When Isabelle returned to the party room, she suddenly felt the urge to escape, as soon as she heard the people say they were going to play a game Sophia suggested.
Ever since they were young, whenever Sophia were with a lot of people, they'd play only one game - rock, paper, scissors.
Everyone would take turns to play, the winner would be safe, but the loser would have to face the next player. According to their draw, the final loser would have to accept a punishment.
The punishments were old fashioned as well, like truth or dare.
The reason why Isabelle wanted to escape at the last minute when she realized what was coming was because, in all those years, every time she played this game, she was the biggest loser. If it weren't because of the 'truth', then it was because people would mess with her too hard with her 'dare'.
Though Sophia had went to the restroom, the game had already started, and everybody played enthusiastically.
The room was filled with laughter and commotion. Not long after, it was Isabelle's turn.
She summoned the tatters of her courage and played 'rock', and lost three out of three. She lost spectacularly.
The crew knew that Alexander never liked to mingle in these kind of activities, so they never expected him to participate. They automatically excluded him. When someone was ready to heckle Isabelle to choose truth or dare, Sophia coincidentally walked through the door, so the sisters, Sophia and Isabelle, played against each other. In the end, the results were the same as before. Isabelle lost three out of three. Her loss was incomparably spectacular as usual.
"Isabelle, choose, truth or dare?"
"The loser will have to first drink three shot glasses, and then play truth or dare."
"For truth, you have to tell us who was your first! For dare, you have to go out and kiss the first man you meet!"
While most argued over the tasks, someone poured three shot glasses and pushed them in front of Isabelle.
Ever since Alexander had entered the party room, he was staring at his phone. But when he heard those two options, his brow furrowed and he lifted his eyes. When he saw the three shot glasses in front of Isabelle, his brows furrowed even harder.
After a slight pause, he put his phone away, sat upright, and said in an emotionless voice, "There's still me."
Alexander's abrupt words silenced the whole room. Everyone inexplicably blinked with disbelief. Even Sophia stared at Alexander, her eyebrows gently twitching.
Alexander turned unenthusiastically to face Isabelle and said in a low voice, "Bring it."
Isabelle was dazed for a moment before she realized that Alexander had really also joined in the game. She hurriedly stuck out her arm.
Back in junior high, Sophia loved playing this game. For Isabelle, who had a hundred losses in a hundred games, the only person she could beat was Alexander.
The only reason why she won was because after Isabelle continuously played against Alexander, she realized that he would always play the same sequence: Paper, scissors, rock.
At the time, she had been delighted for a long while to have unintentionally learned that her crush had such a quirk. It was a secret of his that she kept in the deepest part of her heart. A little secret only she knew.
Of course, from that moment, whenever they faced one another, she would be able to sneakily win with the sequence: Scissors, rock, paper.
But... It's been five years without any contact between them. Who knows if he still had the same quirk?
Though Isabelle wasn't confident, she still played "Scissors", and Alexander actually played "Paper". She won.
The second time, she played "Rock", and Alexander played "Scissors". She won again.
The third time, she played "Paper", and Alexander played "Rock". She won every round.
So after all these years, he still kept his quirk?
A hint of happiness couldn't help but surface from the bottom of Isabelle's heart.
"Mr. Smith, you lost!" Helen wore a beaming smile as she commented on the results. She pointed at the three glasses on the table. "Three glasses, down them!"
After that, she said in front of everyone in the room, "Everybody, think! What kind of question should we ask Mr. Smith? Let's think. If Mr. Smith doesn't answer the question, then, how should we punish him?"
Because Alexander was very cold and difficult to approach, this forfeit was made even greater. Having admitted his loss, he reached his hand out and raised a glass. Without a blink of an eye, he downed all three, completely ignoring his assistant's warning just before the party about not drinking with his back injury.
Accurately speaking, it wasn't just the people in the room but everyone in the world who were most curious about the dating history of the lonesome Alexander.
Perhaps it was because everyone had a little to drink that they were a little more courageous... Or perhaps it was because everyone felt a little closer to him after he joined their games... With the help of a little alcohol, someone asked, "Mr. Smith, do you have someone you like? When did you start to like her?"
The moment these questions were asked, the entire private room fell silent. Even Isabelle, Sophia, and Helen, who knew that Alexander had someone he likes, paid close attention.
Perhaps because he had downed three glasses, Alexander looked a little out of it. The vivid colored lights shone on his extraordinarily beautiful face, making him appear particularly stunning. He paused for five seconds before slowly opening his mouth to say, "I noticed her in the first half of the third year of middle school."
At first, she was just someone who he noticed. First time, second time, third time... Then he would pay specific attention to her. After that, it became a silent and irreplaceable deep love.
These thoughts he had were words that could never be said to her aloud, but with this game, he could pass the message into her ears.
Just like when playing Rock, Paper, Scissors, he didn't play the sequence "Paper, scissors, rock" to just anyone. He would only play it against her.
Paper, scissors, rock.
5,2,0.
This is what he gave her, the most beautiful confession with hand signs.
It's a shame she never understood its meaning.
~*~
When Isabelle, who sat next to Alexander, heard his clear voice, a bleak hint of bitterness surfaced from the bottom of her heart. So, in reality, he had started liking that unknown girl from the first half of the third year of middle school.
She herself had met him in first half of the third year of middle school and fallen in love with him at first sight. Up until now, it made a total of thirteen years. If she added it up, he had actually liked that woman for thirteen years and a half... She always thought that she was really stubborn and tireless in love. Who would have thought that he was the same as her, also just as tireless and stubborn in love...
Sometimes, you're so easy-going when you talk, but deep down, you're not really carefree.. When Sophia heard Alexander's 'truth', her expression was particularly serious. The moment he told those words, and before people could get distracted, she didn't know why, but she suddenly spoke up. "Who would have thought Mr. Smith would be so infatuated and persistent in love."
With her glass of red wine, Helen slowly swirled it around twice, and continued Sophia's words, "Indeed. If you count it up, it's been over ten years. That woman is very lucky to have our Mr. Smith so obsessed."
After saying this, Helen glanced over at where Isabelle sat. Then her lips curved at Alexander.
How could Alexander not know that Helen was making fun of him. Yet his expression was bland as he sat against the sofa, not giving Helen any reaction.
~*~
After that, the game continued, and Isabelle still lost more rounds than she won.
However, when she won, another person would face Alexander, and Alexander would win for sure.
Deep down, when Isabelle lost, she would rely on Alexander's flaw in the game to barely get by.
After someone stepped out first to bravely ask Alexander about his dating history, people after him were dead set on asking him questions about his dating history also.
"Mr. Smith, so do you still like the woman?"
"Yes."
"Mr. Smith, so did you ever get with her?"
"No."
"Mr. Smith, after all these years, you can't still be holding onto your crush? Have you never confessed to her?"
"Wanted to, but never succeeded."
Alexander's response caused chaos among everyone in the room.
"Oh my god! No way! Who would be so stupid as to turn down THE Mr. Smith?"
"Are you sure that the woman isn't blind?"
"Definitely blind. THE Nation's Husband! You'd dream of taking him home!"
Everyone wanted to know everything about who he liked. Above all else, they wanted to know every little detail concerning him and the woman he liked.
Isabelle was no exception. Ever since she found out that he had someone he liked, her heart secretly thought, was the woman he liked pretty? Did he ever get together her? Does he still love that woman?
That night, everyone in the private room helped her ask the questions she'd been hiding in her heart.
However, after she satisfied her curiosity, her heart became even sadder.
At the very end, after playing for many more rounds, Alexander lost again. When he lost, someone asked the question Isabelle most wanted to ask, "Mr. Smith, what's the name of the woman you like?"
After having lost again, Alexander didn't bother waiting for everyone to remind him to drink as a punishment. He took the glass from the table and downed it. Just as he set it down and was about to pick up the second one, he heard someone ask that question. His hand stopped abruptly.
The others in the room broke into commotion.
"Yeah. We've been asking for half a day now, yet we still don't know who Mr. Smith likes."
"If Mr. Smith doesn't want to say her name, it's alright to show us a photo."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah! Whoever caught Mr. Smith's eye must be pretty right?!"
When Alexander heard everyone bouncing back off each other's words, his expression looked ceaselessly calm. His hand slightly bent over and picked up the second glass. He threw his head back, and the alcohol traveled down to his stomach.
A drip of red liquid trickled down the corner of his lips, along his neck, and slid down the inside of his shirt.
The picture was so beautiful, it made people gasp in admiration.
Alexander put down his second glass, not stopping there. He picked up the third glass and downed it without even a blink of an eye. As he held the third glass, he looked at the crowd of people in the room who stared back at him waiting for an answer. His eyes gently blinked, and he said flatly, "I'll sing for everyone."
Everyone slightly sighed in disappointment. At the key moment, he actually didn't choose 'truth' but 'dare'!
Alexander calmly stood up from the sofa and strode over to the song selection station. Out of habit, he reached over with his right hand to select a song, when he stiffened a little. He swapped to his left hand and gently pressed the screen twice. The entire room fell silent at that moment; a gentle and elegant melody started to play.
Alexander did not like singing at all, nor did he know many songs. Apart from the national anthem, that he could sing to completion, he could only sing the song he had just selected from start to end.
This song was the soundtrack for a movie he starred in four years ago.
This song left a deep impression on him, because the lyrics would make him sing the very words he wanted to say to Isabelle.
The prelude wasn't long, nor was it a very popular song, and so everyone couldn't guess what the song was until the three words appeared on the screen, "Paper Hearts". Then they realized what it was.
The song selected was a duet, but when the lyrics popped up, only Alexander's exquisite voice was heard.
" Remember the way you made me feel. Such young love but, Something in me knew that it was real,
"Frozen in my head. Pictures I'm living through for now, Trying to remember all the good times"
On careful consideration, everyone present had known Alexander for many years now, and yet they had never heard him sing.
Normally, he always wore a cold and distant expression, which made it difficult to imagine that he could take a smooth ballad and sing it in such a moving and meaningful way.
Right then, the room fell silent. All that could be heard was his voice filling up the room.
"Our life was cutting through so loud; Memories are playing in my dull mind.
"I hate this part, paper hearts, And I'll hold a piece of yours. Don't think I would just forget about it"
In that instant, the memory of working through the harsh summer heat, when they had just graduated the third year of middle school and entered junior high, surfaced in Alexander's mind.