Chapter 170 - Frustrated

[Music Recommendation: "Sunny Mornings" by Peter B. Helland (instrumental only)-available in Youtube or Spotify] ~ Please listen to it in a loop while you read this part to experience the utmost beauty of this chapter ~

Hours passed by as I discussed the script with Rae. When feeling tired and out of wits, we took quick breaks—either walk around or eat snacks and drink coffee, then go back and continue. We didn't even notice how time flew by. I, especially, enjoyed myself and learned a lot. By the time we finished, it was already seven! I couldn't believe I took too much of her time.

"Haaaaaah…" Rae yawned and stretched her body after the long day. Packing up her things, she turned to me and asked, "Wanna grab dinner together?"

"Oh, right. It's already time for dinner. Sure. Where would you like to eat?"

"There's a great place nearby," Rae grinned. "I really love their food there. There's also a hotpot place if you're into super spicy foods."

"Ha-ha-ha! Not too spicy. I'll end up full from drinking lots of water."

"Ha-ha-ha! Then, the savoury place it is!"

Rae was usually shy and timid, but at that moment, she looked like a child when talking about food. I guess she really loved food. I could totally understand her.

Once we finished packing out things, we went on our way. As we stepped inside the elevator, I remembered to inform Kaiden in case he was still busy with his meetings. So, I typed in my phone.

"Kaiden, I'm having dinner with Ms. Rae. Are you done with your meetings? If you are, join us. I'll tell you the place in a bit. I still don't know the name of the restaurant. Take care."

By the time I was done sending my message, the elevator door opened and we're on the ground floor. We went over Rae's car so she could drop her things, then walked towards the restaurant she mentioned. Yes, "walked" since it was so near the Red Dragon Films office. The name of the restaurant was in Chinese characters so I couldn't read it. I'm still not 100% familiar with all their characters.

If this was in the future, I could have just taken a picture and send it to Kaiden, or send my location through GPS. But since I'm still at 2010, I could only look at the shop beside it—luckily, it has English characters and was both familiar to us—and told Kaiden that we're on a restaurant just in front of the office, beside "Starrbucks".

Rae and I walked inside the fancy looking restaurant and a waiter ushered us inside. By the way that they were all greeting her, she seemed to be a regular customer for them. We got a seat on the second floor, beside the windows, perfect for viewing the beautiful fountain, cutely arranged lights, and greenery outside. The waiter gave us the menu and stood at the side of our table, awaiting our orders.

Good thing the menu had an English version as well, or else, I wouldn't be able to read it. I never had that problem before. Well, that was because Kaiden was mostly with me and would offer me the best in the menu so there was no need for me to even look at the menu. He had a great palate. I was never disappointed with his choices.

'Ugh. I can't believe this. Am I missing him? We just parted for like… six hours. Just a quarter of a day. Sena, you're nuts.'

Then, I remembered Hora again. My mind could really just fly off from one thing to another in an instant, especially when I'm not busy or focused on something. I let out a deep sigh. For a moment, I forgot I was with Rae. Oh my goodness. I shouldn't have sighed in front of her. Yes, I was thinking of asking her opinion earlier about what's happening with my friend, but after thinking about it, I should be ashamed and not bother her about something she was unrelated with.

"That's a long sigh," she commented. "Are you ok?"

"Y-yes! I'm so sorry. Please don't mind me. I'm just… ahm, thinking about school again tomorrow. You know, it's Monday again and—"

"Pft! That's got to be the biggest lie I heard today," Rae chuckled.

My eyes widened in surprise. Oh my goodness. I shouldn't have lied. Of course, she would notice. Rae had been a very perceptive and observant person ever since our first meeting. And most writers had high EQ, right? And sensitive. It was useless to lie towards her. I'm doomed. How would I explain this?

"If it's too private, it's alright. I won't poke anymore. But if it's something you think you can share, feel free. My friends always said it's better to share burdens together."

Awww… That was so kind of her. Maybe… just maybe, it's okay to open up? Though I'm still a bit shy about it.

"Well, uhm… it's about my best friend actually," I confessed. "I'm just worried for her. This week was not so good for her and she had to come back to our country to check on things. When she came back here yesterday, she said everything was fine and all that, but I didn't buy it. I have known her since childhood. I can tell if she's lying or not. But then, she wouldn't open up to me so I'm worried if she's really fine or not. And deep inside, I wanted to help but I can't help if she won't tell me anything about it."

I said all that in one breath. It was only then that I noticed how frustrated I was with the whole situation. Frustrated and hurt… because Hora didn't want to share her burdens with me. Then I realized, this must have been exactly how she felt when I had that dangerous situation with my dad before.

'Haaah… this sucks. I have no right to feel this way when I'm the one who did the same before. This is probably karma. But still… please talk to me, Hora.'

I pleaded in my mind. Begging her to tell me in my mind when I should have said it in person. Problem was, even if I did, she wouldn't. Hora had always been stubborn—once she decided on something, she would see to it and stick to it until the end.

"Hmmm…" Rae pondered a little bit from what I said. Leaning her chin on her palms, she kindly smiled at me and said, "Give her time. And trust her. I don't know what the exact situation is, but time will help. Time and Trust. Maybe it really is something she can't share with you yet. Let it be. Being best friends doesn't mean you need to know every little thing about the other person."

Hearing those words, the frustration in my heart began to crumble, and my broken reasoning began to fade.

"Being best friends sometimes means… just being there for her, even if you don't know anything. Sometimes, presence alone is enough. You may not have the wittiest words, or advice, or have no means to help, but just continue to be there. What matters is who stays with us even in dark times, right? I'm sure she'll appreciate that."

Tears started to form in the corner of my eyes. I did my best to hold it back of course. I couldn't possibly cry in front of Rae, it's embarrassing. But those words… helped remove a huge thorn in my heart.

"And lastly, trust her that she'll tell you at the right time. Or maybe, she'll have it resolved by then. I'm sure your best friend is not that weak of a person, right?"

"Yes! She's not. She's a very strong and brave woman."

"Good. Then I'm sure she'll resolve it like a queen and tell you her great adventures after. Taking care of friends is sometimes like parenthood. Sometimes, you gotta let go. So don't worry too much. If it's something she can't bear anymore, she'll ask for help. For now, let her be and trust her."

"You're right. Thank you very much," I said, smiling and thanking her from the bottom of my heart.

"It's nothing. As friends, we're prone to worrying too much. It's a sign that we care and caring is good but too much of it and it will become a shackle instead which is not good. Just a little advice from someone older. It's simple but can easily be forgotten over time. He-he."

'And here I am, 30 years old in my past life, still not mature enough to figure that out. I'm ashamed of myself.'

"You're absolutely right. Really, thank you very much."

Later on, our food arrived, and so did Kaiden. He joined us for dinner and we all chatted a bit—well, mostly me and Rae. Kaiden seemed to be the silent type to other people he's not very familiar with. I'm really lucky I managed to befriend him. If not, I'd probably be ignored like others.

Anyway, the food was so delicious. Along with great conversation and eye opening advice, it was a day well spent. I'm truly grateful for meeting such wonderful people in this lifetime. I hoped that someday, I could repay their kindness.