“She’s the reincarnation of my dead mother,” Doha whispered as soon as Natty went inside the bathroom. “Cunning, foxy, and great at acting innocent.”
Zeno watched them silently as they continued talking shit about the lady in white.
“Natty is your ex,” Eli explained. “Not the good one.”
Minji nodded in agreement. “You were together for only a few months. She came to Seoul earlier than us, and you remained faithful while she looked for another man! However, that man scammed her of her money, and she came running back to you!”
“Then, when she found another man with more money, she left you once again. Although, she had always been a red flag for the majority of your relationship. You were just too passive to see it,” she continued.
Eli nodded. “She’s the worst. I don’t know why she’s even here right now.”
“Isn’t it obvious?” Minji whisper-shouted. “She’s here because Zeno’s famous now… and handsome, and hot, and irresistible!”
Doha and Eli turned to her with raised brows. However, before they could question her excessive compliments, the bathroom door opened, revealing Natty with a badly concealed look of dissatisfaction.
“Your bathroom’s cute, too,” she chuckled. “You can barely move around.”
Zeno turned to her without any emotions.
So… this was a person from his past? His mission was practically begging to be accomplished at that moment.
“You’re done now, right?” Minji said. “You said you just needed to use the bathroom, so you can leave now.”
“But,” Natty tried to argue.
“She can stay,” Zeno said, rendering everyone silent. They turned to him with wide eyes before Natty spoke again.
“Oh, Zeno,” she said with a wide smile. “It’s been too long. I haven’t seen you since you entered the military. I knew you would want to catch up, too. I have a lot of stories to tell. And, of course, I want to hear about you, too,” she continued, her tone taking a flirtier tone.
Zeno merely nodded, shocking his friends even more. With that, he took his seat while Natty tried to claim the one next to his. However, Maxie jumped into it. “Oh, Maxie? You’re still alive, I see. Can you move? I want to sit here,” she smiled sweetly.
Natty tried to pet Maxie, but the latter snapped her jaw. It wasn’t the usual bite she did for Zeno, but she appeared serious—like she wanted to send Natty to the hospital. Natty yelped and stepped back. In the end, Eli sat next to Zeno and placed Maxie on his lap.
“Good job,” he muttered and stroked her ear.
Natty tried to take the other seat next to Zeno, but Doha had already claimed it. “As the unit owner, I can choose whatever seat I want.”
“You’re sitting next to me,” Minji gloated, grabbing an extra plastic chair and placing it on the edge of the table. Natty was definitely not happy about it, but with Zeno in front of her, she couldn’t complain out loud.
Instead, she sat on the hard yet flimsy plastic chair and watched as Zeno placed some food on a plate. She perked up and watched him with wide, sparkling eyes.
Such an eye-candy.
Natty had always thought Zeno was pretty average. The only reason she got with him in Busan was because he did what she told him to. He was very passive in their relationship, so every time she requested something, he would follow right away. He never initiated, but he always listened.
In the end, though, she got bored of their relationship and how kind he was. However, now, she could endure such a boring relationship if it meant being with him in his current state—handsome and famous.
Her hands started shaking in excitement as she watched him piled on food on the plate. Zeno had made her a plate multiple times in their relationship, so she was sure she was going to give this to her.
However, Zeno placed it in front of him and started eating, not bothering to give her a glance.
Disappointment filled Natty’s heart, but she quickly bounced back.
After all, it had been years since they connected. It would take a little bit of time for him to warm up to him.
“So, Zeno,” Natty continued. “Do you have a girlfriend now?”
“No,” Zeno answered.
Jackpot! He was single.
“And have you been with anyone else after me?”
“No.”
Her pride soared high at that moment.
“Why did you come and see me?” Zeno finally asked.
Natty twiddled with her fingers on the table. “I don’t know. I guess I came here to… reconnect.”
That caught Zeno’s attention.
“Alright, we’ve reconnected,” Zeno said.
Natty’s heart raced as Zeno looked into her eyes. She felt butterflies in her stomach, and her cheeks warmed up. Goodness, it should be illegal for anyone to be this good-looking!
Meanwhile, Minji, Doha, and Eli were on the edge of going ballistic. Why was Zeno allowing these things to happen?
“I’m currently trying to be an influencer,” Natty said with newfound confidence. “However, it’s hard in this economy. Seriously, why is it that others can be so famous when they don’t do anything productive?”
“Not you, though,” she quickly disclaimed. “You’re the best actor I’ve ever seen. I can’t believe we’ve been together for months, but you never told me.”
“I wasn’t good back then,” Zeno said, crossing his arms in front of his chest, waiting for a notification. However, nothing popped up, making him slightly frown.
What kind of reconnection did he need?
“Hey,” Eli nudged and whispered into Zeno’s ear. “Are you out of your mind? You’re feeding her delusions.”
Zeno raised one brow and turned to the woman once more. She appeared like a side character—like she was drawn hastily without much thought. Her attitude, too, screamed she wouldn’t be an important character.
With that, Zeno stood and grabbed his empty plate. “I’m going to wash this,” he muttered and went to the small secluded kitchen.
As soon as he was gone, Natty’s smile fell, and she turned to the three with a victorious smirk.
“You really think you’re going to stop this relationship from blooming again, huh?”