Chapter 131 - Ch. 131 Jacob's Unusual Treatment

Finally, the day of departure for the campsite arrives before they know it. All students who will participate in this season's camp have started to gather in front of the campus lobby. And all could see two large buses parked in front of the campus.

Jacob, Adam, Fritz, and Letti had arrived, and they greeted Kaylee with enthusiasm. Kaylee carried a medium-sized suitcase and a large backpack.

There's a lot to carry around, like cosmetic kits for disguising rituals as well as skin patches to make her cheeks plumper and masculine. But she didn't want to be seen by her friends like a woman who carried many things.

In the end, she decided to take a medium suitcase and a large duffel bag.

Surprisingly, Jacob took the initiative to help her carry her suitcase, making the others astonished.

Logically, Jacob should have helped Letti since she was the only girl among them all. But why did Jacob help Nick instead?

"Jake, you should have helped Campbell. What did you help him for?" Adam's comment drew laughter from his friends, making Jacob scratch his neck awkwardly.

Letti herself also laughed and then responded to Adam's random comment. "My bag is not heavy. I can carry it myself. By the way, are you playing the keyboard this time?" Letti asked Kaylee because she had heard her team talk about Nick playing the keyboard instead of the guitar.

"Yup. I can play guitar as much as I want in college, so this time I'm going to play keyboards during camp events."

"That's going to be fun! I wonder if you're better at playing the guitar or the piano?"

'Of course the piano!' Kaylee felt like she wanted to answer her like that, but she held back. "You'll find out later."

After chatting casually while waiting for the arrival of other students who seemed to have decided to laze around and arrive late, finally, the head in charge told all of them to get on the bus.

The leader suggested five members who are a team into the same bus to strengthen harmonization and the team bond. Of course, with pleasure, Kaylee and others got on the same bus.

Letti's friend, who also joined the music camp, also went up with other team members.

Kaylee decided to sit by the window in the center so she could see the street view. She was about to invite Letti to sit next to her, but she realized that her current role was as a teenage boy. Kaylee didn't want to make Letti think 'Nick' liked her…

Wait. Isn't that a great idea?

If Letti likes… er… Nick, maybe Letti will leave Declan.

Ugh! How could she forget about this?

It seemed that the winter music camp matter had filled her mind, so she didn't have time to think about anything else.

She had not seen Declan for a week, and now the man himself had not contacted her at all, which made her feel uneasy.

Kaylee had also tried to contact the man several times, but the line always went to the voice mailbox. Does Declan intend to end their relationship?

No. Kaylee doesn't want her relationship with Declan to end. She decided to call Letti to ask her about it. Even though she felt jealous, she had to find out if she wanted to keep her engagement.

And somehow, she felt Letti could relate her to Declan.

"Le…" unfortunately, she was late to call Letti because the girl was already sitting next to her friend. Furthermore, Jacob was now sitting next to her.

In the end, Kaylee could only sit quietly without being able to do anything.

"This is for you." Jacob handed her a bottle of water which Kaylee readily accepted.

"Thanks." Kaylee tried to open the bottle cap, but it was extremely hard to open for some reason.

Even the bottle of this non-luxury drink seemed to challenge her, making her life miserable. In the end, she gave up and glanced at the window with a frown.

It seemed the first day of camping could not make Kaylee as enthusiastic as usual. If she didn't feel enthusiastic on the first day, what would happen in the following days?

'Declan. When will you meet me? I miss you.' Kaylee said to herself.

If only she knew her heart would miss him so much, Kaylee wouldn't have resisted his touch. She wouldn't even delay reaching out to the man.

Kaylee scolded herself like she was scolding someone else for making a big mistake. Unknowingly she was daydreaming, and her consciousness was in the deepest place of her heart.

She saw the figure of a girl sitting while hugging her knees in front of her chest. The girl buried her face between her knees, and suddenly, her way of thinking changed without her knowing.

"Do you still not want to meet him?"

"…" The girl didn't react nor answer her question. The girl still kept her face hidden as if she was a mouse trying to escape from a predator that was about to catch her.

"It has been more than eight years since the accident. Isn't it about time you came back?" even though Kaylee didn't get any response, she walked over to the crouching girl and continued her inquires. "If you suffer, I suffer too. The fact that I miss that man so much, doesn't that mean you miss him too?"

Kaylee stopped as soon as she stood right in front of the sitting girl. Kaylee stretched her hand and bent down slightly to stroke the top of the girl's head.

Unfortunately, just as she was about to touch the top of the girl's head, Kaylee's consciousness was pulled back, and now she saw herself on the bus again.

She realized, Jacob brought her back to reality when the young man took her drink bottle from her. Jacob opened the bottle cap, which she had not been able to open. Miraculously, Jacob was able to open it so effortlessly as if he opened his mouth to speak.

Why is the power difference between men and women so big?

As soon as he managed to open the bottle cap, Jacob closed it again and handed it to Kaylee.

"There."

Kaylee accepted the bottle with a questioning look. Why did Jacob help her? And why did she feel there was something different about Jacob's treatment?

She also remembered that lately, Jacob often keeps his distance from her, but he is still kind and sweet when he is with him. Jacob no longer carelessly put his arm around her shoulders, and instead… the young man carried heavy items without being asked.

Since when did Jacob's attitude toward her change? Kaylee tried to remember the changing behavior of Jacob around her.

The most obvious change was when they fight after the announcement of her engagement to Declan. Nick became angry and hated her for thinking Kaylee had played him and laughed at him behind his back.

Since then, Jacob has avoided her and refused to talk to her. Whenever the boy saw her, Jacob immediately became quiet, as if he didn't want anything to do with Kaylee.

Their relationship was strained for several days before Kaylee finally got up the courage to confront Jacob. Then their relationship has gotten better since then, but it's still not said they're back to what they used to be.

After that… they met again on the day of the music battle, and Jacob hurt her for no reason. Then she got word from Nick that he had fixed her relationship with Jacob, which meant the two of them had become friends again.

Kaylee assumed Jacob would go back to how he used to be and treat her like a friend like they used to be until they got the title of 'inseparable duo.'

Yes, they have been inseparable ever since Nick told her they made up with Jacob. People were starting to see where Nick is; that's where Jacob is and vice versa.

But… Jacob's treatment still felt unusual. Alas, Kaylee couldn't figure out what was different.

The journey from campus to the campsite took approximately two hours, and the air temperature outside was getting colder as they were almost entering winter.

Luckily it hasn't snowed yet, and the weather forecast said it would snow on Christmas Eve or the twenty-eighth of this month. However, they were all shivering once they got off the bus. The campsite was situated on a plateau, after all. 

The students looked fatter than usual because they wore thick jackets to fend off this super cold temperature.

Some girls who were supposed to be slim and skinny also looked fatter with small heads, including Letti.

Even so, Letti still looks beautiful and full of strong self-confidence. Kaylee looked at Letti's face with envy. Will she also look beautiful despite wearing a thick layered jacket like Letti?

Feeling like someone was staring at her, Letti turned to Kaylee curiously. As soon as she saw the face of Nicholas, who played the guitar so charismatically in the music battle, Letti gave Kaylee her best smile.

That's when Kaylee felt her heart stop beating.

'Why does her smile look like Declan's??'