Modern Day Santa Claus

MDSC [39]

Chapter 39

It was one of Jae's rare day-offs as she strolled down the nearest mall from their university. It was the same mall where Sera, Maggie, and her first hanged out after signing for the apartment. This time, Jae had a different person to meet up with.

Her eyes darted from side to side while searching for the store where she'd meet up with someone. She finally perked up to see the familiar sign of the cafe just a couple of shops away. It was the same cafe branch from the mall back in her hometown, 2 hours away, where Skye had taken her and where she had her summer job. Her brows furrowed in confusion as a thought flashed through her mind.

She distinctly remembered Skye telling her that the reason he traveled all the way to her hometown was because of this same cafe. If there was the same branch here where he was literally several minutes away, why the hell would he travel two hours to another branch? Jae flicked away her hopeful thought that maybe he was traveling for her.

Stop it with the wishful thinking, Jae! Skye was still ignoring her yet she can't deny that her anger and frustration faded when she dreamt about him last night. She shivered. Ugh, dreaming about Skye... that's creepy, right?

She entered the cafe by slowly pushing the door and the familiar scent of the coffee beans and desserts wafted through her nose. She found herself instantly relaxing while she thought of her fun times as a worker from the coffee shop. A familiar bush of snowy, silver hair caught her attention and her heart began to race faster.

She walked towards him, dressed in formal clothes and silently reading a book while wearing glasses. It was the first time Jae had seen him wear glasses. "Hi, Sir Wynter," Jae greeted nervously, for some reason.

Wynter glanced up at her and gave her a smile, one that made Jae feel calmer. "You can sit down, Jae. Or if you want to place an order, you can do so, as well. I'll be here waiting." His voice rolled out like waves and Jae hadn't noticed how soft but firm her professor's voice was.

"Okay," Jae responded, gingerly placing her bag down on the empty seat in front of him and went to the counter. To be honest, she wasn't planning on buying anything but she wanted to prolong whatever conversation Wynter wanted to have with her.

Jae didn't know why she was so nervous either. Maybe it was because of how he worded his message. He said he needed to talk to her about something important 'ASAP' which just made her explode into a bundle of nerves. She never did like being left in the dark.

After ordering her usual coffee and donuts, she went back to her seat. Wynter gave her enough time to get situated before lowering his book and taking off his glasses. "I know it hasn't been that long since we saw each other last. How're you doing?" He started by making small talk.

It didn't work on Jae's frazzled nerves. She was thankful that the table between them could hide one of her legs bouncing up and down in rhythm while fiddling with her thumbs. "I'm good. Nothing much has happened." Except your cousin ignoring me like the plague, Jae thought. "U-uh, what did you want to talk about?"

Wynter heaved a sigh. He had wanted to slowly delve into the topic, not jump into it headfirst, but he could see how this conversation was making Jae nervous. He decided to indulge her, trying to choose his words carefully. "I wanted to talk about Skye," he stated rather coolly and he noticed Jae tensing up. "He's been acting weird lately. Something happened that... shook his nerves. He won't talk to me about it or anyone else."

Jae's eyes widened slightly, leaning forward. "He hasn't contacted me at all! He's not replying to my texts or calls!" she remarked. "Did something happen? Is he okay?"

Wynter was stunned but quickly masked his expression. It doesn't look like Jae has any idea about what happened to Skye. Wynter would've picked it up at even the subtle lie in her body language but Jae looked certainly concerned and oblivious. Anyway, he decided to probe further. "He's fine. He's just cooped up in his room, refusing to talk to anyone. I can talk to him sometimes but clamps shut whenever a certain... topic arises."