Chapter 9

Today Bara felt bored because he only spent his time watching TV alone since this morning. He didn't know what else to do to fill his free time. Everyone at home, his uncle Nick and his cousin Megan went somewhere since this morning. They didn't tell Bara where they went or when they would come back. Bara felt abandoned and lonely.

Bara intended to go out for some fresh air. He wanted to forget for a moment his problem with Emi, his girlfriend who had just broken up with him. Bara still couldn't accept the fact that Emi no longer loved him. He still hoped there was a chance to fix their relationship.

Before leaving, he walked to the kitchen to get a glass of water from the dining table. He saw some leftover food that hadn't been cleaned on the plates. He sighed and decided not to care.

Soon, Megan and Tony arrived. They looked very happy and came with laughter because of their jokes. They had just returned from shopping at the mall. They bought a lot of interesting and cheap items. They also ate at their favorite restaurant. They felt satisfied and happy.

"How about Emi? On a holiday like this, don't you meet?" Megan asked, putting some plastic bags containing food on the dining table. She saw Bara drinking water with a gloomy face. She knew Bara was sad because of Emi.

Bara just shook his head and then took his jacket that was on the chair and put it on. He didn't want to answer Megan's question. He felt Megan wouldn't understand his feelings. He felt Megan just wanted to hurt his heart by talking about Emi. He felt Megan didn't need to know that his relationship with Emi was over.

"I'll be back." Bara said, leaving Megan and Tony at home. He didn't know where to go. He just wanted to go to cheer up his broken heart.

Megan and Tony exchanged glances, seeing Bara so gloomy. He even looked like he didn't want to talk about Emi this time. They felt sorry for Bara. They knew Bara loved Emi very much. They really wanted to help Bara to get up and be happy again.

"I'm not sure their relationship will be okay." Megan said, pouting her lips. She felt guilty because she might have hurt Bara's feelings with her question. She felt rude because she had disturbed Bara who was sad.

"Yes, you're right, let's just see how it ends later." Tony replied, immediately tidying up the shopping he brought earlier. He felt uncomfortable because he might have enjoyed his holiday while Bara was sad.

Megan still stared at the door that Bara had passed, who had disappeared from there. A sense of worry arose in Megan's mind. She hoped Bara wouldn't do anything stupid that could endanger himself. She hoped Bara could find a way out of his sadness. She hoped Bara could find true happiness.

***

Jane was walking carrying groceries that her mother asked her to do. Today she replaced her mother to go shopping at the supermarket. She had to buy some cooking ingredients and household needs. She felt burdened by the task given by her mother. She felt it was unfair because she had to sacrifice her holiday to go shopping.

"How could it be, a day when I should rest, filled with shopping activities like this." Jane grumbled, annoyed at her mother.

Her annoyance increased when she was splashed by water from a puddle that was crossed by a speeding car. The water dirtied her white clothes. The water also made her groceries wet and messy.

"Hey! Are you blind?! Don't you see that there are people here?!" Jane shouted angrily, putting her groceries down. She tried to clean her dirty clothes with her bare hands and dry her wet face with her sleeve.

As Jane cursed the car that was already far away. Without Jane realizing it, there was a man who had been following her since earlier and tried to take the wallet that was in the back pocket of Jane's pants. Yes, Jane is a very careless girl. She put her wallet a little more protruding out. So it seemed that someone could easily take it without Jane knowing.

Bara, who happened to pass by, saw the man's actions and quietly hit the man from behind. He couldn't bear to see Jane, who was already unlucky, become a victim of theft. He didn't like seeing a man who dared to steal from a girl. So he didn't hesitate to act and protect Jane.

Jane didn't know anything at all. When Jane turned around, the man had run away because his action was known by Bara. Jane didn't realize that her wallet was almost stolen by the man. Jane also didn't realize that Bara had helped her from danger.

Jane was very surprised when she saw Bara behind her with a face that looked very angry at the man earlier. Jane still couldn't figure out what had just happened. She just kept looking at Bara until Bara realized that Jane didn't stop looking at him.

"What's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that? Have we met before?" Bara asked, puzzled by Jane's gaze. He didn't understand why Jane looked at him with full attention.

It turned out that Bara forgot that the beautiful face was the face he gave his smile to yesterday in the auditorium. He forgot that Jane was his junior on campus. He forgot that Jane was the girl who watched him from afar yesterday.

"Y-yes, hmm I-I mean, you are my senior on campus." Jane answered, sounding so nervous because she never expected to meet Bara in a place like this. She felt embarrassed because Bara saw her in a messy state. She felt nervous because Bara spoke to her closely.

"Next time, you have to be more alert and careful!" Bara advised, so that Jane wouldn't be careless again. He was worried that Jane would be a target for thieves again.

Jane just nodded and smiled. While Bara left her.

Jane, who came to her senses, quickly took steps to go home with a feeling of disbelief. She even forgot to thank Bara. She could only say thank you in her heart.

Arriving at home, Jane grumbled at her mother. Because her mother almost lost all her shopping money this week. Jane blamed her mother for telling her to shop and making her experience bad luck.

Jane still felt annoyed remembering the incident earlier. Jane then went to her room.

As soon as she entered the room, Jane immediately threw her body on the bed. She stared at the empty and white ceiling. She muttered in her heart and remembered Bara. She remembered his handsome face, his soft voice, his strong hands, and his sweet smile. She felt something warm and comfortable in her chest. She felt something pounding and nervous in her heart when she remembered Bara.

"Bara, helped me?" Jane muttered with a smile that suddenly appeared on her face. She didn't expect that Bara had saved her. She was amazed by Bara who had protected her.

***