Chapter 6

My eyes widen at the sight of Aunt Rosie and Kai in the living room. They stop talking as soon as they spot me. I know I have been away for quite some time. Maria asked me for help with her cooking. I can’t say ‘no’ to her request. Just thinking about Kai in my bedroom makes me hesitant, but I really can't turn her down. I can’t believe the fifteen minutes that I left led to this.

My question is, how? How does Aunt Rosie know Kai is here?

“You think I don’t know you’re hiding this young man in your bedroom?”, Aunt Rosie let out a small chuckle after that.

I pout at her for teasing me, but as soon as I realize Kai is looking at me, I quickly make a straight face. After closing the door, I walk towards them and sit beside Auntie Rosie.

The half-empty cup in front of Kai catches my eye. I swallow down a sigh as I realize that they have been talking for quite some time already.

“I’m not hiding him”, I say, trying to cover the fact that I do hide him in my bedroom.

“I saw you dragged Kai into the house”, Aunt Rosie says with a smile.

That smile. I recognize that playful smile. Well, that explains how she knew Kai was here. Before she misunderstands things, I quickly explain to her.

“I don’t want you to jump to a weird conclusion when you see him in front of our house. That’s why I have to do it”.

“And you think I will not have any weird conclusion on my mind when you have gone too far by hiding him in your bedroom?”, she teased me.

“Aunt Rosie, whatever you think of right now, it’s nothing like that, alright? Kai is a friend of Luna, and he’s here to return my transportation card. That’s all”, I said to her.

“And I wonder why your card is in his possession”, she continues to tease me.

“Aunt Rosie…”, I whined at her.

Her laugh explodes, and I look at her with dissatisfaction.

“Kai has already explained everything to me”, she states, making me turn my head toward Kai.

He looks guilty and offers me an apologetic smile.

I ignore him.

“Now, Kai’s here. Let’s eat our lunch together”, Aunt Rossie’s suggestion made me widen my eyes.

“No. He’s busy. He has to leave already, right?”, I look at Kai, hoping he will play along with me.

Besides, I’m in this mess because of him.

“Yes, yes, Aunt Rosie. I need to go now anyway”.

Thank goodness he understands me. For once, I’m grateful to him.

“Of course, you are”, I add.

“Hanna, we can’t let our guest leave with an empty stomach, remember?”, the stern in Aunt Rosie’s voice makes me sigh in defeat. There’s nothing I can say to change her mind.“You’re not in a hurry, right?”, she asks Kai.

I can see the guilt on Kai’s face as he looks at me. He is torn between me and Aunt Rosie. Deciding to end his guilt, I stand up.

“I’ll go and prepare the lunch”, I said without looking at him.

“Don’t take her words into your heart. She is a nice girl”, I heard Aunt Rosie say to Kai.

I sigh once again. It’s not that I’m angry at Kai. It’s my fault, I know it. I’m just annoyed. The fact that he and Aunt Rosie knew each other irritates me so much. I just don’t want him to know anything about me, about my life.

***

I adjust the weight in my arms as I walk side by side with Kai to his car. I look at the paper bag in my arms briefly. There are too many food containers inside. It is the food that Aunt Rosie packs for Kai. This is their first meeting, but she already cares for him. Too much for my liking. I don’t know why Aunt Rosie likes him that much. He’s just a ball of annoyance to me.

I clearly show him the dissatisfaction on my face as I notice he glances at me. I’m actually annoyed. Aunt Rosie insisted I walk with him to his car. I clearly don’t want to do it, but it is Aunt Rosie. I can never turn down her request and leave her disappointed with me.

“Hanna…”, Kai calls me. I ignore him as usual. “I’m really sorry for today. I didn’t listen to you when you asked me to hand your transportation card to Luna. I just want to give it to you personally. I swear I have stayed still in your bedroom. I don’t even make any noise. Believe me. I’m really sorry for causing you trouble”.

I can hear the sincerity in his voice. Just like that, my annoyance towards him had gone in a flash. I look at him and give him a small smile.

“It’s not your fault”, I say to him. “It’s my fault for dragging you into the house. I’m sorry for acting like that without telling you anything”.

“I actually think that you want to kidnap me and sell me somewhere. For a second, I thought you were from the mafia or something”, he said, making me widen my eyes with disbelief.

He suddenly laughs after that. After realizing that he was joking around, I also let out a small chuckle. It’s hilarious to think that I’m from the mafia or something.

Then, he stops and looks at me like he has never seen me before. His gaze pierced straight into my soul. It makes my heart beat faster for no reason.

I stop walking when I spot his car. Clearing my throat awkwardly, I hand him the paper bag.

“Aunt Rosie asked me to give this”, I said, looking at him briefly.

He stayed silent for a while before nodding his head and taking the paper bag from me. Our fingers touch slightly, and I quickly retrieve my hand away from his. I don’t know, it's just that the weird sensation is creeping into me and I don’t like it.

“Again, I’m so sorry for causing you and Aunt Rosie trouble”, he smiles at me.

“It’s nothing”, I reply and try to smile back at him. “Goodbye, then”.

“Thank Auntie Rosie for me”.

I only nod at him and turn around before walking towards my house. I don’t look back even for a second.

As soon as I open the entrance door, Aunt Rosie is already waiting for me in the living room. I walk to her and sit beside her before placing my head on her shoulder.

“He asked me to thank you.”

“I have never seen you with a man before.”

Her words make me sigh. I sit straight as I face her. I shake my head when I see the wide smile on her face.

“There’s nothing between us. I already told you why he is here, right?”

“He’s kind, well-mannered, and good-looking too. He seems like a good guy, Hanna.”

“Aunt Rosie…”

“I like him.”

“Aunt Rosie…”

“It will be great if you and he are together.”

Once again, I shake my head at her.

“There’s no way something like that can happen between us”, I told her.

“Why? There is nothing impossible in this world, Hanna.”

“Aunt Rosie”, I place my hand on top of hers. “Look at him. He is on the other side of the world. Which means he is way out of my league. Our world will never crash with each other. He is way too much for me. Besides, why does someone like him even want someone like me? Don’t you think it’s fair to him? Many other girls are much better than I out there. We only knew each other because of Luna. He is a dear friend of Luna. I know he kinda wants to know what kind of person Luna is friends with. He is just curious. Once he is bored, he will leave me alone. That’s it, alright?”, I emphasize each word to her so that she understands that Kai and I will never be together.

Impossible.

When she wants to argue with me, I silence her by hugging her tightly. She seems to understand enough as she hugs me back without saying anything.

My thoughts went back to before when our hands slightly touched each other. I wonder what sensation I was feeling back then. Never mind, it’s nothing important anyway. He is someone whom I will never reach, no matter what it is. He takes an interest in me just because of Luna. I’m sure of that. When the time comes, he will grow bored of me, and then, he will disappear into thin air as if he had never existed in my life. I’m very sure of it.