Chapter-140 Why and When

Jay-jay's POV

"Ahhh!" Ci-N screamed. "...Why do your eyes look like that?"

I touched the skin under my eyes—my eyebags had eyebags of their own. Damn it!

Percy never replied after that last message. I nearly wrestled David for his phone, begging him to help me.

But David refused to assist me anymore. He insisted on taking me home, and I had no choice but to cry. He even bought food for Ci-N, but in the end, Ci-N didn't eat it because he was already asleep by the time I got back.

"I didn't get any proper sleep," I answered, heading straight to the bathroom.

I really didn't sleep.

I tried closing my eyes and counting sheep, goats, horses, frogs, water buffalo, and dogs in my head, but nothing worked. My head ached so badly, and my body felt heavy.

What I couldn't understand was the meaning behind Percy's message. What was that? A wrong send? But that was impossible.

He specifically mentioned Yuri and the ring. Could it be… he knows about the engagement? But how?

Argh! There it is again!

My head started hurting again. I quickly washed my face and brushed my teeth, then tied my hair up in a messy bun.

When I stepped out of the bathroom, I saw Ci-N looking for something.

He had already flipped over the mattress he was sleeping on, but it seemed like he still couldn't find it.

"What are you looking for?" I asked.

"The thing that's making noise."

As soon as he said that, my eyes instinctively searched for my phone.

That's mine! That's my ringtone!

I flipped over my bed, but it wasn't there. Then, my gaze landed on the trash bin.

Damn it!

I threw my phone away last night out of sheer frustration. I was so disheartened that I felt like my phone was useless, so straight to the trash it went.

I immediately grabbed it and checked the caller.

King Ulupong Calling...

I glanced at Ci-N before answering.

"Hello." I said as I picked up the call.

["Kindly explain why you're not answering any of my phone calls and text messages."] His authoritative voice demanded.

"H-ha? W-what... Uh... I-I..." That was all I managed to say while rubbing the back of my neck.

He actually called last night, but I didn't answer because I was too busy pleading with David—and crying too.

["Tss."]

I suddenly froze. For some reason, I felt weirdly caught off guard. Or maybe... I missed that "Tss."

["...Are you coming with Eman to the grocery store?"]

Oh, right! I checked the time on the wall clock. Good thing it was still early.

"Y-yeah... I'm coming. Why?"

["See you later."] He said, and before I could even respond, the call ended.

How rude?!

This bastard! First thing in the morning, and he's already getting on my nerves.

I turned to Ci-N, planning to remind him about our grocery trip. He said yesterday that he'd come along.

But he was staring at his phone, looking dead serious.

"Hey... What's wrong?" I asked.

"I won't be able to go with you."

I gave him a puzzled look. "Hm?"

"I'm meeting up with Rakki and... Ate."

I just nodded. As much as I wanted to ask what it was about, I chose to keep quiet. I had a strong feeling it was something serious.

He headed to the bathroom to wash his face while I changed my clothes. When he came out, I invited him to eat breakfast. We even bumped into Aries, who—like always—shot us a dirty look.

While eating, I couldn't help but feel awkward. Ci-N was too quiet.

"What time are you coming home? Will it be late?" I asked, breaking the silence.

"I'm not sure. But I'll call you right away." He answered formally and forced a smile.

I didn't say anything else and continued eating. He finished before me and went straight back to my room.

What the hell?!

When I returned to my room, he was already getting dressed. Wow. Dressed to impress! When he wore clothes like that, he didn't look like a kid at all.

I quickly took a shower and got dressed in record time. We left the house together, but only Ci-N got into a car and drove off.

I stood at the corner, waiting for my ride. While waiting, I couldn't help but notice a group of men smoking at the opposite corner.

Here we go again.

They were staring at me, whispering among themselves. Before they could take a step toward me, the loud honk of a car nearly burst my eardrums.

Damn it! It was Eman!

"Get in!" Eman yelled.

I climbed into the passenger seat, frowning. I already knew someone was sitting in the shotgun seat.

Who else could it be but the one person I'd love to shoot with a shotgun?

Blaster?!

"What the hell are you doing here?!" I blurted out in surprise.

I expected Eren, Rory, or Kit—basically, one of the real troublemakers.

"I had nothing to do at home." He answered, bored, staring out the window.

"Looks like you've got some enemies," Eman said, pointing at the group of men on the other corner.

"So? Should I call for backup?" Blaster asked.

I shook my head. "No need... They didn't do anything to me."

Seriously, looking for trouble this early in the morning? These guys are something else.

Eman just shrugged and started the car. We headed straight to the nearest mall. After parking, we went directly to the supermarket.

Since there were only three of us, at least there wouldn't be too much chaos.

Eman held the shopping list while Blaster and I pushed the cart. As we wandered through the aisles, my eyes landed on Blaster's phone.

His wallpaper was a picture of a beautiful girl.

I nudged him. "Who's that?"

"H-ha? Uh... She's... my best friend." He stammered.

His best friend?

"You mean... Kei's girlfriend—"

"Yeah." He cut me off and walked away.

No wonder Keigan was so protective of her—she really was beautiful.

Best friend, huh? Yeah, right!

We continued shopping. It didn't take long since Eman only grabbed what was necessary. Unlike before, when the others were around, every little thing turned into an argument.

We also picked up some snacks. I stopped in front of the candy section.

A jar of lollipops caught my eye.

Lollipop. Lollipop. Lolli. Lolli. Lollipop.

I suddenly remembered the King of Snakes. The first time I saw him, he had a lollipop stuck in his mouth.

Then it hit me—we were meeting up later. An idea popped into my head. I grabbed the jar of lollipops.

"You're paying for that." Eman told me.

"Yeah, yeah... It's mine anyway."

We continued shopping, and once Eman was sure we had everything, we headed to the cashier.

The line was ridiculously long.

"This is going to take forever..." Blaster muttered before turning to me. "...Come with me. I need to buy something from one of the stalls over there."

I glanced at the line. It was super long, and the person in front of us had a ton of stuff.

I nodded. "Yeah... This is going to take a while."

"You're leaving me?!" Eman complained.

"Then come with us... Let's go!" Blaster said, inviting him.

Eman just shot him a glare. Blaster and I left and headed into the mall.

If you looked at Eman, he didn't seem like the type to pick fights like the others. He was actually pretty mature, but when he wanted to mess around, he went all in—just like the rest of them.

"Over there." Blaster pointed to a perfume shop.

While waiting for him, I glanced across the hall and spotted a fast-food restaurant.

I thought I saw Ci-N.

I squinted to get a better look, and sure enough, he was sitting there—with his brother?!

I thought he was supposed to meet with his sister and Rakki?

But it seemed like that was still true because sitting across from them were Rakki and a girl who looked a lot like Ci-N and his brother.

Except she was stunning and looked incredibly sophisticated.

I had no idea how long they had been talking or how long I had been staring at them, but their expressions were dead serious.

Then, out of nowhere, Ci-N stood up and walked over to Rakki.

I thought he was just going to say something, but instead, he bent down and kept getting closer until their lips... touched.

"Ooohhh... Ooohhh..." I called out to my companion.

I completely forgot Blaster's name at that moment. Even the store clerk he was talking to turned to look at me.

"What's wrong with you, Jay?" Blaster asked.

I couldn't speak. I just pointed toward Ci-N and Rakki's table.

"Nice! Looks like the baby of Section E is all grown up." He smirked and quickly pulled out his phone to take a picture.

That little punk!

"...Let's go before they see us." Blaster said, grabbing something from the store clerk.

But I couldn't move. I wanted to see what would happen next. Maybe there would be another kissing scene!

Damn! I'm seriously giddy for them! Wow! Even Ci-N is finally making a move.

"Let's go!" Blas shouted, forcing me to follow him.

But as we walked, I couldn't help but smile. I mean, come on! Ahihihi…

"You look like an idiot, Jay…" Blaster commented, making me stop. "...You're smiling by yourself. People might think you're crazy."

I just rolled my eyes at him. Who cares if that scene earlier made me smile?

When we got back to the supermarket, Eman was next in line at the cashier. We quickly walked up to him.

"Emaaaannn…" I called out, still feeling giddy.

"What's wrong with you?" He asked.

"Well, we saw Rakki and Ci-N—"

"They kissed." Blaster cut me off.

Such a show-off!

I shot him a glare. That was supposed to be my news to share. This guy is so annoying!

"Nice!" Eman commented.

"At least Ci-N managed to score. Unlike someone here, who's still stuck at holding hands with his girlfriend." Blaster teased.

There were only three of us here. Obviously, he wasn't talking about me since I didn't even have a girlfriend. And he clearly wasn't talking about the cashier since we didn't even know her.

I looked at Eman, who was now glaring at Blaster.

"Cut it out." Eman ordered in a firm voice.

Blaster just laughed. Looked like things were about to get tense.

But that wasn't what I was focused on.

What's the status of Rakki and Ci-N now?