Chapter 8 "Embarrassing Moments"

Ryan caught Vincent’s attention the first time met.

They were in the cafe when Vincent saw Ryan sitting in afar while listening to his song. While he performed, he was surprised to see her cry and wipe her tears. He, then, misunderstood that his song played a big role in her tears.

Therefore, Vincent could not forget her since then. He was trying so hard to guess the reason behind the weird woman’s cry. Vincent that his song probably touched her heart.

Anyway, he is not attracted to her romantically. Just curious.

Vincent went to the rooftop of the boarding house with his guitar. He was the first one who came home, and he decided to chill out at that place. While he was there, he saw Ryan and Chaylen together.

Vincent blinked. He did not know what they were saying, nor see the expressions on their faces. However, they seemed serious and all stuff, so he watched curiously.

Moments later, Chaylen was seen walking away while Ryan stood at her place, sighing. After standing like a whimpering dog, Ryan dragged her feet toward the entrance of the boarding house.

The wind suddenly blew hard.

Whish!

What came next was an eye-opener for Vincent.

“Omg!” Ryan exclaimed, putting her hands on her skirt which was blown by the wind. It went upward, and Vincent showed what was inside under her skirt.

Blue shorts.

It was dim but Vincent was sure he saw that she was wearing a Doraemon-printed blue short.

“...”

Ryan quickly looked around her but forgot to check the upper side. She placed her hand on her chest and murmured, “Good thing no one saw it.”

Thinking that no one saw her embarrassing moment, Ryan entered the house with a smile.

Meanwhile, Vincent had a hard time processing what the hell had happened. He blinked swiftly, as if dumbfounded before a crackle of laughs slipped from his mouth.

“Pfft…!”

He rarely laughs, even at Slyvester’s funniest joke. However…

“She is so funny,” he uttered while shaking his head and wiping the tears from the corners of his eyes.

Vincent calmed himself first before going back inside the warm house. He put his guitar inside his room and went to the kitchen.

He was craving ice cream. Actually, his manager told him many times to avoid eating cold sweet foods because a lot of gigs schedules lined up at this moment. Yet, he thought that tonight could be his cheat day.

‘Since I am in a good mood,’ he cheered himself.

When he got to the kitchen, he saw the lady who made him laugh hysterically on the rooftop. She is currently doing the dishes.

The first thing that came inside Vincent’s head was not about the Doraemon short incident, but the mystery behind her tears a few days ago. So, Vincent thought of an idea.

‘Maybe, if we became close, it won’t be awkward to ask her about that.’

Thus, Vincent started his ‘Befriending Ryan Operation’ tonight.

“Do you want some help?” he asked as he approached her side.

Ryan’s small eyes doubled their size. She looked back at him and found it very odd to see him speak like this; moreover, offering to ask her for help.

“No! No! No! I can do this,” Ryan declined.

Vincent could feel that Ryan isn’t comfortable with him, just based on her polite tone. Well, he can’t blame her. Almost all people around him feel the same. For them, he is just like a wall, hard to understand. Kyle and Slyvester are the only ones whom he considered his friends.

“Don’t you like me to be your friend?” Vincent teased Ryan. It’s obvious that Ryan would say yes, yet Vincent cornered her with this sadistic question.

He’s a quiet guy. But not all quiet people are kind.

“Actually, I don’t befriend men,” Ryan shyly answered.

Vincent froze for a moment. He couldn’t believe she would take the joke seriously.

Then, Ryan continued.

“But when I got close with Kyle and Slyvester, I think it’s not that bad to have male friends. Vincent is quiet and a little bit weird. No, you are really a weirdo. So, I don’t exactly know how will I behave in front of you.”

He wanted to clap his hands and praised her braveness for calling her a weirdo in such a straightforward answer. However, instead of clapping, Vincent just laughed, AGAIN.

“But if you will always laugh like this,” she added while pointing to his cheerful face, “I think we can be buddies.”

The smile on his lips quickly evaporated. He never let his guard down, but somehow, Ryan made him.

“I saw your short before,” Vincent suddenly changed the topic. “The wind blew your skirt.”

“...”

Ryan’s cheeks turned red.

“H-How did you see it?” she inquired, hoping that it was just a joke.

He raised his index finger. Then he said, “From the rooftop.”

Ryan avoided her gaze. She chose to focus on washing the dishes as if nothing has happened. Of course, she was so embarrassed inwardly that she wanted to be like the bubbles on her hands.

Vincent enjoyed watching the scene. He admitted that he finds entertainment in annoying someone. But there are two reasons why he does that.

First, because he hates that person.

Or second, he found that person cute.

If he’s teasing Ryan because of the second reason, Vincent isn’t sure. Next time, he will definitely seek the answer.

‘For now, I will enjoy bullying this weirdo,’ Vincent promised.

****************** **************

Someone bumped into Terban’s back as he walked around the campus.

“Oh my god! I am so sorry!”

Terban turned around and then deducted the reason for their collision. The girl was taking selfie while walking backward, that’s why she bumped into him. There’s enough reason for him to get angry. Yet Terban decided to stay low for now because many is looking at their side.

“I am not okay,” he said, “but I will try.”

The woman frowned.

Terban walked away from her but was dragged back because she pulled the hemline of his sleeves back.

“Wait a minute!”

With a crumpled expression, Terban tilted his head and said, “What do you think you’re doing? You’ll wrinkle my clothes.”

She quickly let go of his sleeves.

“I’m sorry,” she apologized again. Hearing that for the second time put Terban in a bad mood.

He hates people who kept doing things that made them look dumb.

“Actually, I read your name from your ID,” the girl murmured in a shy tone, then pointed to the ID that Terban just got yesterday.

‘What’s wrong with my name?’ Terban wondered. ‘I know that my name is cool. Even the owner.’

“So?” he asked while raising his brows. 

“I have a friend,” she said. “She’s looking for a man who has the same name as yours.”

Terban’s eyes widened. He guessed that it must be Ryan that he is looking for! Not the idiot Ryan Mcguffin from the boarding house!

“What is your friend’s name?” Terban asked her with her heart beating so fast.

“Ryan,” the answer that gave him hope.

A sweet genuine smile escaped from his lips. “Ryan Hill?” He continued.

Terban noticed the girl’s hesitation. Then she nodded her head, “That is… her name before. But her surname changed right now. She isn’t Ryan Hill anymore.”

 Terban felt a bad premonition. He gulped as she waited for the answer.

“Her full name is Ryan Mcguffin,” she continued. “She’s in the Engineering department.”

‘Damn. Yes. Big DAMN,’ Terban said to himself.

“Anyway, ahmmmm,” the girl murmured in an excessively thin tone and suddenly gave him a finger heart. “You are so handsome.”

Many days have passed since Terban found out that Ryan Mcguffin is actually the childhood sweetheart that he’s been looking for.

But Ryan never introduces himself to him, which made him confused. It slipped out of his mind that except for Slyvester, Kyle, and Vincent, he hadn’t shared his name with the newcomers.

He used a lot of ways to have a serious talk with Ryan. Unfortunately, their schedules did not match. When he’s at the boarding house, Ryan is at the library being a complete bookworm.

She goes to school very early so they don’t see each other for breakfast. Moreover, Terban could not ask for her number from Slyvester or Kyle because of his damn pride. He does not have any social media account he can use to contact Ryan, and if ever he has, he won’t take the risk of adding her as a friend or following her account. Those moves aren’t from a guy like Terban Myers.

Terban is really eager to talk to the girl he wanted to avoid before.

The weekend arrived, thankfully. For sure, Ryan will stay home and Terban will have a chance to see her. And so, he stood in front of Ryan’s room. He’s even wearing perfume, which he found odd.

“Why am I getting nervous?” Terban whispered to himself after taking a few deep breaths. When he set his eyes toward the door, his palm suddenly felt cold.

He brought his fist up and gently knocked on the door.

Knock. Knock.

“Hey? Are you there?” he asked.

“...”

A minute passed. He heard nothing from inside the room. Terban is one of the people who have short patience. That’s why, instead of waiting for a response inside, he just opened the door, using the excuse that he came here urgently.

The door wasn’t locked, fortunately.

“Ryan!” he shouted as he was pushing the door open. “I know you are here. Why didn’t you open the...”

Terban froze. Even his heart seemed to have stopped beating.

The moment he opened the door, he saw Ryan standing near the door. She was about to lock the door she had left open. However, as surprised as Terban, Ryan also froze at her position.

She just finished taking a bath, and the only thing that covers her wet and naked body is a white towel around her glass-hour figure. Thus…

“Ahhhhhhh!!!” Ryan screamed.

With a reddened face, Terban tried to stop her from shouting. “D-Don’t shout! I did not mean to…”

It was only an accident. Indeed.

However, the clumsy Ryan, who was panicking, ran and slipped on the wet floor. As a result, the towel she was wearing fell too.

Terban’s heart seemed to stop beating at that point.

“What happened?” shouted Kyle who just came into the place after hearing the noise. Together with him are the three curious men.

All in all, Terban, Kyle, Vincent, Chaylen, and Slyvester saw Ryan’s naked body on the floor.

They had different reactions.

Kyle covered his face. Slyvester turned around. Vincent looked up at the ceiling and gulped. Meanwhile, Chaylen took the chance to stare more at her body, as if it was a once in a lifetime miracle. And Terban… yes, Terban just stared at her with open mouth.

Terban and Ryan’s first encounter isn’t great. And this incident will give Terban another problem to solve in the future.