"Ran! You cheater!" Gianluca shouted as he threw the cards the table.
We all laughed as Ran stood up from his seat.
"Me? No, you!" Ran argued back.
Then Ran started to mimic the 'challenge request' gesture, making everyone die from laughter.
He giggled and looked at me. He gave a thumbs up, asking if I was doing okay and I replied back with a thumbs up, indicating that I was.
After the practice match, we all decided to eat dinner at a nearby restaurant that they always go to. They invited Yuki and Matteo's team but they politely declined as they needed to do something back in Milan. During dinner, one teammate suggested to play a game after eating and the others nodded. I felt a bit out of place and wanted to back out but they insisted and told me to stay.
And now I'm here, in between a very loud Ran and his also very loud teammates.
'How do they have so much energy after the match?'
Stephen finally stopped the bickering and ended the game there. We all decided to leave the restaurant and pay for our respective bills.
As it was my turn to pay, a hand with a card suddenly was in front of the card machine. It made a sound indicating that it was paid. I looked at the person with confusion and widened my eyes to see Ran's smirking face.
"Treat me to dinner next time.. Just us." He whispered and walked away to his fellow teammates.
I looked at him with shock while his teammates continued to tease him.
"Too bold.." I muttered, feeling flustered.
I glared at him from a far but I noticed a figure beside me. Looking to my side, I was met by a shoulder. I looked up to see the face and saw the asian boy that was looking at me earlier.
"Oh, Hey.." I greeted, putting a small wave.
He waved back and smiled.
"Uhh.. I'm Rika Kobayashi.." I introduced myself, feeling a bit awkward as he was being too silent.
"Oh.. I'm Woo Jin." He introduced back as he extended his hand out.
I gladly took his hand and shook it. We both smiled and followed the group in front of us.
"Uhm.. Ms. Rika?" Woo Jin called as we walked silently.
Feeling a bit weird of the name, I immediately corrected him.
"Please call me Rika.. No need for formalities." I smiled.
"Okay.. Rika." He smiled cutely.
I chuckled at the boy.
He seems to be very young. Maybe a bit younger than me, but sometimes, asians can be deceiving with their looks.
"If you don't mind me asking, how old are you?" He asked.
I looked at him with shock as I was just trying to figure out his age as well.
"I'm sorry! Was I rude?" He asked, feeling a bit panicked.
I giggled at his state, and shook my head.
"It's fine.. Relax.. I'm 20! You?" I asked him back.
"Oh! I'm 19.." He answered, feeling embarrassed.
'I knew it!'
"Ahh.. That's nice.." I replied back, feeling like an old person.
After a few moments, there was a bit of an awkward atmosphere. Suddenly, Ran whipped his head back to face us making me widened my eyes at the sudden movement. I gave him a small wave along with a smile. He waited for me and Woo Jin as we walked towards him. Suddenly, Ran put his arm around my shoulder, squeezing himself in between Woo Jin and I.
"Hey.. Don't touch her.. She's not available." Ran scowled at the boy.
Woo Jin widened his eyes, feeling flustered.
"Ah- Hyung! It's not what you think!" Woo jin explained, trying to clear out the misunderstanding.
I slapped Ran's back, scolding him fro his behavior. Ever since he asked that question in the car, he had been having such a temper.
"Hey, Woo Jin.. Can you give us a minute? I need to lecture this child." I smiled at him as he nodded his head, following the group in front of us.
Ran continued to glare at Woo Jin as I slapped him on the back one more time.
"Hey! That hurts, you know? I can feel your brother's hand in yours.. ouch.." He mumbled as he rubbed his back.
"What's happening with you? You were so out of focus earlier." I asked, feeling a tad bit annoyed.
I crossed my arms and waited for his answer.
He looked away and pouted.
"Nothing.." He mumbled.
I rolled my eyes at him. I noticed that there was a bench nearby and decided to sit on it, crossing my legs.
"We're not leaving until you tell me what's going on." I told him sternly.
He sighed and sat down next to me, leaning forward as his elbows rested on his knees. He was quiet at first as I looked at his side profile.
The way the wind lightly blew his soft hair, his sharp nose prominent under the dim light of the street lamp, his dark spots from healed up acne that was placed on his lower jaw and the way he bit his lip was, for some reason, mesmerizing to watch.
I almost forgot what we were talking about.
He took a deep breath, snapping me out of the daze I was in.
"It's just that I wanted to.." He started but suddenly feeling embarrassed as he covered his face with his right hand, looking away from me.
I waited for him to continue, not wanting to pressure the man.
He suddenly mumbled something under his breath but I couldn't figure out what he said.
"Ha? Say that agai-"
"I said; I wanted to hang out with you." He finally looked at me, boring his eyes into mine.
"I haven't talked to you in ages, but here you are talking to my junior and to my teammates. I wanted to, at least, properly apologize for what I did and also wanted to show you around Monza and just hang out with you! I don't know!" He rambled on as I looked at him in shock.
Shocked that I'm seeing the cool and collected Ran just explode all of a sudden.
He continued to ramble on as I try to stop him.
"And also I booked a table-"
"Ran."
"I told your brother-"
"Ran."
"Then I'll drive you back to your hotel-"
I finally held his face to face mine, squishing his cheeks in the process.
"Ran, listen to me." I instructed as I kept my eyes on his.
He finally kept quiet as I slowly let go of his face. He kept his eyes on mine as I did the same.
"The fact that I'm here right now, talking with you, should be an obvious explanation that I'm slowly trusting you again. I came all the way to Monza to watch, eat and have a conversation with you, Ran." I explained.
He still kept quiet, listening to my words.
"But, honestly? If it wasn't for my brother pestering me to meet up with you, I don't think I'll ever talk to you.. Or even meet up with you." I said, crossing my arms.
"Why?" He asked.
"You reached out to him. That's why. You sent him a message and that's all it took for him to trust you again.. well, maybe not fully.." I clarified.
He was silent until he looked up and sniffled.
'Is he crying?'
He muttered a few profanities and looked down, hiding his face. It didn't hide the fact that his tears started falling on to the pavement, creating small dots on the floor. I gave him a few minutes of silence as he suddenly sat up straight. He wiped his tears away as he smiled at me.
"Let's go?" He asked
I nodded and we both stood up, walking in a somewhat comfortable silence.