𝙿𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚎 || 𝐅𝟒 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐈𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐃 (editing)

thirty eight

chapter thirty eight:

"Are you two dating?"
———

Gorya stood next to Kaning as she observed the guests arrive to the funeral. She couldn't help but feel lost. Even though she was standing there and watching everything from up close and hearing everything, she couldn't help but feel like a foreigner surrounded by locals. She couldn't really understand what most of them were even talking about. It felt as if she was in a completely different world than them.

"Look there's Thyme!," Kaning whisper-yelled whilst nudging the girl beside her.

Standing there, Gorya realised that she would never truly understand Thyme's world. As she watched him speak with other guests it just confirmed the fact that she was unable to fit in. She couldn't even imagine a single word that all of these people were saying to each other. It felt more like a giant business conference rather than a mournful funeral. Gorya knew it would be difficult to be in a relationship with Thyme due to his social status but she never knew that the iceberg would be this huge.

Thyme couldn't help but feel a similar sense of discomfort. Sure, it was partially because he was forced to be accompanied by his unwanted fiancé, but even without her presence he would have felt uneasy. Typically the photographers and news reporters would be swarming him. However today they were swarming Liliana and her family. But he had to admit, if he was a photographer he wouldn't want to take pictures of Thyme Paramaanantra, he would take pictures of the fourth richest man and his family. Perhaps that's why the reporters seemed a little over zealous today. Their eyes were observing their every move. They were watching who the family interacted with, what they were wearing, and if they made even the tiniest of mistakes in etiquette. Thyme and the rest of his friends were well trained in upholding their composure and how to strategically speak with the press. He couldn't help but feel like his skills were lacklustre compared to Lia's.

The Nakamura's knew the names of every single person in that room, including the reporters, guests, and other workers. This may seem like a waste of time to others but the members of F4 understood that it wasn't. By being able to remember certain people no matter their status, the Nakamura's were intentionally putting themselves in a positive position. Think of it this way: if someone remembers your name and is genuinely interested and respectful towards you, it becomes harder to slander them.

"Hello Mr. Jarustiwa, it's a pleasure to formally meet you," Liliana said with a sickly sweet smile as she greeted MJ's father. MJ took this as an opportunity to stand by his fathers side and figure out why Lia and Vinny were acting cold towards their other friends. "How respectful!," grunted Mr. Jarustiwa, "But it is by all means our pleasure to meet you Ms. Nakamura. It's also a pleasure to meet you again Mr. Genovese,".

Vincent nodded at him and then looked at MJ. Well, sort of. To MJ it felt more like Vincent was looking through him. He couldn't believe the person in front of him was the same playful, annoying Vinny that loved gambling and food.

"You kids look nice together. Are you two dating?"

Both of them let out small chuckles. "Unfortunately not, we're both currently interested in separate people," Vinny explained. "Well if I may, my son here would be a perfect addition to your family," he stated grasping MJ's arm. The son in question became slightly flustered by his dads statement.

Not because his dad was literally trying to pimp him out to his friends, but because his father never specified who he was speaking to: Vinny or Lia.

"Mr. Jarustiwa! What a delightful surprise it is to see you again!," Hikaru Nakamura said, interrupting the sudden offer of marriage. Instantly Mr. Jarustiwa stopped his conversation with them and gave his full attention to Mr. Nakamura.

Vincent and Liliana were still standing there with skilful smiles plastered on their faces. Once they realised that the attention went to Hikaru they let out sighs of relief. "Hey MJ, tell the others to come over tomorrow. We're having a little goodbye get together before we leave to Europe," Vinny whispered. MJ didn't even have a chance to respond before he heard Sophia Nakamura call out for Liliana. Lia gave him a pitiful smile before whispering, "bye! I'll see you guys tomorrow!,".

Once they were out of earshot MJ let out a breath that he didn't know he was holding.

———a/n

IM ON SPRING BREAK!!!! Time to have more time to write :]

p.s. Paradise is almost at 50k reads u people are insane i love u <3 (accept my love pls)