But soon, he noticed that she was eating plain rice with soup. Looking at her—her obviously sallow and malnourished body, slightly hunched shoulders and pale cheeks.
He paused mid-bite.
And then, without a word, he stood up, startling her.
She assud he was finished eating or perhaps going to take a call, though she hadn’t noticed a phone on the table. She didn’t pay much attention and kept her gaze fixed on her nearly empty bowl, pretending not to notice the way her stomach twisted with hunger. A bland mixture of rice and boiled vegetables sat untouched, the sa thing she’d been eating for weeks now. There was no flavor, no joy in it—but it was cheap, and that was all that mattered.
A few minutes later, he returned—carrying not one, but two large trays laden with a variety of food.
The rich aroma hit her before the visuals did. Steaming plates of grilled ats, tender fish bathed in a savory sauce, buttery bread rolls, golden potatoes, and even a few exotic side dishes she couldn’t na. Her eyes widened slightly before she could control herself, and instinctively, she gulped, her mouth watering. Still, she lowered her gaze, pretending to focus on her own plate.
She couldn’t afford to look interested. She didn’t want him to notice.
Rex, on the other hand, seed completely at ease. He sat back down and began eating heartily, letting out content sighs every now and then, clearly enjoying the al. Elara kept her head low, scooping another bland mouthful of rice into her mouth. She couldn’t even taste it anymore.
Elara blinked, her spoon halting mid-air. She glanced at him warily from the corner of her eye.
After a few more bites, Rex leaned back in his chair and patted his stomach with exaggerated satisfaction. "Man," he groaned loudly, "that was really delicious."
But what do I do with the remaining food? "he continued dramatically. "There’s still so much food left."
Hearing this, She stared at him, baffled. Speechless. If he couldn’t finish it, then why had he bought so much in the first place? What kind of person wasted food like that? Her brows furrowed slightly. Maybe it was a rich people thing—buying more than they needed just because they could. She really couldn’t understand rich people’s world.
"Oh..." As if suddenly rembering sothing, he turned to her eagerly. "Oh!" he exclaid, almost theatrically. "Wait a second... You haven’t gotten anything else yet, have you? I an, I don’t see a second plate."
"Could you do a huge favor?" he asked, his tone now warm and inviting, as if he were confiding in a close friend. "Please help finish this? Pretty please?"
She blinked, stunned by the sudden request. "M-?" she stamred.
"Yeah, you!" He looked around the room, comically scanning the empty chairs around them. "Is there anyone else here I missed?"
"I—I can’t... I an..." she trailed off, not knowing how to respond.
Before she could protest further, he leaned forward, earnest. "Don’t worry—I haven’t even touched this set. I ordered two by mistake, or maybe I just overestimated my appetite. Happens sotis. Lately, I’ve been eating way less than usual. My stomach’s acting weird."
"Anyway, I’d be really thankful if you could help out. Please. I don’t want to waste it." He paused, then added with a sheepish grin, "Besides, if I waste food again, my mom’s gonna kill ." He pointed upwards, his tone becoming mock-serious. "She’s probably watching right now from heaven with her arms crossed."
Elara froze. Her throat tightened. There was a heaviness in his words, a real emotion behind the humor. Whether it was guilt or longing, she couldn’t tell—but the ntion of his deceased mother struck sothing deep inside her.
Before she could gather her thoughts, he pushed the tray of untouched food gently in front of her.
She stared at it, stunned. Her lips parted, but her voice caught in her throat, she didn’t know what to say, especially now that he had ntioned his deceased mother.
Hesitantly, she nodded.
Seeing this, he visibly exhaled a breath of relief. Standing up, he said quickly, "Thank you. I just rembered sothing important—I’ll repay this favor soday, including the one from the library... thanks for helping ."
Without giving her a chance to respond, he turned and hurried away.
Elara sat frozen, her mind reeling. Her spoon slipped into her bowl with a faint clink as she watched him disappear into the crowd.
Looking at his retreating back, Elara blinked. Her brain short-circuited, still trying to process what had just happened.
Looking at the food in front of her, then at her own half-eaten bowl of plain rice.
Bit by bit, realization slowly dawned on her.
It wasn’t that he couldn’t finish his food or order mistakenly—he had bought it all especially for her. And he’d gone out of his way to help her—without making her feel pitied.
He had just made up an excuse like she was doing him a favor. Just so she wouldn’t feel ashad.
Understanding this, she sat frozen for a mont, her heart suddenly warm. Her eyes glistened.
She looked down again, her vision blurring. The dishes in front of her—so colorful, so rich, so warm—seed to glow with a quiet kindness.
She hadn’t eaten like this in months. Maybe even a year.
Taking a bite, her throat tightened as tears welled up again.
The last ti she rembered having at was... her little sister’s birthday, perhaps? Or was it before her mother was hospitalized? Or maybe before her father went missing?
She couldn’t rember.
Everything had blurred together into one long, exhausting struggle. The part-ti jobs, the sleepless nights, the fear of not making ends et. She had beco the sole provider for her family far too early, bearing the weight of responsibilities no young woman should ever carry alone.
All she rembered now was surviving on the cheapest food she could find and working herself to the bone in various part-ti jobs—just to pay for her mother’s treatnt and to keep the house running.
he had lied to her mother, telling her a kind professor had offered her a position in the university library due to her good grades and scholarship. It wasn’t entirely untrue—she did work there—but it paid too little. So she took up more jobs. Cleaning, organizing, tutoring—anything that brought money.
She hid it all. Her mother didn’t know how many hours she worked, or how little she ate. No one knew.
Until now.
Elara stared at the food for a long ti. Then, slowly, with trembling hands, she picked up a fork and took a bite.
It was warm, juicy, rich with flavor.
Her lips quivered as she chewed. And then, silently, tears rolled down her cheeks.
It wasn’t just the food. It was the thought behind it. The small kindness. The quiet way he had noticed her, reached out to her without making her feel small.
In that mont, sitting alone in a noisy cafeteria, Elara felt a kind of warmth she hadn’t felt in years.
And she realized—this wasn’t just a al.
It was soone telling her, You matter.
She finished everything slowly, savoring each bite as if it were sacred. And for the first ti in a long ti, she didn’t feel ashad of eating. She didn’t feel guilty for indulging. She didn’t feel like she had to hurry back to work or hide in a corner.
For the first ti, she felt full.
Not just in her stomach—but in her heart.
When she finally set down her fork, she looked toward the door where Rex had vanished and whispered to herself, "Thank you."
Her impression of him had changed completely. He wasn’t just the boy from the library, the casual chatterbox who always had a lazy smile. He was kind. Thoughtful. Subtle.
And she wouldn’t forget it.
Not ever.
(End of Chapter)
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