Chapter 15 Concerned

Bea

I sighed heavily. There was no point in coming here after all. The only person I found was Marco, which was unusual for me.

Does he usually come to places like this? Or is this the first time? I couldn't tell since he was so hard to read.

He raised an eyebrow as he noticed me staring at him.

"You still haven't answered my question, Marco," I said, but instead of replying, he pretended to be deaf.

"Are you ignoring me?" I asked irritably. I was already on edge from his footsteps earlier, and he hadn't even responded when I said hello.

He looked at me for a few seconds before he started walking towards me. His eyes were deadly serious as he approached, never breaking eye contact. He was intently staring at me!

"Why are you coming closer?" I asked, nervous.

He didn't answer and continued his slow approach.

"I swear, if you come any closer, I'll scream," I threatened, backing away slowly.

He stopped in his tracks and raised an eyebrow at me before bursting into laughter.

"I'm just scaring you. You don't need to be afraid. I thought you wouldn't be scared since you came here alone," he said, still laughing.

I clenched my fists and approached him to slap him. "Do you think this is funny? Do you think I wanted to come here? Do you think pulling that trick would make me laugh?" I asked in disbelief.

I wanted to cry at what he was doing to me. What did I ever do to this guy?

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it that way," he said, his eyes softening as he apologized.

"I thought it would ease your seriousness since you've been so tense. And besides, I came here because, just like you, someone texted me to come," he explained.

I looked up at him. "See? My question was so simple. Why did you have to do that? Now I'm starting to be suspicious of you," I said and walked away from him.

"I didn't know how to explain it to you at first because, like you, I was also stunned to see you here. And... do we have to go over this again? I didn't mean to scare you. How was I supposed to know you were easily frightened? I didn't expect you'd be scared that way," he said, walking closer to me.

He offered me his handkerchief, and I took it as I felt my eyes starting to water.

"Who wouldn't be scared? Did you know they stopped constructing this building because they found a body here? Tell me, who wouldn't be scared? I almost suspected you of committing the crime," I said, rolling my eyes as I wiped my tears.

"What the? With my good looks? You suspect me? No way! If I were to commit a crime, I'd make sure no one ever found the body. Tsk," he defended himself.

"Besides, if I were the suspect, I wouldn't have saved you from jumping," he mumbled beside me, but his voice was too low for me to hear.

"What did you say?" I glared at him.

He mockingly smiled at me and walked over to the railing, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it.

"You said you were meeting someone here? Why? Why here of all places?" he asked, staring into the distance.

"I was returning something that belonged to him. He lent it to me," I answered.

"Do you actually remember that person?" he asked again.

Why does this guy have so many questions? "I don't exactly remember his face, which is why I'm here, hoping to recognize him now."

I heard him laugh softly. "What a coincidence. I also came here to meet someone. You know what's funny? When I met her, she was so silent. She never spoke a word."

"But did the person you're waiting for show up?" I asked. Why did the atmosphere suddenly feel so familiar?

He glanced at me and slowly exhaled smoke. "She actually did," he said directly.

I looked at him in shock, but I didn't want to believe what I was thinking. Maybe I was wrong. "You said someone texted you to come here, just like me. Do you know who it might be?" I changed the topic.

"Do you think I'm a detective who would know who sent an anonymous message?" he said.

"Sorry, I thought you might know," I apologized.

"So, what's your plan now?" I asked.

He gave me a look. "Go home, of course. What else would I do here? Stay overnight?" he said sarcastically.

I massaged my temples and took a deep breath. "Gosh, grant me patience with this guy."

I never expected to have this kind of conversation with Marco. Who would have thought he had this attitude as if he was born to annoy people? I think when his mom was pregnant with him, she was craving the worst neighbor's attitude. His ego was as big as the universe.

"What are you thinking?" he asked.

"About how to push you over the railing," I rolled my eyes.

From a distance, I could smell the cigarettes coming from him, and I couldn't help but cough.

"You don't like the smell of cigarettes?" he asked when he noticed me coughing.

I shook my head. "No, I hate the smell of cigarettes," I said.

In a few minutes, he threw the cigarette on the ground and stomped it out.

"What a waste. Why did you throw it away?" I asked, surprised.

He looked at me, a question in his eyes. "Didn't you say you dislike the smell of cigarettes?"

"How many times do I have to say it? Your questions are getting annoying," I snapped at him.

"You're the annoying one. I'm just clarifying if you really hate the smell of cigarettes. You know, I feel like putting you in a sack. Tsk," he replied irritably.

"And I feel like getting you whacked!" I shouted back at him.

"Naturally, I threw the cigarette away because you were coughing so much you seemed like you were going to run out of breath," he said, frustrated.

I fell silent at his words. Was he actually concerned about me?