My Heart Was Wounded Deep
Chapter 68's

Rey hopes to give them a clue that she wants them to do so, holding Kikan back. He was not ready to let Kikan go, wanting to make the woman feel more comfortable before passing. He was afraid to imagine Kikan coming home regretfully because he had trusted him again. It's his fault, not Kikan's. But holding Kikan back will not be good for both Cindy and Kikan, as Rey cannot keep him company as she wants. So he gave no cues and focused more on practical thinking. "Then is there a vehicle to pick you up?"

Kikan tidied up the dress that Rey and Devan bought the other day. She wore it whenever she wanted to look beautiful, another proof that her arrival to this cottage was not due to the sudden impulse she wanted to impress. "Yes, there's a driver waiting for me."

Rey could see Kikan's watchful attitude so as not to ask him who had set him here and wait until he came home. So Rey just nodded. "OKAY. I'll call you when I'm home."

Kikan lowered his head and walked away from everyone, and Rey tried to let him go without chasing. If there was indeed a car waiting for him, Kikan would arrive home safely. Rey could reimburse the trip later, which she had planned. Taking a taxi to the lake is very expensive.

But at the last second, Rey turned to Cindy with an apologetic look and followed Kikan. It was not a polite act, but Cindy was already being disrespectful by showing such clear attention to Simon. And Rey can't let Kikan go without apologizing for Cindy's presence. Without telling her that he was happy Kikan finally changed his mind and came here. He also wanted to make sure Kikan had enough money to pay the driver who would drive him home. "Kikan!"

The woman had not come out of the living room when she turned around. "Don't let your show get interrupted" he said, hinting that Rey would return to the terrace. "Sorry I surprised you. I didn't know it was such a party" Kikan said.

That's because Rey thought she'd have a better chance of showing up if she described the party the other way... "Of course not. I'm worried if I say that, you won't come, and since you refused, Devan asked his date to bring a friend along. I've never met Cindy, she's sitting on my lap just because we're short of chairs, and she's the one who's pressing to sit like that when I stand up to offer her my seat."

" There's no need to explain" Kikan said, as if he wasn't interested in Rey's love life. "I shouldn't have changed my mind at the last minute."

" But I'm glad you did. If I had known, I would have made another plan" Devan said.

" It's okay. Come back."

Rey doesn't want to go back, it's not this woman who should have left..."At least, let me accompany you out."

Kikan. "No need for your friends to wait. I'll be fine."

Rey has left them. A few minutes will make no difference. "I'd rather watch you go. It'll calm me down."

Rey wonders if Kikan wants to go to one place next Saturday, to change the incident today, and plans to ask when helping the woman get in the car later. But when he opened the front door, he realized that there was no car waiting.

Kikan sighed as he stepped out behind her. "It seems like my driver was forced to leave."

Rey nodded at him. "You already know there's no one waiting for you here, right?"

Kikan did not answer.

" So what are you gonna do?" tanyakanya. "Tried to walk? In the dark like this? to get to your house will take you all night, if you can get home safely."

Kikan was silent again.

" I can take care of myself."

" Not if it's like this!" How could Kikan possibly consider taking such a big risk? Why didn't he just say he couldn't go home and let Rey handle it? His safety was far more important than the manners Cindy had to show, far more important than anything else.

Since returning, Kikan has been so convinced Rey will let him down, that he is reluctant to rely on her. Rey understands why, but she hates it. Hate that Kikan refuses to believe anything he says or does. Kikan had deemed Rey emotionally unreliable and unable to resist injustice, despite being just a dozen years old and breaking up with her.

Devan walked out the door with Kikan's suitcase. "Hi, you forgot this."

Kikan did not forget, he knew there was no place to put the suitcase. And Rey didn't even think that Kikan would come with a suitcase. He was so preoccupied with his own shock that he saw Kikan appear tonight, trying to figure out how to save the small advances he had made to get close to her.

Can't everything go well? had there been no Cindy, he could have spent time with Kikan in a situation that could be said to be romantic. A situation that for Kikan, as well as Rey herself, can not only be realized solely because Rey has something to do with Jason. That was the reason it actually invited Kikan to build trust.

Instead, he mishandled everything, and it was likely that Kikan would not consider another opportunity with him.

" Where's your car? devan asked, looking around. Rey did not answer her friend. "You and your pride." he muttered to Kikan.

" I'll call someone" Kikan replied. "Not a big deal. I'm sure I'll get a car."

" Not on a night this late, you can't and I guess you know that." Rey pointed at the winding road that circled the mountain. "If I hadn't been following you out, you would have gone out in the dark like this, on foot and..."

" And I'll be fine. People can go without a car all the time." Kikan.

" Tell me how are you planning on doing this right now?"

" I'll walk up to the main road, and hitchhike from there."

The horrific shadow that Kikan will meet a psychopath or rapist makes Rey angry. "Just kid!" The drill. "Do you really believe I'll let you do that?" ask Rey.

Kikan. "You have no right to rule me!"

Someone has to take care of him. Kikan thought that just because he was able to live life in prison, he would be able to live anything. But Rey remembers how vulnerable Kikan was when in the pool. And he couldn't have survived not if anyone had intended to harm him. "Just try to get away from me" Rey said. "I'll take you back if I have to."

When looking at this situation, Devan tried to be a mediator. "Rey didn't really say that, that is, you should have stayed here to play billiard. He knows you can take care of yourself and what you're doing is entirely your business, but I need a teammate, and...." Devan makes his voice sound carefree to persuade Kikan, making Rey feel like the roughest human being.

Kikan tilted his head to look around. "At least, something makes sense." Said.