19. Josh's Lie

"So, this is your house?"

Josh gasped. He automatically jumped to his feet when he recognized the owner of the voice he knew so well was suddenly so close.

"Hyung—," Josh blinked tensely. And without him realizing it his eyes instinctively glanced to the spot where Sharon had just left.

Of course, Jason caught that trembling glance. His eyes narrowed slightly. It felt so good, like he had caught a big fish. And Jason couldn’t help but feel a surge of satisfaction.

Intending to play a little prank on his brother, Jason only gave a small nod, "Yeah?"

Josh cleared his throat, his mind racing to come up with a reasonable excuse in this crucial moment. Until it unwittingly caused brief silence between them.

"I—had an important meeting... with a colleague here," he thinks he managed to give an answer. Followed by an awkward laugh that escaped her mouth immediately afterward. His demeanor was stiff, and his hands were clasped together—demonstrating a very bad lie.

"Oh, I see. But why lie at all?" Jason pulled out his phone and opened the message history between him and Josh. He held it up in front of his brother's uneasy face. "It hasn't even been an hour since I texted you. Look. That's right, isn't it? Am I mistaken? Or, hm, maybe it's just my tired mind playing tricks on me?"

Josh’s breath caught in his throat in an instant. Making Josh almost forget how to breathe properly.

His eyes locked onto the message.

Did you start back at the office today? Or are you still at home with your wife?

Still at home. I'm on leave for a few more days. Why?

He did remember the message very well. But he hadn't considered the timing. Stupid. It was really stupid, to have missed such an important thing. It's a good thing he wasn't reckless or in a hurry to say that he went straight here after sending the message, and so on. Because if that had happened, then he would have looked even more foolish for being caught lying.

This time he couldn’t help but curse himself inwardly.

Josh really wasn't a good liar. He was clever, but his brain completely failed him when it came to lie.

"Well… Because," he forced his mind to work faster this time, in order to find an excuse that made sense, "Ngg, I was just... worried you might think something bad of me if you found out that I went to a meeting, nggg, while I just got married yesterday," an awkward laugh spontaneously came out of his mouth again, "Yeah, I should have stayed with my wife, right? Taking time off instead of going to meetings—like this. It's weird not taking a vacation after the wedding," his words jumbled and uncertain.

Jason just shrugged, "I don't know... I don't know. Is that really how it is?"

Josh was silent as he stared with a dead-end mind. At this point he couldn't think any further.

"I used to get married in the morning, and went straight to work in the afternoon," he said, "Or maybe it's just me? Because I'm an employee and you're a businessman, so we have different mindsets. Hahaha."

Jason laughed. And Josh couldn’t help but force a chuckle too.

"So… Can you tell me who the person you had an important meeting with was?" Jason pretended to look at the table filled with several empty plates and glasses for two before turning his head to sweep his gaze around the room. As if searching for his partner's whereabouts, “Looks like your colleague left a while ago, huh?”

"He's—one of my coworkers. The marketing manager. There's a few things about the new project that need to be discussed," Josh nodded, trying to sound convincing. "Yeah. Something like that. And since I'm still on leave, we're just chatting casually here."

Jason dropped his piercing gaze back on Josh.

“Is that so?”

Josh tried to nod firmly. Although there was a lingering doubt.

“And what about your wife? At home?” Jason baited again.

Josh is still trying not to let his nerves show, "Yeah. She's home."

Jason gave a small smile, clearly satisfied, "Alright." He loved catching so many lies from his brother today.

“Are you alone... here?” Josh attempts to change the attention and direction of the conversation.

"No. Same as you. Important meeting," Jason replied, emphasizing his last words.

Josh nodded to show that he understood.

"Then I'll leave first. It'll be a mess if I keep my colleagues waiting too long."

Instantly, a very bright glow appeared on his face. Showing that he was very happy to hear what his brother just said. Thinking that he could soon get out of this very difficult and tense situation.

Josh quickly nodded and let Jason go. As his brother walked away, Josh could finally feel his muscles relax. He let out a long, deep breath that previously felt very much held inside him. The sensation of relief washing over him like a cool breeze on a scorching day.

Not long after, Sharon came in with a hurry. Panic painted on her face.

“What did your brother come here for?” Her eyes widened at Josh.

"You saw him? Did you two meet?" Panic crept back into Josh's voice.

She shook her head quickly, "Of course not! It was so scary to meet him."

The choking feeling in his throat that was about to choke him again, faded away. He had been overwhelmed enough to almost get caught lying. If Jason had met Sharon and found out they were together, he could no longer guess how huge the apocalypse would be.

Josh couldn’t help but let out another relieved sigh. His body leaned back sluggishly against his chair. And his energy felt completely drained.

"When I came out of the toilet, I saw him talking to you from a distance. I freaked out and hid back in the restroom and waited until he left."

Her smooth forehead displayed a slight frown.

"I was so scared... What kind of coincidence is that, meeting him here?"

Jason adjusted his seat, then finished the white wine in his glass. He glanced at her and offered a small smile. "Lucky he didn't see you."

"Yeah," Sharon whispered, still shaken. "I didn't want him to see me either. I was so scared of him. You still remember, right, that time he yelled at me... I still can't get over it... That was the first time someone got mad at me like that. You know my heart is very soft. I've never been treated that harshly before."

“Yes, I remember.”

Actually, both of them were equally at fault when the incident happened. But if he thinks about it again, Jason has gone too far. No matter how frustrated he’d been, it wasn’t right to treat Sharon like that. After all, he would have defended his girlfriend if anyone had done anything to her, let alone demeaned her.

"What were you two talking about?" Sharon was dying to know, curiosity evident in her shining round eyes.

"Just—stuff, this and that,” Josh replied casually, “He asked what I was doing here, and I just gave him a simple explanation."

He didn't want to burden Sharon by telling her the truth about the text incident and the many lies he had told. He couldn't further burden the girl with issues that had little to do with the two of them. All Sharon needed to know was that he had lied to Jason about who the colleague he was meeting with was. The matter of the lie he sent in the text, it felt like he didn't need to bring it up to Sharon. It was enough that it was his own burden. Everything was going well anyway. Although it faltered, he managed to make his brother believe in him.

"Then what did you answer?"

"A small meeting with the manager of my company."

"Did he believe you?"

Josh gave a reassuring nod. "Yeah. Don’t worry."

A wide smile spread across Sharon’s face.

"Wow. I didn't realize you were actually pretty good at lying. Thank goodness for that. So, there won't be any problems, right, babe?" Sharon tried to seek reassurance once again. Because honestly, she didn't want to put herself in a difficult position at all. If Jason knew the two of them were still in contact, she might find it even more difficult to be with Josh in the future.

"Yeah. There won’t be any problems. Anyway, are you done eating? Jason’s still inside, so it’s better if we leave before he spots you."

Sharon quickly nodded, gathering her things as they prepared to slip out unnoticed.