C53 Your... Girlfriend

The paused image on my computer screen seemed heavier than before. Ben. The waiter. A small bottle changing hands. None of us spoke for nearly a minute.

Chris slowly leaned back against his chair, his face pale. "...I don't understand." His voice was barely above a whisper. "I've never done anything to Ben." "So why..." "Why would he secretly meet that waiter?" I stared at the frozen frame again. Something didn't feel right.

Everything pointed toward Ben, yet there were still too many missing pieces. Alicia crossed her arms thoughtfully. "We can't jump to conclusions." "The bottle could have contained anything." "Medicine... vitamins... even perfume." Chris shook his head. "Then why meet secretly?" "And why did the waiter keep looking around before putting it into his pocket?" None of us had an answer.

I replayed the clip once more. The same movements. The same nervous expressions. The same exchange. Finally, I closed the video. "We don't know enough." "But..." I looked at both of them. "We finally have our first lead."

Chris nodded slowly. "If Ben really did something..." "...then somehow we'll have to find out." The room became quiet again. Suddenly, Alicia remembered something. "Wait." She looked directly at Chris. "If Sarah was the one who helped you..." "Wouldn't she know something?"

Chris's heart almost skipped a beat. I immediately looked at him. She continued, "If she found you unconscious..." "Maybe she also saw who followed you." "Or maybe she noticed something unusual before that." Chris answered almost too quickly. "No." "That's impossible."

His response came so naturally that both Alicia and I turned toward him at the same time. Alicia narrowed her eyes. "...Why are you so sure?" Chris froze. For a brief moment, I noticed panic flash across his face. He quickly looked away. "I..." "I just don't think she'd know." His explanation sounded weak. Very weak.

I had known Chris for years. Whenever he avoided eye contact like this... He was definitely hiding something. The room fell into another awkward silence. I wanted to ask him directly. What happened after he fainted? How did he get back into his room? Why did he react so strangely whenever Sarah was mentioned?

But I stopped myself. If Chris wasn't ready to tell us... Pressing him wouldn't help. Instead, I stood up and stretched. "It's getting late." "We've already spent hours looking at this." "We'll continue tomorrow." Both of them nodded. I carefully saved the footage onto another drive before shutting down the computer. The investigation would have to wait.

We walked downstairs together. The cheerful voices from the living room immediately reached us. Mom and Dad were still sitting comfortably on the sofa, chatting over tea. The moment they saw us, both of them noticed our expressions. Mary frowned. "What happened?" "You all look so serious."

Dad's eyes immediately landed on Alicia, who happened to be walking in front. He looked at her worried expression before looking at me. "My child..." He spoke gently to Alicia first. "Did Mike say something that upset you?" Before Alicia could answer, I finished locking my bedroom door and walked downstairs.

The moment dad saw me... Both he and Mom spoke at exactly the same time. "Mike!" "How could you bully such a beautiful girl?" Mom pointed dramatically toward Alicia. "Look." "Your girlfriend is about to cry." For a second... The entire house became completely silent. Then "Pfft..." Chris couldn't hold it in anymore.

He burst into laughter. "Your... girlfriend?" "Hahaha..." Alicia's eyes widened. Her cheeks instantly turned bright red. "A-Aunt..." "It's not like that..." Dad suddenly grinned. "Oh?" "So you're admitting he is your boyfriend?" Mom immediately caught on. "See?" "I told you that trick would work."

The three of us looked at one another helplessly. They had misunderstood everything. Again. I rubbed my forehead. At this point... I had almost become immune to my parents teasing us. Chris, however, was enjoying every second of it.

I sighed. "Dad..." "Please don't start again." Chris looked at me with a mischievous smile. "Don't start?" He laughed. "So this happens often?" Alicia quietly looked toward my parents, clearly curious about the answer.

Mom smiled proudly. "Don't think your uncle and I are old-fashioned." "We also use social media." She pointed toward us one by one. "Now let me ask you something." She looked directly at Chris. "Whose idea was flying kites?" Chris answered without hesitation. "Alicia's."

Mom nodded confidently. "And who was holding my son's hand at that café while everyone on the internet was talking about them?" Alicia gasped. "W-What?" Her face turned even redder. She opened her mouth to explain. Nothing came out.

Chris laughed so hard that he nearly doubled over. "Alicia." Dad clapped his hands together. "Good." "And whose idea was the picnic last week?" Chris wiped tears from his eyes from laughing. "Alicia." I felt my face becoming warmer with every passing second.

The more Chris answered... The worse this misunderstanding became. I silently prayed that he wouldn't accidentally mention Laura. Thankfully... He opened his mouth again. "But Uncle... in the picnic it wasn't only..." Before he could finish, I quickly interrupted. "Mom." "Dad." "We've just come back from a long flight." "We're exhausted." "And we spent the whole afternoon working."

I smiled helplessly. "Besides..." I looked toward Chris and Alicia. "They should probably head home." "I'm sure their parents are waiting for them." The moment my parents heard that... Their expressions softened. Mom immediately nodded. "You're right." "We've been keeping them here."

Dad also smiled. "Alright." "No more teasing." He looked at Chris and Alicia warmly. "Go home safely." "And thank your families for letting you spend the day here." Alicia stood and bowed politely. "Thank you, Aunt." "Thank you, Uncle." "I had a wonderful meal." Chris also smiled. "Thank you for your hospitality." Mom waved her hand. "Our home is always open to both of you." Soon, we walked outside together.

The evening breeze was cool. A taxi stopped first for Alicia. She smiled and waved. "Good night, Brothers." "See you tomorrow." After her taxi disappeared down the street, another one arrived for Chris. He placed his luggage inside before looking at me. "We'll continue the investigation tomorrow." I nodded. "We're closer than we were yesterday." Chris smiled faintly. "I hope so." His taxi soon disappeared into the distance as well.

I stood alone outside my house for several seconds before returning inside. Just then... I took my phone from my pocket. Without thinking, I opened our group chat. A smile slowly appeared on my face. I quickly typed, "Now I finally understand why Chris accidentally mentioned Laura in front of my parents."

The message was delivered instantly. A few seconds later... Chris replied with a crying emoji. "Brother... now you know my pain." Almost immediately, Alicia sent a laughing emoji followed by "You two deserve it." I couldn't help laughing. After an entire day filled with mysteries, hidden secrets, and unanswered questions...

At least one thing hadn't changed. No matter how complicated life became... The three of us could still laugh together. For now. Tomorrow... The investigation would continue.