The Grumpy Old Hag

"Yumi, you haven't answered my question. Why not accept Lakan's offer?" Sali returns to the question that Mayumi failed to answer earlier.

Mayumi lets out a long sigh. "Sali, have you forgotten? I declined it many years ago. There's nothing to accept anymore."

"Then ask him whether a position is available," Sali advised.

"I'm not that desperate to land a job where my patience would be tested on a regular basis. I'm past that and don't want to experience that ever again," Mayumi yaps, making Sali burst into another fit of giggles.

But the truth is, even if it's the brat, Mayumi doesn't have the face to ask him about the position she had already turned down.

Lakan reached out to her when the orphan school was just starting, offering her a teaching position. However, back then, she was still relishing life in the country's richest city. But more than anything, she had already grown so attached to her students that she couldn't simply leave them and return to her hometown.

The sudden vibration in Mayumi's pocket interrupted her thoughts. She takes her phone out and groans upon seeing 'Brat' on the screen.

"Speaking of the devil." She's not in the mood to deal with Lakan, so she hangs up. However, her eyes soon snap wide upon reading his message. "Why the heck is he at my apartment?"

Sali scooches closer to Mayumi to peer at her phone and asks, "Who? Lakan the hottie?"

"Yep." It's too late when Mayumi realizes that she agreed on two things: that Lakan is the person in question and that he's a hottie. She considers explaining but ultimately decides against it since Sali appears to be unaware of her thoughtless agreement. Why are you there?

What time will you be home?

Sali pokes her side, chuckling. "Yumi, I bet the reason why you don't see him as a friend is because you two are more than that."

"I'd choose to become a nun even if he's the last man on earth." Mayumi puts up a sour expression as she starts typing again, unconcerned that Sali is snooping beside her.

I won't be home tonight. Be sleeping at a friend's house. What do you need? She wonders what he needs this time because it's the only reason he calls her.

Now that he's at her place, she can't help but worry about what he's up to. And why is he in Metro Manila? Well, it could have something to do with their hotel branch. But how could that possibly be related to her?

At last, you found yourself a boyfriend, grumpy old hag. ♡⸜(˶˃ ᵕ ˂˶)⸝♡

Lakan takes delight in calling Mayumi a 'grumpy old hag' for as long as she can remember. First, because although she isn't that old, she's 2 years his senior. Second, because despite being composed most of the time, Lakan consistently manages to bring out the worst in her.

"I bet he's hurt deep inside," Sali comments, and Mayumi quickly shoots her a pointed look. "Fine. Fine." Sali tosses her hands up in the air and zips her lips.

It's not what you think, brat. Now get lost. I won't be responding after this. Looks like it's nothing urgent because Lakan's not the type to beat around the bush, so she doesn't want to prolong their conversation. After setting her phone in silence, she puts it in her messenger bag and takes out an umbrella.

"Thank you," Sali says with a smile as the shopkeeper hands her their order. "Are you sure you won't see him? It might be a sign to ask him about the teaching post," she asserts, watching Mayumi open her umbrella.

Mayumi hops off the pavement onto the wet asphalt road. "Told you I'm not that desperate." Is she really not, though? Even she is starting to question her own resolve. After tomorrow, she'll be jobless. Sure, she has savings, but only enough to cover her living expenses for a few months. Teacher salaries are, in fact, among the lowest in the country.

And what about the house she bought her parents? She can't stand to lose it, considering that owning a home was her family's longtime dream. She needs to keep her parents from knowing about her situation, or else they'll insist on selling the house that she has been working hard for.

"Okay. As you please." Sali wraps an arm around Mayumi so they can fit under one small umbrella.

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Lakan swings the door wide open and fumbles for the light switch, which, from what he remembers, is just beside the door.

He squeezes his eyes shut because the bright light instantly blinds him. When he opens them again after giving them some time to adjust, it's her living room that greets his view.

Mayumi's love for the bygone era is evident in her home. The white walls are mostly accented with walnut-colored furniture and replicas of her favorite historical paintings. Different pastel-colored ornaments bring life to the predominant dull hue.

Entering her apartment, he removes his charcoal Oxford shoes, setting them perfectly upright against the wall adjacent to the entrance. He pushes the safety pin back into his waistband.

Upon realizing how easy it is to break into her apartment, he changes his mind about not leaving a trace. He'll make sure she finds out someone has been in there, but he doesn't have a specific idea in mind until his stomach growls.

He wanders over to the kitchen, places his helmet on the countertop, and opens the fridge.

His lips pull up into a triumphant smile upon finding a food container. He grabs it and takes off the cover. It's a chicken pastel, one of his favorite dishes. He glances back to the fridge and closes it when he realizes there's no leftover rice.

He searches for a microwave oven and finds it nested on a white rack on the countertop. He opens it, places the container inside, and sets the timer for 3 minutes.

As he waits, he checks the rice cooker sitting at the rack's lower level but finds it empty. He goes back to the fridge in the hopes of finding any desserts or sweets he can gobble down, but there are none.

It doesn't come as a surprise, though. He knows Mayumi doesn't have a sweet tooth—the literal opposite of him. But what gives him a glimmer of hope is her love for baking.

"She is a complicated woman, indeed," Lakan tells himself with a smile, slowly shaking his head.

His gaze lands on a couple of beers.

Although he doesn't really get why most people, particularly his friends, enjoy drinking alcoholic beverages, he ends up grabbing one. Perhaps Mayumi will be more alarmed if one of her prized beers is missing.

Holding a bottle of beer, Lakan pulls up the kitchen drawer and gets a set of cutlery. He secures them between his lips, and after retrieving his warm meal with his free hand, he heads to the crimson lover's couch, the only available seat in Mayumi's small living room.

As soon as he sets everything on the center table, he pulls off his riding glovelettes. Famished, he begins feasting. Gone is the aristocratic dining etiquette. He gobbles the food up like a caveman who hasn't eaten anything in weeks.

"That old hag is really a good cook. I'd give her that," he says with his mouth full, bobbing his head in satisfaction. With just a few spoonfuls, he finishes his dinner. He picks up the beer and pops the cap off with the spoon.

Feeling full, he reclines and stretches his long legs, resting his heels on the center table. With his arm sprawled across the back of the couch, he begins to guzzle the beer. His face scrunches up at the acrid taste. Nope, he was mistaken. He taps the bottle he had barely drunk back onto the center table.

There's no way he can take the taste of beer.

Thinking he'll be awake before Mayumi gets home, he finally gives in to the rest he badly needs. Standing at 6'2", he realizes he won't fit on the couch, so he gets to his feet and slips into the bedroom.

The moonlight streams through the curtain, but it doesn't provide enough illumination for his high-contrast-dependent eyes. He turns his phone's flashlight on, then threads his way to the foot of the queen-sized bed and proceeds to take off his wet garments, leaving just his boxer. He removes his spectacles and sets them on the bedside table that's within reach.

As soon as he hops on the bed on his stomach, the smell of lavender coming off the pillow quickly invades his olfactory senses. It's as though the embroidered flowers on the sheet suddenly sprung to life.

"She hasn't changed her shampoo, huh?" He mumbles as Mayumi's soothing scent begins to lull him to sleep.

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To be continued…