As usual, Rika chose to remain silent rather than say something unnecessary. However, this only lasted for a few seconds as Bin kept staring at her, which she misunderstood as him forcing her to talk."I-I"m grateful for your help."
With a hand on his chin, Bin frowned and said
"My help? Oh! You mean saving you from drowning? Or taking you to my home? Or giving you food and clothes?"
Hearing his tone, the girl creased her brows and thought
"What"s up with him? Why is he behaving like this?"
She crossed her arms and spoke:
"I"m thanking you. Can"t you just accept it?"
"What? I didn"t say anything."
"You mentioned everything as if I owe my life."
He spread his hands as if she stated the obvious then retorted
"But you do owe me your life."
Although she failed to notice it at first, when his grin became wider, Rika understood that it was only a joke. As he looked at her face, which showed an expression of loss and slight anger, Bin burst out in laughter.
She pouted while turning her head away, trying to hide something.
"See? Smiling is better than keeping a deadpan face."
"Who"s got a deadpan face?!"
She glared at him again only to see him barely containing his laugh. Yet again fooled, she proceeded to ignore him but none could deny the soft smile hanging on her face. Strangely enough, her mood became better, causing her to feel a bit at ease.
"Heh, my attempt was successful, after all."-Bin
From a distance away, little Mina beckoned for him to come play with her. He waved his hand at her and got up from his seat. Before he went to her, he turned to Rika and said
"It"s such a sunny and great day, why don"t you come play with us."
She stared at his stretched hand and then at him before shaking her head and saying
"No, thanks. I prefer sitting here."
"Come on, it"ll be fun. Can"t you see how happy those kids are?"
He pointed at the dozens of children happily enjoying the slides or the swinging sets.
"Those are meant for children. I"m a grow-up."
Just when she felt she gave a good counter-argument, a hand grabbed her wrist and dragged her from her seat. She only came to her senses when they were already next to Mina.
…
They accompanied Mina for one full hour and, surprisingly, Rika had a great time, contrary to her expectations. Although at first, she was annoyed at Bin, who dragged her from one place to another, it was still a fun and new experience.
She had a rather complicated past so she never went to a park like this one. Most of her childhood was spent alone, so, experiencing all those things today refreshed her troubled mind.
While the two girls sat under a tall tree, using the large shadow to hide from the sun, Bin went to buy some food they can relaxingly enjoy.
Meanwhile, Jasmine met up with her two friends, Melissa and Cara, and tried to locate their missing friend. It isn"t the first time Rika runs away from home but she never spent the night out.
Her parents are extremely worried and the police was already notified.
"Are you sure she didn"t call you?"
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A middle-aged woman, whose eyes were wet from tears, worriedly asked the three girls.
"Madam, we already checked but she didn"t text us."
Jasmine explained to the woman, who only despaired more after hearing that. She thought that Rika ran to one of her friends" house but it didn"t appear to be the case.
There was a man in a black suit busy talking on the phone. From the looks of it, he seemed to be Rika"s father, he had a stern look and was constantly frowning while yelling at the person on the end of the phone.
Jasmine"s driver, who was waiting in the car, overheard everything and was pondering what to do. He saw the parents" anxious expressions and barely held himself back before letting out a long sigh and leaving the car.
He walked next to Jasmine and whispered something in her ear. Obviously, the girl was deeply shocked but she didn"t disclose the information to the parents, choosing to see the situation for herself first.
Half an hour later, they all split up, each girl promising to contact Rika"s mother as soon as they find anything about the missing daughter.
Jasmine, who was lost in thought, raised her head and asked the driver
"You said she jumped off the bridge?"
The man nodded his head and explained
"Yes, mister Bin saved her before she could drown."
She frowned and asked again
"And why did you keep this to yourself?"
The driver hesitated for a second before apologetically saying:
"I promised mister Bin to keep that a secret and… Miss Rika didn"t seem she wanted to go back home."
Jasmine asked no further questions, she picked her phone, planning to contact Bin only to remember that he doesn"t have one.
"Arghh who doesn"t use a phone in this age. What a miser."
"Go to a phone shop."
"Yes, Miss."