---

"Still here? I thought I ordered a taxi online." Alan stopped his red sports bike after pulling out of the parking lot when he saw Wendy still standing in front of the gate. He took off his helmet, then looked back briefly before finally saying, "The studio is closing soon."


"I'll be out in a minute," Wendy said simply, the woman not even looking at Alan at all.

Alan took off the helmet that was already perched on his head, then placed it on the front of his motorcycle while turning the key, making the motorcycle engine stop.

"You're not waiting for a taxi but for your girlfriend from earlier?"


Wendy turned her head for a few moments, but then she chose to turn her gaze forward and ignored the annoyed look Alan directed at her.

"You better get on my bike now, I'll take you to your house."


"No, thanks. He said my guy will be there soon," Wendy refused, trying to be as friendly as possible. "You go first."

Alan chuckled, then folded his arms across his chest. "You think I don't know that your guy said he's leaving earlier, right?" Wendy didn't move at all. She chose to turn her gaze to the screen of the cell phone that was now in her hand, and pretended to be busy with a social media page that did not interest her at all. "Better bring your phone, I'll just order a taxi online to make it faster. Guys like him don't need to wait, he's busy with his girlfriend."

The woman with short hair that still looked neat despite having changed styles several times in the photo room turned her head quickly. She shrugged, then said, "I waited for Ryan because he had my car and my credit card. He also brought my cash earlier, you saw it yourself, right? I was expecting him to pay for the photos, so I only brought a little money, and instead, he used it to pay for your photos. I have no money at all to take a taxi now."

"Isn't there anyone at home?"

"I share a room with Ryan."

Alan bit his lip, holding back the curse that was ready to explode at the tip of his lips. But the man chose to look away for a while, before finally looking back at Wendy on the side of the road. "It's late, where's your guy?"

"I don't know, he hasn't replied yet."

"Call him," Alan said in a raised voice. He was annoyed.

"I did."

"So what?"

"No answer."

"What a dog!" Alan's swearing could no longer be contained. "Well now, I'll give you two choices."

Wendy wasn't interested in turning around at first, but hearing Alan's very convincing tone made her quite curious.

"First, I'll order you an online taxi, and pay for it, but I'll follow you from behind on my motorcycle or second, you get on my motorcycle and I'll take you home."

The Chinese woman's brow furrowed. Making her already narrow eyes look even smaller. "Do I really have to go now?"

"Yes!" exclaimed Alan. "Do you want to be labeled a bad girl because you're still out at night?"

Deg!

Wendy's eyes blinked. Alan's words seemed to slap her hard and fast. She then looked at the man on her bike once again, but this time in a different way. Wendy struggled to swallow saliva, so that she could wet her throat that had dried up out of nowhere.

"Now which one do you want?" The man with a mulatto face that looked a lot like his papa's looked up, as if challenging. "Order a taxi and I'll pay or you can ride my motorcycle."

Wendy's body pondered. No man had ever treated her like this before. She didn't like being ordered around, so she was the dominant woman who took the lead in her relationship with the much younger Rian. But who would have thought, when Alan who only offered her a ride, actually made Wendy feel a strange sensation that spread throughout her body.

Wendy lowered her gaze, looking at the cell phone that was still in her hand. The expected message, in fact, did not come. It had been more than an hour that the woman had been waiting for the prince's arrival, but all she received this time was repeated bitterness.

"Why are you still waiting for your guy? Hurry up and choose," Alan said, making Wendy gasp. She snapped out of her reverie and looked at Ken's best friend. "If you're not comfortable, I can give you money. This is-" "No need!"

Alan who was about to take the money out of his wallet was forced to stop his activity. He looked at Wendy with one eyebrow raised, then muttered, "Lo... still want to wait for your guy?"

"Yes."

Although quite surprised by the answer, Alan had no right to judge Wendy. He put his folded wallet back into his pants pocket and nodded his head. "Okay then."

The woman smiled a small smile, a thin smile that seemed forced just to reassure Alan that she would be fine.

The helmet that had been stored on the front of the bike was now back in use. Alan's sturdy hands also turned the key that was still hooked on the motorcycle and made it start again. Alan looked at Wendy once more, before finally driving away.

Alan's departure made a tightness that the woman never expected before. Wendy's sad gaze was now only focused on the direction of the man's departure. More and more, Alan's body disappeared and made her believe that Alan had really left her.

Wendy pursed her lips, then tried to call Rian repeatedly. Still the same, the number that was previously connected is now unreachable. The woman's black bead moved to the front, staring at the empty street dotted with tall trees under the street lights. There were a few vehicles passing by, but not enough to make Wendy feel safe and comfortable.

Rian, who was expected, did not come. The photo studio behind Wendy was closed. The janitor was the last person Wendy saw, when the large brown gate was closed and locked. Wendy just nodded when the employee said goodbye politely, without the employee knowing that her last visitor had almost died of fright.

The woman looked up and took in as much oxygen as she could. She held a puddle of water in her eyes as she slumped to the ground. However, the water spilled out when her head bowed languidly as her body crouched down. Wendy could no longer hold back her tears and her sobs only grew louder afterwards.

Tin! Tin!

The sound of horns and motorcycle engines suddenly stopped in front of her, making Wendy look up slowly. Like a scene in a Korean drama that Gabriella loved, Wendy found Alan standing in front of her. Watching the tears that she had worked so hard to hide.

Suddenly, the man held out his hand,

and said,

"Don't cry there. You don't deserve this. Come on!"

Wendy swallowed and got up while accepting Alan's hand. They were now facing each other.

"Let me take you to your boarding house."

But the woman just shook her head. "No, I don't want to go to the boarding house. Please take me to my parents' house."

Alan took a breath, then said, "Okay." as he nodded and exhaled his heavy breath. "Now we're going home, right?"


---