我女朋友的妹妹

He turned to the pretty big brother sitting in front of him. “Astrid, Kara, she—”

The other turned to where Kara was. “Oh, she must have fallen asleep.”

The way he said it was so nonchalant that Livi also started to believe that maybe Kara really had fallen asleep.

“Maybe she’s too tired,” the other continued before turning back to him and smiling. “Let’s not disturb her.”

Livi was actually very confused right now. Kara was never the type to suddenly fall asleep like this especially when she’s on the job. But seeing Astrid’s unsurprised reaction and the way he just naturally accepted the fact that Kara had suddenly fallen asleep, maybe, maybe that was really the case?

“There’s a newly opened cat cafe just a few walk away from here,” Astrid suddenly said. It was such a natural segue that Livi didn’t even notice that he was changing the topic. “Does the young master want to go there after you finish eating your parfait?”

And as expected, Livi’s expression brightened. He had obviously already forgotten the absurd case of his bodyguard suddenly falling asleep. No matter how mature he acted, he was still a kid. It’s easy to turn his attention to another topic. Especially if it’s something he’s interested in.

After finishing their orders, Astrid and Livi walked out of the cafe hand in hand. Before going to the cat cafe he mentioned, he led Livi towards a man wearing a suit just standing a few steps away from the cafe.

.....

He knew that the other was one of the bodyguards who followed them here. It’s not just because of the way he carried himself. It was more because of the fact that he was one of the guards Astrid saw earlier.

“Hi, ahm, I don’t know how to say this, but,” Astrid started with a worried expression on his face. Then, he added in a whisper that Livi wouldn’t hear, “I think Miss Kara fainted. Was she not in good health?”

The bodyguard was startled at first by Astrid’s sudden approached. He knew it was unprofessional but he couldn’t help but be affected by the other’s looks. If the other came up to him with bad intention, he would probably be stabbed without even knowing. Then, after hearing about Kara fainting, his bodyguard instinct finally returned.

He almost blurted out ‘impossible’. After all, Kara was the epitome of seriousness and strictness. She always took care of her health so it wouldn’t get in the way of her job. Even on the off chance that she was indeed not feeling well, she wouldn’t allow herself to faint in the middle of a job. And if she couldn’t really stay conscious, then she would have contacted one of the bodyguards who followed there here.

Just by those facts, he couldn’t help but feel suspicious about all this. He narrowed his eyes at the teenager standing in front of him. He was about to question the other but before he could, Astrid had already spoken first.

“I’m really worried about her. It’s not normal fainting like that so suddenly. Please do quickly take her to the hospital,” he said, his expression showed that he was genuinely worried for Kara. There was even a touch of urgency in his voice which was probably about taking Kara to a hospital quickly.

The bodyguard shook his head. Why was he even suspicious of this teenager? Aside from the fact that there’s no way he could have forced Kara to faint, the other seemed to be very concerned about what happened.

“Don’t worry, we’ll take care of it,” the bodyguard said, his voice unknowingly turned softer.

The teenager showed a relieved smile. But it quickly turned into an apologetic one. “Although Miss Kara could no longer go with us, I hope that we could still continue with this trip. Of course, not for me but for the young master. Please?”

The bodyguard almost agreed right there and then. It was a good thing that he got a hold of himself before he did. He didn’t have enough jurisdiction to decide on his own. But before he could even give an answer, the young master had already interrupted him.

“We’ll continue on with this trip and return by lunch,” Livi said, in that bossy tone which only made him look adorable instead of intimidating or even annoying.

Livi didn’t hear what Astrid said initially to the bodyguard. He did hear the last part though. That’s why he intervened. Because he wanted the trip to continue.

This was his first time going out without his parents or his mother in particular. He wanted to be able to enjoy this day without worrying about other things. Astrid promised him that he would have fun today. And so shall it be.

“I’m sure my parents sent enough bodyguards today to ensure my safety. All of you can just follow us, at a reasonable distance, and make sure that nothing will happen,” he continued before looking up at Astrid. “Let’s go.”

Astrid gazed down at the kid beside him. The other had that dignified expression on his face that didn’t really look intimidating. Instead, it just made him more adorable. He had to stop himself from ruffling the other’s hair. He could already imagine the kid’s reaction if he did.

And so, he could only lead this cute young master towards the direction of the cat cafe.

———-

Ellis felt like she was struck by lightning when she heard the name mentioned by the assistant PD of the program [Baby’s Day-Off]. It felt like her insides were churning. The anger that she thought she had already buried was beginning to surface. And at a very fast rate at that.

“Repeat that again. Who is the mother of that child?” she asked through gritted teeth.