New York
Jay-jay's POV
"Admit it, dude! You're really weak!" Blaster teased.
"Leave me alone!" Eman replied irritably.
They've been like that for a while now—from the cashier to our walk toward the parking lot. I'm the only one apologizing to the people giving us looks, annoyed by these two.
"Woohh! Virgin!" Blaster shouted, and I couldn't help but laugh out loud. There wasn't anything wrong with what he said—it just made me laugh because Eman looked really pissed off.
"You idiot! I said stop it!" Eman shouted, his face suddenly turning red.
Why is it that when guys tease each other like this, it's funny—but if it were girls, it would seem offensive and such a serious issue?
"Why? Embarrassed? Because you're still a virgin?" Blaster kept teasing. You could tell Eman was annoyed, but he was holding it in.
Suddenly, my phone rang. I let the two keep bickering and answered the call.
"Hello?"
"Done shopping?" It was his voice—the king.
I should've checked who was calling first. Ugh...
"Y-yeah..."
"Don't go anywhere. I'll pick you up," he said and hung up.
How rude!
"I'll pick you up"? Does he even know where I am? He probably asked these two.
Speaking of those two, they were still arguing. I walked toward them before things got physical.
"You guys go ahead. I have to go somewhere," I told them.
"Where? I can take you," Eman offered.
"Just nearby."
They both nodded. I took the jar of lollipops from them and said goodbye since Blaster also had something to do.
I just watched their car drive away. Right when they disappeared, the king's Nissan GTR appeared.
So fancy!
"Get in," he said to me.
Seriously! He didn't even open the door for me. So much for being a gentleman.
As soon as I got in, the jerk sped off. Animal!
"Where are we going?" I asked.
"To the house."
I just nodded. What was he up to, wanting to meet me?
The drive didn't take long because he drove like a maniac. He parked his car in line with a few others. I looked at the cars parked next to his.
Damn. I'm jealous.
"Keifer... Since you're rich, can I have one of these?" I asked, pointing to his cars.
He looked at me seriously. "Which one?"
Oh no. Did he just say "which one"?
"You serious?!"
"Yeah... Just make sure you don't marry Yuri. I'll give you one—even my house," he said, arms crossed.
I looked at his cars and their mansion.
Maybe I don't want to marry Yuri after all. I mean, the offer's tempting. Just kidding!
"Bleehhh..." I stuck my tongue out at him.
"Tss," he said and rolled his eyes. "Even without those, you'd still end up with me."
Cocky much?!
"As if!" I quickly shot back. He just laughed and shook his head. The confidence on this guy—wow!
I followed him. As soon as we entered, Keiren appeared in front of me. But before I could greet him, he frowned at me and walked away.
Classic Keifer.
"Grumpy," I whispered and continued following Keifer.
We went down to their basement—where the gang hangs out. Keigan brought me here once when I was looking for Felix.
"What's that you're carrying?" Keifer asked.
He was referring to the jar of lollipops. I handed it to him, and he took it, puzzled.
"I remembered seeing you with a lollipop the first time we met," I said with a smile.
He paused for a bit, like he was trying to remember.
"I remember. That was when I was trying to stop smoking. I used this..." He lifted the jar slightly. "...as a substitute. But it didn't work," he explained.
I nodded. That's right—back then, I hadn't seen him or Yuri smoke yet.
"But thanks anyway. Just a shame."
"Shame?" I asked, confused.
"It's not the sweet I want as a cigarette substitute anymore. I prefer lips."
Lips?!
At first, I thought of Lips candy. But something about the way he looked at me made me second guess.
"W-why?"
"'Cause your lips are much sweeter than this lollipop," he said with a wink.
This jerk!
I knew it! He meant those lips. I glared at him, but he just laughed at me.
We continued walking. When he opened the door to their hangout spot, I saw Edrix, Rory, and Felix.
"Hi, Jay!" they greeted.
"Hello. What's up? Why are you here?" I asked while sitting next to them.
"Why? Is that bad? You want Keifer all to yourself?" Edrix teased.
I smacked him hard on the back of the head. Annoying! I was just asking a simple question.
"Ow... That hurt," he complained, rubbing his head.
"Serves you right... I asked nicely."
Rory and Felix chuckled. Keifer sat across from us, holding a glass of liquor.
Drinking again!
Does he have a drinking problem or something? He always has a drink in his hand. But honestly, it takes him forever to get drunk. His liver must be strong.
"We want to show you something," Keifer said, signaling the others.
Edrix pulled out a laptop and opened it in front of me. The first thing that popped up was a photo of a man getting into a car.
"What's this?" I asked.
"Your dad," Edrix answered.
Instead of feeling happy or tearful, I got annoyed.
"Are you messing with me?" I asked irritably.
"Huh?"
"How do you expect me to know that's my dad? He's facing away!"
Edrix scratched his head and clicked something on the laptop. The next picture changed everything. My anger toward Edrix vanished. All my attention went to the laptop screen.
It really was Papa!
He was in golf attire, staring off into the distance. I wasn't sure where the picture was taken, but it was clearly him. Edrix clicked "next," and the picture changed. This time, he was in business attire, talking to another man in the same outfit.
Then another picture showed him at a long table with many men also in business attire.
Edrix kept showing me pictures, and honestly, I didn't want him to stop. But he had to—some photos started repeating.
Looks like they only managed to get a few.
"W-where did you get these pictures?" I asked.
"Some are from business magazines, others from news websites," Edrix answered.
Magazines? Websites?
"H-how did his photos end up there?"
"I searched for your dad. I found out that he's the son of a business tycoon. He's known in the business scene both here and abroad," Rory explained.
I froze. A businessman? Papa's rich? But if he has money, why didn't he ever try to find me?
I couldn't understand. My head hurt again. It felt like Papa and I were growing even more distant.
"He's currently in New York," Rory added.
It felt so heavy. I had no idea what kind of life he had.
"There's... one more thing we want to show you," Felix cut in.
Edrix clicked something and opened a folder. More pictures of Papa appeared—but this time, he wasn't alone.
P-Percy?!
I looked at Felix. He didn't show any reaction, but I knew he had questions too.
"H-he's with Percy?"
Edrix showed more photos—they looked like father and son. Playing golf, laughing, eating at restaurants... they looked like a family.
Besides confusion, I felt envy. I wanted to be with Papa like that too.
"He introduced himself as Percy Rey Mariano," Rory said.
Is that what this means?!
Is that why we have the same surname? But Felix had already shown me Percy's dad, and that wasn't my father.
"Other than this, we couldn't find more info. There's limited info about them," Rory explained.
I just ran my hands through my hair. Tears fell on their own. It felt so heavy. I wanted so badly to meet Papa, and now I find out he's with Percy.
Percy, whom I've talked to and faced many times.
"Jay..." they called me.
"I'm okay... It's just unfair," I said.
Felix handed me tissue. I looked at Keifer, who was also staring seriously at me.
"Thank you... At least now I have a clue about him," I said with a forced smile.
"But you don't look happy about it," he said.
"I am happy... just annoyed. Now I have even more questions."
"I know... It makes you frustrated."
I nodded. It was true. I was drowning in questions, but no answers.
"But no matter what happens, we will help you find an answer to your question."