RUN WITH ME
CHAPTER 26: WANT TO PROTECT

Arunika gave her sharp gaze to the man next to her, while the one she stared at continued to smile widely as if what she said was not wrong. But Arunika is lazy to argue, he does not want his fun day to be broken just because of the words of one man who does not understand attitude. Arunika finally looked back at the aquarium in front of her, trying to ignore the man.

Instead of stopping, the friend of the man even threw back the inappropriate sentence on Arunika, "sell really expensive so a girl, people are fine and even let go." Arunika was still silent, as if her ears did not catch a single one of those words. But Gavin had already glanced suspiciously.

The two foreign men chuckled, then the dreadlocked man brought his face closer to Arunika, "lo it's more challenging to behave like a gini, come on, play together." Arunika snorted in annoyance while rolling her eyeballs. The woman turned her head and gave a piercing look.

"Stop before I call the security guard," Arunika recalled as she pushed the man with both hands, trying to distance her face. Arunika said her sentence in a voice loud enough that it began to attract the attention of her three friends as well as other visitors, while Gavin had been quietly observing since. It's just that Gavin doesn't understand the meaning of the words, it seems that the man uses slaul— which Gavin doesn't know him too well—but he has already caught an emotional signal on Arunika's face.

Arunika's warning as if not heard by the interlocutor. The man in front of him whistled while staring at Arunika's body from head to toe, "oh, c'mon, ****, we can play together," he said, trying to hold Arunika's hand, want to pull him away. Arunika also tried to keep her hands away. Gavin quickly stood in front of Arunika, making himself a shield. Then the hand of the man who was trying to reach Arunika was Gavin caught and threw it rough with a sharp look. So did Maverick and Floyd who stood beside Gavin and crossed his hands, while Hera stood with Arunika.

"Lo, what's the talk? *****? That's what *****!" hera said with emotion, while Arunika grimaced to hear it. Rarely this friend said harshly so that if it was so, then his emotions had soared.

The perverted man grimaced as he looked at his hand that was thrown rudely by Gavin, then gave a sharp look at the five people in front of him. He grinned, "it turns out you brought the troops, yes," he said in a low voice. Then he looked at Gavin who gave his cold, flat face, his eyes emitting a burning fire from emotion.

"And you're his girlfriend, huh?" he pointed at Gavin. Hearing the word girlfriend come out of the man, Gavin suspects he is considered to be Arunika's boyfriend.

"I don't care if he's my girlfriend or not because the most important thing now is that you've been catcalling him" Gavin replied sharply. But that answer instead got a laugh from a group of men in front of him.

"Formally speaking, amused his horror," replied another man standing behind the right man who catcalling Arunika.

"Bule him, so he spoke very stiffly," replied his friend who was standing next to him.

The ten fingers of Arunika had clenched tightly, then he patted Gavin on the shoulder and asked to be given a path. Gavin tilted his body and Arunika walked through the body 180 inches Gavin. Seeing Arunika who was back in front, a smile broke from the face of the perverted man.

"Finally you want to play with us, come on," the man asked while trying to reach Arunika's hand back. But before his wish was successful, Arunika had raised her hand and slapped the man's cheek, even the sound he made was very loud, making everyone who was watching the exchange grimace. It must have hurt, that's how they thought. No different from Gavin, Hera, Maverick, and Floyd who widened his eyes surprised. But before long their expressions turned into smiles full of pride.

The perverted man held his reddened cheeks and glanced at Arunika with anger, while Arunika smiled in satisfaction and patted her hands as if cleaning up the dirt in her palm. "It seems you don't know that I am not a patient person and will be silent when I realize I was trampled by others. Since the beginning of the hand I have been nervous about slapping lo, but I hold because of my resolution keinget in this year, a lot of patience," said Arunika casually, then exhaled satisfied.

"Gue reported you to the police," threatened the perverted man while pointing at Arunika's face, but was pushed aside by Maverick.

"Don't like to point people out carelessly" Maverick advised casually.

Arunika raises both shoulders no matter, "please, in a moment anyway not me who was taken away with the security guard." That sentence Arunika said while looking at the back area of the perverted gang. Several security guards had walked up to the center of the quarrel, it seemed as if there were visitors reporting.

"We have reports of sexual harassment here" said the security guard, who led two other security guards. Arunika, Hera, Gavin, Maverick, and Floyd simultaneously stared at the three foreign men in front of him. Although none of the five opened their mouths, the three guards immediately understood it through eye code.

"Well, let's follow me to get out of here" the security guard said as he led three perverted men who couldn't do anything. The man that Arunika suspected as the gang leader of the group stared cynically at Arunika, but Arunika replied with a wave of hands.

Arunika gave a wide smile, "i'm fine, you called security, right? Thanks for helping." The female visitor shook her head, then said no problem and was happy to be able to help. After a small hug, the woman left.

The five teenagers walked out of Sea World with Hera embracing Arunika and the other three people walking first in front of them. Then they agreed to rest on one of the long empty benches available not far from there. Maverick and Floyd go to buy drinks, while Hera goes to the toilet. The departure of the three people also left Arunika and Gavin on the bench. There was silence between them. Arunika plays Gavin's denim jacket which he still wears, while Gavin rests his arms on each of his thighs which are spread by a boat and his head he bowed towards the ground.

"Arunika," called Gavin in a low voice, making Arunika slightly surprised. Then she looked at the man sitting next to her.

"After this please teach me your non-formal language" pinta Gavin with his head bowed. Arunika scrunched her forehead confused.

"Are you thinking about that ugly man's taunts? About you using formal language?" Gavin nodded slowly. Arunika was silent to hear that, then she stood up from her seat and moved to a crouching position in front of Gavin. Arunika moved her head to the right and left, trying to see Gavin's face. But Gavin lowered his head.

"There's nothing wrong with using formal language, Gavin. You should use it because Indonesian is not your main language. Even more so in schools we tend to use English. The four of us use Indonesian when we talk to you too because you asked at the beginning, remember, right?" said Arunika with a very soft tone. But Gavin shook his head, making Arunika not understand.

"I want to learn to be able to understand faster what happened to you," I'm Gavin who made Arunika speechless.

"Actually I've been observing your interactions with that ugly man from the beginning, it's just that I didn't understand what you guys were talking about so I chose to be quiet. And it turns out that he catcalling you, if I understand your conversation from the beginning, you don't need to listen to such a painful sentence," Gavin continued, scratching his head with fingers on both hands. Gavin forgot, the image of Arunika in schools and in public spaces is very different. In school no one would dare to disturb the woman because Arunika is known to be quite creepy even though it is also famous for its hospitality. Unlike in the public sphere, no one knew how Arunika was so there was a possibility to dare to be brash.

"I want to protect you .. as a friend of course." Arunika smiled softly at the sentence so that she gently held Gavin's hands in her head, then pulled him down slowly. Gavin unconsciously raised his head until finally his blue-green net collided with Arunika's bright brown netra.

"Alright, I will teach you," said Arunika agreeing to Gavin's request. Then the woman stretched out her arms, leaving Gavin both shocked and confused. Does this gesture have the same meaning that he has known?

Looking at Gavin who seemed to be hesitating at once confused, Arunika chuckled so that finally it was the one who moved. He pulls Gavin's body into his arms, leaving Gavin shocked to death.

"Thank you for worrying about me" whispered Arunika next to Gavin's ear, making the man wake up and nod slowly. He returned the hug and drowned his head in the recess of Arunika's neck. Somehow Gavin felt very comfortable, coupled with the soft elusan Arunika on his back, making Gavin's chest warm up. Likewise with Arunika, the woman closed her eyes and continued to stroke the back of the man in her arms.

Without the two people noticing, Maverick, Floyd, and Hera— by hand carrying drinks and purchased snacks—notice the intimate interaction with a look of confidence.

"Maybe Gavin hasn't noticed it yet, but his heart has been given to Arunika" said Maverick, who is owned by Hera and Floyd.

"You want to be told or left?" asked Hera while looking at the two men next to her.

"Allowed," Maverick and Floyd replied in unison. They looked at each other with satisfied smiles.

"It's more exciting to see for yourself how Gavin realizes his feelings" Floyd said, looking at Arunika and Gavin, who had just described the decapitation.

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