Chapter 24: A Favour

Mindara Manaying

The question which Yam had been asking kept lingering inside my mind. If previously that kind of query never bothered me, I would say that now it does. How long could we lie to Yam before she figured out the truth? How long it could be held before the hell break through again? It never bothered me to tell anyone that Kimhan was just an employee to my Grandpa but it felt different to tell the same to Yam. Well maybe because Yam is Kimhan’s girlfriend. Wouldn’t it break her heart if she learns that her lover has married to somebody else? It made me felt even worse. It was not my entire intention to take Kimhan from her though. In fact everything was a mistake.

My reverie was disturbed by the movement Kimhan made. She stirred in her sleep that it shook the entire bed. Everything in the house was quite old; that including the bed. It even produced loud noise when you made a little movement. Somehow I found it disturbing. Kimhan had been sleeping for long hours and there was no sign that she would be awake soon. The sleeping mask which covered her eyes has long ago gone to nowhere I knew. She did not even realise that. Kimhan turned around and her final position was in the position of facing me. I could felt her warm breath – well maybe it is what they said just a breath away.

I scooted closer to her. I could not remember when was the last time I had this quiet and peaceful moment of staring at someone who’s in her deep slumber. Kimhan had lost some weight, I noticed. She was skinnier than the first time we met. Her hair even grew longer. The longer I stared at her face, the more senses began to knock inside my head. Why did I hate her so much that I blamed her for everything? Why must I make it difficult for the both of us? And most importantly, why I’d never learned how to appreciate her presence? Things were different when there were only two of us. Now that a not-so-new person had returned into her life again, I found that life would be a little more complicated than it used to be. The things between Kimhan and I was not even resolve yet and now, Yam came to add more burden onto Kimhan’s shoulder. I knew it was not Yam’s fault that she ended up that way. It’s just that somehow; her return just added more chaos in our life.

Kimhan frowned in her sleep and that followed by a soft grunt. Honestly I had no idea how this effort coming but I found myself reaching out a hand to give a little massage on her temple. Kimhan quieted down a second later. I presumed, she has gone into her peaceful sleep again. The thing that happened next startled me a bit. Out of nowhere, Kimhan held my hand and her eyes fluttered open slowly. She took a while to regain her focus before her eyes met mine. She smiled at me and it gave me a very strange feeling. Could I say that I was flattered by that?

“What time is now Pie?” She queried, looking confused and a little disoriented.

“It’s 7 in the evening. You have been sleeping like a Sleeping Handsome. I thought you might need a true love kiss to wake you up.” I jested.

Kimhan stifled a laugh and shook her head. “I’m glad that you have this some sense of humour inside you and what about that Sleeping Handsome? Isn’t it supposed to be the Sleeping Beauty instead?” She made a face.

“Do you think Beauty suits you? You don’t look like one.” I said which in return, gained a glare from Kimhan.

“Okay, I take that Handsome as a compliment and you know what Pie? True love kiss doesn’t exist but I believe you have a magical touch because you managed to wake me up.” Kimhan said teasingly.

“Speaking of kissing, why don’t we make-out…” Kimhan did not manage to finish her words when I already a pillow to her face. That followed by a repeated pillow hit.

“Don’t you dare ert!”

“Oh stop it Pie. You hurt me.” Kimhan shielded herself with her arms yet I did not plan to stop. Later, it turned out to be a pillow fight. Kimhan did not want to give in. She would return the same hit I gave her. Our laughter filled the room and it was all fun and game until one of us got hurt. It was me. Kimhan hit me hard that my head bang into the bed’s post. The laughter subsided and was replaced by a tensed feeling.

“Ouch!” I felt that my tears were coming out.

“Pie, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.” Kimhan panicked. “Come here let me see it.” Kimhan drew me into her arms. She made me sit in between the space of her spread legs and that made our distance become closer. “I’m sorry.” She repeated it as much as she could while trying to comfort me. “Please don’t cry.”

She rocked both of us in a slow movement. Her held was firm but it was comfortable. This kind of closeness did not bother me as much as it used to be. Something must have gone wrong when my head was hit just now because I thought that I might like this kind of holding each other.

“Pie?” She called me but I did not look. “Do you know how cute you’re when you’re this fragile?” She asked which I presumed not the kind I needed to answer. “You can be stubborn, sometimes a little mad and strict but I always knew that somewhere inside you, you just need a little thing called love.” She said. I listened to whatever she wanted to say without an intention to interrupt. I needed to hear this so that I