're the one from Vi's group who shouted at Tuna the other day?" Chhay told her not to do that again. "It's rude!"
They walked away, leaning on each other. Chhay called out into the air, "I didn't do it! Go ask the 12th graders!" Likan looked at her stained uniform. She picked up the milk carton and threw it, hitting Lin's back! Lin was furious and rushed to shove Likan, disregarding that she was a senior. "How dare you throw that at me?" Likan replied, "I didn't mean to. I meant to throw it in the bin right ahead, but you were walking around, so it must have hit you by chance." Chhay chuckled to himself and pulled Lin away.
Likan was about to get up when she heard a voice. It was Mey! Likan asked, "Why are you here so early?" Mey replied she just came to the library to sleep. As she walked away, Mey mentioned she saw San's friend (Dan) alone. Likan wasn't too focused, but they parted ways. Likan muttered to herself, "Walking around asking questions is like something out of the 1960s. If anyone wants to lie, they can." She then thought, "Maybe some girls took photos or videos that day?" If there were, it would be great; if not, oh well. She decided to postpone her plan until the next break.
Likan suddenly wondered why San's friend (Dan) was alone. She walked around the school. She reached a passageway and heard thudding sounds and groans of pain! She pulled out her phone, thinking if it was what she suspected, she could record it quickly! She crept closer and covered her mouth. It was as she suspected, but three or four people stood with their backs to her, blocking her view of the victim.
Just as she was filming, someone quickly pulled her and covered her mouth. It was Tan? Tan quickly deleted the video from her phone and whispered, "If you dare tell the teacher, he will be hurt worse!" Likan suddenly noticed Tan's shoes they were very similar to the ones she remembered. She blurted out, "Do you have a black motorbike?" Tan walked away. "I'm a student just like you. How could I have one? Think about it!"
Likan walked out, feigning a call. "Mey! Mey! Oh, who is that?" The bullies laughed and kicked Dan before leaving. They walked past Likan, staring and laughing dismissively.
Dan? Likan quickly helped him up and asked if he was okay. She wanted to ask more, but seeing Dan silent, she took him to a quiet place to wait for him to speak. Dan finally asked her not to tell San about this; he didn't want his friend to worry. Likan asked why it happened, but Dan initially refused to say. Finally, Dan sighed. "I saw them stealing the exam papers. That's why they hate me!" Likan gasped, "Stealing exam papers? That's despicable!" Seeing Likan look ready to tell the teacher, Dan stopped her. "If you tell the teacher, you might be Un safe, and I'll be beaten even more." Likan thought about what Dan said. She assured him, "It's okay, this will be resolved soon." Dan smiled ironically and asked her to just stay quiet.
Likan quickly bought bandages, ice, and antiseptic for Dan, then left to ask the Class Presidents of the 10th and 11th grades to see their videos. She thought it would be easy, but of course, no one would let her check their private phones easily, and she was disturbing their class time. Likan wasn't stupid. She went to the Principal and received permission to check the phones of the girls involved. The Class Presidents had to comply, which annoyed the girls. They complained, "I don't know what they're looking for. Why don't they just deduct points from the ball players? Why bother with an investigation? The window is fixed; let it go!" One of them countered, "That window wasn't cheap!"
For three hours, Likan checked every class, but found nothing. Since the phones were useless, she walked past the art room and saw a camera. She immediately had an idea! She headed toward the 11th-grade classes. Mey saw her from a distance and followed her.
"Hello, everyone!" Likan entered the 11th-grade classroom, where the students stopped talking. "Sara! Sara!" Likan walked up to them and asked, "Why is Tuna sitting here?" Tuna was confused and started to get up, but Sara told her to sit back down. "We haven't finished the makeup tutorial yet!" (They were filming a makeup video.) Likan said, "I need to see your camera for a moment, Sara." Sara refused! Likan said, "Everyone has complied. You should too. I just need to check the camera." Lin, who was angry at Likan earlier, moved to hit Likan, but Mey intervened. "What are you doing, Lin?" Mey grabbed Tuna's hand and pulled her out. Mew seemed to ask if Tuna was going to go?. Tuna was stunned. She said Senior Mey was playing with her hand, but Mey said, "If you keep acting like this, nothing will change." She dragged Tuna back to her class. Everyone in tuna's class was stunned and laughed at Tuna's hilarious makeup face. Only Vi was annoyed, wondering why Tuna endured it.
Likan looked through the camera. She saw it! It looked like Dan? It wasn't clear due to a tree, but it was definitely Dan. She didn't say anything, asked for the video, thanked them, and left. The question in her mind: If it was Dan, why did Dan do that?
The dismissal bell rang. Likan sat on a long bench under a tree. She noticed something strange in the video again: the ball seemed to hit the glass, but the glass didn't appear to break, or maybe the camera quickly turned away!
She sat pondering, looking at the school scenery filled with stalls being set up for the upcoming school festival. Likan suddenly blurted out, "That's right! The New Year festival is soon!" The school would be bustling with external visitors. Likan remembered when she was eight years old, holding the hand of another girl her age it was Hana. They were happy, visiting the high school festival and buying food.
"Are you thinking about the time we came to the festival? Me too!" A soft female voice. Likan, sitting peacefully, knew it was Hana but didn't turn. She wanted to leave. Hana quickly sat down and laid her head on Likan's shoulder. "I've been following you for a long time, looking for a chance to be alone like this. Please give me a chance, Likan." She continued, "Please stop being angry. I can't bear this tension anymore." Likan was uneasy. She felt guilty, but her action (avoiding Hana) was different from her feelings (wanting peace). The avoidance only made Hana feel bad, but Likan thought she was the one to blame.
Likan tried to get up, but Hana pulled her back. "Please, let's remember our happy past! Let's go back to how we were!" Hana said, "I will never blame you for letting a boy break up our friendship!" Likan felt like a thorn in her heart was being pulled out, a pain she had accumulated for years unknowingly. Likan replied, "It's not just about that!" In her heart, she knew she was terrible, yet Hana, the perceived victim (in Likan's mind), was the one who spoke first to ease.
Hana continued that she had never blamed Likan, but she didn't have a chance to talk to her because they were in different classes until this last year of high school. "Thank goodness the teacher put us in the same class by coincidence," she said. "Do you know, Likan, I'm sorry I left you, but I came back to you, and the situation wasn't favorable." Hana just wanted Likan to feel better and return to their old friendship. She apologized, claiming it was entirely her fault for whatever disappointment Likan felt.
Hearing Hana's words, Likan's long-stifled tears flowed down. Her body softened. Her hands rested on the bench, and her eyes looked at the prepared stalls, recalling old memories. Hana held her hand, waiting for an answer.
With a smile mixed with tears, Likan said, "Actually, it wasn't your job to bring this up and blame yourself. It was supposed to be me who did this, not you." Likan laughed through her tears and hugged Hana warmly. "Hana, I'm sorry."
Everyone might think it was too fast, too easy. But the truth was, both had accumulated this desire to talk for so long. Now that they had finally spoken and heard the words they needed, it was a massive relief. The summer breeze blew in, carrying freshness and sorrow. Likan would never forget this moment of friendship and family reconciliation. This year, the summer breeze truly played its role well.
Hana then invited Likan to the cafeteria, but Likan refused, saying she would treat Hana after work that evening.
Hana watched Likan go to work, her gaze filled with excitement and something hard to describe. Siv Siv's voice called out. Hana ran down, smiling, and noticed the bracelet Siv Siv was wearing. Hana teased, "Siv Siv, do you have a boyfriend?" Siv Siv tensed. "No!" The two went to class.
That evening, Likan looked for San but couldn't find him, or Phat or Lay. Dan came over alone. Lay and Phat complained, "Dan, why did you let him (Dan's father) beat you again? Why is he so suddenly temperamental?" Dan was awkward because Likan knew the truth. Likan was also surprised Dan would use that excuse. Still, she didn't interfere. Since San wasn't there,