Chapter-318

Mall

Jay-jay's POV

I feel sorry for David. I used to think he was
handsome and elegant but now he's like a withered vegetable. Plus, I'm with the one who attacked him earlier.
So as compensation, I bought him a drink while waiting outside the bookstore. The Ulopongs partied because
there was an event happening not far away. There were many women in skirts and fitted blouses dancing. I
approached David who was sitting on a bench in the middle of the path. He kept punching my shoulder and
arm as if he was massaging me. "For you." I said as I reached for the milktea. He looked at what I was holding
but took the water bottle in my other hand . "Just water." He said as he twisted the cap. I smiled. I couldn't
afford to buy two milkteas so he could have just had water and the happiness was mine. But I felt guilty so I
should have just given him the milktea. It's a good thing he made the decision. The happiness was mine. I sat
next to him. "Are you sure you don't want it?" I asked, making sure before poking the cover of the cup with a
straw. He smiled and shook his head. "I'd rather not see you not get what you want." I narrowed my eyes at
him. "Damn. You spoiled me, huh? You're lucky you have a girlfriend." "If it were us, maybe yes." I stopped what
I said. "W-what?" He took a drink and quickly covered the bottle before answering. "Have you heard anything?"
I shook my head. But I had my suspicions because of what I had noticed about him. "Well, coming home from
New York. It's even colder than the climate in America." He said and shook his head. "I thought it was just jet
lag." "W-what happened?" "Something else is bothering me." Oh... I feel like I've lost my appetite for milktea.
But it's just like that , of course I still drink. It's a different kind. That's why David worked with Percy for him and
that's how they both ended up. It's sad. He was also so tired and suffering. "W-didn't he even talk to you
properly?" I asked with a hint of accusation. "She did try to talk to me. But obviously feel shame so it took her
multiple attempts." I shook my head. It turns out that the woman is also good at being shy. But I still feel more
sorry for David. "So? How did it really turn out?" I asked as if I was really gossiping. I took another sip of
milktea and then chewed on the pearl. Chewing and chewing. "I opened the issue. There, she finally had the
courage to tell the truth." I took another sip of milktea while looking at her. She still turned to me while I
chewed the pearl slowly. "I just accepted it. I feel the same way about her." She said and slowly stared at me. It
took me a long time to notice. It took a long time to enter my mind. It took a long time to become clear. I was
silenced by what she said. I almost swallowed the pearl straight away. My eyes never left her. My eyes almost
widened as I thought about what she said properly. I feel the same way about her? "W-and you too?" She
couldn't take her eyes off me either. I could clearly see her mouth opening and closing again. I even noticed
the rise and fall of her Adam's apple. "J-jay..." "You also started liking someone else..." I took a deep breath.
"You also started liking someone else?! Those are just feelings! Why are you like that?!" I saw his reaction
ease. It was as if he had suddenly been pulled out by a thorn. He was still barely able to let go of the air. Why
did he react like that? "You too?" I asked again. He nodded. "At least we're the same, right?" I nodded. He had a
point. No one got hurt and no one blamed him. They could both let each other go. There was regret but at
least they ended everything properly. "And we both won't like the people we like." I looked at him in surprise.
"Why? You're David, you beat Gulayat." He laughed while shaking his head. "Nothing. I liked someone else."
That's so sad. "You want me to play for you using the smallest violin in the world." I said and raised my two
fingers before rubbing it and made a fake sound. Thank you Mr. Crabs. He laughed out loud. "Thanks for the
ree music." I smiled. At least, I made him feel better. He wasn't hurt by their break up, he was hurt by the
person he liked. "What about the one your girlfriend likedâ€"your ex? Do you know him?" I asked before taking a
sip of milktea. He nodded. "Someone is wrong with himself. Percy." Son of... I suddenly swallowed the pearl
whole. He was coughing because of that and he immediately helped me up. "Shit." He said and opened the
bottle he was holding to give me water to drink. I accepted the bottle and drank it quickly. I didn't care even
though he had already drunk the bottle. I caught my breath after drinking. He looked at me with concern . It
was shocking. Just make a joke if you're still embarrassed. And Percy really is. "Don't make an embarrassing
joke." I said as I handed the bottle back to him. "That's not a joke." He answered seriously. My eyes widened as
I wiped my mouth. " It's not?" He nodded. "They always see each other in New York. Percy is friendly so I'm not
surprised anymore." "Does Percy know?" "My ex knows, Percy doesn't know." But he knows very well. Is he?
He'll probably think highly of himself again when he finds out. Maybe the storm level has increased. Signal No.
7 "I feel sorry for you." I said while laughing a little. "What for?" "Everyone will like Percy." I answered and he
laughed too. My step-brother is handsome. It's just that he gets carried away by his own amazement, so he
looks more like a comedian. "Nothing. His handsomeness is different." He said which made our laughter even
louder . "What's so funny?" Yuri suddenly asked, who had already approached us. It looked like they had just
left the bookstore. Mica and Calix were following him . And Josh was waiting for Eman to finish from the
cashier. "We were talking about Percy." I looked at the paper bag he was holding. "What did you buy?" I asked
and took the paper bag from him. "Some books." He didn't answer lifelessly so I looked at him for a moment.
He was looking at David seriously. I suddenly felt the tension especially when he stood up to meet Yuri's gaze.
I also stood up and looked at the two of them. "W-why?" I asked them but no one answered. I looked at Calix
who was now next to Josh and Eman. I was worried that they also knew what was happening but they also
didn't seem to have a clue. "Know your place Braselton, know your place." Yuri said which made the situation
even more difficult. David grinned. "I know exactly my place. Do you know yours?" What is this again? I knew
Yuri's eyes seemed to be hot for David but I didn't know they would get to this point. I felt like something had
happened that we didn't know about. "D-david. Yuri." I called out to them gently. I didn't want anyone to fight in
our section again. The fight had just ended and we had a new enemy. We couldn't handle it if we were the
ones in the room who were having problems while our enemy was targeting us. The two of them almost let go
of each other's gazes. Yuri approached me and I fully expected him to take the paperbag but he grabbed my
hand. "Let's go." He said. I had no choice but to follow him. I tried to ask David but Yuri pulled me closer to
him. I knew they would follow us but I didn't want this tension between us. "Yuri." I called out to him. "What
happened?" He took a deep breath and slowed down his pace. "Why do you have to be so innocent?" Eh? What
does he mean by innocent? I looked at him in surprise but he just forced a smile. His gait became normal
again and the tension in his shoulder disappeared. But he was still holding my hand. We were approaching the
event taking place in the middle of the mall. The Ulopong were currently watching, excited as the skirts of the
dancing women flew up. But I noticed something. Someone was holding Felix's arm around his neck as if he
was being pulled. "Felix." I said while pointing at him. Felix tried to fight back so they spun around completely
and I recognized the person doing it to him. "Hey Percy!" I called out, slightly louder. They both stopped and
aced me. "Jay-jay, how are you?" He greeted while still pulling Felix. Dude? I even made him my buddy. As I
got closer, his brother was still trying to get away from him. "Let go of me." Felix complained. Percy hit him on
the head. "I won't let you go. I'll teach you to study well and then I'll see you watching the girls dancing." "You're
watching too!" Felix replied and they started wrestling again. They only stopped completely when they got
close to us. Percy immediately noticed Yuri's hand holding mine. He let go of Felix and smiled to face us.
"What? Are you trying your best?" He asked Yuri. "Try it as much as you can." I looked at them in surprise.
Tension was starting to build again . "Why are you here, Percy?" I grabbed his attention. It was a good thing he
aced me. "I was going to buy something, but then I saw thisâ€"" he punched Felix. "â€" this idiot just watching."
Felix looked annoyed at him and was about to retaliate when Percy threatened to punch him. I immediately
intervened because things might get serious and end in a fight. "We don't have class anymore!" I clarified
before pushing Felix away from him. "Ask a question first!" Percy clutched his chest as if he was hurt by what I
said. Oh, again! "My brothers are helping me!" He said and looked like he was about to cry. He immediately
went over to David to rest his head on his shoulder. "They're so mean to me, Davidâ€"oh, milktea, man!" "That's
mine!" I shouted but he had already taken it and was already drinking it. Look at how thick his face was. I
orgot that I had put it down earlier. If only I had known that David had brought it for me, I would have gotten it
before Perting saw it. "It's delicious!" He said with a smile. "Do you want it?" He offered it to me. "Don't! Shame
on you!" I said annoyed but he just laughed. I hope you don't get mad. We waited for the show to end because
the kids were still enjoying watching it. Ci-N led the way, joining in with the dance steps once more . There was
some waving to the girls. And of course, Eren, who you thought was a candidate but was only beautiful and
sexy, wouldn't be left out. Yuri and I were sitting next to each other and I noticed that he seemed to be deep in
thought. I nudged him slightly to get his attention. "Why are you so quiet?" I asked. He smiled and reached for
the stray hair from my face to tuck behind my ear. "I was just thinking about something." "What was that?"
"You." He quickly replied. I winced. "I'm in front of you and you're still thinking about me? Aren't you tired of
your face yet?" A sweet smile spread across his lips. "Never." He replied and kissed me on the forehead.
Before I could protest what he had done, an empty milktea cup flew towards him. It hit the back of his neck.
"Oopps. Slipped." I heard Percy say. I saw Yuri's frown but tried to calm himself down. When I looked at my
dashing step-brother, he was laughing with David. Crazy. "Let it be, Jay." Yuri said and wiped the back of her
head with a handkerchief. I couldn't help but stare at her and Percy. Since my chubby step-brother came back,
I don't remember him smiling at Yuri like he does with Aries and Keiâ€"kwanan. Yes, they get along but it seems
casual and they don't know each other. I asked Percy the reason once but he didn't want to tell me and we
even fought. "Yuri, why do Percy's eyes seem so hot to you?" I asked worriedly. He stopped for a moment and
stared at the floor. I thought he was going to tell me the reason but when he looked up, he just shrugged his
shoulders at me. I still didn't take my eyes off him. Why did it seem like something was wrong with him as the
days went by ? His anxiety, not coming in for no reason, hiding his problems and now he's lying. What's going
on with you Yuri? I heard the event host thanking me from the speakerphone but the voice of a familiar person
caught my attention or all of our attention. "Hello? We enjoyed watching! I'm congratulating my friends!
Section E!" Ci said happily into the mic and kept jumping around . "Grandpa David! I hope your back doesn't
hurt anymore! Eren! Do you have many girlfriends again?! Emanâ€"that's a man of steel! Kit and Mayo! Haha,
they're flirting! Josh! Nothing! Blaster! Don't explode! Rory, rory, rory, rawr! Drew! I'm 7, come back! Denzel! I
hope your child is a boy! It could be a girl too! Or a barbie!" He looked for someone to greet. "Edrix, Calix, Felix!
They're all Lixâ€"wait, where are they?!" He found the two near us and waved. "There they are! Who's that?! They
have a bag!" I saw Percy about to approach but Felix quickly stopped him. He didn't say any names but he was
ery affected. He kept on pretending. Then he said it was amazing. "There! Jay-jay!" Ci called to me while
waving. I winced especially when I noticed the onlookers turning their heads at my behavior. I just wanted to
cover my face so they couldn't see me. Ci-N jumped up and down. "You're welcome Jay-jay!" I was forced to
wave a little. "Don't be sad! Don't worry, it's almostâ€"!" What he was about to say was cut off and replaced by a
shrill sound from the speaker. When we peeked at him, he and Edrix and Rory were already dragging each
other. Their legs were raised in the air because the one carrying him was taller. They were approaching us and
the other Ulopongs were following. I raised one eyebrow when I noticed Eren talking to a woman. They
exchanged sweet smiles. The woman handed him her cellphone and typed on it. She looked cute before
returning the cellphone and saying goodbye to the woman. She had something new, I had another basher. "I'm
not done talking yet!" Ci complained before letting him go. "Hey David! Take care of your grandson!" Blaster
said. Ci approached him but he just hit him with a bottle. Batang Kumag turned to face me, frowning. "Are we
going to eat?" He asked with a grin. I pinched his cheek. "Yes, we're going to eat." The two of them said what
they were going to eat. Some wanted fast food but others wanted heavy food. "Let's just eat all you can."
Percy's suggestion made us turn to him. Are you joining in? "Oh, you bastard. You don't belong." The other one
let out a sigh. And the fight between Percy and Ci-N had already begun. They exchanged harsh words. Insults
and of course, their heavy nicknames for each other would not go away. "Bansot! Bansot! Bansot!" "Supot!
Supot! Supot!" "This is taller than you! These are lightsabers!" Percy insisted. "Still a bag!" Many people were
looking at us. The Ulopongs were watching dumbfounded while I was just scratching my head. Mica and Calix
came over to me. They were obviously consumed by both of them. "We'll find a place to eat first. We'll just text
you." Calix said. "We'll probably find one." Yuri replied. So the ending was, we left them and went looking for a
place to eat. Calix and I looked in the other direction of the mall. We had already seen some places to eat. But
most of us knew we were going to get stuck. Percy seemed right, maybe we'd just eat all you can. He was in,
which was embarrassing for him. "I'll call Calix." Yuri said and dialed his cellphone. While they were talking, I
noticed a few people running in different directions. The people walking quickly dispersed. Yuri also looked
back. "What's going on?" He asked and used his arm to block my way and simply push me behind him. I was
about to answer but for some reason I didn't understand, someone suddenly bumped into me. The force of
the impact made me literally roll on the floor. "Tangina..." was all I could say. Plakda! "Jay-jay!" Yuri shouted as
he approached me. "I'm so sorry!" A woman with a strange accent said. I could almost hear her accent. The
first thing I noticed was her long hair. It was so long that it was almost touching the floor when she knelt down
to help me. And it was redâ€"natural red. I thought that hair like this only existed in anime. But it was like I was
acing real life. When I lifted my face, her smooth face was the one that confronted me. No pores! My face
was so embarrassed with the scars from my fight. "Are you okay, Jay?" Yuri asked and knelt down to help me.
But instead of one of them helping me up, no one moved as their eyes met. They kept staring at each other as
if they recognized each other. It was like in a movie where the protagonists fell in love at first sight. But why
was I in the middle? I thought they were getting along but the woman's eyebrows gradually crossed as if she
had been insulted by Yuri's hair. Her gaze was now there. She faced me and slightly bowed. "I'm sorry "again."
He said and was about to stand up but Yuri stopped him. "Wait!" He said as he reached out but instead of
grabbing her arm, he pulled her long hair.
"Itai!" The woman screamed and fell on me because of the force of
Yuri's pulling.
"Ouch..." I whispered and couldn't get up anymore.
Maybe you could help me stand up first.
That's why her accent was familiar. Because she and
I had different accents.
I could see the shock in both of them. Especially the woman because she didn't
expect her hair to be pulled. She looked at Yuri with a frown
so she immediately let go of her.
She said one thing after another in Japanese.
My eyebrows just raised because even though I didn't understand it, I knew it was stupid.
She cursed at Yuri who was just staring at her.
The woman quickly stood up and ran away. I couldn't
help it anymore especially since the one next to me looked like she had seen death. I was the one who
helped myself to stand up while she was still lying on the
floor.
"What? Are you still there?" I asked her while shaking
myself.
She stood up with her expression still unchanged. I couldn't help but
worry.
"Hey! What's wrong with you?"
"I'm dead."