Lie Again! Chapter 78

Chapter 78. Love, Set, Match (5)

 

The silver knife sliced smoothly through the bison filet. Unlike its seemingly firm exterior, the meat gave way like silk, revealing a crimson center. 

 

Christopher nodded as he lifted the piece on his fork to his mouth.

 

He picked up the napkin resting on his lap and dabbed his mouth, observing his nephew sitting across from him.

 

His nephew, who had fallen silent at some point, was eating with impeccable posture. The angle of his arms and the way he held his utensils exuded an elegant grace; his mouth was clean as he chewed. He didn’t make even the slightest clatter with his knife.

 

Christopher was about to turn his head after observing this dryly.

 

Bzzz. 

 

A short vibration broke the room’s silence. Christopher, Evan, and even the server’s eyes all flicked toward Evan’s phone at the edge of the table.

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

Evan quickly grabbed the device. Buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz. Even in that short interval, the vibrations rang out incessantly, noisily interrupting the room.

 

Evan, who had intended to handle it by shoving the phone into his trouser pocket, ultimately frowned and turned the screen on.

 

Christopher, assuming Evan would simply turn it off, averted his gaze from his nephew, but the constant vibrations made him raise an eyebrow.

 

“….”

 

His nephew had turned into a stone statue with the phone gripped in his hand. The boy, who was usually excessively quick-witted, sat still with his eyes fixed on the screen, unaware of the gaze fixed upon him. His lips, pressed into a tight line, looked rigid—almost anxious. 

 

Finally, Christopher broke the silence.

 

“What is it?”

 

“…It’s nothing.”

 

As if only then remembering where he was, Evan blinked like someone waking from a trance and set the device down. 

 

He flipped the screen face down, returned his attention to his plate, and picked up his utensils again.

 

He kept his back straight, pretending nothing was wrong, but Christopher quietly observed his nephew’s visibly unstable state. The knife in his hands—hands that were gradually losing their childhood softness—moved back and forth, digging into the tender meat. 

 

But just as quickly, before even half the piece was cut, his hand froze midair.

 

“…I’m, I’m sorry.”

 

The cutlery hit the plate with a loud, clanging clack. Instead of tidying the mess, Evan snatched up his things and stood.

 

The server watched with a bewildered face as the nephew walked out the door with hurried steps, without a single word of explanation.

 

Christopher gazed silently at the door where his nephew had disappeared, then resumed his meal without a word. The once-noisy room settled back into a quiet stillness. 

 

* * * 

 

“How about something like this?”

 

“I bought her one last year, and she asked me if she still looked like a baby to me.” 

 

At James’s words, Jin carefully placed the large, fluffy white rabbit plush onto the counter.

 

Ivy, also in elementary school, had a room full of similar toys. Maybe younger and older kids really are different.

 

This was already the fourth rejection. The two left the general store empty-handed and began to walk aimlessly along the row of shops.

 

The ground, paved with wide cobblestones clearly intended to mimic a European street, pressed firmly against the thin soles of her sandals.

 

‘Am I even helping?’

 

Jin, walking a half-step behind James, let out a small sigh. James seemed unfazed by the fact that most shops would close in two hours, moving at a leisurely pace the entire time.

 

It had been an hour since they arrived at Point Avenue by car. All Jin had managed to find out was that James’s younger sister was named Abigail, and that Abigail’s aesthetic sense was quite fastidious.

 

“Shall we try going over there this time?”

 

Jin, looking around, pointed to a shop further off to the right. Outside, along with a blackboard listing the shop’s name and hours, were ceramic items that looked like they had been individually hand-painted and dried.

 

Jin’s database signaled that it was too early for an elementary schooler to like plates or cups, but you never knew. Abigail might be a precocious young lady who inherited her mother’s taste. 

 

“Hmm. No. Let’s sit over there and rest for a second.” 

 

James, dismissing Jin’s efforts to pick a gift before the shops closed with a single word, gestured toward a fountain in the middle of the street. 

 

“Already? We haven’t even done anything.”

 

“Jin, I’m not a girl.”

 

When Jin shook her empty hands as if to emphasize them, James mimicked her exactly, shaking his head with an eccentric grin. Since he headed toward the fountain without any lingering regret, Jin was ultimately forced to follow.

 

The large fountain, finished in pale pink marble, spouted water from the harp held by the angel standing in the center. Occasional breezes scattered droplets across the surrounding area, cooling flushed necks.

 

“Good thing we rested, right?” 

 

Jin, sitting at the edge of the fountain and massaging her tired calves, shot a sideways glance at James, who proudly lifted his chin.

 

“Let’s get one thing straight. Thinking that all women like shopping is a prejudice.”

 

“Yes, yes. Want some ice cream? I’ll buy it as an apology.”

 

Smiling broadly, the man smoothly changed the subject, his finger pointing toward an ice cream stand in the distance. Without giving Jin a chance to say anything, he stood up and headed that way.

 

Jin watched the back of the man’s jaunty walk with a smile, resigned. But that lasted only a moment; the sudden memory of someone else’s retreating back caused her smile to slowly fade. 

 

She had once waited for him exactly like this.

 

Back when she watched him walk away to buy ice cream with that same headstrong attitude, without a proper explanation.

 

The only difference was that instead of dark brown curls, it was hair that shone gold in the sun…….

 

“Ugh, stop it.”

 

Jin muttered to cut off the thought and stretched out wide to shake off the lingering mood. She made a deliberate effort to enjoy the classical music flowing from speakers hanging on the streetlamps and the sweet scent of baked goods drifting from nearby bakeries.

 

As always, the Florida sun had the power to bleach away damp moods, and just as Ruth had promised, the outing with James was light and pleasant. 

 

All Jin needed now was time. Time to scatter the memories that remained like afterimages. And it didn’t feel like she would need very long. 

 

Just like this.

 

“Just like this…….”

 

It was the moment Jin was muttering to herself as if making a vow, staring at James as he talked to the clerk at the ice cream stand.

 

Grip.

 

Jin turned around, startled by a sudden hand grabbing her shoulder accompanied by the sound of ragged breathing.

 

And her eyes widened in shock as she confirmed the owner of that hand.

 

* * *

 

[Hi, Eeeeeevan.]

 

[I’ve got a photo you’ll like.]

 

“What are you doing?”

 

Peter glanced suspiciously at the passenger seat at his uncharacteristically quiet sister. Regardless, Joey didn’t even answer her brother, busy cropping a photo with a full-faced grin. 

 

Ding.

 

At the sound of another message being sent, Peter, forgetting his duty to watch the road, craned his neck to peek at Joey’s phone.

 

The photo, which was heavily zoomed in to crop out Joey’s large face, was poor quality. However, it was clear that the man in the photo was leaning his head toward the girl next to him. 

 

“Who are they?”

 

“You don’t need to know. You have a tendency to try and know everything, Peter.”

 

Hiding the screen from her brother, who was attempting to invade her privacy again, Joey tapped away rapidly.

 

Her nails, adorned with cute little ribbon charms, navigated the phone screen without hesitation.

 

[Ta-da!]

 

[They really suit each other! XD]

 

[If you want to be the villain who interrupts their love, go to Youth Square Garden.]

 

Just in case, Joey added one more line.

 

[The one on Bay Street.]

 

[P.S. The girl looks really pretty today. Maybe new love will blossom today of all days?]