Miss No Label

   C H A P T E R   N I N E T E E N   

POV:

      I rummaged through our shared cabinet, trying to find my luggage bags. I searched for almost every corner of the bedroom, despite fully remembering how I tidied it up inside the closet. I had to start packing up, and I obviously can't do that without my bag. I sighed as I wiped the beads of sweat from my forehead. 

       The bedroom door opened, revealing Lay, who was luxuriously eating his favorite imported almond chips. "Looking for something?" He asked as he leaned on the door and continued chewing on his food. 

       "Yes." I replied. "My bag. Have you seen it?"

       "No." He replied with evident munching of chips.

       "I was sure I kept it here." I said as I pointed at the closet. He let out a chortle, making me suspitious. "What was that evil smile for?"

       "It must have just disappeared." He shrugged. "Things happen for  reason, and I think I know why your bag just disappeared."

       I raised a brow as I crossed my arms. "And I think I know who got my bag." 

       He shrugged as he continued eating his chips, making me a bit annoyed.

       "My. Bag. Now!" I demanded.

       "Come on, Krystal." He snapped as he placed a chip inside my mouth. "Are you that excited to leave?"

       "It's not that, Lay." I reasoned out. "I just have to start packing since there are a lot to do before I leave. I still have to ensure your monthly stock of food, your laundry, cleaning the..."

       He cut me off as he placed another chip inside my mouth. "You sound like a wife, do you know that?" He chuckled.

       "Lay..."

       "Do the packing tomorrow. I promise, I'll help." He said as he threw the empty chip pack on the nearby trash bin. "As of now..." He pulled me closer and held my chin to make me lock my eyes on him. "Quality time."

       I could not help but feel such giddy tingle inside as he went to the intimate side of him once again. "And how are we supposed to achieve that?"

        He shrugged. "I don't know. All I know is that we have to make up for last night's cold war and the remaining days that you would no longer be here." His voice was hoarse and not to mention, irresistably hot. I shook my head to calm my thoughts and avoided his eyes.

        The next thing I knew, I was tightly wrapped in his warm and comfortable arms as we sat on the floor. The television was on for some movie marathon, but both of us knew that neither was really paying full attention to what was shown. The dialogues were heard as if static, and the images moved as if in blur. He rested his head on my shoulder, and I could not help but feel ticklish as he breathes. I was playing with his fingers, which I normally loved to do since his hands were soft and fair, obviously telling me that he was not roughly immersed with too much hard work since childhood. 

       "Just on weekends. How about that?" He suddenly asked in a fragmented manner, making me confused on how to comprehend his utterance.

       "Mmmm?"

       "I mean, yes, I know I can't hold you back to your decision, but well, uh..." He paused to perhaps find the right words to mesh his sentiments. "Why don't we put it this way..." I turned around to face him as he spoke. "You stay with your friend on weekdays and you stay here with me on weekends. Fair enough, isn't it?"

       "Well..." I uttered as I gave it a thought. "I was actually planning to do a parttime job."

       "W-what?"

       "Parttime job, Lay." I repeated. "And since my schedule is kind of packed on weekdays, and I still have to study at night, I was actually planning to do it on weekends." I explained, guilty to reject his plea.

        "You're exhausting yourself, Krystal. A parttime job is too much. You need rest. You can't work on weekends; I cannot permit that." He shook his head as he firmly stated his stand.

       "I have to earn for myself and my family. You know that." I insisted.

       "You'll get sick. You're human, and not a robot." He pointed out. "Come on, Krystal. If you want, I can..."

       Knowing where the conversation was leading to, I cut him off as I shook my head. "No, no, no." I could not let him lend me money, or support me in such way. It was not about pride, but self-worth.

       "Krystal, I..."

        "Lay, please? We don't want to argue about this, right?" I said.

       "Okay." He sighed. "Then how about just on Saturdays? And you still have to rest on Sundays."

      "Parttime job." I reminded him. "How about my job?"

       "Precisely." He snapped. "You're working on Saturdays. You will be my personal... tutor."

       That was his weirdest idea ever. "You must be kidding. You're a genius, Lay. You top your exams without even giving in as much effort as the nerd population."

       "I at Math." He reasoned.

       "You got ninety-eight percent on the first exam. That is not what people who at Math score."

       "I hate History. You need to help me with it."

       "I hate it as much as you do. Plus, you get even higher grades than I do."

        "Case closed." He snapped with a mishievously evil grin.

       "What?" I asked, confused.

       "Case closed." He repeated. "I'll be your tutor, then."

       "Are you silly?" I narrowed my eyes on him. "If that's the case, then I'm the one who's paying you by the hour."

       "Wrong." He snapped. "We'll do it differently. I'm paying the study time by the hour instead."

       "Come on, Lay." I whined. "You're being too silly. I have to work."

       "Okay. Okay." He held his arms up, as if in hostage. "I give up. Just this time."

       "I'm working." I told him.

       He nodded, still with a frown.

       "Thank you, Lay." I uttered as I gave him a big tight hug. "You're the most understanding and supportive..." I paused as I did not know how to fill up the remaining words for my statement. Boyfriend? Not. Lover? Not. Friend? Oh, absolutely not just a friend. We're unlabeled and I was reminded of that. 

        I broke away from the hug and saw him still in a blankly annoyed face. "Here's the thing. I promise to spare some time for you every week." I let out my pinky finger to seal with his. "Promise."

       "Once a week is too short." 

       "Lay..." I whined.

        "Thrice a week, that is."

        "I'll make it everyday for every instance you crack up a fact about Zhang Yixing."

       "Krystal." He shook his head.

       "I'm insulted." I told him.

       "What?"

        "Don't you trust me?"

       "I just don't want to talk about it." He shrugged.

        "Then..."

       He cut me off as he pecked on my lips, obviously making me blush. "Okay. Deal." He said, leaning closer to me. "Now, can we stop this argument and just deal with our quality time?"

author's note

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