107 – Change of mood
Seeing Yulia flustered, I felt sorry for nothing.
It was not difficult to guess why she couldn’t study.
It must be related to the phantom thief followers. Of course, the problems with the Grace family also had an impact.
Since many things happened right before the exam, it is only natural that he could not concentrate properly.
I just threw it to see the reaction, but I was more embarrassed than I thought, and it drew Rachel’s attention. If she knew this would happen, she would just stay quiet.
First of all, since it was my fault, I tried to fix it so that it wouldn’t get into more trouble.
“Are you asking because you really don’t know? It must be because he hangs out with us.”
“What?”
“We studied together every day to prepare for this exam. It would be beneficial for us to be able to ask whenever a problem arises that we don’t know about, but it’s not like Yulia wasn’t paying attention because we cared about it.”
Listening to my story, Rachel frowned but couldn’t refute, and Yulia shook her hand in surprise.
“It’s not like that! It helped me a lot too!”
“It’s okay. Because we all understand.”
“Oh. I’ve heard and seen it, and I have nothing to say. The next final exam is going to be really hard.”
Fortunately, Rachel opened her book and began preparing for her next subject.
Meanwhile, Yulia is still restless. She wanted to explain, but she could clearly feel her frustration at not being able to tell the truth.
Of course, I was just talking about it to get out of the situation. She could study in such a way that she would teach others and reflect on her concepts, so maybe the study wasn’t helpful to her at all.
When her eyes met Yulia’s, she mouthed her so Rachel couldn’t hear.
‘Let’s talk the two of us later.’
She nodded her head slowly as she understood her meaning.
The exam time begins shortly after you return to your seat.
It was only after receiving the test papers that Maxim regretted that he had just slept last night.
Perhaps this midterm exam was ruined.
Do I have to prepare for the next final exam like Rachel?
I learned a curious fact in real time while taking the test.
If the test is difficult, time feels tight.
Obviously, the problem remains for a long time, but when I open my eyes, the minute hand has already passed.
But beyond that level, when you reach a level where you can’t even understand the test questions at all, time starts to flow rather slowly.
I thought it would be the time to end by now, but when I looked at the clock, less than 5 minutes had passed.
It was only then that I realized why some students fall asleep during exams.
For them, exam time goes by so slowly that they can’t stand it with their sober mind.
I don’t need to explain which of the two is the more serious situation.
Suddenly, such a whisper seemed to linger in my ear.
‘It’s easier to give up.’
***
Somehow, the exam on the second day was all over.
Don’t ask if it’s successful. Because now it’s just that it’s over.
Anyway, after that, as I said earlier, I had time alone with Yulia.
I deliberately left the academy to avoid being disturbed and walked quietly to a nearby park.
“The weather is nice.”
“Yes. I know.”
But why was it so awkward from the beginning?
It was a completely different atmosphere than usual. I don’t know if it’s Sharon, but Yulia’s original personality itself is outgoing and extroverted, so even if it’s just the two of them, the conversation goes on without any sense of distance.
Should I say that I am quieter than usual today?
I don’t know if it’s just me, but it seemed like Yulia was the cause, not me.
Even if I intentionally threw out the topic first, there was nothing I could do about it because the answer came back with only short answers.
In the end, we reached our destination, the park, without the awkward flow disappearing.
“·······.”
“Cro. So what are you talking about?”
It can’t be like this right now. If I brought up the story in this state, it was obvious that he would run away with an awkward smile like the last time, saying that it was okay not to worry.
I have no idea why.
Maybe they are wary of me.
However, in order to help her Yulia, she and her own help were needed.
No matter how hard I try to infiltrate the phantom thief followers group, it will be meaningless if Yulia doesn’t cooperate.
While thinking about what to do, I decided to overturn the board.
This desolate park is not suitable for a stage.
“Shall we go for a change?”
“Huh? Now···?”
“You said you didn’t like this exam either. I just wanted to hang out with you for a little while to recharge.”
Yulia nodded her head shyly.
“Hmm. It doesn’t matter, where are you going?”
“A place you like.”
Fortunately, thanks to the overlapping directions, it wasn’t a complete waste of time.
We crossed the park and walked slowly through the city.
After a while, Yulia stopped her steps and stared blankly in front of her.
“Here you remembered.”
“Of course I have to remember.”
Because it hasn’t been that long. Has it been about a month now?
It was early spring when the nights were still quite chilly. So she met her late at night, not wearing her usual school uniform, but wearing a black coat.
How surprised she was when she first saw her. Before committing her crime, she had visited the art museum in the name of pre-investigation, but ran into her there.
At that time, I hadn’t even gotten used to being a phantom thief, so I was very worried that I might be caught.
Looking back now, it seems that our relationship has become much closer since the moment we met Yulia that day and talked together.
Until then, at most, it was just an ambiguous relationship in which we were in the same class and in the same group by chance, but after that, it felt like best friends who hung out almost every day.
“It’s been a while.”
She also looked at the art museum with dim eyes, as if she was recalling similar memories of her and mine.
“I told you that sometimes you come when your thoughts get complicated.”
“You remembered. After saying that, I haven’t been back since.”
It seemed that complex emotions were contained in the smiling smile.
“Don’t stand here, let’s go in.”
“Yes.”
I bought her ticket and went inside. The interior scenery is not much different from the last time I went.
As soon as I entered, the memories I had built here came to my mind.
Especially when he made a surprise appearance in front of Sherlock and Gadget while riding on a statue.
It’s not a memory suitable for a place called an art museum, though.
But the place where the painting I stole was was empty.
Well, since I stole the painting and didn’t return it, it would be impossible to recreate it. Rather than replacing it with another work, it seems to have been left empty.
We stood side by side in front of him, just like last time.
Although we couldn’t see the lighthouse above the stormy sea we admired together.
“The picture hanging here. The thief stole it the day we looked at the picture and talked about it. Aren’t you curious?”
“Really? It’s a strange coincidence.”
Um. It’s not really a coincidence.
We talked to each other while staring at the pure white wallpaper.
“I told you about your troubles here.”
“Yes.”
“So I came. It looks the same as back then.”
“Are you that obvious?”
“Slightly?”
Yulia let out a small sigh.
“I tried to hide it, but why are you so sharp?”
“Don’t bother me all the time.”
“… Stupid.”
There was silence again for a while, but this time the atmosphere was different from before.
It felt like the two of us went back a month ago.
“I told you earlier. Raven stole it the same day we saw it.”
“Yes.”
“Actually, that painting was the reason I came to this museum.”
“…Really?”
Wait a minute. Why is the story going like that?
I didn’t know that at all. It’s something that didn’t even appear in the original story.
Could this be the damn butterfly effect again?
“I kept thinking about the reason, but I think that is the decisive factor.”
“Why?”
“The reason why I like phantom thieves.”
I didn’t quite understand the context of the conversation.
A phantom thief stole your favorite painting. So did the ghost get better?
“I didn’t like that painting. It’s gloomy. The sea is also dark. A lighthouse that shines alone looks lonely.”
It didn’t seem like the right time for me to say anything.
What she needs right now is just to quietly listen to her.
“But as I keep looking at it, that lighthouse feels a bit like me. Maybe that’s why I come here and stare blankly whenever I feel depressed.”
“Yes.”
“But after the picture disappeared, something seemed to have changed. Although the real reason, of course, was because of her having real friends. For some reason, should I say that I felt like a phantom thief was gifted to me?”
Now I can roughly understand what that means.
Why is Yulia so obsessed with the phantom thief when she had no contact with her?
She looked at me and grinned.
“Maybe that’s why. The fact that I was interested in a classmate who always gazed at the lighthouse, which was my drawing.”
···Huh?
“Yes. I have a confession to make.”