Chapter 3: Rose
Ryan did not mean to eavesdrop, but because the blue-eyed girl was standing less than two meters away, he could hear the caller on the other side of the line.
"Rose, where did you run off to?! Please come back quickly!" a mature female voice said in worry.
Rose, which seemed to be the name of the blue-eyed girl, tightened her fist and firmly declined. "No, I'm not going back. You two will matchmake me again. I'm tired of it."
"Honey, we are doing it for your own good! Quickly, tell me where you are. Dad is already searching for you," the female voice, who was probably her mom, told her.
Rose looked around to see if her dad followed her. She sighed in relief when he was nowhere to be found. "I-I'm going to meet my boyfriend right now. I don't want to see any of you."
Her mom quickly asked back, "Rose, sweetie, what boyfriend are you talking about? Since when did you have a boyfriend?"
Stomping her foot, Rose shouted into the phone, "I told you guys many times that I have one but you never listened!" She looked both upset and angry.
"We will believe it once you bring him home," her mom replied calmly. "Right now you must come back. It's cold outside yet you came out without a coat. You will catch a cold."
Rose seemed to be fed up and yelled into the phone, "No! I'm not going back! Don't call me anymore!"
Immediately after, she ended the call and quickly turned off her phone. She exhaled out deeply after she was done keeping her phone away.
Ryan had no idea how to react to such a situation. It was a scene straight out from a drama series or movie. The girl, Rose, stood there with her head lowered, probably feeling the same way as he did.
He noticed her arms were shivering and he did not hesitate to offer her his hoodie. "You can wear this. It's still chilly today."
Rose did not expect a stranger would be that kind to her. She stared at the red hoodie with confusion.
"But we don't know each other."
"And? Does it matter? I have a hoodie and you are cold. It's okay to share," Ryan explaine
"But won't you be cold then…?" Rose asked further, making him roll his eyes.
Gosh, it's so hard to be a gentleman in this world, he lamented in his mind and stood up to approach her. He caught her by surprise when he grabbed her by the wrist and placed the red hoodie on her hand.
"Here, take and wear it. I won't take no as an answer," Ryan ordered and returned to sitting on the bench in only his plain white T-shirt. It was creased and sweaty, but he could not care less, knowing it was the right thing to do.
Rose squeezed the material of the hoodie and hugged it against her chest. It was the first time Ryan saw her smile. Gentle and innocent, like a lone field flower that broke through the layer of concrete to witness the world above…
"Thank you."
Ryan did not seem to hear her, as he was dazzled with her smile. He felt like he could stare at her smiling face for hours.
"You are welcome," he replied softly as soon as he snapped back to his senses.
She found herself embarrassed so she turned around, hiding her face as she slipped on the red hoodie. It smoothly slid onto her body as it was a few sizes bigger than her. It reached up to her thighs, almost covering her skirt. Rose only turned around after a minute or so, showing herself to him.
"How do I look?" she asked with a cheerful smile, completely different from her previous crying self. Her eyes were still slightly red but it did not diminish the pretty smile on her face.
"It looks good on you. A bit big but that makes you even cuter," Ryan replied honestly, not thinking much of it. She already had a boyfriend so he did not even try to hit on her.
What he did not expect was that she would blush from his simple compliment.
"Mhmm… It's warm," she muttered quietly.
"If it's smelly, I'm sorry. I was running earlier—"
She shook her head. "No, no. It's fine. I like this smell."
Only afterward did she realize what she had just said, making her blush even harder. There was no rewind button in real life.
Ryan found her quite amusing, but he refrained from teasing her. He relaxed on the bench as if he did not hear her response. It allowed Rose to recover after a few breaths.
After a few awkward seconds, she decided to sit next to him on the bench. Ryan planned to start a conversation but she was first to open her mouth.
"My name is Rose."
As she introduced herself, she reached out for a handshake. Because his hoodie was too large for her, the hand she offered was half-hidden inside its long sleeve. She realized her mistake and wanted to fix it but he already grasped her hand.
"I know. I heard by accident," Ryan admitted as he shook her hand. "I'm Ryan."
He stared into her eyes as he introduced himself, catching her gaze for a second but she looked down to avoid it.
"Ryan… I will remember. I'm sorry you had to listen to that," Rose apologized. "It's rarely like that. Only recently they started acting weird."
"Marriage proposals?" Ryan asked curiously, leaning casually against the bench once more while staring at the sky.
She was quiet for a moment only to nod gently. "Mhmm."
Ryan could not help but laugh. Fate brought them together—both struggled with the same problem!
Rose pouted and hit him on the arm angrily. "What are you laughing at? It's not funny! I'm suffering here!"
"I'm not laughing at you. I'm laughing because I'm in a similar situation. Fate can really play pranks on us," Ryan explained while rubbing his arm that received her hit.
"Oooh! Your parents also want to arrange your marriage?" Rose exclaimed, finding it hard to believe. "Also, I'm sorry for hitting you."
"It's okay." Ryan casually waved with his hand, feeling comfortable enough to share things with her. "I have three candidates to choose from and I learned about it today."
"They gave me five," Rose admitted, wanting to hug her legs to her chest, but since she was wearing a skirt, she crossed her ankles instead. "They think finding love is like grocery shopping. They say 'pick one' as if I'm picking apples from the stand. I get sick whenever they mention it."
"You will be fine. You have a boyfriend, right? Just explain it to your parents and they will understand," Ryan advised, hoping at least that she will be able to fight for her own true love.
Rose got quiet after that, not saying anything further. She looked sad and Ryan had no inkling what to do to cheer her up.
Before he realized it, he reached out and patted the girl on the top of her head, giving her hair a soft rub.
Her body froze and she suddenly pulled away from him, putting up a safe distance between them. His hand was left awkwardly hovering mid-air and he slowly, slowly, retracted it.
"Damn, I gave in to my urge once again," Ryan cursed in his mind. "Will I never learn to resist it?"
Just now, he just really wanted to cheer Rose up and he gave in to the sudden urge to pat her without considering if she would have appreciated it. It had happened to him way too many times in the past—he would randomly show his affection or do intimate gestures that normal people consider 'rude', 'too much', or 'inappropriate'. He had tried multiple times, but he could not filter his reactions to meet society's expectations.
For example, when a girl he was dating act cute, he would often give in to his desires and kiss or hug her, despite the presence of people around them. Due to his inability to control his urges, he had some embarrassing moments—and a lot of ruined relationships. Especially in their culture, public display of affection was frowned upon.
"I'm sorry. I saw you are sad and wanted to cheer you up." Ryan wanted to apologize more, but he decided against it and simply stood up. "I guess it's best if I go now."
"Wait!" Rose quickly called out to stop him, knowing he thought she was offended. "I'm okay. I was just surprised… Don't worry about it."
Unfortunately, even after she assured him, he did not change his mind.
"I should still go. It's not your fault, it's my problem," Ryan insisted. He wanted to avoid causing more issues, even if it was by accident. Rose was dangerous—she was just too cute for her own good, and she easily triggered his affection urges.
"Okay." She didn't argue with him and also stood up. "Wait a moment, I will give your hoodie back."
She began taking it off when Ryan stopped her. "No need. I don't want you to catch a cold. Keep it. I live in a dorm nearby so I will be fine."
"Then, if we meet again, I will return it to you. I live nearby too," Rose agreed without fighting, seeing that he was adamant that she kept the red hoodie.
"Mhmm, if your boyfriend sees it, just say it's from a friend," Ryan proposed and finally got moving. "See you!"
He made a few steps, preparing to continue his run when a hand caught his shirt from behind.
"Wait!" Rose shouted.
He turned around to look at her and saw she was looking down. She looked like she wanted to tell him something, but there was hesitation preventing her from voicing it.
He smiled. "Is there something else?"
Rose waited a moment before lifting her face, staring at him with guilt on her face and admitted, "I-I don't have a boyfriend…"
He was taken aback. Suddenly, he had a guess. "So you…?"
"I lied to my parents. I initially want to ask my friend to pretend to be my boyfriend but I realize just now that my parents know all my friends—"
Vroom!
The sound of an incoming car caused her to stop midsentence. When Rose saw the car behind Ryan, her eyes widened.
"My dad is here!" she panicked.
Ryan was about to turn around to check the new arrival, but she stopped him by holding his arms still. "Please hug me!" Rose pleaded, looking closely into his own blue orbs.
"You need to stay away. If you come any closer, I won't be able to hold back."
Ryan's heart was beating like crazy. Her soft lips were at an arm's length away from him, and his urges were spiking up. While he could still maintain a bit of control on himself, he warned her, but Rose did not listen.
"Please don't hold back!" Rose implored and seeing the car was pulling up next to them, she reached forward, hugging his chest tightly.
Ba-dum!
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