Liar and Liar - Chapter 12

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 12

The thought that entered Danielle’s mind was natural, if you could call it that.

‘Do you also have relatives who are hospital directors?’

You should have made some PR materials and sent them to my email.

The reason Danielle became endlessly cynical was simple. There should be limits to treating people lightly and toying with them, but Chris’s method was strangely more vicious from Danielle’s perspective. She’d rather he giggle openly like Joshua so she could just curse him out and move on.

Regardless of whether she would actually accept or not, Danielle carefully chose words that would be most unpleasant to Chris, words that would hurt his pride.

“No. Boring people like you aren’t really my type.”

‘Was that too harsh?’

No, not harsh at all. Danielle steeled her resolve.

“I see.”

However, what came back was a calm response that made all her deliberation seem pointless. The other person was clearly the bad guy, yet Danielle felt like she had become the villain, making her frown deeply.

“Isn’t that kind of an inappropriate question to begin with? I’m your friend’s girlfriend right now.”

“That’s true.”

Danielle was starting to think that the rumor ‘the basketball team captain never gets angry about anything’ might not be false. Far from getting angry, even when she deliberately tried to provoke him, there seemed to be no emotional fluctuation whatsoever.

‘If you have this kind of personality, why did you bother joining the bet and stop people to ask weird questions?’

“Do you have anything else to say?”

“No, I’m done.”

Right, then go your way now. It was just as Danielle turned around coldly.

“If you need help, tell me anytime, Danielle.”

Why are bad guys always so good at pretending to be caring? Danielle looked up at Chris with full hostility.

“I’m worried about you.”

I’m sure you are. Danielle stepped toward the dormitory again without responding. Chris didn’t call out to stop her anymore either.

* * *

“Phew.”

Arriving at the dormitory, Danielle unconsciously let out a deep sigh. The dormitory was all single rooms, so even Danielle, who was on a full scholarship, could use a single room.

However, unlike other rooms that hired contractors during vacation to put up partition walls and do new interior work to completely transform their appearance, Danielle’s room remained exactly as it originally was.

As always, Danielle did laundry while showering, and ate California rolls she had brought from the cafeteria for dinner.

After dinner, doing assignments or studying until bedtime was a routine that had continued for several years.

‘I need to get into some internship program within this month…’

Among Elmir Westlake students who aspired to medical school, they usually used connections to not only do short-term winter break internships but also additionally engage in shadowing activities, following doctors around to observe.

Even though she knew intellectually that this wasn’t normal, seeing students right beside her who were aiming for the same schools building up such activities made Danielle inevitably anxious. All she could do right now was wait for the results of her hospital and lab internship applications.

Although her mind was indescribably complicated, Danielle tried hard to focus on her assignments.

While sitting at her desk concentrating on assignments, Danielle’s gaze dropped to her phone, which had been like a stone in terms of presence, when it suddenly rang with a notification.

‘What?’

There was a text from a modified, unusual number.

‘An audio file?’

Danielle frowned and hesitated whether to delete the message right away, then pressed the play button.

-What, Frederick. Are you kidding? Taking her completely like you did is cheating. Even if it was just a casual bet.

The owner of the voice was the lacrosse team captain, Cove. The moment she realized what the recording was, Danielle went cold.

Joshua answered with a giggle instead.

-Why? I think this is pretty fun.

-Are you guys still talking about that?

‘…Mateo? Is that right?’

Mateo Valdes. The American football team’s quarterback and captain.

Although she had vaguely expected that Frederick’s entire group had made the bet together, having Mateo involved in this bet along with Chris was quite unexpected for Danielle. She had never seen him involved with any girl before.

And as a natural progression, the voice that scratched Danielle’s nerves the deepest followed.

-The early bird catches the FLOWER. Don’t grumble when you guys were late.

Danielle’s clenched fists tightened with force.

Right, Frederick Bastia. This is your true face. Treating everyone like your toys.

Contrary to Frederick, whose delight naturally oozed from his voice, Danielle’s mood only sank colder and colder.

Danielle could picture Frederick laughing happily even without closing her eyes. She had seen that look just a few hours ago.

-Ridiculous. It didn’t seem like she accepted because she liked you anyway. Don’t get cocky.

-Haha, even so, Danielle won’t fall for your schemes. I’ll let the bet slide, so just celebrate my fresh start obediently, losers. And don’t create anything else worth my attention.

Danielle’s blood pressure rose sharply at Frederick’s response.

I’m the one on the chopping block. Why are you acting cool, you ridiculous bastard.

Then, suddenly a phone ring was heard, and Frederick said ‘wait a moment’ followed by the sound of a door.

It was Joshua who broke the brief silence.

-You have to try long and short to know. I’m going to continue. Our bet condition was originally to hear her say ‘I like you,’ right?

Danielle immediately lowered the volume because she didn’t want to hear Joshua’s laughter.

-So Joshua, you’re going to do it?

-It’s more fun and better, whatever.

-Then I’ll do it too.

-Sigh…

Mateo let out a long sigh at Cove’s agreement.

Clatter.

Clearly, Chris Fassbinder’s answer should have followed next. But instead of Chris’s answer, the sound of a door was heard in the recording.

And the button above the audio file changed from a stop button to a play button. The playback of the recording had ended.

The door sound heard instead of Chris Fassbinder’s answer.

The culprit who sent this file anonymously, even changing their number.

Despite all those questions and hostile feelings, Danielle’s attention was focused on only one thing.

Zing.

The phone rang again without warning. This time the number was properly displayed.

The moment she recognized the caller, Danielle let out a hollow laugh. It was unpleasant telepathy. She didn’t want to connect with Frederick Bastia in this way.

Hey, Babe.

I met with the guys and now I’m going home. Did you eat dinner?

‘How can a person be this shameless.’

Danielle sneered. Naturally, she didn’t reply either.

She just turned off the screen, flipped the phone over, and stared at her assignment again.

Not even registering Frederick Bastia’s contact information.

That was Danielle’s answer.

* * *

Frederick didn’t send Danielle another text or call.

However, the next morning when she left the dormitory to go to school, Danielle found herself face to face with her boyfriend who was standing there to hear an answer directly.

“Good morning, honey.”

“…Were you standing there the whole time? How did you know when I’d come out?”

Frederick stood with his arms crossed, unusually wearing a navy blazer with a tie.

Other students coming out of the dormitory openly glanced at Danielle and Frederick. Frederick was holding a takeout cup in his right hand.

“Compared to waiting for a reply, it was nothing. You’d come out eventually anyway.”

“If I had known you’d act so bewildering, I wouldn’t have come out.”

Frederick handed Danielle what he was holding with an unaffected face and an eye smile. It was a takeout cup.

“Morning coffee.”

Danielle looked at the tumbler that had become relatively miniature-sized when held in Frederick’s large hands. Even with large hands, the cup size was unusually small.

Something clicked in Danielle’s mind as she realized what the cup was.

Ah, maybe.

‘Could I make Frederick Bastia angry with this?’

Judging by the cup size, what Frederick was offering seemed to be espresso.

‘Just like an Italian, as expected.’

“Why didn’t you reply? Even just replying that you were busy would have been enough.”

“I was doing assignments. Then I forgot.”

Danielle deliberately didn’t add an apology saying she was sorry. Because she wasn’t sorry.

Watching Danielle’s expression, Frederick simply smiled without any complaints.

But that was only for a moment.

“That’s espresso, right? I appreciate the thought, but I don’t drink espresso. I drink americano. Iced.”

“…Ameri, what?”

For the first time, Frederick’s smile cracked.

“Don’t tell me that coffee grounds water?”

…I’m getting a reaction?

“Espresso is bitter. And there’s so little of it. Nothing beats an iced americano packed with ice.”

Get angry. Get angry. Get irritated. Get irritated.

Danielle prayed earnestly with all her heart. If she could make the always-composed Frederick Bastia lose his cool like this, she felt like she could cartwheel and do side flips all the way from here to the Main Building. As part of a joyful celebration performance.

That’s how much Danielle truly wanted to make Frederick angry. It was six long years of accumulated rage dating back to Lower School.

“…Honey. I think you’re seriously mistaken about something, but that’s not food for human consumption. How can you drink something like that? Here, try this, quickly.”

Though he appeared fine on the surface, Danielle immediately noticed that Frederick was shaken. His smile wasn’t really a smile.

“It’s because you haven’t tried the real thing. Drink it right now, the ‘real coffee’ I brought.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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