Charles and Richard Chapter 5

Charles was quite pleased with his new friends. Truthfully, while spending time with his friends, he didn’t think about Richard at all. Thoughts of Richard only surfaced when he crossed the threshold of his house. But since he couldn’t ask his family whether Richard had come and gone, he asked this instead:

C: Mom, did you take Cherry for a walk today?

Mother: Richie took her. Just wash her paws later on.

So he had come and gone. Charles whistled for Cherry and took her upstairs.

When he opened his door, Charles jumped in surprise. Richard was lying sprawled out in the pitch-dark room without even a light on. Cherry panted and ran over to Richard, burrowing into his side. Charles was displeased with that as well and his face quickly turned into a grumbling scowl.

C: What are you doing in someone else’s room? Get out.

R: I was looking at the glow-in-the-dark stars. Do you remember when we put those up together?

C: It wasn’t me, it was you and Emily. And you forced them up when I said I didn’t want them.

R: You were just being spiteful because you hated that I was the one putting them up for you.

C: So why are you here? Aren’t you going home?

At those words, Richard took his eyes off the glow-in-the-dark stars stuck to the ceiling. He looked up at Charles, who stood backlit by the bright light of the hallway. Because the light was behind him, Charles’s face was hard to see. Though what kind of expression he was wearing was as plain as the palm of your hand.

R: But this is our home.

Charles had no answer. Richard grew afraid. Suddenly, he thought it might not be as plain as the palm of his hand. Charles’s expression. When Richard tried to raise himself up to get a better look at Charles, Charles opened his mouth just a little faster.

C: Cherry. Cherry! Come along.

At the stern and chilly voice, harsher than usual, Cherry promptly followed Charles out. Charles left coldly without so much as a backward glance. Richard had no chance to see his face. Even the warm body heat of Cherry he had felt against his side was gone. He was at a loss in the face of this agonizing emotion he had never felt before. Richard flopped back down onto the bed and stared up at the glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling.

The glow-in-the-dark stars they had stuck up long ago had gradually dimmed over the years, and now they looked faint, as if shining through a fog. The thing about things that aren’t real stars is that no matter how brightly they shine at first, as time passes, their light inevitably fades slowly. A fake can never become real. If it wasn’t a star from the beginning, it can never become a star later.

Richard was suddenly overcome with rage, so he brought a chair, climbed up, and tore off every star from the ceiling. Without even saying goodbye to Charles, who was washing Cherry’s paws, Richard went back to his own house.

The next morning, Richard, who opened his day by drinking coffee with no sugar in it, made a resolution. He did not like coffee. Strictly speaking, he hated it. Richard had been drinking coffee since he was almost 7 years old, but he still had not grown accustomed to either the smell or the taste of coffee. Tiramisu was a given, but he also didn’t eat any bread, cake, or pastries that contained coffee. Yet the reason he drank coffee every morning was that it was a custom of his household.

When he opened his eyes in the morning, a servant would always bring him a freshly brewed cup of coffee, and starting the day with that was the natural habit of Richard’s family. Since he was little, Richard had absolutely no talent for throwing tantrums or being stubborn, so he had never shown any sign that he hated coffee. To Richard, life in the grand mansion was customary in every respect, just like drinking coffee. All the duties that had to be carried out were flawlessly rational. He naturally digested his daily routine. Because it was rational, he could not refuse any of it.

Perhaps Richard could have denied all customs simply because he wanted to. But due to his innate nature and the way he was raised from birth, he had never set a goal for himself or changed himself for something he wanted. That remained the same even after he met Charles’s family. It was the unchangeable nature of Richard’s household. But the next morning, the 14-year-old boy Richard woke up early, drank his coffee alone, and finally, for the first time in his life, made a resolution.

He would win Charles’s love, no matter what.

∞ ∞ ∞

After school that day, Richard did something out of the ordinary and canceled his routine schedule. He had swimming lessons and French lessons, but he boldly postponed them to the next day. The nanny, who had become half his secretary while managing Richard’s schedule, furrowed her brow, but she did not interfere. Richard’s parents had allowed him to autonomously adjust his schedule from when he entered 9th grade.

Richard headed straight for the auto repair shop where Charles’s mother worked. He had worn down the doorstep with his frequent visits, so the mechanics took Richard’s visit as a natural thing. The mother, who was working in the office, had the same reaction. Richard got the phone numbers of the three sisters from the mother, said he would go home first, and rushed back. As soon as he got home, he tucked Cherry under his arm and dialed the sisters in order, from the oldest to the third.

1. Christine

Christine: Richie? What’s going on?

R: Sister. Why do you think Charlie hates me?

Christine: What kind of stupid thing is that to say? Why would Charlie hate you?

R: Don’t lie to me.

Christine: Well. I’m not really sure. How about asking him directly?

R: Would that help?

Christine: You two do need to have a conversation.

1. Emma

Emma: Richie, it’s been a while. Have you been well?

R: Sister. Why do you think Charlie hates me?

Emma: As for that, I know exactly. It’s because Cherry likes you more than Charlie.

R: Then how do I fix it?

Emma: Well. I’m not sure. You’ll have to discuss that with Cherry.

R: That’s not helpful at all.

Emma: Sorry. Maybe you need to have a conversation not with Cherry, but with Charlie.

1. Emily

Emily: What’s the occasion? You actually calling?

R: Sister, why do you think Charlie hates me?

Emily: That’s obviously because you have no interest in Charlie.

R: What do you mean?

Emily: You don’t really take much interest in Charlie, do you. If you start showing interest, it’ll change.

R: Would that really help?

Emily: Of course. You two barely have any conversations. That’s the problem with boys, I’m telling you.

The common advice from the three sisters was to try having a conversation. Richard decided to follow that advice faithfully. That evening, Richard waited for Charles to return, but Charles ate dinner at a friend’s house and came back late. By then, Richard had gone back to his own house.

Though slightly disheartened, Richard was still brimming with spirit the next day.

1. Richard wandered the cafeteria during lunchtime looking for Charles and finally found him. When Richard approached with his tray, Charles was in the middle of eating with other friends. Richard decided to brazenly push his way in.

R: Charlie, hey. Can I eat with you too?

C: …No.

When Charles cut him off flatly and unfamiliar faces stared at him as if he were strange, Richard lost some of his nerve as well. Deflated, he nodded his head and went off to find his own friends and spend the lunch hour.

1. Richard had been waiting for Charles to come out at the school entrance, and the moment he spotted him, he grabbed him.

R: You’re going to Mom, right? Want a ride?

C: No.

Leaving Richard behind, Charles strode off first, breezing across the entrance hall. Richard scratched the back of his head and got into his car.

1. It was dinnertime. The parents had prepared a meal for the two boys and gone out. Richard sat across from Charles, shoveling beans into his mouth, and spoke.

R: It’s nice eating together, isn’t it? Want to have lunch together at school tomorrow?

C: No.