༒︎Chapter 02༒︎

❀ Simp Over Him ❀

MYTCH-

That was probably the worst day of my life. I felt like my time in this world was up as I helplessly watched my bag get carried away by the raging river.

No. This can't be happening...

A surge of anger tightened in my chest, darkening my vision as my grip on the man's shirt grew even tighter. I refused to let go-who knew if he would try to escape?

The fury shaking my entire body made me feel like I had lost all rational thought. My muscles trembled, my jaw clenched so hard it hurt. If the Hulk had a human counterpart, I was definitely it at that moment.

Before he could even say another word, I spun to face him and started hitting him without mercy.

"You bastard! You shameless thief!"

He tried to block my blows with his arms, but it only made me angrier. My frustration boiled over, each strike landing with one hundred percent rage.

"Ow! Stop it already!" he pleaded, but I didn't stop. I kept swinging, determined to make him pay.

"Do you have any idea what you've done?" I yelled, my voice shaking with fury.

"I said I'm sorry!" he blurted out.

I didn't care. I wasn't going to let a pathetic apology make up for everything.

At some point, he managed to grab my wrists, halting my attack. That's when our eyes met again.

His eyes... They were deep, sharp, almost hypnotic. Something about them made me pause. Were they Korean-like? Was he Korean? But he didn't have an accent-his English was perfectly fluent.

I mentally shook my head. What the hell, Mytch? Why are you even thinking about that? This guy is a criminal. He stole your bag. He let it fall into the river. Don't get distracted!

"Sorry?" I scoffed, yanking my hands free from his grip. "Let me remind you-you stole my bag. And now, it's gone. Do you seriously think a simple 'sorry' is enough?"

I jabbed a finger at his face, but he swatted my hand away, sighing as if I were the unreasonable one.

"Okay, fine. I stole your bag. That's on me," he admitted. "But you caught me, didn't you? I was going to give it back! Then, well... the wind blew it away. That wasn't my fault."

His tone was so casual, so utterly infuriating, that my blood boiled all over again.

"I don't care whose damn fault it was! The point is, if you hadn't stolen it in the first place, it wouldn't have fallen into the river!" I seethed. "You're a criminal, you-!"

I started hitting him again, and once more, he just shielded himself.

"Ow! Enough already, you're actually hurting me!"

"Oh, and you think you have the right to complain right now?!"

I swung again, but like before, he caught my wrists before I could land the hit.

"Wait, wait, wait! What was even in that bag?"

I frowned. "What kind of stupid question is that?"

He raised an eyebrow. "I'm asking what was inside."

"Are you serious?! Important stuff! My job requirements! Resume, ID's, everything I need to get a job and not die of hunger, you fucking psycho!"

"Okay, okay, I get it!" he interrupted, as if hearing more would kill him.

"You better, because I had my brand-new phone in there too!" I snapped. "A touchscreen phone! Do you know how much that cost me?! Five thousand pesos!"

I jabbed my finger at him again, making sure he understood the gravity of what he'd done.

"So now, tell me... where the hell am I supposed to get that kind of money again?! Huh?! Answer me!"

He blinked at me, then shrugged. "I dunno... But man, if I had managed to get away with your bag, I would've hit the jackpot, huh?"

The moment he said that, something snapped inside me. My rage reignited, and I launched another barrage of hits.

"You're unbelievable! Bastard! Thief!"

"Argh! Okay, okay, stop! I already said I was sorry! What do you want me to do? The bag's gone! We can't do anything about it now!"

I groaned in frustration. "God, why do I keep getting hit with bad luck today?! Just replace my phone!"

He stared at me, stunned. "Huh?"

"I said replace it! If you don't, I swear to God, I'll have you arrested!"

He let out a long, dramatic sigh before rolling his eyes. "Fine. I'll just steal another one-"

"No!!!"

He was completely taken aback by how loud I had yelled.

"What do you mean, 'no'?" Shawn asked, clearly confused.

"I mean, I worked my ass off to buy that phone! There's no way in hell I'm accepting one that's stolen!" I snapped.

"Tch, so dramatic," he muttered.

"Damn right, I am!"

He looked away for a moment, probably thinking about what to do. But after a few seconds, he turned back to me.

"So, you're saying you want me to work for it?"

"Bingo!"

He let out a deep sigh, as if I had just asked him to move mountains.

"Fine," he muttered.

"Good! See? That wasn't so hard," I said smugly.

I reached into my pocket and pulled out a notepad and a pen.

"You still have that?" Shawn asked, raising an eyebrow. "Didn't your bag fall into the river?"

"Shut up! This is my 'just in case' notepad. Stop questioning everything."

I flipped it open and looked at him expectantly.

"What's that for?" he asked.

"To make sure you don't run away. Now, give me your information."

He frowned. "My information?"

"Yeah. Let's start with your name. What's your name?"

He tilted his head, pretending to think about it, and after a moment, he finally answered.

"Michael Angelo."

"Liar!" I accused immediately.

"Huh? Why?" he asked, looking genuinely confused. "Do you already know my name?"

I rolled my eyes. "Who the hell needs to think about their own name before saying it?! Huh?!"

He stared at me, speechless, then let out another sigh. Looking away, he scratched the back of his head, almost shyly. I don't know why, but damn, that was kind of cute.

"S-Shawn Jonathan... Espejo," he finally said.

I studied his face carefully, trying to see if he was telling the truth this time. When our eyes met, I quickly looked away.

"Are you sure about that?"

"Yes! How many times do I have to say it?"

"Whatever," I mumbled. "But I have to admit, your name is actually pretty nice."

I didn't mean for him to hear that, but I had spoken just loud enough. He didn't respond, so I quickly wrote his name down before looking at him again.

"Address?"

"Table Street, 16th block. Old apartment building. Room 14."

He didn't hesitate this time, so I figured he was telling the truth. In my book, anyone who had to think before answering a simple question was usually coming up with a lie.

I jotted it down and moved on.

"Phone number?"

"I don't have it memorized," he said flatly.

I scowled. "Seriously? You don't even know your own number?"

"So what?" he shot back.

I ignored the slight offense I felt from his tone and continued.

"Then check it on your phone."

"Didn't bring it. It's at my apartment."

"Then let's go. I want to make sure you actually live there."

"Damn. You should be in forensics or something," he muttered.

I was supposed to be mad, but his comment made me chuckle despite myself.

"Let's go!"

I grabbed his shirt which, somehow, I hadn't realized I had let go of earlier. Thankfully, he hadn't tried to run. Without another word, I pulled him forward, and we started walking.

I assumed we'd walk in silence, but after a few minutes, once we had covered some distance, Shawn suddenly spoke up.

"Hey... can I ask you something?"

I turned to look at him, but when our eyes met, he immediately looked away.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Can I... know your name?"

That made me stop walking. I turned fully to face him, and for a moment, we just stared at each other. I could tell he was uneasy, but he held my gaze.

"Why?" I asked cautiously.

"No reason," he said, almost stumbling over his words. "Is it not allowed? It just feels... unfair, y'know? You know my name, but I don't know yours."

He scratched the back of his head again. It must've been a habit.

I studied him for a few more seconds before sighing.

"My name's Mytch. Alicia Mytch Alcantara."

I don't know why, but, shit. For some reason, I felt weird saying my full name to a total stranger. Like, what the hell? But at least I knew he was a thief, so that made it slightly less uncomfortable.

"That's a nice name," Shawn said.

My eyes widened as I turned to glare at him. Even though I acted annoyed, I could feel my cheeks heating up. To hide it, I quickly turned around and resumed walking.

SHAWN-

I really thought our walk to my apartment would stay completely silent.

I had already burned through all my courage just trying to talk to her earlier, and now that silence had settled between us again, I knew I'd need another surge of bravery to start another conversation. But just her looking at me like she was ready to kill me at any second, was enough to make me hesitate. I mean, I couldn't blame her. I literally tried to rob her. Who in their right mind would want to talk to a criminal who just wronged them?

Still, despite my inner conflict, I figured I should at least try. It just felt weird to be walking with someone in total silence.

I took a deep breath, about to speak.

But the moment I opened my mouth, she beat me to it.

"Why do you steal?" Mytch asked, her voice casual but firm.

I blinked, caught off guard by the question. She didn't even look at me when she said it. She just kept her gaze straight ahead, like she was just making small talk.

I sighed. "Uh... it's kind of a hobby."

She let out a short, incredulous laugh. "Wow. Just... wow. A hobby, huh?"

"Yeah," I shrugged.

This time, she did turn to look at me, but she quickly looked away again.

"If you put the same effort into actual work instead of stealing, maybe you'd actually be useful," she muttered. "Idiot."

She even rolled her eyes at me. I scoffed but didn't argue. I mean, she had a point. It's not like I was disabled, blind, or missing a limb. I had a fully functioning body, yet I still chose to be a criminal instead of an honest worker.

I let out a long sigh.

"Where are your parents?" she suddenly asked.

I froze.

That question.

That one question was enough to bring back every painful memory I had desperately tried to bury. It all came rushing back, as if it had only happened yesterday. I wavered between answering her or just lie about it. But I guess there wasn't really that much to it and it wouldn't harm us both in any way so I decided to just tell her the truth.

"...T-they're dead," I muttered.

She inhaled sharply, clearly shocked. Even without looking at her, I could tell she hadn't expected that answer.

"Sorry," she said after a pause and I hummed in response. "Can I... ask what happened to them?"

This time, I turned to her.

"Why do you want to know?" I asked warily.

"Am I not allowed to?" she shot back.

I sighed again.

"They were murdered," I finally admitted.

Her eyes widened.

"W-why?" she stammered.

I clenched my fists. "According to the police investigation, my dad borrowed money from someone. I don't know how much, but it must've been a lot, because even after ten years, he still couldn't pay it back. The guy must've lost his patience. So one day... he killed my dad. And my mom, too."

As I spoke, the memories played in my mind like a cruel, unending nightmare. The moment they disappeared from my life. The way I had to watch it all unfold, helpless.

It had been two years.

But it still felt like yesterday.

"That's horrible," Mytch murmured. "Do you know who the suspect is?" she asked, curiosity spread across her face.

I shrugged. "Yeah, well, I do, the police were good enough to dig info about that guy. But there is no record of him being here in the country for the past years and no one knows where he is right now."

"Well, at least you weren't caught up in it too," she replied with a sigh.

There was genuine concern in her voice. I glanced at her, but she wasn't looking at me, so I looked away as well.

"Heartless bastards," she muttered. "Why would they do that? If they knew your dad couldn't pay them back, then they shouldn't have lent him money in the first place."

I let out a small chuckle.

"Your parents deserve justice," she said firmly. "Especially your mom."

This time, when I turned to her, she was already looking at me. The worry was written all over her face.

"That's exactly what I'm looking for," I admitted.

"Oh yeah? And how do you plan on doing that? Report them to the cops? You look like you're being chased down by the cops yourselves!"

"Uh... yeah. You're actually right about that one," I said awkwardly.

"I knew it!" She groaned. "You can't ask the police for help when they're after you too!"

Before I could react, she suddenly pinched my side, making me jolt.

"Ow! Hey! What was that for?" I protested.

"That's what you get for stealing," she huffed. "Now you can't even turn to the authorities."

"Psh. The cops already know what happened to my parents," I muttered. "But it's been two years, and they've got nothing. They just gave up. If they really wanted to help, I wouldn't have to go to them. They should've done their damn jobs."

She stayed silent, so I rolled my eyes.

"But they didn't. Useless. They just let it go, like my parents' deaths were nothing more than a dead frog on the road."

Now she was the one rolling her eyes.

"Maybe they're still looking," she argued. "Maybe the case isn't closed yet."

"Tch. You don't get it," I said flatly. "It's been years. If they were going to do something, they would've done it by now."

She didn't reply this time, so I sighed.

"I don't need the cops," I said. "I'll find the people responsible for it myself. And when I do, I'll make them pay. I'll kill them, just like they killed my parents."

"What?!"

Mytch's voice shot up, filled with shock and disbelief. I turned to her, confused-until I saw her face. Her eyes were wide, her mouth slightly open in pure disbelief.

We both stopped walking, staring at each other.

"You're going to kill them?!" she repeated.

"Uh... yeah?"

"Are you insane?!"

"What? No!"

"If you kill them, you're only adding to your list of crimes!" she snapped.

I grimaced. She had a point.

"Think of another way to get justice for your parents!" she insisted. "Make them rot in prison for life. There are so many ways to do this without killing them!"

"But they killed my parents!" I argued.

"Don't let your anger control you!"

Her sharp words made me pause. I stared at her, and when I saw the seriousness in her expression, I couldn't help but look away.

"You need to learn to control yourself," she said, her tone softer this time. "Not every problem can be solved with violence. And besides..."

She trailed off.

I frowned, glancing back at her. But when I did, I noticed something that made me stop.

Her head was lowered slightly.

"And besides," she continued, "I don't think your parents would want you to become a murderer, do you?"

She finally looked up at me-her eyes glistening.

For a second, I couldn't look away. Her words hit something deep inside me, something I didn't want to acknowledge. I held her gaze as long as I could, but in the end, I sighed and looked away.

Then, with a small smirk, I reached out and ruffled her hair.

"I'll think about it," I said.

Her eyes widened. Her face turned red.

Before I could even react, she suddenly smacked my hand away, shoving my arm with enough force that I nearly lost my balance.

"Don't touch my head!" she yelled.

I winced. "Ow, geez! What's with girls and hating head pats? They feel nice, don't they?"

She ignored me, storming ahead with heavy steps, clearly pissed. But instead of following, I just watched her go, grinning.

Hah. She'll be back.

And sure enough, after a few steps, she stopped.

She turned around.

Then, without a word, she marched back toward me.

I smirked. Called it.

The second she got close, she grabbed the front of my shirt and tugged me forward before stomping off again-this time dragging me with her.

I let out a small laugh, helplessly following along.

Cute.

MYTCH-

I wasn't sure why, but I genuinely felt pity for the man I was now dragging along. I had just realized that some people were going through far worse than I was. And yet, here I was, complaining about my problems when, in comparison, they were nothing compared to what this guy was dealing with.

Well, at least I gave him some advice. Maybe that was enough to help him, even just a little.

The rest of our walk was uncomfortably silent. Just when I was starting to warm up to him, he decided to shut up. Typical.

We walked for about half an hour before we finally reached his place. By then, the sun had fully set, and the full moon shone brightly in the clear night sky.

When we arrived at his floor, he stopped in front of a door. "Here's my room," he said.

I expected him to open it right away, but instead, he just stood there, staring at it like a statue. My patience quickly wore thin. Irritated, I tapped his shoulder, making him flinch before he finally turned to me.

"What are you waiting for?" I huffed. "Open your door already. I'm tired because of you."

But instead of unlocking it, he let out an awkward chuckle and scratched the back of his head like an idiot.

I frowned. "Hey!"

"Uh... My room is, um... well..." He trailed off, looking hesitant.

That was it. Annoyed, I grabbed the keys from his hand so fast he didn't even have time to react. Without another word, I unlocked the door myself.

And the moment I swung it open, I instinctively took a step back in horror.

God. Was this really a bedroom or... a landfill?

It was an absolute mess-beyond messy, even. If I had to describe it, I'd say it looked like a tornado had torn through it and then decided to come back for seconds. Even in the dim lighting, I could clearly see how much of a disaster the room was.

"...Dirty," Shawn finally finished his earlier sentence, confirming my worst fear.

Disgusted, I shot him a look. "This is your room?"

He averted his gaze, looking embarrassed as he nodded.

I let out a sarcastic laugh. "What, do you live with Tom and Jerry in here?"

He didn't answer and simply chuckled before stepping inside. With a grimace, I reluctantly followed.

But when he turned on the lights, I immediately regretted it. The full extent of the chaos hit me like a slap to the face.

"Wow," I muttered, kicking a stray shoe out of my way. "Ever heard of cleaning?"

I turned to glare at him, but he was already sitting on his bed, scrolling through his phone as if his room wasn't a biohazard. After a few seconds, he finally glanced at me.

"Sit down," he offered.

I scoffed. "Yuck. I'd rather stand than sit in this dump."

"Ouch," he said dramatically, clutching his chest as if I had just stabbed him.

I rolled my eyes at his theatrics, but despite myself, I let out a small laugh.

"You wanted my number, right?" he suddenly asked. "Give me yours too. At least that way, I'll have someone to talk to here. You know, to call, text-"

"No, thanks," I cut him off. "Tough luck."

He pouted. "Oh, come on. Life's boring when you have no one to talk to."

He even tried giving me puppy eyes. But just as I was about to roll my eyes again, I hesitated, my gaze lingering on his face.

"You know..." I said, narrowing my eyes. "You should really take off that face mask. Aren't you hot?"

I gestured at the mask he'd been wearing this whole time. Seriously, he had it on when we were running, when I caught him, when he dropped my bag, when I yelled at him, and even now in this garbage heap of a room. What, did he think I had a contagious disease or something?

"Oh, haha," he chuckled. "Sorry, I forgot I still had it on."

I cringed. "Seriously? You wore it all day and just realized it now? So if I hadn't mentioned it, would you have only noticed when your spoon couldn't get past it at dinner?"

Instead of getting offended, he laughed and started removing the mask.

And suddenly, it felt like time slowed down.

My eyes widened, and my jaw nearly hit the floor as I stared in disbelief.

Oh my god. He's... he's ridiculously handsome.

I was stunned. He looked like a freaking K-drama actor! His skin was so flawless and fair, it was as if he had bathed in chlorine for twenty-four hours. And his lips-oh god, they were pink. So pink. If I didn't know any better, I would've thought he was a celebrity instead of a bag thief.

How the hell can someone be this good-looking?!

I had no idea how long I had been staring until his voice snapped me back to reality.

"Hey!"

I blinked rapidly, shaking my head as I quickly looked away. "W-what?"

Did he notice me staring? Damn it, he's too handsome!

"Write down my number," he said, holding out his phone to me.

Flustered, I snatched it from him. "O-okay."

I quickly wrote down his number in my notepad and handed his phone back.

"There, you have my number now, so don't-"

"Wait a second."

His eyebrows shot up at my interruption, but I ignored him. Taking out my pen, I scribbled my own number onto the notepad. Then, gathering my courage, I tore off the page and thrust it at him.

He looked at the paper, confused, then back at me. "Uh... What's this?"

"Just take it!" I snapped.

Startled by my outburst, he quickly grabbed the paper. His eyes widened when he saw what was written on it.

"You're on TM too?! Nice!"

I turned beet red when he looked at me and grinned.

"But wait," he added, tilting his head. "I thought you didn't want to give me your number. Why-"

"Shut up!"

He flinched at my sudden yell.

"I don't have money for load, okay? So you call me! If you don't, I'll punch you!"

He blinked at me, still looking confused, but he nodded. "O-okay..."

I didn't wait for him to say anything else. Face burning with embarrassment, I bolted out of his room and rushed away as fast as I could.

°°°°°°°°°°

As soon as the door closed behind her, Shawn finally let out the laughter he had been holding in.

He laughed so hard that he ended up rolling around on his bed, his heart still racing from what had just happened. More than anything, her reaction upon seeing his face was what amused him the most.

"I knew it," he muttered to himself, grinning. "No girl can resist my charm."

After a few more moments, he calmed down and reached for his phone. Opening the gallery, he stared at the photo he had secretly taken of her earlier when she was too stunned to speak.

His grin widened.

"You really made me run, huh?" he murmured before finally closing his eyes, exhaustion lulling him to sleep.

MYTCH-

After a few minutes in a taxi, I finally arrived home... still jobless. And to make things worse, I lost my phone too! But it's fine-I saw a handsome guy, after all. Hahaha!

I made my way up to my apartment floor, but as I reached my door, I raised an eyebrow. The lights inside were already on.

Huh, she's home already?

I pushed the door open and nearly jumped in surprise. Standing right in front of me, arms crossed, was Jessica-my roommate and, of course, my best friend.

"H-hey, bestie," I greeted, waving awkwardly.

She simply raised an eyebrow at me. "Mmm. So you actually remembered to come home. You left the faucet running, you know? If I hadn't come back early, we'd be swimming in floodwater right now."

"What? No way. I turned it off," I insisted, frowning as I walked inside.

Jessica shut the door behind me and followed as I collapsed onto the sofa, burying my face into a pillow.

"I'm guessing you lost another job?" she asked.

I groaned in response.

Jessica let out a laugh. "Called it. You really are unlucky, bestie."

Even without looking, I knew she was standing there, hands on her hips like a disapproving mother.

"By the way, where's my bag?"

I froze. Oh. Right. I had borrowed her bag earlier... but-oh no! It fell into the river!

Slowly, I lifted my face from the pillow and looked at her with an awkward smile. She was already raising an eyebrow, waiting for my answer.

"Hey, where's my bag?" she repeated.

"U-uh... bestie, your bag... it kind of..." I stammered.

She frowned. "What? Speak clearly."

I took a deep breath, locking eyes with her. Oh man, she was definitely mad.

"Sorry, bestie! Your bag fell into the river!"

Her eyebrows shot up again, and her lips curled into a grimace. "What?"

"I said, your bag-"

"I heard you!" she snapped. "I meant, how the hell did it fall into the river? Were you being an idiot or something?"

I sighed again, this time sitting up to face her properly. "Here's what happened. Someone snatched your bag while I was carrying it. It had all my stuff, including my brand-new phone, so I ran after him. I actually caught him, but when I tackled him, the bag fell too."

She nodded along as if she understood-until she suddenly scowled.

"So basically, you were flirting. You and the snatcher were playing tag by the river?"

I scoffed. "What? No! We were on a bridge!"

Jessica rolled her eyes before shooting me a glare. "So that's it? My bag is gone, your phone is lost, and you're just lying there like nothing happened?"

I tilted my head back to look at her. As expected, her eyebrow was raised again.

"He said he'd replace it," I muttered.

"My bag?"

"No, my phone."

She made a face at my answer, and I couldn't help but giggle before burying my face back into the pillow.

Silence settled between us for a moment. And in that brief pause, my mind drifted back to that guy. I wasn't sure why, but the image of his face-his ridiculously handsome face-flashed in my mind, and suddenly, my heart went wild.

And then I remembered his smile. Oh my gosh. My heart!

I let out a squeal and started kicking my feet against the sofa.

Why was he so good-looking?!

"Hey! What's wrong with you?" Jessica smacked my shoulder, snapping me out of my lovestruck daze. I stopped kicking and looked up at her, but my mind was still stuck on that guy.

"Bestie. He was so handsome!"

I let out another loud squeal, kicking my feet again, but Jessica just raised an eyebrow at me.

"Who?"

"The snatcher!"

"...Excuse me? The guy who stole my bag?"

"Yep!"

She stared at me, completely dumbfounded. "You've got to be kidding me. That guy gave us bad luck, and you're here gushing over him?"

I sighed and sat up, meeting her glare with a sheepish grin. "But bestie, he was so good-looking! I swear, if you saw him, the butterflies in your stomach would throw a party."

Jessica rolled her eyes so hard I thought they might get stuck. Meanwhile, I just laughed, staring up at the ceiling as if his face was still floating there.

Jessica turned away and walked toward the kitchen. I watched her go, still amused.

"I got his number, bestie," I called out.

"Whatever, Alicia Mytch Alcantara! You're just hungry. Come on, let's eat."

Giggling, I got up and followed her.