EPISODE 04 The Ex
1337 Words
When I woke up in the morning, he was already gone. Being a late riser, I had no idea when he left.
From now on, I'll have to do everything I can to avoid seeing this guy again...
!!
Before my determined thoughts could finish, my eyes glanced at something placed on the bedside table.
His expensive wristwatch, the locket necklace he said he would come back for, were both still there in my room, along with something else he'd forgotten.
Did he really forget or was it on purpose?
I pursed my lips, looking at the things he left behind, and clenched my fist, pounding it on the bed in frustration.
"You i***t, Q!"
Several hours later
"What'll you have?"
"Spaghetti with squid tomato sauce," I answered Cake while idly playing with my phone.
"Drunken noodles with seafood," Tongta, who was sitting next to me, continued.
"What's Kaning going to have? She's not here yet. Must have been a heavy night," Cake grumbled before tapping on her phone to message Kaning in our group chat.
Cake's words made my brain start working hard again. I don't want to have secrets with my friends, but is it something I should tell?
And if they find out later, how will they see me?
"You guys..." I started to say, but another voice interrupted.
"Here she comes," Tongta said, looking up at the entrance as Kaning walked in.
"So, did he go all out last night?" Cake teased, but Kaning looked unimpressed.
"What all out? He dropped me off at the dorm and left," she replied, taking a sip of water.
"Does he have something more interesting than you?" Cake laughed lightly, seemingly mocking her friend, while I just sat quietly listening because this hit close to home for me.
"What could be more interesting than me? I went all out last night," Kaning said confidently.
"You mean you flirted all out, right?" Tongta chimed in.
"Yeah, almost took off my clothes for him, ugh!" Kaning replied sarcastically, and I just listened quietly, feeling worried.
As for Cake, she shook her head in exasperation. These two never really got along because Cake said Kaning wasn't behaving nicely. As for me, I'm indifferent and don't think much about my friends' personalities. Especially now, I can't really judge anyone because I'm not exactly a saint myself.
"Or maybe he knows I have a boyfriend, so he doesn't want to get involved?"
"Good that you realize it. No one wants to get involved with someone who's taken," Cake, who always likes to remind Kaning, said.
"But from what I know, P'Q doesn't care about these things. He's got the nickname 'Casanova of Engineering.' He shouldn't let a cute girl like me slip away, right?" I sighed softly. The more I listened to Kaning, the more uncomfortable I felt. "So, would he agree to come if I invited him?"
I don't have feelings for him, but her insecurities are indirectly tied to me. After all, he came to see me last night.
"You're just not that interesting."
"Annoying."
"Okay, the food's here," I quickly cut the conversation and focused on the food the waiter served.
And that wrapped up our conversation about guys.
Sometimes I just wish Kaning would stop being so interested in P'Q. But that seems tough because, from what I've seen, she's really into him.
After eating, we went to the mall for a change of scenery. Staying in the dorm felt dull. We planned to watch a movie, but nothing appealed to us, so we decided to shop instead.
"I'm heading to the restroom. Be right back," I told them as they browsed for clothes in a popular fashion store.
I walked out, following the hallway to the restroom. After finishing up, I stepped out, but before I could make it back, I froze in place. A man and a woman were walking toward me.
"..." When the man saw me, he seemed a bit surprised, but he gave a slight smile and then pretended to look in another direction.
The woman, initially oblivious to me, smiled when she did notice. But I swear, it wasn't a kind smile—it was mocking.
"Two peas in a rotten pod," I muttered as I was about to walk past the two of them. When she heard it, she stopped and looked like she was about to confront me.
"Pin, don't."
"P'Dream, your old flame just insulted me." The term "old flame" shouldn't be used for me because P'Dream and I never had anything, not even once.
Throughout our relationship, he was the perfect gentleman. The most we did was kiss and hold hands, and I had planned my future to be with this man.
"A sharp tongue is better than a rotten heart," I stopped walking and turned to smile at the two of them. "A pair of strays."
"This little brat!" She looked like she was about to slap me, but I stood there with my arms crossed, smiling, waiting for her hand to hit my face. Go ahead, slap me, and I'll hit back twice as hard.
"Let's go," P'Dream tried to pull his future bride away while I stood there smiling, slowly changing my expression.
I was just pretending to be brave. Seeing him with someone new made my supposedly healed heart ache all over again. Tears began to well up in my eyes.
As I turned to walk back to the store, I saw a man and a woman walking past. The man looked at me with a neutral expression before his thick eyebrows slowly furrowed. I quickly wiped my tears and hurried forward.
It was Q, with a cute girl by his side. Should I tell Kaning about this? It probably doesn’t matter. Neither of them is serious anyway.
No one in this world is perfect, right? We all have our own bad stories, including me.
"Why did you take so long?" Tongta asked, holding the outfit she had chosen and handing it to the staff. Cake was walking towards me too.
"Bumped into my ex and his new girl," I replied honestly about P'Dream, but I didn't mention P'Q.
"And how was it?" Cake asked, coming to stand close to me.
"Just some snarky comments, but nothing major," I said and continued looking at the clothes, but now I seemed to have lost the mood.
"Did you cry? Seriously, why? It's been six months already!" Kaning said, shaking her head.
"Someone like you wouldn't feel anything. You can't grasp the depth of love, you player!" Cake scolded Kaning and immediately walked off to pay at the counter. Kaning just shrugged with a nonchalant shrug before walking off in another direction.
After buying clothes, we all went back to our dorm rooms. I put away the clothes, ironed the ones I had washed, and took a nap to rest my mind. I wasn't sure how much time had passed when my phone vibrating with an incoming call startled me awake.
'Kaning'
"Yeah," I answered Kaning's call and got up to turn on the light, since it was evening and the room was almost completely dark.
(Come with me to a bar...)
"When?" I asked, lying back down tiredly.
(I'll pick you up at eight o'clock.)
"What about the others?"
(Better not invite them, they'll complain. We went out yesterday too.)
"Don't you think you should take a break?" I sighed, because we had already gone out last night, and drinking didn't exactly make us feel better.
(I'm lonely, Toey... Come with me, I'll treat you. You're heartbroken too, you need to blow off some steam.) Kaning tried to give me reasons to join her.
"Okay, which bar?" I must be the worst at saying no because I always give in to everything.
(The XXX bar, not far.)
"Okay, come pick me up."
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P'Q, next time you can't use the "forgot something" excuse anymore. Everyone already knows! ???
- Writer
