Chapter 90: Being "loved" is always a blessing

'I'm a bit busy today...'

Nozomi breathed slightly, adjusting his state while thinking.

'But I am very happy today.'

Nozomi, hiding behind the scenes, looked at the two classmates who were acting as hosts, looked at the students who were going on stage to perform, listened to the applause of welcome and encouragement from the parents in the audience, and their whispers from time to time, and he laughed.

Everyone is very happy today. The students are trying hard to show their best side to their parents. The classroom is much quieter. The teachers are also very happy. Every teacher's lesson was correct. The parents are also very happy because they have seen the best side of their children and now they can see the best performances of their children.

'Awesome...Everyone is so happy~'

Nozomi smiled, his eyes unconsciously sweeping across the audience seats. He could see the joy on the parents' faces... Nozomi recognized them, every one of them. As someone who often helped others, he was already familiar with the parents of each of his classmates.

"That's great~"

As if he was only lamenting in his heart that he could not express his joy, Nozomi whispered to himself again and glanced at the audience again, but... he could not find the figure he wanted to see.

The teacher...didn't come...

The corners of Nozomi's mouth drooped slightly, but soon rose back up, returning to his original smile. Then he turned around silently, went back behind the scenes, found a place that would not disturb others, sat down and rested, waiting for his turn on stage.

Come to think of it... those difficult parents are here too, and the teacher is still on "suspension", so he probably won't come...

After realizing that no one was paying attention to him at this moment, Nozomi's mouth corners slowly dropped, and the smile on his face gradually became calm and finally turned into frustration.

The happiness and joy surrounding him faded away quietly, and he gradually became depressed and sad.

Come to think of it, Father Enrique had said that he would come to visit me... He had also agreed to come today...

Nozomi's gaze was fixed on a certain place casually, he was in a daze, his thoughts running wild in his mind.

But... he can't come anymore...

Recalling his departure, Nozomi's vision became blurry again, but Nozomi reacted quickly. He hurriedly wiped away the tears that were about to come out with his hands, closed his eyes, and began to adjust his breathing and mood.

No, no... I can't go on stage with this mood... I have to perform well and prove to everyone that I am the teacher's best and greatest student.

Nozomi patted his cheeks, adjusted his expression and mood, took a deep breath, smiled, and opened his eyes again. His pupils, which were dotted with gold in a dark color, were as beautiful as the twinkling stars in the night sky. The light scarlet around the pupils added a touch of exotic color. Coupled with his handsome and lovely face, he looked particularly lovable at this moment.

'Because of this, I have to persist and move forward more firmly, so as not to disappoint their expectations and respond to their expectations!'

'But... I am still a little envious... Other children have people coming to see them... No, no! I can't think like that!'

'Come on! Nozomi, you will definitely succeed!'

"Okay~ You have to perform well this time too!"

Nozomi encouraged himself in this way.

"It's nice to see you think that way."

A kind and gentle voice sounded quietly from the side.

A nun with a slightly hunched figure walked slowly to Nozomi's side with a gentle smile.

"Ah... hello."

Nozomi noticed that there were people around, so he quickly adjusted his expression, stood up, and looked at the person who came with a smile... and then he was stunned for a moment.

Sister...are the people from the church here?

And her temperament... is somewhat familiar, like Father Enrique...

"Hello, a child walking on the road, you can call me Sister Teresa... This should be our first meeting, but please don't be too restrained, just follow your heart as usual."

Mother Teresa said with a smile.

"Hello, Sister Teresa... May I ask what the church can do for you?"

"No, I came here only because someone asked me to... Or rather, I came here to fulfill the promise someone made to you."

"......"

Nozomi opened his mouth but couldn't say anything... because he thought of someone.

"Yes, child, it is just as you thought... Father Enrique is sorry that he cannot come to visit you, but... he asked me to fulfill his promise on his behalf."

Sister Teresa nodded, then smiled gently and spoke softly.

"is that so?"

"Of course, kid."

Sister Teresa gently held Nozomi's hand that she subconsciously extended, and her smooth and dexterous little hand fell into her rough, wrinkled palm.

"Is...Is that so? Then...I am glad to meet you, Sister Teresa. I am...really happy that you can come to visit me on his behalf."

"Kid, you don't have to do this."

Mother Teresa listened to the somewhat intermittent words, looked at the eyes that were filled with tears but without any tears, and spoke slowly.

"Tears are not something that should be avoided, and crying is not something that is too embarrassing... It is a manifestation of emotion and a way to vent, so... there is no need to endure yourself like this."

As she spoke, Sister Teresa raised her other hand, but she stopped in mid-air and asked.

"Can I, kid?"

"Um..."

Nozomi nodded gently, then lowered his head slightly, and took the initiative to move forward, allowing her to gently stroke his head. After a moment of silence, he moved forward slightly, hugged her, and buried his face in her arms.

"...Thanks."

Nozomi said gloomily.

Sister Teresa smiled gently and hugged him back, giving him some comfort and warmth. As for her slightly wet chest, she didn't care.

'Even at this time, he still thinks of hiding his bad side... What a strong child' Mother Teresa thought so and felt more pity for Nozomi in her heart.

She followed Nozomi the whole day today. Ever since she came here and noticed Nozomi, she has been following him and watching him. She saw him walking on the path of helping others and smiling because of the joy of others, without stopping in the middle, as if all his energy was put into this matter, and he was surrounded by an atmosphere of happiness and joy as if he would never feel sad.

But now... Mother Teresa also saw the weak side of this child... or rather, the side that he had hidden.

He had been so cheerful before just because he didn't want to let sadness infect others. He just wanted to bring joy to others as much as possible...that was all.

To this end, he can do his best to spread kindness and help others.

'What a good boy' Mother Teresa sighed again, gradually and gently soothing his breath to help him calm his mind.

"…Thank you so much for visiting me, Sister Teresa!"

Perhaps it was because he had vented all the pent-up emotions, that Nozomi quickly broke free from Sister Teresa's arms. He wiped away the tears that remained on the corners of his eyes and face, and Nozomi regained his usual smile and spoke in a light tone.

"And... I'm sorry, I did something a little rude..."

As he spoke, Nozomi found a tissue and handed it to Sister Teresa.

"It is our duty to comfort others and bring peace to their hearts... Moreover, there is nothing wrong or impolite in expressing emotions according to one's own mood."

Sister Teresa shook her head, denying Nozomi's words, took the tissue, spread it out, and folded it again, then helped Nozomi wipe away the tears that he had not been able to wipe away, and tidied up his appearance which had become a little messy and he had not noticed.

"Please keep going, kid. Keep moving forward on the path you have chosen now. You will eventually reach a brighter future."

"Don't worry. I, [He], and he who goes to [Him] will all be watching you and sending you blessings."

After helping Nozomi return to his previous handsome and lovely appearance, Sister Teresa looked at his eyes, which still had a little redness due to his previous actions, and spoke softly.

"I will."

Nozomi responded firmly, and then noticed the teacher who was gesturing to him not far away, and hurriedly bowed to her to express his gratitude.

"Thank you very much, Sister Teresa, and... this time, please look at me carefully!"

"I'll make him, and you, proud!"

After saying that, he hurried to the teacher's side, listened to the teacher's instructions, checked his appearance again, and adjusted his thoughts and mood.

It's just... this time, the joy that surrounded him could no longer be concealed, and his steps, which should have been solemn and serious, became brisk unconsciously. No matter how hard he tried to control the expression on his face, the corners of his mouth kept rising and couldn't be suppressed.

The teacher at the side saw this and neither reminded nor blamed him. Instead, he smiled back and blessed him with his smile... It is so rare for this child to encounter such a situation, and it is so rare to see him so happy, so just let him be.

Moreover...all the teachers have seen Nozomi's talent and hard work, and he will only perform better at this moment.

And this is indeed the case. From the moment Nozomi came on stage, he began his own "performance".

He walked to the stage with joy and happiness. Unlike the nervousness and seriousness on the faces of other students, he had an obvious smile on his face and even his steps seemed brisk, unlike the other students who had stiff steps due to excessive nervousness.

He stood in the center of the stage and bowed to everyone in an elegant and slightly exaggerated manner. This was followed by applause of welcome and encouragement from the crowd. At this moment, all the audience focused their attention on him.

Full of encouragement, expectation, and curiosity, but also disgust, disdain, and contempt.

However, Nozomi did not care. He just walked leisurely to the piano, sat down, and let the music echo with his flying fingertips.

It was a very lively tune, with a very joyful rhythm, and every time he struck a key, a note would jump out playfully, coming to everyone on the fleeting breeze in the auditorium, entering their ears, leaving some of the joy they carried in their minds, and then leaving again, running and dancing happily in the auditorium.

The parents who were still whispering and talking about their children gradually stopped talking because the cheerful melody took their thoughts away.

he hummed the tune subconsciously, his toes rose and fell unconsciously, and his fingertips moved rhythmically, clapping to the beat.

The emotion of joy came extremely clearly from the music, jumping into everyone's hearts along with the dancing notes, making everyone realize in an extremely wonderful and clear way that the child who was playing... was really happy.

He is sharing his emotions with everyone in this unique way.

After it was just one song and Nozomi had even completed the exit etiquette, everyone seemed to react slightly. The applause went from sporadic to thunderous.

But Nozomi didn't care much about those. He just quickly walked behind the scenes and went to the place where he had just rested. As he wished, he found Sister Teresa waiting there again.

"What a joyful sound, child."

Facing Nozomi who was walking towards her quickly, Sister Teresa did not hesitate to praise him. She gently held the cross pendant on her chest with one hand and gave her sincere blessings.

"Please listen to the applause that has not yet stopped. Your hard work has finally paid off. Your music has already been recognized... Hmm?"

Halfway through her speech, Sister Teresa was stunned when she saw Nozomi standing in front of her with his arms open to her.

"Hmm! Hmm!"

Nozomi didn't say anything, but just blinked as if indicating something. His cute appearance made people laugh.

"...Ha, what a cute child."

Sister Teresa smiled, reached out, and hugged him gently. Listening to his satisfied laughter, the expression on her face became softer... Now, she understood Nozomi a little better.

"Hmm...it seems I came at a bad time?"

"Teacher?!"

A slightly playful male voice sounded from behind. Nozomi raised his head from Sister Teresa's arms in surprise and called out the identity of the person who came.

"Hey, I was thinking of sneaking over to see you, and it turns out someone is here to visit you, that's great. Also, during your performance just now, there were a few parts that were too fast... poof!"

Before he could finish, a figure threw himself into his arms.

"Be gentle, you're almost breaking my waist..."

"Teacher, I'm so happy... Thank you for coming to see me!"

"Hey, look at what you said. This is my student's first official performance. How can I not come?"

He tapped Nozomi's head, and at the same time, as usual, began to criticize the problems Nozomi had just encountered during his performance.

"Also, the tempo of your prologue is too fast. Even though the overall atmosphere of this piece is cheerful, a cheerful opening will force the tempo of the following chapters to speed up to match the original tempo of the piece... This will lose the keynote of [joy] and give people a feeling of [anxiety]."

"For example, you did this in a few sections in the middle. You used a faster rhythm than normal. In addition, you sped up the tempo at the beginning, so the middle sections seemed even faster. Although you made adjustments later, this is still a problem. You need to pay attention to it..."

"Also, the emotions you expressed were too obvious, which is the fundamental reason why you sped up the tempo of the entire piece. Although I know you are very happy, you still need to restrain yourself a little. This is just a performance, but don't do this during the exam. Not every teacher can accept performances with too obvious personal styles. The same goes for the criteria for judging grades, especially at your stage..."

He kept talking, but in the end, his expression and tone gradually softened. He gently hugged Nozomi, touched his head, and spoke softly.

"However, congratulations on your successful performance. I can feel the joy you want to convey, so... I am very happy, Nozomi. As a teacher, I am very happy to have a student like you."

"Thank you, teacher!"

Nozomi responded happily, and he couldn't stop the smile on his face and the joy in his pupils.

As expected... he was "loved"