Jacob was so carried away by Roe's melody that he unconsciously walked over to the girl.
As they got closer and closer and Roe began to catch the shadow next to her, the girl turned to Jacob and was a little surprised to see her friend... er... Wendy's fans there.
"Hi, Jack. Did you come here to see Wendy?"
Jacob didn't flinch from his place and stared at Kaylee without blinking.
"Jack?"
"How... how do you know my name?"
Jacob had noticed that the girl's face had turned pale but then immediately turned back to being friendly.
"I remember you introduced yourself when greeting Wendy this afternoon."
"Ah, I see."
Jacob wondered if he introduced himself by the name Jack this afternoon? He remembered introducing himself as Jacob.
His close friends would call him Jake instead of Jack, and the only people who called him Jack were...
Nick!
Ah, maybe just a coincidence. There was no way Nick would suddenly turn into a girl as beautiful and elegant as Roe. After all, Nick was an energetic kid and not at all graceful.
"I'll call Wendy if you want to meet her."
"Ah, no need." stop Jacob before Kaylee leaves.
Kaylee looked at Jacob in surprise, while Jacob himself was also confused about why he prevented her from leaving.
"Uhm... I heard you're Wendy's best friend."
Kaylee smiled without knowing that her friendly smile could steal the breath of the young men who saw it... including Jacob.
Usually, Kaylee would not be friendly to strangers, especially to men.
But Jacob is not a stranger but a close friend (although Jacob doesn't recognize her). Therefore Kaylee could not be cold with the young man and couldn't help but smile friendly. Well, she literally forgot about her worry if Jacob would recognize her or not.
"That's right. She's a good friend of mine. You seem to really admire Wendy the way you look at her."
Instantly Jacob's face flushed at the ear, scratching the nape of his neck awkwardly.
"I do admire her, but... somehow, I feel embarrassed if you say it directly."
Kaylee laughed with amusement at Jacob's words which she thought were adorable. This was the first time she has seen Jacob, who was shy and like a child who is meeting a stranger for the first time.
When Jacob was with 'Nick,' the young man was always outspoken and always approached him. But now, the young man looked embarrassed and as if he was running out of material to talk about.
Little did she know, Jacob currently has a heart attack because of her laughing gesture.
Her cute smile and one arm bent under her chin... made Roe look very appealing to his eyes.
Without realizing it, Jacob touched his left chest with his right hand, and he swallowed hard when he felt his own heartbeat.
He had never pounded like this against a woman before. He wasn't even this nervous when he met his idol, Wendy Larson.
Then why was he pounding against Roe?
"Kay... oh, Roe. They're distributing dinner. There's a cake made of nuts. Can I take it?"
"Of course."
"Hi, weren't you the Jacob who greeted me earlier?" Wendy walked over to Kaylee and looked at Jacob from top to bottom.
"Yes. I didn't expect you to remember my name."
Both Kaylee and Wendy could see Jacob's adoring gaze, only... this time, his adoring gaze was on Kaylee.
The innocent Kaylee didn't pay attention to it, but Wendy realized it. That's why Wendy looked at Jacob investigating as if she were appraising a product.
"We'd better get back. We have to get ready for the next round."
Kaylee nodded in agreement, and both of them headed to the break room after saying goodbye to Jacob.
Jacob looked disappointed that he has to part with Roe, but he did not stop the girl and let the two women walk past him.
The moment Kaylee stepped over Jacob's shoulder, the wind from outside the window blew in, making her hair fluttering.
At that moment, a mild refreshing aroma wafted by Jacob made the young man raise an eyebrow.
Jacob looked at Roe with the same thousand questions.
Why does Roe have the same scent as Nick?
Not only are the hand habits and the mumbling melodies the same as Nick's, but the mild, delicious scent is the same? Roe even called him Jack!
"Is it possible... Roe is Nick in disguise?"
[author: Nope. Nick is Kaylee in disguise]
"Roe, Wendy! This is bad. Our solo performers suddenly didn't show up."
Roe and Wendy looked at each other and then looked at the committee person who was responsible for keeping the competition running.
"I didn't know if we had a solo performance event. Do you know this?" Wendy asked Roe, who answered it with a shake of her head.
"Our team leader decided to surprise the contestants. We planned to invite a pianist to encourage and also shock the weak contestants. It's quite good for the elimination rounds that would knock out at least two or three people. But that person fell out of the stairs and sprained his right hand and leg so that he couldn't come."
"Then, we will cancel the solo performance event and proceed according to the original plan," Roe suggested, to which Wendy's head nodded at once.
"No. Our chairman insists on holding this solo performance, and he chose you."
"Me? But I don't know what song to play."
"This." the committee girl gave the book to Roe while explaining further. "You have fifteen minutes to learn it, then get on with it. We're counting on you, Roe!"
Meanwhile, Jacob, who witnessed the scene, gawked widely. How could anyone learn a song in fifteen minutes and played it that could shake the contestants' spirit?
Not too far away from the campus hall, Declan just received news that the person who would perform the solo performance had an accident and couldn't make it.
"What? Then who replaced him?..." Declan heard an answer from someone who called him. "Roe? I'll be there in a minute." Declan decided to hang up the phone and take his car keys to go to M University.