Dillan can't stop smiling since they enter the room, as Asher placed the cranberry juice came from the refrigerator she seated down near to him while he is checking something on his phone with his wired earphones on happily humming the song he played with Shiro. "How are you Dillan? How's Aunty Megumi and Uncle Jean?" she asked and anxiously look in Austin's direction who currently glaring at Dillan with his dubious stare and a closed fist.
"They're good and still producing songs together, Jaden is going to debut soon after his contest anyway," he responded with a smile on his face and turn his gaze one by one on them.
"Are you all okay? Why are you looking at me like that?" he asked and burst his laugh before turning himself on his phone again. All of them except Austin exchange their glances and Asher is about to initiate something but hold on to it for she doesn't want to ruin Dillan's mood and at the same time she knows even there is something about Shiro and Austin, she did not want to say they are already dating, for she is respecting Shiro's decision about it.
"Oh!" Dillan exclaimed and hastily stands up from the sofa, "I forgot something!" he asserted and quickly leaves the room.
After that, he immediately came back with a smile on his face, and this time his cheeks are redder than before. He hushes his breath thinned his lips and crack a smile, "I called her!" he happily made known and it almost makes Mark and Asher gasps, take a glance at Austin and his eyes are more narrowed and fiercely looking at Dillan. Austin slowly sits up straight, fixes his long sleeve jacket, and give an arrogant smile at Dillan before he clasps his hands together.
"What did you say to her?" he asked coldly and Dillan frowned a bit then smiles at Austin, "I told her that I send something on her Kakaotalk," he said and showed his phone while they are noticing he send an audio record for her, "I don't have Messenger yet that's why I get her phone number that's why I call her to seen my chat for she said she is rarely using that app," he explained even though he is not asking for it.
"Ahh..." Austin responded with his sarcastic tone of voice which makes Dillan raise his eyebrows and didn't mind it but then a few moments later Austin laughed by himself and everyone nervously glances at him except Yangyang and Dillan.
"Did you really meet someone earlier or you are just hallucinating? Heard the name Shiro out there and used that name for it sounds like a ghost name? Hahaha!" he loudly said clapping his hands but Dillan does not find it very funny. Austin is still laughing and his voice is echoing inside their room while he is nudging Mark tremendously just to agree with him but then Mark knows that Dillan met Shiro and no other than. Because, even though someone has the same name as her, he knows and they know that no one else going to the university that early except Shiro.
"That doesn't make sense and illogical, Austin," he beckoned with an annoyed expression on his face and lean himself on the sofa while his eyes are rolling looking at Austin, "Who will believe on that idiot," he whispered his remark and look at his phone once again and didn't mind what Austin may respond on him. As expected, Austin kicked the coffee table in front of them and grinned like he is going to fistfight someone else, "Then if that's true... call her, right now!" he loudly demanded and Asher gets panic and almost spill to Dillan that there is something between Shiro and Austin, but Yangyang harshly cleaned his throat to threaten her not to talk and leave the talking on them.
"What's wrong with you? What if she's having her lunch or she's busy—Stop commanding me!" Dillan said and his voice is quite serious and Mark is about to stand up just to stop them but Asher lets him sit once again.
"Call her! Now!" he screeched and it makes Dillan stand up smirking at him, "Fine," he calmly said and aggressively touches his phone going to the contact numbers. He shows Shiro's name on the phone and immediately calls her.
A moment of silence in the room while they are hearing a ringtone coming from his phone since he loud speaks it. Asher and Mark feel the nervousness within their chest.
"Hello?" They heard an intimidating voice from Dillan's phone and this time Asher feel her lungs is about to burst as she quickly glances at Austin that widening his eyes with his fist shaking terribly.
"Hey, Shiro!" Dillan exclaimed and has no intention to turn up his head to glance at Austin.
"Hey Dillan, are you okay? I'm sorry I can't still check what you've sent to me... I'm quite busy now..." she steadfastly said to Dillan, "Call me later if you are lost or something okay? I'll guide you... but now I have to go!" she quickly added, and Asher bit her lips along with her fingertips on it looking at Dillan who is happily smiling, "Okay... see you... Shiro," he made known and drop the call and turn his head up gazing at Austin.
"Happy?" Dillan let out and he get his bag and pardoned himself from the room. That was her Austin said on his mind while watching Dillan walking on the exit.
He clenched his fist and sits down on the couch and grabbed his phone, "Why aren't you online?" he loudly asserted as he tried to reach Shiro on messenger. He is agitated and aggressively holding his phone like it's about to break that is why Mark and Asher sit beside him, "Maybe Shiro and Dillan developing as friends so don't be so stressed about that Austin," Mark said while tapping his back to calm him down.
"No! Why? Why did she easily give her number to him? She doesn't even give me that since then but when it comes to Dillan, a guy she'd just met, she easily gave it! And you Asher aren't you intrigued that Shiro doubted you and you had a hard time to friends with her at first but Dillan easily get her! Then you are telling me that IT'S JUST FRIENDS? HUH!" Austin demanded and his face is getting redder from his madness and he quickly whacks the table before he stands up.
"Where is she?" he asked Asher with a dubious gaze and Asher started to blink her eyes with her anxious self as she is slowly standing up, "I-I don't know..." she lied and trying not to stumble because of her stilettos.
"Oh, are you siding Dillan now huh? Well, THANKS!" he sarcastically said but his phone began to ring and Yangyang sees that it is Austin's mom. Austin took his breath heavily and gaze at them before he gets his bag and march away from them. Yangyang rolled his eyes, "Another migraine," he coldly said before he goes back on his typing on the laptop.
"Is Austin and Shiro are dating? Why the hell Austin will be mad like that?" Mark asked them and they just took a deep breath together, "I don't know," Nana conceded.
When dismissal almost approached, Shiro immediately checked her phone, and she sees Butler Qian's message that Aiden's mom get him for the entire week and he also said that Aiden's mom gave her money she give directly to Shiro's bank account as her gratitude for taking care of Aiden. Shiro checked her bank account on a certain app and she gets bewildered to see the amount of money they gave.
"What the?" she said with her eyes wide open and Lynx noticed it as they are walking towards the locker, "What happened?" he asked before he put all his things inside the locker, and Shiro quickly showed her phone. Lynx also widened his eyes, "Seriously?" he asked with his raspy voice and check her phone seeing twenty thousand pesos on her account.
"Maybe the amount of ten thousand is just coins for them..." he said and pats her head, "I'm going Shishi, be careful okay?" he added and smiles at her. Shiro smiles back at him and promised to treat him soon when he is finally free for his game is almost approaching.
Through all the notifications she gets she instantly sees Austin chat's on her and she started to frown seeing his non-sense message with a lot of angry stickers that she scrolls backward but she immediately stops when Dillan called her and answered it for she is kind of worried about him.
"Hey, Dillan where are you? Are you alright?" she asked.
"I still have my orientation but don't mind me I called you just to make sure I can manage to go home later... Thank you so much Shiro! See you tomorrow!" he happily said while whispering on his phone that makes Shiro giggle.
"Okay... see you," she hesitated to respond and she dropped the call and goes back to Austin chats for her. But when she glimpsed that he is online 6 hours ago, Shiro just thinned her lips and never read back his message nor reply to it before she put her phone inside her bag.
As Shiro is walking towards the bridge she instantly stops marching her feet when the lights are switching on one by one. She feels her lungs are getting tight and her heartbeat started to raise on her chest. It's getting louder and louder. Louder than from the people passing by and louder than the wind that is breezing on her skin. She finally felt alone, she finally admitted she felt alone since morning.
"I've taught It was good news that I will get some rest because my work will stop for a week. Why do I feel not good about this even though I'm tired from school works? Why do I feel alone? And why do I feel incomplete right now?" Shiro said to herself and swiftly walk towards the bridge with her head down. She bit her lips and deeply sighed as she is waiting for the bus and surveyed her surroundings like she's waiting. She looks at her phone again, it has a lot of notifications, she looks at it one by one and none of them is satisfied her.
[Cling] A sudden ring from her phone makes her startled a little and when she checks it she realized that it wasn't him.
"Aren't you going inside?"
Shiro turns up her head when a bus conductor politely asked her. She immediately goes inside and sighted where they always used to sit down. A certain moment glimpse on her mind and she exhibits the lonely smile on her face while nodding her head again going to a different seat at the back. What's happening to me? She asked herself and put the headphones on her and started to listen to music while looking at the outside.
When she is finally at her village the guard happily sees her but an immediate change in his expression when he realized Shiro is all alone, "Oh hey Shiro why are you alone today?" he asked her, "Why Austin is not here today?" he asked once again and Shiro stopped to look at him with a forced smile on her face.
"He's busy... sir," she shyly responded and continue to walk without waiting for his response.
As Shiro is getting near to her home, she sighted her mom walking towards their gate. She swiftly runs going to her as she is coming from work with bags of groceries with her and immediately helped her.
"Shiro... you're early today, you don't have work?" she asked her while latching the locks and opening them. Shiro just thinned her lips and didn't verbalize her response as they go inside and quickly go-ahead before her mom. Aunty arched her eyebrows and surveyed the outside before she lock the gates.
As Shiro is putting all the bags on the table her mom takes a deep sigh and looks at her, "Where is Austin?" she asked without looking at Shiro while pulling out the items inside the eco-bag.
"Ma?" Shiro asked with a surprised expression on her face.
"Austin didn't come in the morning or walk you home these days... what happened?" she asked and still not looking at her.
Shiro was dumbfounded at the moment and got herself together when she realized that maybe her mom noticed that she is not acting normally since she comes home, "He's busy ma from his photoshoots and he got a lot of invitations from their business partners... he said," she awkwardly said to her and forced her smile once again before she pardoned herself going to her room.
She promptly goes inside her room and then dives herself on the bed whereas she is looking at the ceiling. As she is looking at the ceiling her phone rings once again and she quickly gets it.
"Dillan..." she whispered and sits upright on her bed and she started up to remember what Dillan sent to her earlier as she is looking at his message about it. She immediately slides up and gets her headphones.
She blinks her eyes from the exhaustiveness she felt and finally clicked the play button on the audio message she received.
"Oh... Shiro this is just the chorus part..." She heard Dillan's voice on the record and he started to clean his throat and find his pitch certain chords from the piano mostly the minor chord that makes the melody a little darker and sad that's why Shiro started to feel nervous and uneasy.
"My hands are cold and my visions are blurry
Recalling that Sunday afternoon you walked away
Give me just one more time to see you
Promise I will say everything that my heart wants to say to you,"
As he finished singing that part, she heard him hush and immediately turned off the record, and Shiro unintended to drop her phone on her bed.
"Dad..." she whispered and her hands starts to tremble, and her tears helplessly fall on her cheeks. As she keeps on sobbing while hugging her knees, she didn't have a chance to reply to Dillan and cried out a little loud inside her dim lightroom.