Drama queen

'Since when was he here? Did he saw everything?'

All those tears my eyes want to shed dried. That stinging pain on my chest forgotten. The drama I was executing came to a stop.

Standing under the plum blossom tree was Ellis Yi. He blew smoke of his cigarette at intervals and pulled his shawl. The tip of his nose was with a tinge of pink showing how chilled he was. When he finished the cigarette, he turned to look at me and frowned.

It confused me at first but then I realized that I was staring at him the whole time with my brows drawn together. If I may say then I was looking at him in anger. Why? Because the 31-year-old me couldn't handle smoking.

In the past, I even argued with my ex because of this. Whenever someone around me smokes, I get suffocated. I'll cough, gets a runny nose and sneeze. So remembering that I was coughing when calming myself before, I got irritated.

He was the source.

Right then, I saw him move forward. His steps were light and slow. I was keeping a close watch why he was going my way. By this time, my brows don't show irritation but with hints of confusion. He stopped one meter away from me then pointed to his nose.

Did he mean to say, he was freezing because he lent me his overcoat?

Unsure, I pointed to his overcoat resting on my shoulders and himself. 'Is this yours? Do you need it?' Then I shook my head. It was a dumb question. He needed it. Why else would he go out wearing it?

Unfortunately, he did not get what I meant. His face was blank when I looked at him again. After a while, he repeated to point at me and his nose.

What the heck? I don't get you, mister.

Seeing as he was waiting for my reaction, I lifted my finger to point at myself. 'Me? What do you mean? Did I upset you or something?'

When I tilted my head on the side in doubt, he strode over and pulled something from his pocket. He was already in front of me when I recognize what's on his hand.

"You've got snot on your face." He told me face to face as he offered a hemmed square of thin fabric. It was his handkerchief.

"..."

I heard a loud bang in my head. F*** Y**! I wanted to shout at him. Deep inside I knew he was only trying to help but... it would have been better if he did not put the word "snot" on his sentence. He could have rephrased it and leave me with dignity but he did not!

Hateful. So hateful!

Snow continued to fall from the sky yet, I can sense my whole face burning. I grabbed the handkerchief from his hands and wiped my face with it. I did not dare look at him, instead, I bowed and cursed inside my head. When I finished cleaning my face, I said my thanks and... almost returned his used handkerchief on the spot. I retracted my hands quick. I had caught sight of his face when I returned to my senses. It turned from black to red to his normal face colour.

He was feeling revulsion.

I could not get a word out. I did it without thinking but at the last second, I retracted my hand. He did not even touch it, so why look at me with that face.

"This..."

"It's okay Ms. Lin. You can discard it after use." He said, making my words caught up in my throat. I was planning to tell him that I'll wash and return it back, but fine. Dumping it in the garbage was easier compared to washing it.

"Ah, Yeah. Thanks again for lending- for giving me the handkerchief." I said then remembered that I was using his coat. I reached over the lapel intending to take it off me and return it back but I saw his hands waving.

"Ms. Lin, you can keep it. It's chilly outside. Use it to help you keep warm."

"No, it's okay."

"No, I insist," he told me like a gentleman.

Under normal circumstances, I would have accepted his kindness but there's no way I can today.

"No, it smells like cigarette." With that, I took it off me and handed it back to him. "Thank you once again, Mr. Yi."

After returning it, I walked back inside the Wang's mansion. I wanted to get away fast from this guy.

"Ms. Lin," I heard him call me.

"Mr. Yi?" I called back.

"Do you plan to go to their maid's quarter?" He asked.

"Uh, no..." 'Why do you ask? What are you thinking?' I felt weird right after he asked me. What's wrong with me?

"Oh, sorry. I merely thought so since you're going that way. The Mansion's to the east if you'd want to know." He turned around after telling me.

I haven't felt more ashamed in my life.

Curse you!

I lifted my middle finger facing his back and punched the air. Since he knows the way then it was safer to follow him. We were going to the same place anyway. Satisfied, I trailed behind him. It wasn't long before we got there.

I quickened my pace to reach him and cleared my throat beside him. He did not give me a turn and continued forward so I could only grab on his cardigan. This time, he stopped and turned.

"Uh, that, Mr. Yi..."

Sensing what I wanted to say, he gave an understanding look and said, "I saw nothing."

It would have been consoling to hear that since it's what I wanted to tell him yet it irked me. I can't tell if he meant the drama queen I was or my snot filled face. My hand holding the end of his cardigan stiffened. It was only for a moment then I relaxed and loosened his clothing. Fine, since he already understood that I wanted him to keep what he saw in secret then I'll drop the case.

"Thank you," I bowed and let him pass by me. I waited for a few minutes before going inside.