Lola widened her eyes, staring at the message on her phone screen again and again. She checked the sender multiple times.
But it was definitely Dylan.
“Euaaaak!”
A shriek escaped Lola’s lips as she stared intently at her phone.
She finally realized she’d mistakenly sent a message intended for Gia to Dylan.
‘How could I have made such a mistake?’
The reason was either that she’d fumbled her fingers or her mind had wandered off, one of the two.
“Aaak! What do I do?”
Lola jumped up from her seat, then bent over and banged her head against the sofa.
Although, since it was a plush sofa, it wouldn’t hurt at all.
‘Dylan will think it’s strange.’
She’d earnestly begged Gia to be discreet, yet this was practically the same as blurting it all out herself.
Lola felt like breaking her own fingers.
Then, her phone buzzed again.
Half-opening her eyes, she checked her phone, wondering what message Dylan had sent this time. The sender was Gia.
—What are you doing? Busy? I haven’t gotten a reply.
Lola’s sighs escaped her lips as she typed a message.
[Gia, what do I do?]
—What’s wrong? Something happened?
[I messed up.]
—Messed up? What kind of mess? Is it serious?
[I made a mistake and sent a text meant for you to your brother.]
—It wasn’t a text insulting or badmouthing my brother, was it?
With a long sigh, Lola captured the wrongly sent message and Dylan’s reply, sending them to Gia’s phone. She added a message.
[What do I do? Your brother will probably think it’s weird.]
—I’ve made these kinds of mistakes often.
Gia sent a message along with a sighing emoticon.
—You must be really embarrassed. Considering my brother’s personality, he won’t let it go.
‘He’ll grill me like a suspect.’
I know that too well!
Gia didn’t send any more messages after that. She probably couldn’t think of anything else to say either.
Just as she was wondering how to explain things to Dylan if he asked, her phone rang.
It was Dylan.
He must have called so quickly because he couldn’t wait.
No.
It would be even stranger if he didn’t call after seeing that message.
“……D-Dear.”
Lola’s voice trembled because she hadn’t yet thought of a suitable excuse.
—Why are you so surprised?
“I’m not.”
—What were you doing?
Dylan probed subtly when Lola didn’t respond immediately.
—Weren’t you looking at something strange all by yourself?
“That’s not true.”
—Then what’s with those messages?
“Ah, it’s nothing.”
—You’re really suspicious. Why are you trying so hard to hide it from me?
As expected of a prosecutor to the bone, no one could match his persistence.
Every time this happened, Lola’s tongue would tie itself in knots, and she’d tense up.
“It really isn’t anything.”
—Always “it’s nothing”?
Lola’s forehead beaded with sweat under his relentless questioning.
How wonderful it would be if he just let it go!
Lola mentally cursed, trying to respond calmly.
“Dear doesn’t need to know.”
—That again? That’s why I’m curious and want to know more.
“Dear, I’ll make you something delicious for dinner.”
He liked the food she made, so she thought he’d stop if she said that.
After a moment of silence, a chuckle came from the other end.
—Okay. Have fun by yourself. I’ll be home early when I finish work.
‘You can come home late today.’
Or even stay up all night.
Lola barely swallowed the words that were about to escape her lips and hung up. Then she took a deep breath.
*****
About an hour later, after a period of silence, her phone vibrated again. As the saying goes, “Once bitten, twice shy,” now even the sound of her phone made Lola jump, a cold sweat trickling down her spine.
‘Dylan again?’
Thinking he still had something to say, she looked at her phone screen, but her face immediately crumpled at the unexpected number.
It was someone who rarely called, so she wondered what was going on.
Her mother’s calls were never welcome; they always felt burdensome.
Only after taking three deep breaths did Lola press the answer button and ask gruffly,
“What is it?”
Her cold tone seemed to affect her mother, as her voice came through the receiver only after a while.
—Rosaline says she’s quitting her language program and coming home. What should I do?
Without even a perfunctory “How are you, Paulina?”, she started complaining.
Paulina’s abrupt opening words further unsettled Lola’s already chaotic mood.
It took some effort to speak calmly.
“What did Rosaline say?”
—She said studying is hard.
Paulina sighed repeatedly.
—I’m so frustrated with her. She’s so old now, still loves to play around and is so irresponsible. I don’t know what to do.
A troublesome youngest daughter to her parents. She’d repeated a year three times but ultimately didn’t go to university.
