Remember That Day

Chapter 12

Earlier...

“Mr. Damek Ivanov, we all know that you’ve been receiving such opportunities as a Webtoon artist. You’ve been busy writing, illustrating, and meeting your fans for a fan signing event like this. Many of your fans are wondering if you still have time to look for a girlfriend,” the emcee announced that made the crowd went wild.

Damek smiled, but it was not the same as how he smiled the first time he saw Jayda. Although it made him awkward, to just go with the flow was his last option as it was how them wanted be.

Just as the noise subsided, the emcee added, “By any chance, do you like a certain girl now?”

The crowd was waiting. And after so many years, Damek could finally say, “Yes, but she isn’t aware yet.”

As he expected, everyone inside the event center went wild again as they were happy for their idol.

“May we know how you met her?” asked the emcee. A whirlwind of memory suddenly hit him.

“Should I tell you all how?” asked Damek and he received a loud yes from the audience. He added, “Fine, so here’s how. One night, in a convenient store...”

“I want something that can burn my tongue. Um...” she mumbled under her breath as she chose among the hot and spicy cup noodles in the shelves. “What should I pick?”

It was not long before she heard a voice behind her.

“Why don’t you eat fire instead?”

That, automatically made Jayda glanced behind her. She even roamed her eyes around checking if she was the one that the guy who had just spoken was talking to. But it was just her, the lady crew, and the guy inside. Her brows knitted.

“What? Wait. Are you... are you talking to me?” Jayda finally spoken, pointing her index to herself.

Jayda didn’t know if it was just her, but the moment that the guy looked over his shoulder to see her, it was in a slow motion of some kind.

The guy was in his mid-twenties, had a towering height, and definitely had a sweet and beautiful smile that made Jayda snapped from reality.

“I guess?” the guy answered while smiling and continued to pick more chips in the shelves.

“It sounded like another Webtoon story, Mr. Ivanov,” the emcee announced with a thrilled reaction.

“Isn’t it?” Damek chuckled. 

“Oh, my tongue! It’s killing me—”

“It’s better to drink this.”

Chocolate drink.

Jayda tilted her head to see who on Earth put a chocolate drink on her table and it was him again. Her eyes automatically squinted.

“You? Again? Ugh! Why are you bothering me?” Jayda snorted.

With his usual smile, the guy answered, “Just because.”

“What? Are you crazy?”

“Um. Let’s just say, I’m concern.” 

“You’re really crazy,” said Jayda. Just as she looked at his hand, she added, “Telling me to eat healthier than noodles yet you got a bunch of chips, a canned beer, and a box of cigarette? Just... just go!”

“It didn’t just end there. We ran again one time inside the mall, particularly at Watsons,” Damek continued without minding how detailed he could be.

“That punk!” he snorted. “The damn I know about lipsticks?”

Jayda tilted her head sideward as she tried to guess the familiar face.

“Damek?” Jayda whispered.

Just as the guy turned to her, she was now certain that he was the same guy she met last night at the convenient store.

“Oh, noodles? Is that you?”

“What?” Jayda’s eyes squinted over what Damek said.

“You remember my name, noodle girl,” he uttered, smiling from ear to ear. But Jayda just gave her a glare, obviously didn’t like what she heard.

Well, Damek was quite smart to know the reasons behind Jayda’s reactions.

“Ah, I’m sorry,” he chuckled. “I haven’t asked for your name yet, and all I remember was you’re the girl who craved for noodles last night at the store.”

“Yeah right?” said Jayda as she rolled her eyes on him, getting back to her business.

“And we ran to each other again.”

Raising an eyebrow, Jayda glanced at him again. She said, “So?”

“Why so grouchy?”

“I couldn’t smile with the sight of you, either.”

“That’s too harsh. Anyway,” Damek said, cheerfully trying to look at Jayda’s face, “may I know your name?”

Jayda faked a smile and answered, “No,” then switched her expression to being irritated.

But it was Damek’s lucky day today when a staff suddenly called her name.

“Ma’am Jayda, here’s your purchased lipstick with a shade named, Voyager.”

“Oh. Ah, thank you.”

A forced smile flashed on Jayda’s face as she watched how Damek tried to refrain himself from laughing.

“You’re definitely a tease, Mr. Damek!”

“Well, I admit. This was what happened next. I was there because a male friend asked me a favor about lipsticks...”

Everyone was hooked as how he explained everything. It was as if the fan signing event turned into a story telling activity.

“Pink Pop,” said Jayda and faced the gladsome Damek. “What do you think?”

“Why don’t you try it?” he suggested, but Jayda instantly shook her head.

“You try it.”

“What? Are you kidding me?”

“No. You try this. It will overlap with the shade I’m using if I’ll do it.”

“What? Why... why me?” Damek was really surprised that his eyes grew bigger when Jayda started uncapping the ink lipstick.

“You told me you got the same skin color? Try it. I’ll tell you if it would really fit.”

“No—”

“Stay still.”

The moment Jayda started putting the ink on Damek’s lower lip made him froze as she almost drew really near him.

She was almost on her toes because he was impressively tall, so Damek lowered his body a little that he was almost tempted to kiss the busy woman messing with his lips.

“Done!” Jayda smiled as she put back the stick inside the small container and handed it over him. “This would fit. Your girlfriend would like this shade.”

“Girlfriend? I don’t have one,” said Damek, still frozen on his position.

“Oh.”

“Soon.”

“Ah, whatever. Bye.”

Jayda just shrugged her shoulders over it, seemingly didn’t care at all as she left the guy inside the shop already in loved with her.

“That woman! How dare she messed with my lips and win my heart that fast with a lipstick? The hell, Damek!” he whispered, punching 

himself inside his head. “You’re so weak!”

Damek just came back to hotel after a long day from an event center for a signing event. It was two hours away from the hotel. Meeting hundreds of fans and signing each and every book of him made him happy although it exhaust him a lot as well. 

He had been a quite famous online as D’Ivanov, a Webtoon artist. He had written and illustrated several amazing stories which made him widely known especially to young people. His face quite drew him as well to become famous, a thing that he was not really proud of.

“You home?” asked the man’s voice from the phone call.

“Got here just now.”

Damek parked successfully in front of the hotel, got his car keys, wear his hood then stepped out. He finally had his body stretched as it became a little numb for a two-hour driving.

“How’s the signing event? I’m sure you saw a lot of good-looking girls and—”

“Gon, stop the crap,” Damek interrupted, lips twitched.

It was Gon who always greet and ask how his day went all day, but of course, him being a tease wouldn’t rid Damek.

“Oh, grandpa!” Gon chuckled.

Damek leaned against his car, obviously didn’t want to get inside the hotel for a bit.

“Where are you?” he asked.

“Me? On duty, of course. Why?”

“Should we grab some beer? I also want to smoke.”

“I can’t. I’m busy here.”

“Sneak outside.”

“You, bad influence!” Gon laughed on the other line. “Just take a rest and quit your vices.”

“Oh, nevermind!” Damek almost rolled his eyes as he walked to the hotel.

Maybe I should grab myself a drink to sleep soundly later, he thought to himself.

It was almost 10 in the evening, but people were still at the lobby—everywhere. And instead of going straight to the elevator, Damek found himself sitting at the lobby, eavesdropping.

“Maybe she needs medical attention,” a woman in her early twenties said to her friend at same age.

“I think so. How could she make a show almost twice here telling everybody that there’s a killer inside this hotel?”

“She saw a dead body she say? But securities didn’t see any traces that a crime was committed. That’s really impossible!”

“I agree. She should have just get another room from other hotel instead of accusing the guy on floor seven in the 8th unit of being a murderer. If the guy is really a killer, she should’ve been dead already when in fact she’s in the 10th unit and they’re neighbors! She’s scaring people here.”

“I haven’t seen her all day!”

“Embarrassed for being crazy, I guess?”

The two girls laughed from each other, opposite from what Damek was feeling after he heard the conversation.

“Hey, Damek! Are you still there?”

That was when Damek realized that Gon was still on the other line, waiting for him to speak up.

He cleared his throat as he watched the girls made their way to the elevator. He said, “Could someone exaggerate and blame a writer for killing a character in the story? I mean, to broadcast it to the public that he is a killer?”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m just wondering.”

“That’s stupid. If it was just because of a story, he could just blame and swear the writer inside his head... all he want. But to broadcast it you say?”

“Yeah. Something like in a hotel lobby... to securities, to other staffs and all...”

Gon laughed. He mused, “Is he some crazy? People might misunderstood him that he wasn’t talking about a story, but about a real crime.”

“Exactly,” said Damek then let out a sigh. “She’s definitely not talking about my story, but she’s blaming me and accusing me to be the murderer of a real crime.”

“What?” Gon almost shouted. “You? A murderer? And who’s she?”

Damek forced a smile and replied, “Nevermind. Perhaps a misunderstanding. Goodnight!”

“Wait—” Damek ended the call and hurried.

He knew how confidential it was to ask about the guests information in the hotel, so he would discover it himself. Damek headed straight to the elevator and went up to floor seven. But instead of going to his room, he walked until the 10th unit.

“Whoever is she, we should talk and clear things,” Damek had whispered to himself before he knocked on the door, to the woman’s room who was spreading the rumor of him being a murderer.

The door opened, but he couldn’t recognize the woman as the room was dark.

“Who are you?” she asked, stuttering. When he didn’t give any word, she added, “Please, don’t hurt me.”

She staggered backwards, palms on her mouth. “You... I’m begging you. Don’t kill me, please!” she pleaded once more, but I just inched towards her which made her tremble and jump on her feet.

Yes. Fear me, Damek thought to himself as he planned to scare her more.

“I’m telling you. I am certain that you can’t escape from here if you try to kill me!” she said once more.

The next thing happened was unexpected. The woman just did what she said. She shouted from the top of her lungs when he did was to shut the door, opened the lights then ran to her to cover her mouth.

The girl at the bottom, him on the top. After Damek tried to stop her from shouting, they ended up like that on bed.

“What the hell! Why did you shout? I’m not a killer to kill you for anyone’s sake! I’m just here to clear things! I’m Damek... I’m Damek Ivanov from the 8th unit, your neighbor.... wait,” he suddenly halted, slowly removing his hand from her mouth. “You? Noodle girl? Jayda?”