Liar and Liar - Chapter 43

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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 43

 

As soon as she saw the wallet, Danielle felt very uneasy, but fortunately what Frederick handed her wasn’t his own card but some kind of business card.

 

“We can only go on weekends so we decided on the World Series, but your family’s schedule might be different. If there’s a game your family can attend, just contact this number. They’ll prepare everything you need, including seats.”

 

“Ah….”

 

Danielle took the business card in bewilderment.

 

Gary Hagan

 

Operation Manager

 

LA　SHARKS

 

At the top of the business card was the LA Sharks logo that was familiar to Danielle as well.

 

“That… thank you….”

 

Danielle couldn’t bring herself to look directly at Frederick and lowered her gaze.

 

She shouldn’t forget that Frederick Bastia’s kind gesture was just a clever ploy for the bet.

 

Why was it? The rational breakwater that had always protected Danielle wasn’t working at all right now.

 

“Do you like it? Are you pleased?”

 

It was just a simple bill. But Danielle couldn’t answer easily.

 

‘…Don’t be conscious of it.’

 

Don’t think about anything. It doesn’t mean anything.

 

“…I like it. I think my family will really love it.”

 

Frederick’s eyes curved gently. It was exactly that smile that all the female students craved.

 

“Really? That’s a relief. I thought a lot about what my honey would like.”

 

“…Then what do you like?”

 

“Oh, are you going to do something for me?”

 

The moment she heard Frederick’s response, Danielle immediately regretted her slip of the tongue.

 

When dealing with Frederick, her words and actions always came out before her thoughts. In a situation where rationally building walls wouldn’t even be enough.

 

“I’m not saying I’ll do anything. I’m just saying I’ll listen.”

 

“Hmm, really? I should ask for something trivial then. Something you absolutely can’t refuse.”

 

Was this guy really a fox in his past life….

 

‘Should I establish the rule that physical contact is off-limits first?’

 

But Frederick was faster to speak.

 

“I want to take a photo with you.”

 

“…What kind of photo?”

 

“Just with my phone. Like this.”

 

Frederick took out his phone and activated the camera, capturing both Frederick and Danielle together on screen.

 

Frederick leaned his upper body toward Danielle, fitting more properly into the frame. Unlike Frederick who was smiling softly, Danielle had a flustered expression.

 

“Why do you need a photo like this?”

 

“Couples usually take photos often. We don’t have even one yet.”

 

“….”

 

It wasn’t wrong….

 

It was also true that it wasn’t a big deal….

 

If she could just pay for the business card like this, it would be better….

 

Frederick’s hand that had been touching Danielle’s shoulder moved up a little more to gently cover Danielle’s head. His arm consequently embraced everything from Danielle’s head to her shoulders.

 

Because of this, Danielle was inadvertently pressed close to Frederick’s upper body. Danielle’s breath naturally stopped. Now it was undeniably a couple’s atmosphere.

 

“My honey is so cute.”

 

Danielle, whose whole body had stiffened, couldn’t push Frederick away. She could only stare blankly at the couple on screen.

 

The screen flashed as the photo was taken and Danielle’s mind returned. The woman in the captured photo had an endlessly stupid expression by Danielle’s standards. And in a foolish state too.

 

To anyone looking, it was like a bespectacled squid clinging next to Frederick.

 

‘What is that.’

 

“Delete it right now! I look like an idiot!!”

 

“What are you talking about. You came out incredibly cute.”

 

Danielle looked at Frederick’s face. As far as she knew, that expression was sincere.

 

‘Did the meaning of the word cute change from what I know…?’

 

The moment Frederick showed her the screen again, instead of repeating her demand to delete it, Danielle closed her mouth.

 

What entered Danielle’s eyes wasn’t the photo file but the lock screen.

 

The photo they had just taken was set as the lock screen. In an atmosphere that could only be called lovers.

 

Frederick’s gaze, beaming with smiles, wouldn’t leave the screen.

 

Danielle could only lower the hand she had raised to snatch the phone and stare blankly at that sight.

 

* * *

 

Dad’s schedule seems to work too. I’ll go carefully with Eunho ^^ Thanks to Danielle, mom and dad get to go see all the Sharks games.

 

Danielle, who had returned to the dormitory and sat at her desk, pressed her temple with one hand.

 

“I only look at you. I only think about you. I only listen to what you say.”

 

“I won’t let you go, so how can we break up, honey.”

 

“Why do it? It’s what people in love naturally do.”

 

“Because the reason I didn’t eat was because of you. So you were also partially responsible.”

 

Words that should have been let go long ago were still spinning round and round in Danielle’s mind. She touched the screen several times with her other hand and brought up the chat window with Frederick.

 

Not weird at all. Super cute XD

 

Above the text message was the photo they had taken together.

 

Danielle, who had been staring down at this, slowly moved her upper body and took something out from the innermost part of the bottom drawer of her desk.

 

What Danielle took out was a black hardcover book.

 

『COSMOS – Carl Sagan』

 

The book, already well-worn by hands, was soft rather than stiff. As her thumb flipped through from right to left, the pages suddenly stopped and a piece of paper slightly thicker than regular paper popped out from between them.

 

It was a black and white pictorial photo that Danielle had cut out from a magazine in the past. One featuring Frederick as the model.

 

“….”

 

Frederick, who was tall even now, was already 5 feet 11 inches (180cm) in 9th grade.

 

In the black and white pictorial, Frederick, who was about to become a 10th grader, was lying diagonally on an antique sofa woven with vertical stripes, lightly supporting his temple area with one arm.

 

A white shirt with a tightly fastened black tie, a double-breasted black suit. With black glasses added, it was luxurious and classically European in style.

 

His gaze was directed somewhere other than the camera, which instead created a sophisticated atmosphere. It was truly a flawless 1950s-60s European-style magazine pictorial.

 

This pictorial, which came about after Frederick’s mother’s acquaintance repeatedly requested it after seeing Frederick, became a huge topic among teenagers at the time, and the magazine sold out completely as a result.

 

「From Boy to Man.」

 

The pictorial perfectly matched that title.

 

“I heard Frederick got a casting offer for a sitcom role?”

 

“You know that famous lawyer drama. He also got an offer to play the main lawyer’s son.”

 

Quite a few students expected Frederick might become a Hollywood star because of the pictorial, but Frederick didn’t do any other activities besides this pictorial.

 

Nevertheless, thanks to this legendary pictorial, Frederick continued to enjoy the highest popularity on PickTok under the nickname Great White Shark, regardless of his own wishes, even years later.

 

While it was a trophy for Frederick, for Danielle this pictorial was a knife stuck in her heart. It was no different from a knife in that if someone were to discover it, her heart would stop from cardiac arrest.

 

Even to herself it was like that.

 

She couldn’t be caught even by herself.

 

In 9th grade, Danielle even lied to her mom, saying she had a book she absolutely had to buy, to get money to purchase the magazine containing this pictorial.

 

After finally buying the magazine, she carefully cut out this pictorial with a knife and ruler.

 

Then she tucked it in the middle of her most precious book.

 

And sometimes, very occasionally, she would take out the book and look at it like this.

 

But on the day she saw Frederick reading a book with Stella leaning against his shoulder asleep, Danielle couldn’t bring herself to open this book and cried while lying face down on top of it. The reason was a secret even to Danielle herself.

 

It was just because that day was too difficult. That was reason enough for the tears.

 

After crying like that, Danielle pushed this book deeper into the drawer and never took it out again. This was the first time since then.

 

Always a shining star. A star that blinds people’s eyes.

 

Stars make people dream, but at the same time teach them limits and despair. Danielle sincerely agreed with those words left by some literary figure.

 

Scientifically speaking, even if you reached a star, you would usually freeze to death or burn to death. Like the satellite that tried to approach Venus and exploded because it couldn’t withstand the temperature of 470 degrees.

 

That’s why Danielle had hidden it so carefully until now. Because in the end, only she would get hurt. That desperate heart had deceived even herself, allowing her to ignore this fact until now.

 

But….

 

“Because you so openly ignored people like that, I was so upset that I completely lost my appetite.”

 

Were you at least somewhat disturbed too? Her heart stirred. As if she had received some comfort.

 

“….”

 

The small waves that had been beating against Danielle’s heart all along were now shaking her like an earthquake. With an intensity she could no longer ignore.

 

Danielle’s hand slowly pressed the screen. When she opened the recording app, the audio file sent by someone unknown appeared at the very top.

 

Danielle’s hand, which had been frozen in mid-air, soon pressed and held that file.

 

The recording file was automatically selected and buttons popped up below. Danielle’s index finger pressed the delete button among them.

 

Are you sure you want to delete this recording file?

 

Delete. Danielle finally pressed that button.

 

The recording file disappeared from the file list, and Danielle lowered her head and covered her face with both hands.

 

Would she regret this choice someday?

 

But Danielle could no longer turn away from her own feelings.

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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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