Liar and Liar - Chapter 36

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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 36

 

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“Haah….”

 

Danielle slammed her dormitory room door shut and stepped out into the hallway. She was heading to the parking lot to go home after receiving a call from her mom.

 

‘So this is how Earth ends when a second sun appears.’

 

Her mood was all over the place. She couldn’t get her mind straight at all.

 

During the entire walk back to the dormitory, Danielle had been thinking the same thing.

 

So he wasn’t meeting another girl after all.

 

What kind of nonsense was I doing all by myself.

 

‘And what was with getting so angry about it.’

 

In her self-loathing, Danielle stopped thinking any further. She felt like she shouldn’t think any more about why she had been so angry, about the reason for her actions.

 

What should I do from now on?

 

Danielle checked her phone. She had punched Frederick and fled from the gymnasium, but not long after, a nonchalant text had arrived.

 

It was from her (fake) boyfriend who had kissed her cheek on his own.

 

There are no weekend games in LA for the current division. The league championship only has weekend games if it goes past Game 5. Want to go to the World Series? If you don’t mind going late on a weekday, we could go before then too.

 

Frederick was naturally assuming that the LA Sharks would win the division and sweep the league championship 4-0.

 

‘Acting so casual after getting punched by me again….’

 

Danielle desperately wanted time to think alone, but after much hesitation, she ended up writing a reply.

 

I think I’ll go to the World Series this time. Weekdays would be difficult for me. Let’s go to the World Series.

 

Considering what she had done, Danielle had no way to refuse Frederick’s proposal.

 

‘Of all times, why did he have to be handling the scholarship issue while I was making a fool of myself….’

 

She wasn’t grateful, yet she was grateful. But reason immediately scolded Danielle. This was something to be grateful for. Accepting Frederick’s proposal was the right thing to do.

 

Without Frederick’s help, finding a way to solve the scholarship problem would have been a distant reality. Accepting reality, Danielle silently sighed and continued typing.

 

‘Since we’re going anyway….’

 

But can I choose the seat location?

 

Do you have somewhere specific you want to sit? I was planning on the skybox, but anywhere else is fine too.

 

World Series. Weekend game. Skybox?

 

She couldn’t even imagine how expensive those seats would be.

 

I want to sit in the outfield seats.

 

Choosing outfield seats over a skybox was almost eccentric, so Danielle was about to explain her reasoning. But while typing her reply, Frederick’s response came first.

 

Think Seonwoo Kang will hit a home run? Got it 🙂

 

‘…How did he guess that exactly?’

 

Danielle read and reread Frederick’s text endlessly.

 

Every time she looked at the text, she felt strange. Her chest area felt queasy, you could say.

 

The parking lot Danielle was heading to was a 4-story parking garage exclusively for Upper School. Due to its remote location, it was usually used by dormitory students and sports teams.

 

After walking around the deserted parking lot, Danielle waited for the elevator. The elevator that had been stopped on the 1st floor slowly came up to the 2nd floor where Danielle was.

 

When the doors opened, Danielle slightly furrowed her brow upon recognizing the person in the elevator.

 

Cove Blanton, who was alone in the elevator, likewise spotted Danielle and frowned.

 

Without a word of greeting, as if the other person was invisible, Danielle quietly boarded the elevator.

 

‘I should have taken the stairs.’

 

She just hoped time would pass quickly so they’d reach the 4th floor, but contrary to her wishes, the elevator that seemed to be leisurely ascending made a clanking sound and stopped moving.

 

“…What?”

 

Danielle looked up to check the floor display screen. The ascending indicator on the screen was blinking frantically.

 

“Hey, move aside.”

 

Cove, who had been leaning against the elevator wall, straightened up and approached the floor indicator. At that moment, Cove’s hands came into Danielle’s view.

 

‘…Is he shaking right now?’

 

Could he be on drugs? Withdrawal symptoms?

 

Those were the only things that came to mind.

 

Cove pressed the emergency call button and waited for a response, but no voice came back for quite a while.

 

“Hello! The elevator stopped. Is anyone there?!”

 

Cove’s voice sounded irritated to the point of being neurotic.

 

‘Even in this situation, the young master’s arrogance doesn’t go anywhere.’

 

While it was frustrating that the elevator had stopped, there was no reason to get angry at the staff. It wasn’t even the staff’s fault. But when the elevator lights went out, Danielle, who had been startled, widened her eyes and her whole body stiffened.

 

‘What?’

 

She could hear Cove grabbing the handrail behind him. Danielle pressed against the elevator wall.

 

‘It won’t fall, right?’

 

She remembered seeing data before. In any situation, the probability of an elevator crashing to the bottom was almost zero. Even though she remembered the data logically, Danielle’s heart pounded loudly. It felt like the elevator would crash at any moment.

 

‘Do I have to stay like this? Indefinitely?’

 

Controlling her breathing, Danielle gradually regained her composure. Then she could finally hear other sounds in the elevator clearly.

 

“Haah, ah, heu.”

 

…What is that sound?

 

Danielle turned her head back. There was only one source of the sound. No, one person would be more accurate.

 

“Heu, heu. Uu.”

 

Thud.

 

Danielle turned around and slowly approached the dark figure. Her eyes, not yet adapted to the darkness, couldn’t distinguish the shape in her vision well.

 

“Are you… okay? Does something hurt?”

 

Cove Blanton was sprawled on the elevator floor as if he had been stabbed, only making groaning sounds. Lying like that on this dirty floor? Not just anyone, but Cove Blanton himself?

 

“Heo, heu.”

 

Cove couldn’t breathe properly. It was typical hyperventilation symptoms. Realizing the seriousness, Danielle knelt down in front of him.

 

‘Is it a phobia?’

 

Darkness? Claustrophobia?

 

Having acrophobia herself, Danielle could roughly guess the sensations and emotions Cove Blanton was feeling right now.

 

‘The response method… calmly….’

 

“Blanton, can you hear my voice? Then let’s count breaths together. Breathe in as slowly as possible, hold it, then exhale. Follow me.”

 

Danielle deliberately breathed loudly. Counting 4 seconds while inhaling and 6 seconds while exhaling, Cove trembled but slowly responded to Danielle’s breathing.

 

“Can you feel the floor touching you right now? Light is coming through the door gap too. If you keep your eyes open and wait a moment, you’ll be able to see better.”

 

Cove, who seemed to be calming down for a moment, suddenly scratched the elevator floor with his fingertips. Curling up his entire body, he lowered his head as much as possible.

 

“Open the door! Bay! Please open this door!!!”

 

Danielle looked down at Cove with a flustered expression. With her vision more adapted to the darkness, Cove’s face came into view more clearly. Unbelievably, tears were forming around his eyes.

 

“I didn’t do anything wrong!”

 

Though he had an almost adult physique and usually had a low voice, right now Danielle was hearing a child’s voice in her ears.

 

“This time I really didn’t do anything!”

 

Danielle lowered her head deeply.

 

When she accidentally saw Cove Blanton being unilaterally beaten by Bay Blanton in Middle School, she was so shocked that she immediately thought about where she should report it.

 

She definitely would have done so. If Cove Blanton had shown even the slightest resistance.

 

But Danielle never intervened in that violent scene. Because it was more accurately described as the ugly truth of a twisted family relationship rather than school violence.

 

However, there were moments when she wondered if she should have just intervened anyway. And now, at this moment, as she seemed to understand how long ago and in what way Cove Blanton had been subjected to violence by Bay Blanton, her heart became indescribably heavy.

 

What was in front of Danielle’s eyes now wasn’t the center table member who was at odds with her or the lacrosse team captain, but a little boy trapped in a closet that his brother had locked.

 

“Cove, it’s natural to be scared. Do you want to hold my hand, or should I just stay next to you? Can I touch your forehead?”

 

“Save me. Mom, save me. Brother, please open the door-”

 

Each of his words stabbed at Danielle’s heart. Finally, Danielle covered Cove’s hand with one hand while cupping his cheek with the other.

 

Cold sweat transferred to her palm. Even Cove’s violent trembling, as if he were trapped in a freezer, transferred completely to her hand.

 

“I’m here, Cove. I’ll stay next to you until the door opens.”

 

She could feel Cove gradually depending on the warmth of her hands. The trembling continued, but at least the screaming and pleading had stopped.

 

Is anyone there?!

 

Then, responding to the voice from the speaker, Danielle immediately tried to get up, but tremendous grip strength violently seized her hand.

 

“Don’t… don’t go….”

 

It was a desperate voice that naturally evoked sympathy.

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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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