Sweeter than Cake [MxM] [English Version]

16 / In The Mall

After parking my bike in the public parking lot, I walked from the parking lot, crossed the street and walked down the street beside the mall. My footsteps finally stopped as soon as I arrived at the entrance of the mall where I had an appointment with Kai, Manna and the girl Kai was after.

I glanced at my watch and the hour hand was not yet pointing at twelve. That means I came earlier than the appointed time.

Before I could even think about checking my cell phone, the gadget was already vibrating in my pocket. One short vibration. Indicates an incoming message.

“You didn't even notice me, did you? That means my disguise worked.”

My eyeballs immediately rolled along as my head went down into the mall. Then they went to the farthest point of view, which was across the street. The figure I knew was not in my sight.

As per the message sent again by Lynx, I’ve found someone was looking at me and sitting casually on the bench. Lynx smiled widely as I stared at him from about ten meters away.

I was coughing because I was masking my laugh. I couldn’t hold back my laughter when I saw the figure of Lynx which I never imagined.

Lynx wears a moss green cardigan, with a white T-shirt. Moss green bucket hat. Sunglasses. And it seems that his divine power made Lynx's hair shoulder length and blonde. Don't forget his mustache prop which was also blonde. He was more like a middle-aged street painter in Europe than as a high school student.

After erasing the figure that tickled me in thought, I leaned against the entrance post. I spent the time waiting to chat with Lynx about his astounding disguise.

"I thought I came first."

I immediately lowered the phone when I heard a familiar voice in front of me. A girl I used to meet while wearing a school uniform, was now wearing a light blue short dress with a strap around her shoulders and a white half-sleeved T-shirt inside. I could see that Manna was applying makeup on her eyelids and eyebrows. Light pink lipstick was also applied to her lips. In harmony with the clothes and footwear with the theme of cute girls.

Manna was a bit awkward when I stared at her face for too long. When she looked the other way, I realized that her cheeks were added with pink blush too.

Is Manna trying to be different? Or does a woman her age always dress up like this when she goes out for a walk?

Suddenly Manna's sweet face was replaced by the figure of Lynx who was looking at me coldly. It was as if my mind was set on having to ask Lynx for permission first every time I had anything to do with Manna.

Was Lynx lying when he said he couldn't read and control my mind?

Wait… Why did I feel guilty right now? Why do I need to bother with Lynx thought about my behavior?

"...Hello, hello....Rui?"

Manna's voice interrupted my thoughts. It also reminded me that I had not stepped into the real world for a while.

"Ah, yeah... sorry I was thinking about whether I've turned off the stove at home or not."

"Pffft... I thought you were thinking about something else," Manna said with a chuckle.

"You want me to think about other things like what?"

Unfortunately, the conversation between me and Manna was interrupted because a girl with shoulder-length light brown hair was running over to Manna. Then two girls hugged and asked each other how they were. It was a normal scene everywhere when girls hugged each other, not like for the boys. Made me think that it was unfair if social norms differentiate relationships between girls and boys.

"She was my junior high school friend. Her name is Keona. Keona, he is to my junior in high school, Rui."

I initiated to shake hands first because the girl named Keona looked quite shy. That girl has a small body and chubby cheeks. The type of woman that Kai was often approached specifically.

"You don't see each other often, do you?" I asked about Manna and Keona's attitude when they met just now.

"The last time I met Keona was when I graduated from middle school. Oh yeah, she's one year below me. That means the same grade as you and Kai."

I had wondered if Kai started to approach older women as I thought Manna’s acquaintance would be the same age as her, but actually it was not. Kai didn’t like to approach older women because the girl might be more mature than him. Kai wanted to look mature in front of the person he likes. So no wonder he targeted Keona.

And that's exactly what I thought. When Kai came and chatted with Keona, Kai positioned himself as a man who was pretentious. He even managed to keep his mouth from speaking as often as usual when we were walking in the mall.

"Maybe your charisma will only come out if you talk a lot like usual," I said to Kai when Manna and Keona were looking at a make-up shop that was on sale.

"No. No. I've asked a lot of girls if they would like a guy who looks mysterious. So I shouldn't be seen as talking too much."

"She’ll find out later when you're closer."

Kai still shook his head at my words. Then Kai gave excuses non-stop and made my ears burn. I didn’t know how long Kai could hide his speechless mouth in front of Keona.

Kai's words grew fainter in my mind when my gaze caught the ridiculous figure of Lynx from the shop window. Lynx looked very calm standing in front of the clothes shop, using his cellphone, then glanced around.

My and Lynx's eyes met for a split second. But Lynx played the play very neatly. He did not linger in one place so as not to make Kai who was with me suspicious. And also he acted naturally so as not to make himself a suspicious person among strangers.

"Hey, Rui. You do realize that Manna put in more effort today?"

Kai's question made me frown. Either because the question was less specific, or because my mind was still stuck elsewhere.

"What do you mean?"

"Just look at the makeup between the two of them. Manna tries to look more different than usual compared to Keona's very natural makeup. Even Keona doesn't wear colored lipstick."

Kai's explanation made sense. I found the difference with one slight comparison.

"Maybe after this she will attend another meeting?" I answered originally.

Kai exhaled loudly as a sign of impatience with my words.

"What are you waiting for? Manna likes you, right? The type of girl you like is exactly like Manna. Just like Lesley, your ex-girlfriend in middle school," Kai said with high speed.

"Wait... Why are you discussing that person? I didn't even know you when I was close to that person," I said holding Kai’s gesture who wanted to cut me off.

"When you were in middle school, you had a date with that upperclassman, right? The news about you was very hot at that time." Kai gave a pause in his sentence while frowning at me. "Argh ... never mind. Just think about Manna right now. Everyone who saw it also knew that Manna likes you."

I was stunned. Not about Manna but the middleschool thing Kai has mentioned. I felt something strange about the certainty of Kai’s words versus my memory. If Kai found out about me and Lesley, I should be the one who understands exactly what happened.

But why can't I remember that I was dating?

I can only remember the cut scene after scene. Lesley was the basketball manager at that time so we knew each other from that extracurricular. Everytime we had a discussion, it was about basketball. Then one day she didn’t want to talk with me at all, but I totally forgot the reason.

"Sorry to make you wait so long. We should have accompanied you to find gifts, but earlier we made you accompany us," said Manna, interrupting my thoughts for the second time.

"It's okay. If it's finished, maybe Kai can show you where to go so you don't forget the original destination," I said, inviting an unhappy glance from Kai.

I knew Kai wanted to try to be as patient and good as possible today. But I was not that patient.

Go alone if in the end I am just accompanying you to chat while the two girls enter all the shops they want into the evening.

I wanted to tell Kai what I was thinking right now. But Kai ignored me when Keona was already there. He chose to offer to help carry Keona and Manna's groceries which weighed no more than two hundred grams.

In the end Kai walked side by side with Keona because Manna aligned his steps beside me.

Then, suddenly Manna pulled my elbow in a different direction than Kai and Keona were. When I turned to look at her, Manna put her index finger to her lips. Signaling me to be quiet.

Manna pulled me three shops away with Kai and Keona positioned. I was currently inside an accessories shop and Manna was standing guard in front of the shop. She watched Kai and Keona's movements from a distance.

"They're not realized yet?" I asked, smiling at Manna's behavior.

Manna shook her head in answer to my question without looking away from what she was observing. From the side, I can see Manna's face was excited and so serious about giving Kai and Keona time to be together.

Since Manna seemed to be a little panicked, I guessed that Kai or Keona had already started to notice that we were missing. Apart from Manna's panic, I also saw several people walking out of the shop and near Manna. In anticipation of the unexpected, I approached Manna's position immediately.

Before Manna could walk backwards and hit someone nearby, I grabbed Manna's hand and made her scream a little. The body and head of the girl was pulled by my hand, and now anchored to my body. Manna's left hand spontaneously pulled the shirt on my back to stop her wobbly footsteps. This hugging position made my heart skip a beat.

How can I relax like nothing happened when right now I can feel Manna's breasts sinking into my body?

While my body stiffened in this position, my mind panicked and wandered all over the place. Unconsciously, my eyes were searching for someone among all of the people. But what I saw was just some uneasy look from people around me.

Why am I searching for him again?

I closed my eyes firmly while shaking my head. Again. My mind asked Lynx for permission. With all my might I pulled my mind back into consciousness. But it seems Manna has not moved from her last position.

"Are you cold because of the air conditioner so you are still hugging me like this?" Asked me.

Manna realized from her daydream and immediately removed her hand from my back. She took a step back while pushing my body lightly.

I could see that Manna's face was currently as red as a boiled crab. Manna who used to be firm when she spoke, now she wouldn't even look at me at all.

With the gazes of the surrounding people getting more intense, I pulled Manna's hand deeper into the accessory shop. Looking for a quieter place that didn't steal a lot of attention.

"We can stay here for a while," I said once Manna and I arrived at the less crowded accessories aisle.

As I glanced to the side, I could still feel Manna didn't want to be spoken to. Her face turned away from where I was. Her hands seemed to be fiddling with the items on the display case carelessly. As if her mind was blank but her hand reflexively needed to hold something.

I left Manna beside me in silence and waited for the girl to return to normal. While my mind had regained its composure, the face of a middle-aged painter flashed through my mind. I looked for the Lynx disguised in this accessories shop, but there was none.

"Manna, I'll be out for a bit," I said, greeted with a small nod from Manna.

My steps continued towards the outside of the shop while filtering my eyes along the way. When I arrived outside the accessories shop, I couldn’t find Lynx either.

Even though he got bored quickly, Lynx was persistent enough to do something to the end once you start.

Where did he go? Is there something back home? Or did he find clues about the terrors here?

I just took out my phone to ask Lynx's position, a soft touch touched my arm. I turned and Manna smiled lightly as usual. Showed that she was okay.

"Let's go to them again. Just now Keona asked us where we are," said Manna while lowering her hand from my arm.

I walked beside Manna back after I finished texting Lynx. Could only hope that nothing bad happens again.