Emma suddenly turned her head towards the source of the sound, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion.
"What was that sound?" she asked, looking around to figure out where it had come from.
Before anyone could answer her, D turned towards a boy standing nearby and gestured for him to come closer.
"Hey, you! Come here for a second."
The boy walked over to her.
D looked at everyone and introduced him casually. "This is Keze. He's the one who's been training me in the use of guns."
Everyone looked at Keze with curiosity.
Emma, in particular, gave him a quick glance, wondering how many other people D had secretly met without telling them.
However, before anyone could ask Keze any questions, D suddenly remembered something important. She turned towards Rai, her expression becoming serious.
"By the way, why did you mention Deccan's real name? What if this phone is recording our conversation?
Have you even thought about that?
What if someone hears everything we've been talking about?"
Rai looked at her for a moment before letting out an exhausted sigh.
"Mrs., honestly, I'm already wondering how I'm going to tolerate you after we get married. How am I supposed to survive my life with you? How many suspense movies do you watch, anyway? You suspect everything as if we're living inside some crime thriller!"
For a second, everyone remained silent.
Then, suddenly, all of them shouted at the same time.
"MARRIED?!"
"WHO'S GETTING MARRIED?!"
"WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN?!"
"AND WHY DIDN'T ANYONE TELL US?!"
The room instantly erupted into chaos. Everyone began talking over one
another, demanding answers from Rai and D.
Emma stared at them with wide eyes, completely shocked by what she had just heard.
"Wait a minute! Did I hear that correctly? You two are getting married?" she asked, looking from Rai to D.
Haiku looked equally surprised. He opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but no words came out.
Meanwhile, Angel turned towards D with an expression of pure betrayal.
"You traitor!" Angel exclaimed dramatically. "You could have at least told me! I'm your friend, and I had to find out about your marriage like this?
Seriously, D, how could you do this to me?"
D looked at her unimpressed.
"Oh, please! Stop acting as if you've never hidden anything from me."
Angel immediately fell silent.
D folded her arms and continued, "And anyway, when exactly was I supposed to tell you? You never even told me about your own feelings!"
Angel frowned.
"What feelings?"
D raised an eyebrow.
"Don't pretend you don't understand what I'm talking about. You never told me that you like Monster!"
The moment D mentioned Monster's name, Angel's entire face turned bright red.
Her eyes widened, and she immediately looked away, desperately trying to hide her embarrassment.
"W-WHAT?! Who told you that?! I don't like him!" Angel stammered.
Her reaction only made everyone more suspicious.
Emma slowly turned towards Angel, a mischievous smile appearing on her face.
"Oh, really? Then why is your face completely red?"
"Emma, don't you dare!" Angel warned her.
But Emma was already enjoying herself.
"Interesting! Very interesting! First, we discover that D and Rai are getting married, and now we find out that Angel has a crush on Monster. What other secrets are you people hiding from me?"
Rai chuckled and shook his head.
"This gang is becoming more complicated than a suspense movie. At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if someone announced another secret marriage tomorrow."
"RAI!" D shouted, glaring at him.
He immediately raised both hands in surrender.
"Okay, okay! I'll stay quiet."
Angel crossed her arms and looked away, still embarrassed.
Then she suddenly turned towards D again.
"Wait! Don't change the subject! You still haven't answered my question.
When are you getting married?"
D let out a long sigh.
"Fine, fine. Since everyone is so desperate to know, I'll tell you."
Everyone immediately became quiet and looked at her expectantly.
D glanced at Rai before answering, "Next year."
For a moment, nobody said anything.
Emma blinked.
"Next year?"
D nodded.
"Yes, next year."
Emma tilted her head in confusion.
"But why next year? Why not sooner?"
Rai shrugged casually.
"We'll have time to travel around and enjoy ourselves before that. Besides, we've still got things to settle, especially after this gang war. Once everything is over and things finally become peaceful, we'll be able to think about our future properly."
His expression became a little more serious as he mentioned the gang war.
For a brief moment, everyone remembered the dangerous situation they were still facing. There were enemies to deal with, unfinished business, and far too many uncertainties ahead of them.
Still, the thought of a wedding gave them something pleasant to look forward to.
Emma smiled faintly.
"Well, I suppose that makes sense. But you two had better invite us all. If I find out that you've secretly gotten married without telling me, I swear I'll never forgive you!"
D laughed.
"Relax, Emma. You'll be invited."
"Good! Because I'm not missing this wedding for anything!"
Before the conversation could continue, Angel suddenly pointed at D again.
"I'm still angry with you, you know! You hid something this important from me.
Do you have any idea how embarrassing it is to find out about your best friend's marriage in front of everyone?"
D gave her an amused look.
"Oh, really? And how embarrassing do you think it is to hide your crush from your own friend?"
Angel's eyes widened.
"D!"
"What? I'm only telling the truth."
"Stop bringing that up!"
"Then stop complaining about my secrets!"
Emma burst out laughing at their argument, while Rai shook his head in amusement.
For a few moments, the room was filled with laughter, teasing, and endless complaints.
But Angel wasn't ready to give up just yet.
She turned towards D and said, "You know what? You have absolutely no right to lecture me about keeping secrets. At least I didn't hide a whole marriage plan from everyone!"
D smirked.
"Oh, really? And you're telling me that you had no chance to tell me about Monster? Not even once?"
Angel opened her mouth to respond, but nothing came out.
Her face turned even redder.
Emma leaned forward with interest.
"Angel, why don't you just admit it? You like him, don't you?"
"I DO NOT!"
"Then why are you blushing?"
"BECAUSE YOU PEOPLE WON'T STOP TALKING ABOUT HIM!"
Everyone burst into laughter again.
Angel covered her face with her hands, wishing she could somehow disappear from the room.
Meanwhile, D looked extremely pleased with herself.
"See? That's exactly what happens when you hide things from me."
"Just wait, D. I'll get my revenge someday!" Angel muttered.
"Sure, sure. I'll be waiting."
For a little while longer, they continued teasing one another, completely forgetting about the tension that had surrounded them earlier.
Then, suddenly—
DING-DONG!
The sound of the doorbell rang through Emma's house.
Everyone stopped talking.
Emma turned towards the entrance, her smile fading slightly.
"Who's at the door now?"
She glanced towards the clock, wondering who would come to visit at this hour.
The doorbell rang again.
DING-DONG!
Emma sighed and reached for her phone, intending to check who was standing outside.
But the moment she saw the person on the screen, her eyes widened in horror.
She immediately turned towards everyone.
"Hang up! Hang up the call right now!"
Rai frowned.
"What? Why?"
Emma looked at him as if he had completely lost his mind.
"JUST CUT THE CALL!"
Angel leaned closer to the phone, trying to see what had frightened Emma so much.
"Emma, what's wrong? Who's outside?"
Emma lowered her voice and whispered urgently, "Monster is here!"
The moment everyone heard that name, their expressions changed.
Angel froze.
Rai immediately looked towards D.
D stared at the screen for a second before reacting.
And then, without another word, everyone disconnected the call.
One by one, their faces disappeared from Emma's screen.
Emma stared at her phone in disbelief.
"Seriously?! You all just abandoned me!"
She looked at the blank screen, utterly offended by their behaviour.
"Those idiots were perfectly happy to discuss everyone's secrets a minute ago, but the moment Monster shows up, they all disappear!"
She shook her head in frustration.
"Unbelievable. Absolutely
unbelievable!"
Outside the house, Monster stood patiently with a bag of food in his hands. He had come over because he suspected that Emma and Haiku might not have eaten anything yet.
He pressed the doorbell once more and waited.
A few seconds later, Haiku finally walked towards the entrance and opened the door.
When he saw Monster standing there, he looked slightly surprised.
"Monster? What are you doing here?"
Monster raised the bag in his hand.
"I brought some food. I figured you and Emma probably haven't eaten anything yet."
Haiku glanced at the bag and then back at Monster.
For a moment, he seemed genuinely touched by the gesture.
"Oh, you brought food for us?"
Monster nodded casually.
"Yeah. I thought you two might be hungry. Knowing Emma, she probably got distracted by something and forgot to eat again."
Haiku let out a small laugh.
"You're not wrong about that. She can be incredibly stubborn sometimes."
He accepted the bag from Monster and looked inside.
The delicious smell of the food immediately reached him, reminding him that he really hadn't eaten anything for quite some time.
"Honestly, we haven't eaten yet," Haiku admitted. "So, thanks for bringing this over."
Monster shrugged as if it were nothing.
"It's fine. I'm glad I came at the right time."
Haiku smiled.
"Thanks for the food!"
"No problem," Monster replied.
Then, without even stepping further inside, Monster turned towards the entrance.
"Anyway, I'll get going now."
Haiku stared at him in surprise.
"Wait a second. What?"
Monster glanced back.
"What?"
"You just got here, and now you're leaving already?"
Monster gave him a casual look.
"Yeah. I only came to drop off the food.
I've got some other things to take care of."
Haiku shook his head.
"Seriously? You could at least sit down for a few minutes. It's not as if you came all this way just to stand at the door and leave."
Monster chuckled.
"I told you, I'm fine. You two should eat while the food is still warm."
Haiku looked at him suspiciously.
"Are you sure that's the only reason you came here?"
Monster raised an eyebrow.
"Of course. What else would it be?"
Haiku opened his mouth, seemingly ready to ask another question, but Monster had already started moving towards the door.
"Anyway, I'll see you later," Monster said.
Haiku sighed.
"Fine, fine. Do whatever you want. But don't complain next time if I refuse to let you leave so quickly."
Monster smiled faintly.
"Sure. I'll remember that."
He was just about to leave when Haiku called out again.
"Hey, Monster!"
Monster turned around.
"What now?"
Haiku lifted the bag slightly.
"Thanks again for the food. You really didn't have to do this."
Monster gave him a small nod.
"No problem, Haiku. Take care."
With that, he began turning towards the entrance once more.
Everything seemed perfectly normal.
Until—
THUD!
A sudden, heavy sound came from behind Haiku.
It was loud enough to make Monster stop immediately.
Haiku froze.
For a second, neither of them moved.
Then Haiku slowly turned his head towards the living room.
"Emma?"
There was no answer.
His expression changed instantly.
He placed the bag of food on the nearest table and hurried towards the sound.
"Emma? What happened?"
Monster, who had been about to leave, turned back as well.
The moment he noticed the fear on Haiku's face, his casual expression disappeared.
"Haiku? What's going on?"
Haiku didn't answer. He was already rushing into the living room.
Monster followed him, his footsteps growing quicker as he approached.
And then—
They saw her.
Emma was lying on the floor.
For a moment, Haiku couldn't believe what he was seeing.
"Emma!"
He rushed towards her, dropping to his knees beside her.
"Emma, can you hear me?"
There was no immediate response.
His heart began pounding with worry as he tried to understand what had happened. Just a few moments ago, she had been arguing and laughing with everyone over the phone.
How could she suddenly have fallen?
Monster stood frozen for a brief second before quickly moving closer.
"Emma?" he called, his voice suddenly serious.
The playful atmosphere from earlier had vanished completely.
The food lay forgotten on the table. The conversation about the wedding,
Angel's secret crush, and everyone's teasing no longer mattered.
All that mattered now was Emma.
Haiku looked at Monster, panic evident in his eyes.
"Something's wrong. She was fine just a moment ago!"
Monster's expression darkened with concern as he looked towards Emma.
Neither of them knew what had happened.
Neither of them knew why she had suddenly collapsed.
And neither of them could have imagined that an ordinary evening, which had begun with laughter and embarrassing secrets, would end like this.
What had happened to Emma?
And more importantly, would she wake up soon?