Chapter 34: Misread Signals
After the conversation, everyone slowly left the café.
Only Realiana stayed behind, quietly enjoying her coffee, lost in her own thoughts.
A few minutes later, Rico walked over and took the seat across from her. She had clearly been nearby the whole time.
"I think you should keep a little distance from them," Rico said, lowering her voice. "They're… weird. And honestly, they look dangerous."
Realiana smiled calmly, stirring her coffee. "No worries. They won't harm me… no matter what. And even if something happens, you're with me, right?"
Rico sighed but didn't argue further.
Soon, their usual dynamic took over—Realiana talking endlessly while Rico listened, occasionally reacting with small expressions and nods.
After some time, the café door suddenly opened again.
Jhosen walked in, scanning the place like he was searching for something—or someone.
Then his eyes landed on Realiana.
Without hesitation, he rushed toward her table and sat down without even asking.
Rico's expression instantly changed. One corner of her lips lifted, eyebrow slightly raised—Who is this weirdo?
"Excuse me," Rico said sharply. "Who are you? And how can you just sit here like that?"
Jhosen didn't even look at her.
He completely ignored Rico and turned straight to Realiana.
"Hi, Realiana! How are you? Long time no see."
His tone was strangely excited—too familiar for someone who barely knew her.
Realiana blinked, confused. She glanced at Rico, who was now silently judging the entire situation with a strong side-eye.
"I'm… fine?" Realiana replied hesitantly. "What about you?"
Jhosen continued talking as if nothing was strange at all, while Realiana kept responding politely, though clearly puzzled.
After a few minutes, he suddenly stood up.
"Okay, bye!" he said and walked away quickly.
The moment he left, a group of guys sitting behind them burst into laughter.
Realiana turned to them. "What happened?"
One of them, still laughing, said, "Nothing… he was actually looking for someone here. But then he saw your friend—"
He pointed slightly toward Rico.
"And he just lost it."
Another added between laughs, "We were eating fries and joking around. Then we asked him if he liked her."
"And for fun," the first one continued, "we told him, 'Her type? She likes boys who ignore her.'"
The entire group started laughing again—this time louder.
Rico's eyes narrowed.
Realiana couldn't help but laugh too.
Outside the café, Jhosen was walking, mumbling to himself confidently,
"Now that girl will definitely ask for my number…"
Suddenly, he stopped.
"…Wait."
His expression froze.
"I didn't even give my number to Realiana."
At that exact moment, Realiana and Rico stepped out of the café.
Jhosen quickly turned back and rushed toward them.
"Hey—Realiana! Can you come here for a second?"
She looked confused but walked toward him.
Without wasting time, he scribbled his number on a piece of paper and handed it to her.
"If someone asks for my number… give it to them without a single thought."
Before she could even respond, he ran off again.
Realiana stood there for a second, staring at the paper.
Then she walked back to Rico, holding it out.
"He thinks you're going to ask for his number," she said casually. "So he gave it to me."
She raised an eyebrow slightly.
"Do you want it?"
Rico didn't even take a second.
"Who would ask for his number?" she said with a small scoff. "That guy is such an idiot. And I don't want to be one."
Realiana laughed, and the two of them walked away together, still joking about it.
Meanwhile, Jhosen reached the car where Jack was waiting.
Jack looked at him seriously. "Did you find the wire?"
Jhosen blinked. "Which wire?"
Jack's face instantly changed into full big-brother mode.
"Are you serious right now?! The broken wire I sent you to get!"
Suddenly, it clicked in Jhosen's head.
"Oh—that wire!"
He immediately ran back to the café, grabbed the broken wire, and returned to the car.
But now… his mind wasn't on the wire anymore.
It was on Rico.
He kept glancing at his phone again and again.
Why hasn't she called me yet…?
Jack noticed. "Why are you checking your phone every second?"
Jhosen got shy, awkwardly pulling his leg up a bit like he was trying to hide his face.
"I think… I fell in love at first sight," he said softly. "And I know… she must be thinking about me too."
For a second, there was silence.
Then—
Jack burst out laughing.
And in that moment, it felt like the world was divided into three kinds of laughter.
The first were the ones back in the café—the boys who had started it all. Their laughter was loud and careless, the kind that came from creating chaos and watching it unfold exactly as they planned.
The second were people like Jack… and maybe even Rico and Realiana. The ones who understood everything. They saw the misunderstanding clearly, and their laughter carried a different weight—amusement mixed with disbelief at how easily someone could fall for something so obvious.
And then there was the third kind.
The quiet, invisible one.
The kind that didn't even sound like laughter.
Jhosen sat there, smiling to himself, heart racing with a story he had already written in his mind. In his world, everything made sense. In his world, she was already thinking about him.
He didn't know the truth.
And maybe that was why his was the most fragile laughter of all.