Thump, thump, thump... That was the sound of his own heartbeat. S
am felt that fundantally, he was not a very resolute person, and perhaps he couldn't entirely bla it on the so-called "desire value."
Maybe it was just his nature, unable to resist the allure of the beautiful person before him. After all, who doesn't crave beauty? Like the stars scattered across the sky, the majestic ocean, or the girl leaning on his shoulder in this winter night.
He had never felt her so close before. It seed all his plans had gone awry, completely unrelated to what he had arranged. It was a total surprise, an unprepared one.
Just thinking that this girl could read minds made Sam feel awkward. Could she know everything he was thinking right now? Wouldn't that be embarrassing?
If such internal struggles were apparent to her, the thought of living with her in the future seed torturous. Like being transparent, where you can't hide your thoughts, and even a bit of instinctive grumbling might cause friction and unnecessary misunderstandings.
Moreover, her mind-reading ability might not even be active; it could be passive, always possibly overhearing...
Would she be able to sleep at night if there was soone else by her side? With all those thoughts, all those voices...
"Sam, you don't need to think so much. I only hear things when I choose to listen; otherwise, I'm just like anyone else."
"...So, what did you hear just now?" Sam asked, sowhat worriedly.
If his lively ntal activity was fully transparent to her, wouldn't that be too embarrassing?
Isabella pouted slightly. "You haven't answered my question yet. Isn't it customary to answer before asking another?"
Sam helplessly touched his cheek. "Well, I haven't thought about complicating things... and you're a very calm and rational person, senior, not likely to do foolish things, so please stop teasing ."
Sam didn't commit to anything; there was no need. Besides, he didn't really think Isabella was that into him. Although n often feel they are special to a certain girl, often... even if special, there could be countless others.
You are not the only one.
Although he didn't think Isabella was the type to play with feelings, he felt she might be impulsive at tis, and besides... he hadn't really done anything.
Isabella glanced at Sam, then the distance between them grew again. She smiled. "I'm not drunk, so don't worry about being impulsive. But honestly, I do like you a lot, that's true."
"Uh..." Are girls nowadays so straightforward? No playing hard to get? No chance to play dumb?
What was he supposed to say now?
Sam was at a loss. This wasn't exactly his forte.
But before Sam could think of a response, Isabella smiled. "But it seems I've indeed made it too hard for you, Sam. Your situation isn't much simpler than mine. Besides, I'll be leaving school in the spring, it wouldn't be right to keep troubling you."
Indeed... by next spring, Isabella would choose a new path in life, leaving school for university, entering society, or perhaps returning to her old hobby of cosplaying.
Whatever it was, it was certain she would disappear from his life for at least a year. They might stay in touch, but it wouldn't be the sa as seeing her every day.
It felt sowhat lancholic, but growth ant constantly experiencing separations.
"It doesn't have to be like that. I think you're a great person, senior Isabella, one of the rare ones who makes feel comfortable. I've never been troubled by you, and maybe I'll miss you when you leave school."
"Then why not keep ?"
"How can I keep you? Make you repeat a year?"
No, I was just saying. Seeing her suddenly serious expression, Sam broke into a cold sweat.
Isabella laughed joyfully. "Look how scared you got. I just wanted to experience one of those drama scenes where the female lead decides to leave no matter what, and the male lead is supposed to reluctantly keep her."
I am indeed the male lead, but do I really want you to be the female lead?
Sam couldn't help but think.
His reverie was abruptly interrupted.
"Bang!!"
A sudden loud noise erupted in the quiet park. It was the sound of a glass bottle being smashed, very close by.
Isabella jumped, and Sam, startled, looked in the direction of the noise.
In the shadowy area where there were no streetlights, three figures appeared. Different builds. The leader was huge, almost mistakable for a black bear, though not quite as large, but still imposing.
The two beside him were also odd, dressed in leather jackets, holding wine bottles as they approached the bench where Sam and Isabella sat.
Isabella imdiately had a bad feeling. She clenched her teeth. "They don't seem like good people..."
"It's okay."
Sam reassured her, standing up and positioning himself in front of Isabella, facing the three n who were now close at hand.
They were just young n in their twenties, dressed in a flashy manner, sleeves rolled up despite the cold, showing off tattoos on their arms.
"Look what we have here, a couple enjoying themselves in the park late at night, haha."
The burly leader laughed exaggeratedly, swinging a half-full bottle of wine as if the gesture alone was enough to intimidate most people.
The one with earrings laughed even louder, looking at Sam. "Look at this kid, still a student, huh?"
The shorter one added, "What can he do? Students don't have money for hotels, right? They just find places like this. Wonder if they feel cold when they making love."
The leader laughed even harder: "Definitely freezing..."
Sam glanced back at Isabella, who had stood up, trembling with anger, fists clenched.
"What are you talking about? A bunch of scum... Leave now, or I'll call the police for harassnt."
"Call the police? Hahaha! If you can make that call in front of us, I'll eat the dog shit in the grass!"
The leader's smile turned into a threat, his face nacing as he slightly raised the wine bottle.
Sam faced them. "What are you here for? This is Kuhang."
Though he said this, Sam knew that this bustling district wasn't safe at night, a complex mix of dark forces. The more prosperous the area, the more chaos it bred.
"Yo, you dare threaten us? Want to teach you what a gang is? You're lucky it's us. If it were soone else... hehehe."
Sam rolled his eyes, still shielding Isabella, even reaching out to prevent any possible contact with the three n. He feared she might impulsively do sothing foolish, like in TV shows or movies.
"So what happens if we run into you?" Sam was getting impatient.
The nacing young man grinned, squinting at Sam. "Simple, this park... it's our turf, you get it? We're a bit short on cash lately, you look well-dressed, especially your little girlfriend... wouldn't be too much to ask for a loan, right?"
"Loan" was said, but the aning in his eyes, and the way his companions moved closer, gripping their wine bottles, was clear.
Sam chuckled at them. "Since you know we're students, how can you think we have money?"
The young man's fierce gaze flickered, and he turned to his companions. "He says he has no money, that's a problem."
Clearly, they were well-coordinated, though in their eyes, they were a golden team.
"Yeah, but big brother, just walking away would be too embarrassing, right? If we can't get money... how about taking soone?"
The burly young man nodded sagely. "You're right, let's do it!"
With that, he chose what he thought was a perfect mont, imagining it as a scene from a gangster movie, and swung a kick at Sam.
He thought his powerful kick would send the young man flying several ters, gasping for air on the ground.
Then they could violate the beautiful girl in front of her boyfriend.
This kick... was supposed to be the start of their enjoynt, no doubt, he was already savoring it.
But... the satisfying sensation of kicking his opponent away didn't happen.
It was like being constipated in the bathroom, abruptly stopped.
The man was stunned to find his supposedly unguarded kick caught in Sam's hand, gripping his ankle, stopping him in his tracks.
Just as he was about to scold the young man for daring to fight back...
"Bang!!"
Sam's fist t his face.
The supposedly strong young man saw stars up close for the first ti in this bustling city.
Behind him, Isabella was about to warn Sam to be careful, but her mouth closed as quickly as it had opened.
Eh... what was she going to say again?
Reviews
All reviews (0)