Maverick (Blank)
Chapter 16: Kaelan (3)
[My name is Kaelan]
Reynald widened his eyes, raised the corners of his lips, and chuckled softly. "Hahaha, so that's how it is."
Blank tilted his head slightly. "Do you remember my name?" Reynald smiled. "Well, I somewhat remember that name. At the bookstore, right?"
Blank nodded. "Correct. And wasn't Viera also there at that time?" Reynald held his chin. "Ah, you're right. Hey, your memory is good too. How old are you now?"
"18 years old. Oh, by the way, how did Brother Reynald become so successful?" Reynald put his hands in his pockets. "That's a very long story. And why are you here? Isn't your home in the village?"
Blank sighed. "Yes, it should be. I'm looking for someone here." Reynald asked curiously, "Oh, really? Who?"
"His name is Kaeri."
With an innocent tone, that name was uttered, making Reynald jolt and then hold his chin while thinking. In Reynald's mind, he said, (So it's true. This Kaelan is the person in Kaeri's mission.)
Reynald closed his eyes. (And also, this child doesn't know about his death.) Then he opened his eyes again. (However, this kid is no ordinary child.)
"I've never heard that name," Reynald said. Blank sighed again. "Ah, is that so? I've also been here for over 3 weeks, and there are no clues."
Reynald grimaced. "Maybe you just haven't met him yet. Maybe another time." Blank scratched his head where it didn't itch. "Well, I hope so. It's been 2 years since I last saw him."
Then, from the door, a bodyguard entered. "Ah, sorry, Sir Reynald. It's almost 8:20 PM." Then Reynald looked at his watch. "Ah, yes, that's right."
Reynald gave his business card along with his contact to Blank. "Kaelan, this is my card. Maybe we can have dinner when we're free. I'll invite Viera too later."
(Eh...) Blank was startled because that wasn't his intention, but who would have thought someone with millions of followers would give him his card now. "Ah, yes, sorry for the trouble. Thank you for the offer, really."
Reynald smiled, then waved his hand. "See you later, Kaelan. Sorry, I've been quite busy lately." Blank smiled and waved back. "Yes, Brother Reynald. I hope to meet again too."
Reynald walked away from Blank, but in his heart, he said, (Poor child.) He glanced at him from the corner of his eye. (That child carries a very heavy legacy burden that he himself doesn't know.)
After Reynald left with his bodyguard, Blank was alone, but he looked at the card given by Reynald. His eyes sparkled.
[Reynald Toreto]
[Contact: 08xxxxxxxxxx]
"This is real!" He then checked Reynald's social media. "This..." Blank slapped his own face. "This isn't a dream..."
Blank stepped toward the door to hurry home. But...
"Stop right there." Blank was startled; a girl's voice was heard in his ears. "Yes?" answered Blank.
When he turned his gaze, he was very shocked. It was Viera coming with her bodyguard. (Huh? Viera?)
The girl approached Blank and looked at him. "Hey, are you close to Brother Rey?" Blank froze and remained still. The girl was in front of him now. His legs felt a bit weak from awkwardness, but he still answered the question. "Yes, I know him a little." His tone slightly stuttered.
Viera tilted her head slightly. "Your name?" Blank answered, "My name is Kaelan." The girl held her neck. "I've never heard of it. Have we met before?"
Blank answered, "Maybe."
"Alright then, be careful on your way home. It's already night."
Blank nodded slowly. "Ah, yes, be careful too, Miss." Then, in a short time, Viera walked past Blank with her bodyguard behind her.
After her footsteps grew faint in his ears, Blank sighed heavily. "Phew..." Then he looked at Viera, who was already far away. "That was really sudden just now."
Then his phone beeped again. "Huh, a message? From whom?"
[From Rohan]
[Kaelan, I found an agency that needs an additional cameraman. The name is Ruin; he's the head event organizer from the meeting earlier. If you're interested, I can give you his contact.]
[Blank's Reply]
[Sure! Thank you, Rohan. You've been a huge help, and sorry for troubling you today and not being able to make it to the competition meeting.]
[Rohan is typing]
[It's all good. You must need a lot of help now.]
He held his phone with trembling hands while biting his outer lip. "Oh my... Is this my lucky day?"
Blank jumped joyfully. "Hooray!" But a guard cleaning behind shouted, "Hey, don't jump here!"
Blank was startled and lowered his body. "Sorry." And then hurriedly left the restaurant.
Today, Blank was overjoyed with his life, but that only applied for today. Day by day began to pass again, and Blank's feelings started to return to normal. Now, at night, he was seen sitting on a chair in his rented room with a wooden table. When he looked to the right, Blank could see the city because his rental was on a hill.
[1 Month Later]
Blank sat on his new wooden chair. Many books were lined up on his table, and he was now counting his money.
"$1,845." After finally finishing counting. "This is better. I left with the $1,600 I had."
Blank looked around his room. "Clothes, table, chairs, books, everything is done." But he gritted his teeth and clenched his fist on the table. "But why..."
"There's absolutely no information about Brother!"
That night, Blank fell asleep on the table. On his phone screen, a message was visible.
[From Rohan]
[Don't forget tomorrow at 8 AM for the marathon event.]
And a notepad was also seen, writing down his schedule for tomorrow.
[08.00-11.00: Marathon Event]
[12.00-15.00: Wedding Organizer]
Morning had arrived. The sunlight shone brightly into the previously dark room, making the previously closed eyes open little by little.
"Huh?" Blank woke up from where he slept. "Oh dear, I slept on the table. What time is it now?" The teenager looked at the wall clock. "Ah, it's past 6. I should bathe and have breakfast first."
Blank stood up...
Crack Crack.
"Ah, that's a bit relieving." Blank twisted his waist so that some bones that were stiff were now ready for activity again.
After finishing his business, Blank prepared to leave and took his backpack. But before leaving, he looked at a photo displayed in his rental. It was a photo of Blank and Kaeri posing near a waterfall while grilling sweet potatoes. Blank touched the photo.
"Brother... Where are you really..." Reluctantly, he left the photo and stepped out of the house to go to the marathon location.
While on the sidewalk, he saw news while holding his own neck. "This is terrifying. The location isn't far from the marathon."
[Breaking News: Several jewelry thieves escaped using a box truck and are currently being searched around area X.]
As he saw that news, a voice called him. "Hey, Kaelan!" Blank was startled. He looked ahead, and it turned out to be Rohan with two of his companions.
"Oh, hi, Rohan. Are these your two companions?" Rohan nodded. "Yes, the guy around my age is named Kenzo. I've been with him since high school." Kenzo waved his hand. "Hi, you're Kaelan, right?"
Kaelan answered with a nod and a smile, then his eyes directed elsewhere. "And this girl is also your companion?" Blank asked.
Rohan nudged the girl's shoulder. "This is a junior from college. She's 2 years younger, and her name is Natalia."
Natalia bowed slightly and greeted. "He-hello, Brother Kaelan."
Kaelan smiled. "Just call me El. I'm the most junior here anyway." He greeted warmly.
"Alright, El then, haha." They joked before starting their work.
After preparing some necessary equipment, they headed to a three-way intersection shaped like a 'Y' to get a photo spot.
"El, you and Natalia take the right side of the road," Rohan said. Blank nodded. "Yes, I'll handle that part later."
Blank looked around. "The road is very quiet, huh." Rohan answered, "That's because this isn't the main road and has been rented by the marathon party."
"Oh, I see." Blank and Natalia then went to the spot they would guard. Within 10 minutes, runners could finally be seen from afar.
Rohan looked through his binoculars. "Hey, the runners are starting to appear from there." Then Rohan hurried to the middle of the road, intending to photograph them.
"Hey, be careful, Rohan!" Kenzo shouted. Rohan chuckled softly. "Relax, we're used to this. All the roads are rented anyway."
Click.
"Hey, look, the photo turns out great when I'm in the middle!" Rohan shouted. Kenzo scratched his head. "Well, whatever you say."
But Blank's ears were ringing now, as if something was entering or he felt something. After he looked at the sky, a helicopter was seen.
"Natalia, isn't that like a police helicopter?" Natalia focused her glasses and looked. "Seems like it. It's blue and white."
Crash.
Everyone was shocked. "What was that?!" A box truck passed through an alley from the left lane and hit an iron trash can, but quickly, the truck swerved and headed toward the location of the four of them.
Blank's eyes widened as he still saw Rohan in the middle of the road while the distance between them and the high speed was so close.
Rohan quickly stood up and tried to escape, but...
Blank shouted. "WATCH OUT!"
CRASH!!
Blank's eyes widened, as did Natalia's and Kenzo's. Their hearts felt like they stopped instantly, and their legs weakened. Natalia fell and covered her mouth while closing her eyes tightly.
"Hey, idiot! Why did you hit someone?!" One of the men in the truck was answered by another man. "Sorry, who knew someone would be standing in the middle of the road that close?"
The box truck accelerated quickly, leaving the four of them. Everyone was silent. Everyone was breathing heavily with tight chests.
"ROHAN!" Kenzo shouted loudly, approaching Rohan. Blank's body froze again. (No... What...)
When he glanced at Rohan lying on the sidewalk, his head was bleeding, and the back of his skull had hit a concrete fence. Blood began to flow, and his body trembled slightly but without any sound at all.
Blank's eyes widened perfectly, and his hands trembled, but his heart said, (No... Don't just stand still.) Blank quickly opened his phone and called the hospital.
"Hello, hospital! We need an ambulance now!"
After finishing, some runners arrived and approached them. "Hey, are you all okay!? We saw a car moving fast from the alley and heading toward your location." But when they all saw Rohan's condition lying weakly, their legs felt heavy. "Oh dear..."
Nee naw nee naw.
The ambulance quickly arrived and immediately took Rohan, who was in critical condition. Kenzo followed because Blank was still given responsibility along with Natalia to handle the photography part.
Blank clenched his fist tightly. (Damn, how could this happen!) His eyes twitched, and his head hurt, but he looked at Natalia, who was curled up holding her face. (Ah, no, this could be dangerous. Natalia is in a stupor; maybe the accident will become her trauma.)
But Blank also held his own face, and his head throbbed hard. (Ah, damn. Even though Brother Kaeri gave me a lot of guidance on how to handle this.)
Blank took off his jacket and then covered Natalia's back while patting her. "Natalia, just rest. Let me handle all the work." Although Natalia didn't answer, her breathing was still fast, and her body trembled. (This isn't severe yet, but at least I should give her space.)
Blank then hurried to use his and Natalia's cameras to do both photography and recording sessions simultaneously. He worked hard for 2 hours, even though during that time many asked what happened, but Blank directed them to keep running so no one would approach Natalia.
Within 2 hours, Blank managed to get 109 photos and 24 videos until he was panting heavily. Then he looked at Natalia, who had leaned her body against the wall while holding Blank's jacket.
Blank sighed. (That's better. I was worried because it was crowded earlier.) Blank began stepping toward Natalia and then extended his hand. "Natalia? Can you stand up?"
Blank pulled Natalia's hand, and after that, Natalia stood up, but her back trembled, and tears began to flow as she said, "Will he... be okay?"
Blank paid attention to her, and then...
Hug.
Blank hugged the girl warmly. One hand patted her back, and the other held her head so she could cry on Blank's chest. Even though their bodies weren't fully touching, this was effective enough to calm her tension. (Still able to speak and express emotions; this is still in the shock category.)
At this moment, he remembered Brother Kaeri, who had once taught him how to calm emotions. This happened back in the village.
[Flashback of little Blank with Kaeri]
"Bro, you don't have a partner, but why is your hug so warm?" Blank asked. His brother chuckled softly at his innocence. "Hey, Kaelan, I'm an older brother, and also a man, you know."
Blank tilted his head. "So?" Kaeri then stood up and hugged his brother. "A brother just needs to give, not to feel. The hug is to calm." Kaeri's hand held Blank's head to lean slightly against his stomach, and the other hand patted his back.
"If you want someone to cry, the right hand pats the back to release emotions. The left hand provides calm so emotions can flow out to you. Give space for the body so they can let it out."
[Back to the Present]
That was a lesson Kaeri could give him at that time. Blank remembered the method and treatment well, so he knew how to calm someone correctly. Blank smiled. (Thank you... Brother...)
After Natalia's crying subsided, Blank released her. "Natalia, you can just go home." But as Blank was about to take the camera, Natalia grabbed his hand. "I'll go to the hospital." Blank sighed. "Well, alright."
The two of them finally left by taxi and headed to the hospital where Rohan was. Upon arrival, they immediately went to the receptionist.
"Under the name Rohan, he's currently in surgery." Blank and Natalia went to the surgery waiting room. Now, Rohan's parents were seen along with Kenzo, waiting with empty expressions.
"Natalia, wait here, okay? I'm going for a bit." Natalia nodded and sat down. Even though Natalia wasn't part of his family or a close friend, she insisted on coming as a form of respect for Rohan at this moment.
Blank left the surgery waiting room while holding his forehead. (Ah, I have bad memories in a room like this.) Then Blank went to the restroom to wash his face. "Phew... A tough day."
Blank decided to go to the restroom to rest for a moment from everything happening now, ruffling his hair and holding his forehead.
Footsteps were heard from outside, but Blank ignored them. He was still bowing down in his current condition.
But as Blank was about to leave, a voice greeted him. "Hey, it seems your life is quite heavy right now."
Blank was startled. His eyes widened, and he gritted his teeth, his nose scrunched. "Hey, I know this voice."
[You're the weird guy who met me in the restroom back then, right?]