Fan Fiction |
by Caryn
Steve spat at me during his trial and I saw that menacing twinkle in his eyes. I shuddered at his gaze. He was sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment. Alex said he’s lucky to have got off so lightly. I shrugged. I’m just relieved that I will not be bothered for another 20 years. The whole gang actually attended the trial. Frost was muttering under her breath all the time, as if cursing something. Cherian just didn’t want to look at Steve. However, Steve just smirked when he received the sentence. As if, being imprisoned means nothing to him. I just hope that while he’s serving his sentence, he would come out as a changed man.
“Do you think Steve’s mom knows about this whole thing? Including him serving a 20 year sentence?” Cherian asked timidly.
“Maybe she knows but she probably doesn’t give a damn about it.” I said.
“Thank god you’re both safe.” Frost said in a motherly fashion.
“Whatever happened to the spicy flirtatious Frost that I knew?” Vanness asked.
“That other side of her will return after a few days perhaps. After she forgets this whole incident. Don’t worry.” I winked.
Alex laughed. We were sitting in a nearby café after the trial. Everybody seems to have returned to normal. They try not to bring this whole Steve subject up again. Hopefully, everybody will stop treating me like a baby by then. Come to think of it, Alex was acting a little bit different. I just can’t put my finger to it. Something’s changed. I don’t know what but he still seems okay so I guess it’s not that serious. After all, sometimes changes are good.
I spent a lot of time at the gym once the trial was over. It’s probably because I felt a little bit guilty for not being able to help Won Bin out with things at the gym. It was at that moment that something stirred inside me. Something I never thought would happen to me after what Steve did to me in the past. I felt really embarrassed with myself and also angry for letting myself feel this way when I shouldn’t. God help me for I think I feel something more for Won Bin. Help me get through this.
I took out my keys and opened the door. The house was quiet and stuffy so I opened the windows. There was a slight breeze and the wind chimes tinkled as the wind caressed them. I plopped down on the sofa and heaved a huge sigh. This cannot be happening. Not now and not him. He may be my friend but he is also my colleague and I know very well that office relationships rarely work out. I just cannot waste time thinking about relationships. Moreover, he might not like me at all. Argh!! This is so frustrating.
My career is not even that strong yet and I will not let things like these stand in the way of my career. I don’t care if I don’t get married in the future. As long as I have a stable career, I don’t need a man to take care of me. That’s right. That’s the attitude that drove me forward all these years and I will not change it. Why can’t men and women have platonic relationships? Everyone says it’s possible but in reality it just isn’t that easy. Well, at least I still have a platonic relationship with Alex and Vanness so thank god for that. I don’t need more trouble.
The door opened and there was chattering at the door.
“Frost, I must tell you not to bring my sister out shopping so often anymore.” I said sternly.
“I’ve got nothing to do at home. So what else can I do but shop?” Cherian stood by Frost’s side.
“Hey, you’re not working. So where did you get all the amount of money to shop?” I eyed Cherian suspiciously.
“I’ve got my ways.” Cherian said and stuck her tongue out.
“You don’t like to shop so I had to find your sister to accompany me.” Frost shrugged.
“Accompanying you is one thing but she’s also spending money. She’s got to think for her future you know.” I shook my head.
“Come on, chill out will you? Once she runs out of money, she’ll find a job. As long as she’s not spending your money, let her do what she wants. After all, she’s an adult.” Frost offered her ‘matured’ opinion.
“Right. An older sister now can’t even be concerned about her younger sister without being labelled as overprotective.
Frost laughed. “Have you eaten your dinner?” Cherian asked as she rummaged through her shopping bags.
“No. I just reached home.” I said.
“Let’s go out for dinner then. My treat.” Frost said.
“Your treat? Did the sun rise from the west today?” I raised my eyebrow.
“Hey, there’s nothing wrong in treating your friends to dinner once in a while right?” Frost smiled sweetly.
“Well, let’s go already! I’m so starved I could eat a cow.” Cherian rubbed her stomach.
I laughed. “Okay, let’s go then.”
After a sumptuous dinner, the three of us decided to walk around. We seemed to be a rowdy bunch because Frost wouldn’t stop chattering about this new hot salesman at the mall and Cherian couldn’t help herself but squeal in delight when Frost described him in detail. It looks like their world is simple enough. I smiled occasionally to show that I’m listening but I was in fact drifting away. Having been starved of love, I actually longed for a steady relationship with a man. I might deny on the surface but deep down inside I just can’t help thinking if there is such a thing as the perfect love.
There can never be a perfect man or a perfect woman so how can there be perfect love? But who doesn’t want a perfect relationship? A relationship that is free of hurt and deceit. A relationship so perfect it can only exist in fairytales. Does fate really play a role in relationships? Can colleagues be more than colleagues without jeopardising the current relationship? When did this feeling of loneliness appear? When did it start to take hold of my heart and squeeze it as hard as it could?
This tough image is just a façade to prevent others from seeing the other side of me. At times I felt so lonely I thought I was going to die. I could feel an invisible hand wrenching my heart out. It’s true that friends are all you need but there are things that friends alone cannot satiate. It must have been a long time since I started to think because Frost shook me real hard, waking me to my senses.
“Hey, what’s up with you?” Frost was almost mad that I didn’t pay attention to her.
“Sorry, I was just thinking of something.” I smiled sheepishly.
“Can we help you?” Cherian was concerned.
“Nah…. It’s nothing. So, where are we heading to now?” I asked trying to change the topic.
“I don’t know actually. We’ve walked around for a long time already. Wanna have a drink?” Frost suggested.
“Sure. How about you, Caryn?” Cherian looked at me.
“Okay. Whatever you say my queen.” I did a little bow at Frost. We laughed.
We finally sat down at a decent pub with some decent music. The atmosphere was really nice. The pub was lighted up with dim lights as there was a live band there playing jazz numbers. It was really soothing.
“I’ve got a surprise coming up.” Frost whispered gleefully.
“What surprise?” Cherian asked while I raised my eyebrow.
“You’ll see soon enough.” Frost continued to snicker. Really, sometimes I wonder if Frost’s brain might be damaged or something.
As I drank my glass of vodka, I scanned the pub. Who knows if there might be a cute guy, right? I need to get my mind off the whole Won Bin matter. Suddenly, a pair of hands covered my eyes. I was startled.
“Who is it?” I touched the pair of hands.
“Who’s this?” I could hear Cherian asking aloud. Looks like I’m not the only one and looks like Frost is the only one who’s eyes are not being covered by a pair of anonymous hands.
“Guess who?” she asked. I could feel that she’s smiling.
“I know it’s a guy.” Cherian said.
“Same here.” I said.
“Is it some hot guy you’re introducing to us, Frost?” Cherian asked hopefully.
“Of course. If they weren’t hot, I wouldn’t ask them to come right?” Frost sounds like she’s having a lot of fun.
“Come on, just tell us.” I said. I don’t have much patience to play guessing games.
“Just say a name at random. If you get it right, then he’ll take his hands away.” Frost said. As if I do not know how the whole thing works.
To get more clues, I touched his hands and fingers. His fingernails are short and scratched and there are rough lines on his fingers. I could feel it when he pressed them on my skin. His hands are strong and big. I took a wild guess.
“Alex?”
The hands moved away from my eyes. My sight was blurry and it took a while to adjust. “How did you know it was me?” Alex’s goofy face came into view.
“Rough lines on your fingers show that you always come into contact with strings which made me think of archery. You have scratched nails like me which shows that you rock-climb. All these clues I put them together and I thought it might be you.” I said smugly.
“Wow, all these from a pair of hands? Amazing.” Frost said.
“I still can’t figure mine out.” Frost pouted.
“Let me give you a clue. It’s someone you knew recently.” She’s my sister. Obviously I had to help her.
“Someone I knew recently? Since Alex is here, I guess I know who it is. Vanness!” Cherian said happily.
“How did you guess?” Vanness said as he took his hands away.
“Well, Caryn’s clue did help me a little. There are only three guys I knew recently which are Alex, Won Bin and you. Since Won Bin is such a gentleman, he wouldn’t do this kinda thing. So I reckon it must be you.” She certainly has my style of answering questions.
Won Bin? He’s here? I looked around and saw him smiling ever so politely at Cherian and I. Damn! Just when I needed a break away from him, he’s here. I was feeling a little bit awkward but no one else noticed maybe because I didn’t tell anyone about my feelings towards Won Bin. I’m glad I didn’t tell any one of them. I would be the laughing stock of the group and I can assure you that it’s no fun at all.
I sat quietly and drank my vodka. They were having a great time as the effects of alcohol began to take over Frost, Cherian, Alex and Vanness. Won Bin was just sitting there, smiling and looking suave. Darn! Why does he have to look so good? Stop it! Don’t think about him. I gave myself a mental slap. Suddenly, the floor began to look interesting to me as I stared at it hard. I heard a chair scrape beside me.
“The floor is certainly very interesting, isn’t it?” his teasing voice floated around me.
“Huh?” I was stupefied.
“Well, I couldn’t help noticing you noticing the floor. So I came over to see what’s so interesting about the floor.” Won Bin said.
I gave an uneasy laugh. “After such a long time looking at how they make a fool out of themselves, the floor does tend to look appealing.”
He laughed. “It’s true.”
That was it. The conversation ended there. There were no more words between us, just silence. Occasionally we would laugh at Frost and gang but that’s it. Is it a sign telling me that there is nothing more between Won Bin and me? That we’ve nothing else in common? That we’re just not meant to be?