Chapter 16: To fall in love is scary
Wu dropped off the ladies at Lijuan's Place. Jessica wanted to spend the night there.
"Hey, where'd you get the stuffed elephant from?" Lijuan asked, stepping into the living room after the door opened, and the light sensors picked up her presence.
Jessica held tight unto the stuffed animal "That man, Xin is his name. Well, he won it for me at a game stall."
"You seemed troubled back then. Especially when you were at the beach. Did something happen between you two? Did he try?.."
"No...it's not that. He almost got into a fight because of me."
Lijuan raised a brow then crossed her arms "Are you being serious? If that's what happened, it means he was just looking out for you like a normal date would."
"He wasn't my 'date' He was just someone that agreed to accompany me. Wanting to get into a fight really made me upset. I didn't ask him to, it made me feel vulnerable."
"Aww, Jessica" Lijuan wrapped her arms around the lady "I know you don't want to give him the idea that you're someone soft, but maybe you're only looking at things from your perspective. Maybe he didn't want to fight because he viewed you as a fragile person. He probably was angry at whatever transpired, and he didn't think it through. If that makes sense.."
Lijuan tried to explain to her friend why she shouldn't always blame people's actions for making her feel the way she'd always viewed herself, no matter how many times she denied it.
Jessica wasn't as strong as she wanted to be, and whenever people treat her like that, it made her angry, sometimes too numb from the sadness of the past being a heavy weight on her back.
"You should talk to him."
"No. I don't want anything to do with him."
"You sure?"
"Ye-" The cheesy look on Lijuan's face made Jessica pause.
"I don't know what exactly you're thinking, but don't think about the impossible."
"Yes, ma'am" Lijuan said then chuckled "Did you enjoy our little get together?"
"It was alright."
"It made me thrilled, but I'm sad we didn't get to take a picture so I can add it to my time machine. It's something I've always wanted to do with a group of friends. Thank you for making it possible, Jessica. Words can't explain what today meant to me."
"It's fine. I'm glad it made you happy."
After their chatters and random gossip, lijuan slept off, but Jessica remained awake, thinking whether she should or shouldn't talk to Xin about what happened. There was still something she wanted to know, after all.
*
Xin yawned as he plopped himself on the bed and kicked his shoes from his feet "I'm so tired." He frantically sat up with widened eyes after he realised he forgot to reply Hana's message.
"Sorry I'm just texting back now. I've been busy. I didn't mean to leave you on read. Will tomorrow at the bar do?" Once he sent his text, he laid on the bed then put his phone away. He turned to his side and a brief recap of his fight with Jessica replayed in his head.
"Don't treat me like I'm weak... You both are of the same class, but an elite like myself remained cool... Just stay away…" Her words echoed in his ears and it baffled him.
One day she seems like someone that needs all the emotional support she could get, another day she's back to being strong and conceited. Xin was trying to understand her, but her behaviours were confusing, and most importantly he wondered why he cared so much and why he apologized to her first, so fast, and even though he saw nothing wrong with trying to back her up.
He sighed "I guess the problem is her insecurities."
***
The next day - 9:50pm
Hana made way through the crowded bar, eyes on Xin as she approached. Ice clinked against the glass, and the smell of cocaine that bellowed from cigars wafted towards her. Xin's eyes moved from the assortment of people perched on bar stools before him and settled on Hana's reddened gaze.
"Hana?"
"How dare you!!!" Her holler reverberated in his ears like a clap of thunder, and the bar that was once peacefully became polluted with range. Everyone turned to watch the scene unfolding.
"What are you talking about?" He titled his head, then his eyes scanned her to find a hint of what was causing her anger.
"You're disgusting! You're a cheat! You think I'm stupid? You think i wouldn't find out? You're a useless liar!"
"Hana, what are you talking about? What's gotten into you?"
"Shut up and stop denying it you BASTARDIZED FOOL!"
She was steaming right up in Xin's face. She clearly wanted a fight, but he wouldn't give her one because he could tell she'd started taking drugs again.
"After having sex with you! After doing everything you wanted, you always treated me like dirt!"
"I treated you like dirt?!" He breathed slowly, trying not to be more irritated.
Hana turned back, calling the attention of everyone in the bar "This man is disgusting. He uses people for sex and dumps them. He has a small dick and I think I even did his sorry ass a favour by staying with him."
Xin had never heard such bullshit before. He stayed silent and just let her tirade until her voice got raspy and she could barely speak.
"I tried my best to satisfy... I tried my best to make you always want me and in the end look at what you've done to me, Xin! You brought this part of me back, Xin! You're sick and you're a pig! I fucking hate you! I should've known what you truly were behind your I care for everyone and not myself disguise. You're fake and I want everyone here to see that! Men like you should be dead."
Her face mottled crimson, her eyes popped, and her neck strained as her slurs were spat out with the ferocity and rapidity of machine gun fire.
When Xin started thumping the counter with his fingertips, she thought she'd won. He'd never slugged her yet, but she knew she'd pushed him harder than was wise.
He leant closer, perfectly composed and uttered just two words straight to her ashen face, "Go home."
"Is that all you have to say?"
Xin remained as still as a cadaver and just as pallid, unblinking against her words and didn't provide an answer to it.
"Is that all you have to say, Xin?" She was simmering again. Then, with a barely concealed smirk, Xin turned back and carried on with his work.
Giving into the next level of her anger, she grabbed the closest thing her hand could reach and smashed the bear bottle at the back of his head, watching the glittering fragments fall to the ground and smiling at the sound of breaking glass.
He was frozen In his place, trying to understand what was happening before he slowly turned back and almost met a jab to his face. He fell back, dodging Hana's attack, and the pieces on the ground left cuts on the palm of his hands.
"Let me go! Let me go!!" Hana screamed. She wasn't satisfied. She wanted to teach him a lesson for leaving her. "He deserves it. You are all biased because you're men that cheat on your wives."
Xin was attended to. They checked the places he was bleeding at and his head had a deep wound from the impact.
"Someone call 911!"
"I'm… I'm fine...I can get up...it's just" He blinked continuously, trying to keep himself from losing consciousness. "I'm…" He shook his head, held unto the counter to try getting up, but his body failed him and he fell back once again, hurting himself even more.
"Sir, don't move too much. Wait for the ambulance…"
"Fine... I'm... I'm fine... what's happening?.. what happened…"
Once Hana finally slithered out of the man's loosened grip, she ran away, realising what she'd done after the deed was irreversible. She stopped at the nearest phone booth and called her friend "Mihyo... mihyo... I did something terrible…"
"Hana, why are you calling with a public line? Where are you? And what on earth did you do…"
"Xin…"
"What about him?"
"I attacked him."
"Is that why you're worried? Ugh," Her friend hissed.
"But he was bleeding…"
"Why should you care? Men like him are the problems of the world. You did a heroic deed. That'll teach him a lesson. Don't feel bad."
"Are you sure?"
"The girls are here with me. They all agree. So come to my place and let's have a couple of drinks, okay, sweetheart."
"Thanks for having my back Mihyo. Tell the others I'm grateful you all care about me."
"Of course we do. So we'll see you there. Bye"
"Bye" Mihyo hung up then rolled her eyes.
"Hey, how long are we supposed to be that girl's friend. Since she attacked her ex, how are we going to be getting money now?"
"We'll find a replacement duh."