Chapter 5: Playtime

In the garden, Janice suggests Kingsley to chase her just for fun and to know how much strength he holds in him because he was playing cool recently. His coolness vanishes in front of Janice. He had been chasing her for an hour but couldn't catch her for once.

"Ahaha, you can't catch me!" says Janice keeping as much distance from Kingsley as possible so he can't catch her. "Admit it you're growing old!"

“I’d rather die,” he says. He is panting and now losing his energy but still determined to catch her. He is Kingsley… Kingsley Kai- the King of taekwondo. How can someone win over him? Certainly not! He is born to win… no, he is determined to win. It doesn't matter whether she is quick or not. If she is quick physically, then he is quicker than her mentally coz, he has strategies- evil enough to dig a hole in others’ wins. He can change the game in no time. His strategies are beyond appreciation.

Kingsley slows down knowingly, Janice will mimic him, and to his advantage, she does. He smirks and immediately makes his move; he catches her from the back and knocks her to the ground. For a brief moment, they both lie there, panting and catching their breath.

Janice begins, "Hey, you cheated!" She wrinkles her nose at him. “Cheater!”

"I'm quicker than you," he praises himself, patting his back.

"No, you cheated… cheater! cheater! cheater!" She hits Kingsley repeatedly on his shoulder. He doesn't trouble himself to block her because his muscular body has resisted enough kicks that that they barely hurt him.

They remain there lying on the grass, and for the first time, she notices how beautiful it is. “Camellia!” she exclaims brightly, rising from the grass and holding a branch.

“Yeah! How do you know?” He asks suspiciously. “Only few have ability to recognize them at once.”

“Count me in few of them then,” she replies. “Can I take them?” pleads Janice. "They are beautiful, though they don’t smell."

“Help yourself then,” he says, still looking at her. “There was someone who was in love with them… just like you are. This garden is maintained in the memory of her.”

A silence falls between the two, and she focuses on collecting a handful of flowers. Aroo! From a distance, she hears a voice that she recognizes, much like an animal’s but only the voice she hears and no sight of that thing. Although she feels rustle behind the bush. "What is this sound?" asks Janice looking at Kingsley, who gets up at the voice. A bright smile appears across his face making him much brighter.

"Ahh! this sound," he exhales. There appears sparkle in his eyes. He whistles and a dog emerges from behind the bush and excitedly runs straight in his direction. He licks, and Kingsley lets out a laugh. Leo! he exclaims.

"Whoa! he is so cute," exclaims Janice approaching. Leo withdraws, slightly taken aback with a questioning look on his face. Aroo?

"Leo, she's our friend; now be nice with her… will you?" says Kingsley, scratching his ear's back.

At first, Leo hesitates, looking directly into her eyes, sniffing, presumably recognizing her, and then suddenly jumps on Janice; she trips and falls on the grass. Leo licks her too.

"His style of greeting his new friends… isn't it cool?" asks Kingsley looking happily at Leo.

"Just like you," says Janice. She now feels satisfied after the reply because it is very much timely, and she knows that he understands what she is talking about. He simply laughs.

"What can I say, huh? Like father like son," he says. Janice pats Leo's head, and he howls, wiggling his tail. “Aroooo.”

"Good boy Leo," says Kingsley taking out a rolled packet from his pocket, which looks like Leo's treat, and she recognizes how desperately Leo wants it. It's a treat for him to behave and for his friendly attitude.

Leo wiggles his tail more vigorously, and Kingsley tosses the biscuit high in the air. Leo catches it before it falls to the ground and then sits next to Janice. She casually runs her fingers through his heavy-coated fur and finds it relaxing. Kingsley pats his head, giving him another treat.

"He likes making new friends," says Kingsley suddenly, “but unfortunately, he has only got me.” Kingsley scratch Leo's back, looking thoughtfully.

"Only you? What about Dylan and Christian?" asks Janice.

"Well they don't play with him too much," says Kingsley.

"Oh, what a pity!” says Janice. “Anyone can fall for him at first sight. I’m fond of animals. Even I myself had one back then… much alike."

"What happens to him then?" asks Kingsley.

"I… don't know… the memory is quite vivid," she says, concentrating but then shake her head. “It’s quite a long time.” And Kingsley doesn’t argue with her further because he doesn’t want her to pressurize, let alone the time decide.

"It's been a long what keeps them anyway?" asks Janice.

"Actually, he is a bit cold, Christian I'm talking about," he adds quickly, looking at the puzzled look on her face. "He isn't convinced easily."

Janice smirks. She thinks only a bit is too small a word to describe his personality. He is as cold as ice.

"Hey, he has a soft corner too. You'll understand his way when you get to know him," tells Kingsley. From distant, Kingsley spots Christian, coming in his direction with Dylan far behind him. He points at them, saying, "There they are!" Leo excitedly gets up from Janice's lap.

"Do you wanna scratch him Chris?" asks Kingsley. Leo eagerly waggles his tail.

"I'm not a little kid," says Christian.

"Oh! Don’t be sad, buddy. You have got me and now Janice too," says Kingsley patting his head. Leo sits down, a little disappointed.

"He is a total drama just like you," says Christian.

“Oh really?” scowls Kingsley. He drops his voice, making sure that only she hears him, "Actually, he is a bit scared of dogs… but doesn't accept". Janice chuckles.

"I bet he is!" she says.

"It's getting cold. Let's get inside," proposes Christian to Kingsley. "And if you dare to bring him in, better stay out." He looks at Leo.

"Let’s go," suggest Dylan taking her hand and dragging her.

Hey? She wants to ask him why? And where is he going to take her? She is bizzare with his being bossy behaviour. She overhears Kingsley asking Christian about being agreed to some kind of fight she thought which is related to her but can't ask him right now. How can she? She is far away from him now, and this distance just grows wider with time.

She looks back at him, asking for his help to get rid of this little monster, but Kingsley seems not to notice her. He is occupied enough by the beauty of the Leo or maybe consoling him to remain in his house until Christian lets him in, which is surely impossible in this life. It will only be a miracle. Kingsley appears not to care about his surroundings; meanwhile, Christian is nowhere to be seen. She thinks that he might have already gone inside to rest.