Chapter-332 Fire Dance

Jay-jay's POV

I don't want to remember anything from my past. The truth of what happened isn't clear to me, but I know that memory contains the things Mama's husbands did to me. Every time I think about it, it feels like something's clawing at my stomach, and all I want to do is cry.

I once overheard my aunts talking about some of the things they did to me. I immediately tried to forget those things because even I couldn't accept that they happened.

Disgusting, infuriating, nauseating.

But no matter how much I try to deny or push those memories away, they keep coming back on their own. And for the first time, I want to know what really happened in the last memory that resurfaced.

"That was Mama," I said absentmindedly.

"Jay," Yuri called my name, holding both my hands. "Maybe it's about time you visit a psychiatrist."

I immediately shook my head, fear evident in my eyes.

Aside from Kei—kwanan, Yuri also knew about my situation.

"N-no. I don't want to—."

He cupped my face with both hands. "You need to, Jay—."

"—No. I don't want to go there—."

"—They will help you remember your past."

"—I don't want to." My tears fell on their own.

He quickly pulled me into a hug, and I broke down sobbing.

"I don't want to," I kept repeating through my tears.

"Okay. Say no more. I won't force you."

He just let me cry on his chest, his hand gently rubbing my back. Every now and then, he ran his fingers through my hair.

I only stopped crying when the door opened, and Kei—kwanan walked in carrying a glass of water. I pulled away from Yuri to wipe my tears, and reached out for the glass, but Kei—kwanan just stared at my hand.

"This isn't yours," he said.

How rude!

I glared at him, and that mischievous smile of his appeared before he finally handed me the glass of water.

"Just kidding."

"You're an annoying snake," I muttered, but Yuri still heard it.

He chuckled softly as I drank the water. I didn't notice I'd finished it so quickly. I handed the glass back to the King of Snakes. He took it and placed it on a table near the door.

"Are you done with your heart-to-heart talk?" he asked Yuri.

I raised an eyebrow at them, especially when Yuri rolled his eyes at him before standing up from his seat beside me. The idiot Kei—kwanan quickly took his place.

"Jay… Yuri is—."

"Are you going to force me too?" I cut him off, but he shook his head.

"He's dumb."

"What?" Yuri asked, shocked.

"Forcing Jay-jay to remember her past is like forcing her to jump out of a window," the so-called King of Snakes explained. "Of your house," he added, pointing at Yuri.

Yuri's house was so high.

"Since when did you become an expert on Jay's problems?" the President of SLC asked irritably.

"Since the day I planned my future with her," Kei—kwanan replied, followed by a wink.

Yuri and I just rolled our eyes at him. This guy always had too much to say. No wonder he keeps slipping on wet rocks.

Idiot.

"Why are you even here? Shouldn't you be watching your minions outside?"

"I'm watching you too. In case Yuri tries something with you."

My palm instantly flew toward his face, but he caught my wrist effortlessly.

I knew Yuri was only here to check on me. And I was right—he didn't believe me when I said I was fine earlier. I understood why he was worried. What I didn't understand was why this Kei—kwanan always had to be so annoying.

"As if we're the same," Yuri said, irritated. "I wouldn't kiss someone who's asleep."

I looked at him, confused, then shifted my gaze to the King of Snakes. He showed no reaction and even managed to smile at me before responding to Yuri.

"Who kissed someone who's asleep?" he asked innocently.

"Do you want me to remind you what you did to Jay while she was unconscious in the clinic?"

I think I remembered that.

"That was when I was angry, and then suddenly I passed out, right?" I asked.

Yuri nodded in response. I immediately glared at the damned cheeky guy. He acted oblivious, like he had no idea what we were talking about.

"What did you do?" I asked him, annoyed.

"What did I do?" he echoed, throwing the question back.

I quickly smacked his arm, catching him off guard. He couldn't dodge or stop my hand. He quietly winced.

"I'll kick that wound of yours!" I threatened.

He scratched his head, looking at me and Yuri.

You pest…! If I find out what you did.

"W-well… While you were unconscious, I paid you a visit," he started, and I waited intently. "Then I—." He coughed slightly. "I… I… I k-kissed you."

My eyes slowly widened. He stole a kiss from me. And back then, I was still furious with him.

"You animal!" I said, seething, and immediately grabbed a pillow to hit him with.

He only responded with loud laughter. Until I decided to poke his wound. He let out a loud yelp before falling to the floor.

Yuri and I burst into laughter.

"Karma has been served," Yuri said, making me laugh even harder.

The cheeky guy slowly stood up, forcing a smile despite the obvious pain he was still feeling.

Try making another smart remark.

"Yuri," he called seriously to Yuri, who was now standing beside me. "Please leave us."

"What for?" the SLC President asked.

"We just need to put Caretaker back together," Kei—kwanan replied, making my eyes widen.

Oh, You snake!

I quickly rushed to him and covered his mouth. Yuri looked at me completely clueless, clearly waiting for an explanation.

"Who?"

"N-nobody. He's just messing around," I said with a forced smile while squeezing Kei—kwanan's mouth shut. "You should probably head outside. We'll follow soon."

Yuri glanced at Kei—kwanan for a moment before nodding and stepping out of the room. As soon as the door closed, I finally let go of the traitor.

I was ready to rain curses on him when he suddenly hugged me tightly. I thought he was teasing me again, but his embrace was firm, filled with a worry that wouldn't go away.

I thought he was just going to mess with me

"It's okay, we're here for you. Whatever it is," he whispered, kissing me on the top of my head.

I didn't know why, but my arms automatically wrapped around him on their own. I was scared of what would happen when all my memories returned. But when they remind me that they're here for me, I felt like I could face my past.

"What if they did something to me that's unacceptable to who I am? Would you still stay?" I asked.

"Could anything be worse than you dancing with fire while looking for a virgin to sacrifice to a demon?" he asked back, making us both chuckle slightly.

As if I need reminding.

"I'm serious," I said.

"I told you, whatever it is…" He faced me and tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear. "…our friends and I will stay here for you." He held my chin, lifting my face to look at him. "Understand?"

I nodded repeatedly, and he smiled.

"Now kiss me," he commanded, making me scowl.

You're unbelievable!

"I'll kick you!" I warned, pulling away from him.

"A kiss first, then you can kick me," he teased, trying to pull me closer.

I quickly pushed his face away while he was still puckering his lips. I wanted to laugh, but I didn't want him to think I was playing hard to get. If I willingly let him kiss me, it would mean I've fully forgiven him.

It's not quite there yet.

He was about to insist if not for the sudden banging on the bedroom door.

"Are you guys done?! Let's go downstairs, we're about to start grilling!" Ci-N shouted from outside the door.

"We're coming!" I replied.

I heard Ci-N's heavy footsteps moving away from the door. We followed, as I said we would. While going down the stairs, the King of Snakes kept nudging me. Every time I turned to him, he'd make a "one" gesture with his finger and pucker his lips at me.

I glared at him to warn him, but he just kept repeating the gesture. Until we reached the living room, where We ran into Kit, who was putting on a shirt while walking, clearly fresh from a shower.

But I froze when I saw Mayo behind him—shirtless and towel-drying his hair.

Did they… shower together?

I was about to ask when Eren suddenly walked in and gave them a sharp look.

"Why did you take so long?" he asked irritably.

"None of your business," Mayo retorted.

"What's with you two? Have some shame—there are innocent people here!"

"Innocent, my foot," Kit shot back. "We didn't do anything. I showered first. I was just waiting for him."

Eren narrowed his eyes at them, clearly not buying their explanation. Mayo would probably get pissed if this guy didn't stop. I decided to jump into their conversation.

"Hey, what are you guys arguing about?" I asked, pretending to be clueless.

"It's Eren—he's got a dirty mind," Mayo tattled.

"You're obvious. Even without a dirty mind, I can tell," Eren defended.

"Why? What could they possibly have done?" I asked—and everyone turned to stare at me.

It was like they couldn't believe I'd asked such a question. It felt like they were seconds away from knocking on my head just to check if there was anything inside.

Kit shook his head. "Nothing, Jay. Nothing."

They all avoided my gaze before heading out of the house. I turned to Kei—kwanan, who looked like he was holding back laughter at my expense.

Why? What could they have done?

"Why do you look like that?"

"Nothing. Let's go outside," he said.

I let it go and just walked out of the house. Everyone was already gathered around the bonfire they had set up. This was where we'd have our barbecue dinner.

Yes… barbecue.

"Over here, Jay-jay!" Ci called out, waving.

I ran over to them. Felix and David were arranging the firewood, making sure the flames wouldn't get too strong or too weak. Eman was busy preparing the meat, with Denzel and Blaster helping—though Blaster clearly couldn't wait to eat.

Josh was focused on a guitar I didn't know where they'd gotten, and beside him, Calix was teaching him how to play. Edrix and Rory, meanwhile, looked like they were on the verge of a fight.

"I'll tell Fre—friend!" Rory threatened.

"You're annoying! Next time I won't tell you who I like if you keep teasing me!" Edrix shot back, frustrated.

Drew quickly stepped between them. Eren, on the other hand, was still teasing Mayo and Kit, but the two were ignoring him.

Yuri was busy with the drinks. I thought I spotted some alcohol, but I wasn't sure because he quickly closed the cooler.

"Are we starting soon?" I asked Eman before sitting next to Ci-N.

"Almost—Blaster! I swear I'm going to stab you with a barbecue stick!" Eman threatened when Blaster started playing with the meat.

"It's taking too long! I'm starving!"

"Sit down and stay out!" Denzel ordered.

Pouting, Blaster stood up and went over to Josh. But before he could even settle down, he started bothering Calix and Josh.

"If you don't stop, I'm going to hit you with this," Josh threatened calmly, pointing at the guitar.

Scary.

Blaster immediately backed off and went off to find someone else to bother. Then our eyes met—and the jerk grinned widely. He even ran over and plopped down next to me.

"How's it going?" he asked teasingly.

"Do you want to go home with a busted face?" I asked seriously—and his smug grin vanished instantly.

"Jeez… I was just checking on you," he said, sounding hurt.

"You were just going to tease me."

"No, I wasn't."

I narrowed my eyes at him. He raised his hands as if swearing he was telling the truth.

I accepted what he said and let him sit with us. True enough, he didn't tease anymore, especially as our conversation stretched on.

We even talked about what was happening with Keigan and his girlfriend, who's also his best friend. Apparently, she's been avoiding him for a while, but he keeps checking on her because he's worried. But what he said next caught me off guard.

"Sometimes, she says it's like she's facing a different person, like it's not Keigan, her boyfriend."

The worry for his best friend was clear in his voice. As much as I wanted to say something comforting, I figured it was better to just listen. I might accidentally say something I shouldn't.

"If it were up to me, I'd want them to break up. I'm scared for her," he added.

"Why?"

He leaned closer to whisper. "Keifer won't admit it, but his brother's definitely got something wrong in his head."

I looked down. I wanted to get mad at Blaster for saying that—but what did he really know? Still, I couldn't help but feel hurt.

Keifer said we have the same symptoms. If Keigan is crazy, did that mean I am crazy too? My breathing grew heavy, and it felt like something was stuck in my throat. I quickly excused myself to get away.

I walked to the shoreline and watched the setting sun. Almost all the light was gone, and darkness had started taking over. I focused on the view—and it worked.

"The sunset really is beautiful," Calix commented. "Next time, I'll bring Mica."

Good for you.

After watching the sunset, we went back to the bonfire to wait for the barbecue. Everyone was singing and telling stories.

"Who wants some?" Edrix offered, holding up a bottle of alcohol.

Alcohol, yes!!

Almost everyone raised their hands, and Edrix quickly handed drinks around. I raised my hand, too.

"Me too!" I said—and they all froze, staring at me.

I knew exactly what they were thinking. I shot them a glare.

"You know, Jay," Rory said. "Water's good for the body. There's also buko juice."

I pouted. "Just one bottle."

Edrix handed me a cold bottle—of water. I had meant a bottle of alcohol, but they gave me a different kind of bottle.

"No alcohol for you," David said.

Their laughter erupted loudly, turning into teasing. Suddenly, some of them stood up and started dancing in front of the fire. Ci-N even joined in with a chicken dance.

Even though I was annoyed, I couldn't help but laugh. I just let them tease me.

Who would've thought we'd all be together for this little outing?

Complete with food, banter, and laughter.

Above all—complete with all of us.

But for how long?