CH 62

Not A Lonely Festival (2)

“A-Are you okay?”

As Vivian tried to get up, I held out my hand. It was purely a gesture to offer help, but Vivan smacked my hand away. I wasn’t the only one who was confused and surprised. Vivian, the person who smacked my hand away, was more startled and shocked, but soon smiled awkwardly.

Instead, tears welled up in his eyes. It wasn’t tears from what happened earlier. When he was being bullied, his eyes which were only scared, shook as soon as he saw me. He brushed the dirt off his clothes. I lowered my hand down from the air and looked at Vivian, who was struggling to get up. I wasn’t sure what to say to him.

“I’m fine, Bree.”

The calm tone of Vivan’s voice made my heart throb even more.

“Hey……”

“Sorry, I have something to do, so I’ll go ahead first.”

He simply passed by me and walked out of the alley first. Vivan’s back looked small and distressed. I wanted to say something to Vivian, who was walking all alone while holding his shoulder, but my lips wouldn’t open up. Vivan escaped as if he was on the run and disappeared out of nowhere.

“You did nothing wrong. Don’t look so guilty.”

My head lowered at Leto’s words.

“Well, it must be hard to be caught in such an ugly sight, in front of the girl you like at that.”

Bona crossed her arms and shrugged her shoulders.

“Mind your words, Bona. Vivian has never shown me an ugly sight.”

All I could do was correct Bona’s words. When my voice came out colder than expected, Bona loosened her arms in embarrassment.

“No, well……Yeah, I was too much. Sorry.”

“……It’s good that you know.”

“But what will be solved if you just stand there forever? Let’s go get something to eat.”

Even at Bona’s words, I remained still.

“She’s right, nothing will be solved just because you care. Briseis.”

Leto supported Bona’s words. It was frustrating, but Bona and Leto were right. It was clear that the more I cared and thought about it, the more difficult it would be for Vivian. Bona smiled and patted me on the back to gloss over the situation.

“Well then, let’s go get something to eat! Come on, let’s go!”

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Bona ordered three steaks at once and placed them in front of her. Her mind was already full of the steak before her. Before anyone could say anything, Bona picked up her fork and knight and shoved a chunk of meat into her mouth as if she was inhaling it.

Bona, who only chewed for a few times as though the meat wasn’t tough before swallowing it down her throat, was amazing. She finished the bowl of steak in front of her without taking a sip of water. On the other hand, my steak didn’t go down my throat that smoothly. I knew I care too much about my friend’s business, but I didn’t think I’d be this distressed.

The moment I found out that Vivian was being bullied by his classmates, I couldn’t stay calm at all. Especially at the thought of Vivian, who was always bright and smiling, had been bullied all this time, my heart ached.

“Should I break an arm?”

Leto put down his fork and said.

“……What?”

“Or, should I use the Arsene family to ruin their entire family? I could make them go bankrupt.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Just tell me. I’ll do anything for you.”

His words were filled with sincerity.

“Then order me two more steaks.”

“Not your words. Bona Bellion.”

Leto glared fiercely at Bona, who interrupted his conversation before turning his gaze back to me.

“I can do everything for you.”

His words made me giggle. To be honest, it was undeniably the most convenient way. And it was also one way to make them feel guilty.

Was there no other way? Come to think of it, I was bullied by the kids from the same school when I was young. It was because I was very talkative and pretended to be bright, to which they were disgusted. When I shared about this, Leto, who was listening, immediately frowned.

“So you broke their arms one by one?”

“Of course not. I just approached them without shrinking and they acknowledged and accepted me the way I am. 

“If Vivian did that, he would be fine too.”

Bona, who I thought wouldn’t be listening to me because she was eating, mumbled on her meat.

“It was possible because it was Briseis. It’s not easy being friends with the people who insulted you.”

Leto also simply poked his meat with a fork with a grave face, as if he was worried about Vivian. Only Bona, who was void of any worries, ate the remaining steak from Leto and me before shoving an ice cream for dessert in her mouth.

Meanwhile, Leto and I were thinking about Vivian. It was clear that Vivian wouldn’t like it if I stepped up for him, and things would only get even more complicated. Excessive goodwill would rather cause discomfort and pitiful sympathy to the other party.

“Oh, Bree!”

Someone appeared behind me and hung an arm around my shoulder before I could turn my head. It was Reze. At his appearance, Leto immediately frowned and became hostile towards him. Reze, as usual, was huddling around with his friends in an unfazed manner.

“Why don’t you hang out with us instead of Arsene, Bree?”

“No thanks.”

At my firm refusal, Reze was unfazed as though he was used to it now. Then, he looked beside me with a surprised look when he found Bona, whose plate was full of steaks.

“Bree, you’re hanging out with a weirdo? From Arsene to Bellion?”

It seemed that Bona and Reze had met before. Reze glanced at her and made a sarcastic remark, as though they were not on good terms.

Then again, I’ve never seen anyone who was on good terms with Reze other than the guys he hangs out with. I just wanted Reze to pass by me quickly, but Bona narrowed her eyes and glared at Reze. She paused the spoon that was scooping the ice cream and remained still, appearing as though she had something to say.

“You must definitely be in Class Y, aren’t you?”

“What does that have to do with you, Bellion?”

At Bona’s words, Leto and I looked at each other.

‘If it was Class Y, wasn’t that the same class as Vivian?’

It was clear that Vivian’s classmates were bullying him. Reze was no exception. In particular, with Reze’s personality, he wouldn’t leave Vivian alone.

It’s you, you’re the one who bullied my friend Vivian!

Reze, who I had felt a tiny ounce of familiarity with, was now completely hated and resented. He shrugged his shoulders and continued to pretend to be close to me, not knowing how much I wanted to rip off his hair right now. He currently seemed to have no idea what was wrong. I wanted to let him know about his mistake, but I hesitated because I was afraid he would harm Vivan even more.

“Ack!”

Until Bona threw a spoon at Reze. She casually threw the spoon she had been using to scoop her ice cream at Reze. It was a deliberate act.

“What are you doing?!”

“Ah, sorry. It was an accident.”

Bone lied without batting an eyelid. Of course, Reze didn’t believe it.

“You really! You must think you’re safe because I kept looking at you……W-What are you doing?”

When Reze spoke fiercely, Bona held up the steak bowls in both of her hands. She intended to throw the bowl at Reze without a moment of hesitation. Noticing this, Reze took a step back and stuttered.

“I’m going to throw this at you, let your forehead bleed, and say it was an accident.”

“W-What’s going on with those guys there?”

Bona’s bold action caused the students around Reze to whisper. Regardless, Bona was not at all embarrassed and was really intending to throw the bowl.

“D-Damn it! Let’s go, boys!”

Reze huffed before dragging his friends and leaving the place in a hurry. I knew Bona was usually a bold kid, but I didn’t realise that she was such a cool person. When I looked at her with admiration, Bona shrugged her shoulders and questioned why I was amazed by something like this.

“With a guy that doesn’t understand words, you have to teach them by force.”

Bona said as she watched Reze leave the store. She was talking from experience.

“Reze must be bullying Vivian, right?”

“He’s not the kind to help anyone, but he’s also not the kind to stand by either. It wouldn’t be a surprise if he bullied him. For no reason either. He would think Vivian, who was small and timid, seemed easy to bully. For no particular reason.”

Bona, who had been busy eating since a while ago, suddenly spoke actively.

“So, what are you going to do, Briseis?”

Leto stared at me.

“Huh?”

“You’re not going to sit still. You won’t just sit back and watch.”

As expected, he knew it well.

“There’s no need to make the classmates like Vivian. Let’s just make Vivian smile.”

“Yes, Bree. Make him smile.”

Bona stood up from her seat and said.

“Do you have a plan? Bona?”

“While making him smile, you have to deal with the people who bothered Vivian. That Reze guy. Our parents know each other well because we live next door to our mansion. That jerk, no matter how much he crawls or flies, would still be in the palm of my hand.”

“Oh……”

Older sister, you are so cool.