Chapter 1134: I think you should run

Slater felt like he was just dragged to hell and blown back into Earth. For a moment, he thought Benjamin had got him. But it seemed that being slightly friends with Benjamin made the latter not think much about it.

"Wow, I didn’t think I’d get this far," Benjamin murmured, only realizing now that the quick walk he had planned had taken him this far. "I didn’t even notice it. This way is kinda dark too. I’m a bit scared."

"If you’re thinking about something, then it’s natural you wouldn’t notice that you’ve been walking farther away from where you came from."

"It’s a good thing I bumped into you, so I don’t have to walk back alone." Benjamin gazed up at Slater as they walked side by side. "Third Brother, why are you here, by the way?"

"Same as you," Slater shrugged. "I had a lot of things on my mind."

"You’re thinking?"

"Why are you asking that question like I never used this brain?" Slater hissed, making Benjamin purse his mouth. "I’m thinking about a lot of things."

"Like?"

"Like a lot of stuff." He shrugged. "Why do you keep asking me questions? Can’t you just think that once this trip is over, I’d have to work again? I don’t want to work since I’m getting used to this life. But then again, I have some prior commitments and I’ve already signed some contracts. What a pain in the neck."

Benjamin kept his eyes on Slater’s side profile, his brows rising. "Is that the reason you’ve been quiet?"

"Uh..." The answer was no, because Mint was the reason. But that’s what Benjamin thought, so Slater rocked his head. "Yep."

"Hehe. Third Brother, why are you like that?"

"What do you mean?"

"I know you’re going back to work once this trip is over, but so is everyone on this trip. Although it wasn’t planned for all of us to meet here, in a way, we’re all going back to reality once this trip ends," he explained knowingly, flashing Slater a big smile. "No matter how nice this escape was, we’re all returning to the city to deal with everything. So, don’t worry about it once this trip ends. Just enjoy the moment. Otherwise, you’ll miss the fun of it."

Slater’s reason might not be real, but it was also true that he had been missing the fun of this trip. Even though he was with this big group, he hadn’t had the time to enjoy it. One reason was because of Mint, and the second was because he knew he had to make sure no one would connect him with Mint aside from being his date.

"..." Slater went quiet while staring at Benjamin’s carefree smile. This time, Slater finally found a reason to smile back and sigh. "You’re right. I was so stressed about what might happen that I missed the fun of it."

"Don’t worry. We still have one day here." Benjamin winked. "A day might not be enough, but I’m sure it’ll be memorable."

"No, a day is enough." Slater nodded at him. "Thank you, Ben."

"It’s nothing much, but you’re welcome!" Benjamin giggled, feeling a bit accomplished for seeing that smile back on Slater’s face. Now, Slater was looking like the Slater he knew, and not this guy who had been keeping himself quiet and alone.

As the two of them continued their trip back to the group, they stopped when they noticed three men stopping in front of them.

"Huh?" Benjamin slowly lifted his eyes, brows furrowed. But before he could ask, he heard some snickering behind them. Looking back, there were also men standing several steps behind them.

"Uhh..." he intuitively moved closer to Slater, examining the men’s wicked grins. Third Brother."

Slater, on the other hand, remained still, eyeing the men before them and listening to the snickers behind. But just as he was thinking about how to deal with some troublesome guys, Benjamin tugged his arm slightly.

"Third Brother, I think you should run," whispered Benjamin, making his brows furrow. "I’ll distract them."

Slater frowned, but the look in Benjamin’s eyes was unfaltering. He nodded at Slater encouragingly, not afraid of being left behind.

"You..." Slater breathed out, secretly balling his hands into tight fists.

How could this usually whiny guy be so courageous?

*****

Meanwhile...

"Mint, please be gentle with me," Ray expressed lovingly as if his body wasn’t buried under the sand. His air was already slightly constricting, but he was still smiling from ear to ear. "This is our first bonding. Are you also having fun?"

"Yep." Mint, kneeling on the sand, added more and more sand on top of him. "Stay still and stop breathing. I’ll be done soon."

She smiled at him, but it didn’t reach her eyes, scooping sand and tapping it on top of him. "Soon, you’ll suffocate and stop bothering me..."

Suddenly, Mint froze in place as she felt her heart throb against her chest. Some parts of her brain were sending her alert signals, which made her gut feeling rise from the tomb.

"Ben," she whispered, peeling her eyes from the sand and further from her. Without wasting a second, she followed her gut feeling and rose from where she was.

"Uh, Mint...?" Ray called, watching her walk away. "Mint, darling? Hey! Mint! Don’t leave me out of here!"

*

*

*

At the same time, around the bonfire, everyone was still having fun chatting, laughing, and having drinks. Although Penny and Zoren weren’t allowed to drink, they still enjoyed the night like everyone else.

As Zoren was laughing at the story Lily was sharing with everyone, his brows suddenly crinkled. Glancing around, he immediately caught Atlas’s attention.

"What is it?" asked Atlas almost immediately, showing he was more attentive than one would expect.

Hearing this, Penny also turned to her husband. "What happened? Something wrong?"

"I just felt him flinch a little," explained Atlas, still seated between his sister and brother-in-law.

"I just realized Benjamin hadn’t come back," Zoren remarked, making Penny and Atlas’s brows rise. The two looked around, only realizing that Benjamin hadn’t returned. Even Slater.

But before they could say anything, they caught Hugo, who was across from them, suddenly jumping from his spot.

"Second Brother?" Penny called, eyes on Hugo.

Everyone also had their eyes on Hugo as the latter looked around, sniffing hard with furrowed brows.

"Uh... Senior Hugo?" Lily called in confusion. "Are you okay?"

Hugo didn’t answer immediately, but when he did, he just flashed everyone a smile. "I need to poop. Be right back after my business!" After saying that, he walked around the bonfire and approached Atlas.

Bending over, he whispered, "I’ll check on Slater. I suddenly don’t feel good about something."

With that, Hugo didn’t wait for answers and just walked away, heading to where Slater said he would go. Though the others took Hugo’s remarks as they were, Penny, Atlas, and Zoren kept their eyes on him before looking at each other.

"I’ll follow him," Penny remarked, only for Atlas to grab her arm and keep her down.

"Stay, I’ll go," he said as he rose from his spot.

And thus, Atlas didn’t waste a second and followed Hugo to check on Slater. Zoren kept his mouth pressed, glancing at his wife.

"Mark, follow them," Zoren’s command was quiet, but since Mark was just on the log next to them, he heard him. Without a word, Mark rose from his seat and walked away.

Penny looked back at her husband after hearing Zoren’s command, only for the latter to hold her hand.

"Mark’s gonna follow them," he reassured, squeezing her hand a bit. "Don’t worry."

Zoren said that, but a part of him felt restless. He didn’t know why, but somehow, this unknown emotion crept up his spine.

He just hoped whatever this was... was nothing.