dwin parked his car behind therge supermarket building. He courteously opened the passenger door, allowing via to get out before locking it. Hisrge hand reached for via’s hand, deliberately intertwining their fingers. via resisted and attempted to free herself from her uncle’s grip, but dwin instead stared back at her and tightened his hold.N?velDrama.Org owns ? this.
dwin walked ahead of via as she tried to maintain a distance between them. The girl continuously lowered her head, prompting dwin to intentionally halt his steps just to make her head bump into his back or the side of his arm.
“Are you really ashamed to walk with me?” dwin asked, with a condescending tone, for who knows how many times. via looked up and shook her head. “Why? Am I ugly? Am I too old for you?” he asked again. via shook her head once more. “Then why do you keep avoiding me?”
“It’s not like that, Uncle,” via replied softly. “It’s just that…”
“Just that what?” dwin stared sharply at via. “Okay. I forced you toe here when you didn’t want to go with me. I know you’re embarrassed because I’m too old to take you out.” dwin then released their intertwined fingers. “I won’t force you anymore. You can go home or wherever you want. I won’t stop you.” dwin continued his steps with his brusque tone, ignoring via, who now stood silent, gazing at her uncle’s retreating back.
via knew that dwin was currently angry with her, and she didn’t like that. She didn’t want to upset dwin, and the thought of being left alone by him made her feel lost. Her hand, which had been tightly held by dwin, now felt cold and empty, and once again, via didn’t like that.
via lifted her head and searched for her uncle, who was now far from her sight. “Uncle!” she called out with a slightly louder voice. dwin didn’t turn at all. Whether he heard her call or chose to pretend not to, via didn’t know. What was certain now was that via was half-running to catch up with her uncle, reaching for his elbow. “Uncle, don’t be angry,” she pleaded softly.
dwin nced briefly, his face still showing a t expression. He ignored via’s pleading face and continued walking slowly. “Who’s angry?” dwin said curtly. “I’m not angry. I just have self-awareness because I know you’re embarrassed to go out with me. It’s okay; you don’t have to force yourself. Just go home or wherever you want. Didn’t you prefer taking a taxi over going with me earlier?” He continued, putting some items into the shopping cart he was pushing.
“I’m not embarrassed, Uncle,” the girl said with a trembling voice. “I’m not embarrassed to go with you. You’re not too old for me. I just…” via bit her lip, hesitating.
“Just what?” dwin inquired.
“I just feel confused.”
“Confused? Confused about what?”
“I can’t exin it. Basically, I’m not embarrassed, and you’re not too old for me, Uncle,” via said, sounding like a whimper in dwin’s ears.
“Are you really not embarrassed?” dwin asked, lowering his gaze to observe via’s expression closely. via answered her uncle’s question with a nod. “Really, I’m not too old for you?” via nodded again. “So, you really like me?” via nodded once more. And…
“Huh?” she eximed when she realized. “What did Uncle just ask?” she asked, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
dwin shrugged with a mocking smile. “No instant rey, Sweetheart,” he replied casually.
Whether the man realized or not that his endearing term a few seconds ago instantly made via’s cheeks blush, dwin extended his hand toward via, palm facing upward. via gazed at therge hand with confusion.
“If you’re not embarrassed to walk with me,e here and hold my hand,” dwin coaxed with his sweet smile, once again making via’s heart beat incredibly fast.
“But, um…” via stammered nervously.
Again, dwin chose to continue walking, pushing the shopping cart away from via. Aware that her uncle was sulking, via chased after him and grabbed dwin’s right hand with her left. dwin smiled triumphantly. That’s how he melted via – by making her feel guilty. It might be cunning, but what can you do? Everything is fair in love and war.
They walked through aisle after aisle, putting in the items they needed, having small debates about things considered too expensive or unnecessary. dwin thoroughly enjoyed the time he spent with via – thepanionship he knew he had wasted during their five years apart.
“Wanna go to the bookstore?” dwin offered after they finished shopping.
“Where to?” via asked again.
“Doesn’t matter. If possible, let’s go to a ce with good food too.” via seemed to think for a moment before nodding and mentioning the name of one of her favorite bookstores.
A whileter, they arrived at via’s chosen bookstore. via headed straight to the fiction section, while dwin walked towards the non-fiction books.
“Looking for fairy tales?” someone greeted via as she was inspecting a colorful children’s storybook.
via looked up and saw a handsome young man in a hoodie and jeans smiling at her. This didn’t escape the watchful eye of dwin, who stood not far from where via was now standing, only separated by two bookshelves that didn’t even reach the man’s shoulders.
“No, just browsing a bit,” via answered honestly, refocusing on the books on the shelf.
“I’m Kenzie.” The man extended his hand, inviting via to introduce herself. via stared at him hesitantly for a few seconds before reciprocating the handshake.
“via,” she replied tly.
“School? College? Or working?” the young man asked again, seeming very interested in via.
“College,” via whispered. She continued to walk and look at other books, and the man still followed closely behind.
“Oh, by the way, if I may ask, what’s your major and where? I’m in the Architecture department,” he mentioned his campus.
“Interior Design,” via answered again, mentioning her campus.
“Wow, we’re in the same campus then. But why have I never seen you before? I’m in my sixth semester now, interning at Quirino Construction. What semester are you in?”
“Second semester, Graduate Program,” via’s soft answer left the young man in front of her wide-eyed.
“S-Senior?” he stuttered. via just smiled. “Sorry,” the man said, embarrassed. “You look so young. I thought you were still in high school.” He awkwardly rubbed his neck. His face suddenly turned red, and he looked funny in via’s eyes. via almostughed but tried to hold it back, not wanting to embarrass him further.
“Ahem.” dwin’s cough made both of them turn simultaneously. Unbeknownst to them, dwin had apparently been standing behind via for who knows how long. “Got the book?” he asked in a cold tone, ncing at the young man in front of them. via swallowed nervously. She felt anxious and scared at the same time.
“N-not yet,” she stammered.
“If you’re not looking for anything, we might as well go home. I’m hungry,” dwin said again, reaching for via’s hand.
via frowned and looked at her uncle in confusion while dwin responded to via’s question with a meaningful smile.
“Still looking for something?” dwin asked again, and via quickly shook her head. “Well then, let’s go now. I’m really hungry. You wouldn’t want me to eat you here, would you?” he teased, causing via to widen her eyes and nce at the young man standing beside her with an embarrassed expression.
dwin gently grabbed via’s hand and pulled her towards the cashier after giving a threatening look to the young man who had talked to via earlier.
dwin was furious. Just keeping a few steps away from via, his girl was already engaged in a conversation with a stranger. dwin clearly didn’t like that, especially when via appeared to smile warmly at the young man, igniting a heat in his chest. He didn’t like it when other guys looked at his via with such adoring eyes.
dwin knew via was beautiful. Very beautiful. Even when she smiled, her eyes looked incredibly gentle, always melting dwin’s heart. Oh God, if only there was Doraemon’s shrinking shlight, dwin would happily borrow it. He would shrink via and carry her in his pocket. He would return her to normal size only when they were alone. Yes, not a bad idea at all.
After having lunch together, via thought dwin would drive her back home. However, her assumption was wrong. dwin steered his car in the opposite direction of her house, and via didn’t ask where they were going because she didn’t want to worsen her uncle’s mood.
Since they left the bookstore, and even during lunch, her uncle seemed to go on a silent strike. Notpletely silent, but the man who usually had a lot to talk about suddenly became mute, making via a bit ufortable.
They arrived at dwin’s apartment basement. Still without much conversation, dwin unloaded all their shopping bags and only allowed via to carry the paper bag containing the books he had purchased.
In silence, they went up to the floor where dwin lived. dwin entered the apartment after entering the password, kicked off his shoes with his feet, and walked toward the pantry. via ced her uncle’s shoes on the rack before following him inside.
“Is Uncle angry with me?” she askedter. dwin didn’t give an answer. He seemed engrossed in arranging his purchases, sorting out what goes into the fridge, freezer, and what belongs in the pantry. via wanted to help but, afraid of making a mistake, she ended up just standing beside the bar table. “Uncle…” she whispered again, but dwin remained silent.
via felt a pain in her chest. Being ignored like that by dwin felt ufortable. Her eyes welled up, and via knew that her tears were threatening to spill. She didn’t want dwin to see her cry. via chose to withdraw.
“I’m going home, Uncle,” she murmured, then grabbed her bag.
“Don’t you care about my feelings?” The cold-toned question from dwin managed to stop via in her tracks. The girl looked up and gazed at her uncle with a puzzled and nervous expression, while he returned her look with a mncholic one. “I’m feeling jealous,” he answered. “Why should I see you being approached by so many guys?”
via’s forehead wrinkled in confusion. “Wh-what do you mean, Uncle?”