THAT DAY, YOU WERE THERE

CHAPTER IV: FINALLY A SOMETHING TO MOVE

Frequently, Tu Than served as the model for the entire art group. With his slender figure and handsome face, he was always a popular choice among the members. However, after David appeared, he often replaced Tu Than as the model.

One day, David was posing for Nhuoc Nhuoc’s group while also taking part in an interview with the group members. As he answered their questions, his eyes kept drifting toward her, as if hinting at something. Te Mac was also there and witnessed everything. He felt a quiet ache in his heart, yet there was nothing he could do.

After the work was finished late that evening, Te Mac stepped outside and unexpectedly came across an unpleasant scene involving David. Witnessing it with his own eyes, Te Mac finally realized that David was no different from Nhuoc Nhuoc’s ex-lover. While flirting with her, David was also involved with many other women.

Inside a quiet room near the wall, David was gently touching and speaking affectionately to another woman. When he noticed that Te Mac had seen everything, he showed no concern at all. Te Mac spoke up,

“I never thought you were this kind of person. If you already have someone else, you should stay away from Nhuoc Nhuoc.”

“Hah. Who do you think you are to say that to me?”

Not wanting to escalate the situation, Te Mac ended the conversation and let David leave. What David did not realize was that a microphone was clipped to his collar, and every word he had said was recorded by Te Mac.

After learning that David was not a decent person, and not wanting Nhuoc Nhuoc to be treated like a joke, Te Mac went to find her and tell her the truth. However, no matter how much he explained, she refused to listen. She stubbornly refused to believe him, accusing him of shifting blame and interfering in her personal life. At that moment, Te Mac felt deeply hurt.

As he was walking away, David appeared beside her as if nothing had happened. The two of them walked together down the street. At one point, she accidentally stepped out of her lane and nearly got hit by a car. David quickly wrapped an arm around her and pulled her back to the sidewalk.

In that moment, she felt as though she had fallen in love with him. She sensed his warmth, and as they looked at each other, something unfamiliar passed between their eyes. A flower petal fell onto her hair, and he gently brushed it away. At that instant, she believed she had found the person she loved. Without any need for a confession, she began to regard him as her beloved. Hand in hand, they swayed gently as they walked home together.

While the two of them were immersed in their own happiness, Te Mac was the one who felt the most disappointed.

The next day was the opening exhibition of David’s works. Wanting to surprise him, she planned to go there to congratulate him.

The scene shifted to Te Mac. Unable to make her understand the truth on his own, he went to see the person closest to her—Tu Than. He played the recording for him and showed him photos of David secretly meeting multiple women. However, when Tu Than tried to arrange a meeting with her, he heard that she was already on her way to David’s event.

Not wanting her to fall into that man’s trap, the two of them rode their motorcycles at full speed toward the venue.

By the time Nhuoc Nhuoc arrived, she couldn’t find David anywhere. She searched every room in the event hall until she heard his voice coming from one room. When she opened the door, she saw him being intimate with another woman. The bouquet in her hands fell to the floor.

Tu Than and Te Mac arrived shortly after. Everyone stared at one another as David burst into laughter.

“Well, isn’t everyone here today? Besides, she and I aren’t even lovers.”

“Then that hand-holding meant nothing to you…?”

Tears streamed down her face as she clutched her head and ran out of the room.

David returned to the ceremony, but Te Mac stormed into the banquet hall and confronted him in front of all the guests. Overwhelmed by humiliation, David stood frozen as Te Mac presented all the evidence and recordings, exposing how an artist with such a public image lived an immoral private life. Everything that happened that day was reported in the news, and David was publicly condemned.

Afterward, Te Mac stepped outside and found Nhuoc Nhuoc sitting alone in the lobby, crying uncontrollably. He gently took off his jacket and draped it over her head, allowing her to release all her emotions. This was the second time she had been humiliated so deeply.

When she got home, she buried her face in her arms and cried, recalling the harsh words she had said to Te Mac the day before. Guilt slowly filled her heart.

During a break at school, Tu Than and Te Mac ran into each other. Te Mac finally admitted that he had feelings for Nhuoc Nhuoc. What he didn’t know was that the person standing in front of him also deeply cared for her. From that moment on, the two of them could no longer remain on good terms, as they both loved the same girl.

Nhuoc Nhuoc began to look at Te Mac differently, and they grew closer than before. One day, as the three of them were walking together, a beautiful girl approached Te Mac.

“It’s been a long time,” she said.

Her name was Tham Mong, Te Mac’s first love back in high school. Due to certain reasons, she had left him behind and quietly went abroad to study without ever telling him. After all these years, her sudden reappearance made him uncomfortable. Wanting to rekindle their past relationship, she constantly stayed by his side.

Photos of the two of them from when they were dating resurfaced and were unexpectedly shared in the school’s community group. Nhuoc Nhuoc saw them and felt a quiet sadness in her heart. It was then that she realized she had also developed feelings for Te Mac, drawn by the moments when he had made her heart flutter.

Not wanting her to misunderstand, Te Mac desperately wanted to meet her and explain everything—but he couldn’t find the right opportunity.