Chapter 122: Eavesdropping

"Are you sure they won't come looking for us here?" Tomi asked while leaning his elbows on the railing.

"No one will dare," Kenn replied briefly, his voice sounding heavy yet calm. "Only certain people hold the key to access this elevator."

"But still, if a teacher catches us, we're done for," Tomi added again in a deliberately anxious tone.

This rooftop turned out to be nothing like the horror-filled expectation that had crossed my mind. I had imagined the school rooftop to be filled with piles of leftover wooden beams or unused items scattered messily. In short, I had pictured an abandoned warehouse. However, in reality, this place was very clean and neat. The atmosphere felt cool because of the presence of several small trees and ornamental plants that added to the freshness of the scenery.

I was stunned when I saw a gazebo standing there. Why was there such a facility at school? This place looked more like a five-star hotel than the rooftop of an educational institution. The gazebo was even equipped with several sofas and tables. I felt puzzled as to why I was only finding out about it now.

I remembered something. Earlier, behind the door leading to the rooftop, there was a large plaque that read: "RESTRICTED AREA! ONLY THE SCHOOL OWNER AND CERTAIN TEACHERS ARE ALLOWED TO ENTER. VIOLATORS WILL BE SEVERELY PUNISHED." So, was this the reason behind this hidden luxury?

My eyes swept around again and soon found a surveillance camera in the upper right corner. I scoffed inwardly. No wonder no one dared to come in here.

I actually wanted to turn back and calm my mind somewhere else, but my curiosity dominated far more. I wanted to know what they were talking about, especially Kenn.

For some reason, seeing him here so suddenly created a strange sensation that flowed through my entire body. My legs felt stiff, yet my eyes remained alert, watching the surroundings.

Oh no, they were going to move. I immediately stepped back and hid behind the wall near the door while peeking at their movements.

They walked toward the gazebo and sat down there. I saw Kenn take out a pack of cigarettes from his pants pocket. He lit one, smoked it casually, then tossed the pack onto the table.

Tomi picked up the cigarette pack and lit one after asking Kenn for a lighter. I felt annoyed inwardly at how men often only thought about cigarettes without caring about the health of their lungs.

"You should reduce this habit at school, Kenn. The smell can reach the lower corridor if the wind is strong," Tomi said while exhaling his first puff of smoke.

"Just let it be. Besides, no one would dare to scold me directly," Kenn replied coldly.

"So arrogant. I know you have power here, but at least try to be a little more careful," Tomi retorted with a chuckle.

While they were busy smoking, I quickly crawled and hid behind a long bench that resembled a beachside lounge chair. I was sure this position was close enough for Kenn and Tomi’s voices to be heard more clearly in my ears, since it was only about three meters from where I was hiding.

I closed my eyes for a moment, took a deep breath, then let it out in relief. I rubbed my chest to calm myself. It felt extremely tense, but fortunately, I had not been discovered.

"So, Gita was the girl Hendra liked very much back then?"

I flinched when I heard Tomi mention Gita’s name. It seemed that I had missed a lot of things.

I adjusted my sitting position so that no part of my clothes would be visible to them. Curling up like a kitten sheltering from a storm, I was sure they would not notice my presence.

I peeked through the gap in the bench. From my position, I could see the profile of Kenn’s face as he stared flatly at the tall buildings in front of him. He did not respond to Tomi’s question right away. He just remained silent while pinching the cigarette between his index and middle fingers.

"The last time I saw Hendra’s paintings was when I was still in junior high school. I remember every time Hendra smiled to himself like an idiot, I liked to tease him by pretending I would burn all the paintings of the girl in his room. A few days later, he immediately moved all of them," Tomi laughed out loud while holding his stomach.

Even though he was sitting with his back to me, I knew from his body movements and his booming laughter that he was very amused. Meanwhile, Kenn only showed a faint smile.

"Kenn, do you still remember what Hendra was like when he was angry? Every object he saw would definitely be thrown. I was even once hit with a grass cutter. Your brother was really crazy. Luckily, it only hit my hand. If it had hit my head, it might have been fatal."

Kenn chuckled softly. "That was your fault. You knew Hendra was in a bad mood, yet you still bothered him."

"His mood really was very bad at that time. By the way, didn’t you once say that every time Hendra’s mood worsened, it was always related to his failure to learn how to ride a motorcycle? So that incident back then was also a failure, right?"

Kenn nodded briefly while flicking the cigarette ash into the ashtray. "If you want to know, that was the last day Hendra learned to ride a motorcycle."

Silence briefly enveloped them before Tomi’s laughter burst out again. "So that was the day when the incident of falling into the river happened." Tomi laughed loudly. I felt sorry for Hendra because Tomi was actually laughing at him.

"Speaking of the paintings in his room, where do you think Hendra hid them, Kenn?" Tomi continued in a tone that was starting to become serious.

Kenn took another drag on his cigarette and then exhaled the smoke into the air. "He keeps them all in the small house on the hill."

"The hill we used to visit?" Tomi asked, which was answered by Kenn with a nod. "I just didn’t expect that the girl in those paintings turned out to be Gita from class ten four," Tomi added while taking another cigarette.

I clicked my tongue in displeasure. Tomi had never changed since junior high school. He always smoked excessively. Within minutes, he could finish several cigarettes. While Kenn had not yet finished his first one, Tomi had already finished two.

"But you won’t protect Gita forever, right? Come on, Kenn, this is reality. You can’t equate it with life in novels or movies that have a clear ending. Life keeps going, and no one knows when it will end. You can’t possibly spend the rest of your life just fulfilling Hendra’s last request," Tomi said at length.

Even though his words were true, I realized a new fact. Apparently, when he was with Kenn, Tomi could become extremely talkative, surpassing even mothers bargaining over merchandise.

.................................