A twenty-year-old young man with black hair slept peacefully on his bed, a blissful expression resting on his face.
Tap. Tap.
A faint tapping echoed through the room.
His brows twitched.
Tap. Tap.
The repeated sound finally dragged him from sleep. Groaning, he rubbed his eyes and staggered toward the window with annoyance.
Unlocking it, he muttered, "Seriously, what the—"
Before he could finish, a pebble shot straight at his face.
He jerked back in alarm.
"What the hell, man?! Are you trying to kill me?!"
Leaning out the window, he glared downward at the a familiar figure responsible for waking him up like this far too often.
The one holding another pebble was Jake—a blond young man with an athletic build. Lean muscles showed beneath his fitted clothes, and messy golden hair framed his youthful face. His sharp eyes gleamed with mischief, and the smile on his face was charming enough to make girls turn their heads.
He waved up cheerfully.
"Yo, James! We're gonna be late!"
"Wipe that stupid smile off your face, moron. You almost killed me," James growled. "And late for what?"
Jake blinked.
"Dude… it's Monday." He narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Don't tell me you stayed up gaming all night and forgot."
James froze.
His gaze snapped toward the alarm clock beside his bed.
8:00 AM.
His eyes widened.
"I'll be down in a minute!"
He spun and rushed toward the bathroom.
"Hurry up or Emily will be mad!" Jake shouted from below.
James abruptly stopped.
Emily.
His stiffened expression slowly turned toward the calendar on the wall.
May 20th, 2029.
Today marked their friendship anniversary—his, Jake's, and Emily's.
Three years.
Three years since they became friends during their university days.And today, they had planned to spend the whole day together.
"Oh crap—"
A few minutes later, James rushed downstairs wearing a black shirt, blue jeans, and white sneakers, his black hair still damp.
He joined Jake, and the two began walking toward the bus stop.
"Seriously, don't tell me you forgot," Jake said with a smug grin.
"Yeah… I kinda did," James admitted awkwardly.
Jake snorted. "Wait till Emily hears this."
"Don't you dare."
"Relax, I won't ruin your image in front of her."
James frowned. "What do you mean by that?"
Jake slung an arm over his shoulder.
"Come on, man. I know you have feelings for her. Why not just confess already?"
James shoved his arm away.
"No, I don't. She's just a friend."
Jake raised an eyebrow.
"A friend you'd do anything for."
James looked away.
"Isn't that what friends do?"
Shaking his head, Jake looked at him.
"Sometimes I wonder if you're dense or just stupid."
James said nothing.
Soon, they reached the bus stop.
Emily stood with her arms crossed, tapping her foot, eyes locked on them
"She's really angry," Jake whispered, stepping back as he pushed James forward.
"You go talk to her."
"Coward," James muttered.
He stepped forward slowly, as if walking into a lion's den.
Among the three of them, Emily had always been the intelligent and serious one. Although she was the youngest and Jake the oldest, she acted more like the elder sister of the group.
"Hey, Emily…" James said awkwardly with a smile.
"What took you guys so long?" she asked loudly, drawing the attention of nearby people. Under the stares and her sharp gaze, James fell silent.
"James woke up late," Jake's voice came from behind him.
James's hands tightened, resisting the urge to turn around and hit him.
Emily turned toward Jake, then back to James.
"You stayed up all night playing games again, didn't you?" Her lecture mode activated. "And I'm sure you forgot what today is, too."
"Well, I-I didn't—" James stammered, trying to think of an excuse.
"Yeah, he did," Jake added with a sheepish smile.
"Damn it… will you shut up?" James muttered under his breath, glaring daggers at him.
Emily turned to Jake.
"And you."
The smile on Jake's face vanished instantly.
"Why are you smiling? I'm sure you were flirting with every girl you saw on the way here, weren't you?"
The lecture continued for several minutes before the bus finally arrived.
"I'll let you off the hook this time," Emily said to James. "But you're paying for all the food, and Jake—you're paying our bus fare."
Jake's triumphant smile at hearing James's punishment disappeared immediately.
Emily turned and boarded the bus, and the two boys quickly followed behind her.
"Seriously, man? Nice one," James snapped at Jake.
"Hey, don't blame me—she was scary!"
As they boarded the bus, Emily had already taken a seat at the back, saving space for both of them. James moved in first and sat by the window while Jake took the seat beside Emily, leaving her in the middle.
The remaining passengers boarded soon after, and the bus pulled away from the stop, heading toward the outskirts of the city from the urban area where they lived.
James watched the buildings blur past through the window. He and Jake had come here to study, while Emily had lived there with her family. After graduation, the three of them decided to remain in the city for the time being while searching for jobs.
They had wanted to stay in the same apartment, but only one room had been available, and it wasn't large enough for both of them. Jake later found an apartment two blocks away from James's place.
His gaze shifted back into the bus. Emily was focused on her phone, searching for restaurants they could visit, while Jake had already left his seat and was now chatting with a group of girls, making them laugh.
He's at it again, deceiving innocent girls, James thought with a hint of jealousy.
Although he wasn't ugly, he was merely average-looking for his age, with curly black hair, brown eyes, and a height of 170 centimeters. But compared to Jake—with his athletic build, 180-centimeter frame, blue eyes, and messy blond hair—James always felt overshadowed.
If jack was the handsome one in the group then Emily was the beautiful one. She had a long silver hair that reached her waist which was rare, big black eye, a small nose, as well as a pair of tantalising lips. She wore a white shirt and a black miniskirt.
Those clothes made her more charming and enchanting, making are more beautiful. His gaze lingered on her.
"Hey, James? James!"
He snapped back to reality, realizing she had been calling him for some time now.
"Are you okay?" she asked, concern visible on her face. "Is there something on my face?"
Realizing he had been caught staring, James coughed and quickly turned away.
"I'm fine—just thinking about something," he replied, his face burning red.
Clearing his throat to dispel the awkwardness, James asked, "What was the problem?"
Her eyes narrowed as she looked at him suspiciously.
"Idiot."
Her cheeks puffed out as she turned away and resumed scrolling through her phone.
Did I do something wrong?
Seeing her turn away, James glanced toward Jake for help. Their eyes met, and Jake gave him a knowing smile before nodding toward Emily.
"What's he saying?" James muttered, trying to figure out what Jake meant.
Jake's expression shifted to one of defeat. He pulled out his phone, waved it at James, and began typing.
A notification appeared on James's phone moments later. Still confused, he took it out and unlocked it.
[Dude, talk to her.]
James looked up. Jake pointed insistently at Emily.
Taking a breath, James moved closer.
"Hey, Emily… did I do something wrong?" he asked.
She turned to face him, cheeks still puffed.
"Cute…"
The word slipped from his mouth unconsciously. Her puffed cheeks made her look like a tiny squirrel.
Emily froze.
Her face turned bright red.
"What did you say?" she asked, her voice suddenly quiet.
Did I say that out loud?
Panic flashed through James.
"I—I said you were cute," he blurted out.
Her expression softened instantly, and a bright smile bloomed across her face.
"Alright. I forgive you."
She scooted closer and showed him the screen of her phone, displaying pictures of different restaurants.
"Which one do you think we should go to?"
James blinked, still stunned by the sudden change in mood. He looked over the options.
"What about this one?" he asked, pointing at a fancy-looking place called Terracotta Restaurant.
"Then it's decided—we're going there."
She happily scrolled through the restaurant's menu while the two of them leaned closer together, their shoulders brushing unconsciously, giving them the appearance of a couple.
Jake grinned and shot James a thumbs-up.
The bus had just reached the bridge connecting the outskirts to the urban district when suddenly—
The entire bus trembled violently.
Emily's phone flew from her hands and slid beneath the seats. As she stood to retrieve it, the shaking intensified.
She lost her footing.Her head slammed against the floor with a sickening crack.
She went limp.
"Emily!"
James rushed toward her and dropped to his knees beside her, lifting her head onto his lap. Blood stained her face. His trembling hands brushed strands of silver hair from her forehead as he checked her condition.
His panicked shout turned every passenger's head.
Jake hurried toward them.