Chapter 120: Relationship Advice
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Dammit!
It's already past 10 AM.
I hope Ricky is still there.
There are people around, so I can't use my power to run faster.
After running for a while, I reached our meeting place.
I asked him to meet me at the café near his university. I thought it would be easy for him since it's close to their university, but I just remembered that they have a vacation now.
I searched for Ricky in the café, but he wasn't there.
"Did he leave already?"
Well, I guess...it is my fault--
"Hey!"
I glanced again to see Ricky sitting in the corner. There were three men standing beside him.
Are they his bodyguards?
"Hey...Ricky"
"You guys can leave me alone now" he said.
"But Godfather, Godmother told us to--"
"Do I need to repeat myself now?"
"We are sorry! We will keep an eye on you from outside" the men said, running out from the café.
"Don't do that either--hey, listen to me!"
"....."
"Sorry about that. They are my...friends, yes, they are my friends"
I don't have friends, but I don't think that's how you treat friends!
"Sorry for calling you out suddenly"
"No, it's okay. We have vacation anyway"
"Rikka is not with you?"
"As I said, we have a vacation, so she is at her family home"
"I see"
"If you don't mind, can I ask you, how did you get my contact information?"
I stole it!
"Joey, Joey gave me"
"I see. I am glad that you guys are getting along"
"Yeah"
"So Adas...umm, can I call you Das?"
"Yeah, sure"
"Okay. You can call me Riku. That's my real name"
I already know it!
"Don't tell Rikka that I told you my name"
"I won't"
"So, why did you call me here?"
"It's about relationsh.i.p.s"
I need some advice and asking an experienced person is the only option.
"Go ahead"
"I need some relationship advice"
"Like?"
"Have you ever thought about any girl other than Rikka?"
"That question again. Don't tell me that you really cheated on Elena!"
"I didn't!"
As long as she is fine, I won't consider that as cheating.
"As I have said before, the only girl I have loved is Rikka"
"What if any other girl confesses to you?"
"Well, I am already married, so it doesn't matter"
"What if you weren't married, and some other girl confessed to you?"
"Umm...I don't think I would go out with her. I only love Rikka"
"What if you haven't met Rikka, and some girl confessed to you?"
"Well...I don't think something like that is possible"
"But what if that happened?"
"I have a very nasty family background. No girl would ever confess to me. Actually, forget about confessing, no girl would even talk to me"
Those answers are not helping!
"....."
"You are asking questions like that. Did any girl confess to you?
Not just one girl! 3 girls have confessed to me.
"Something like that"
"I see. Does Elena--I can call her that, right? Or do you mind?"
"It's fine"
"So, does Elena know about it?"
"She does"
"What do you want to do?"
"I..."
I can't say that Elena doesn't mind it!
"Okay. Let me rephrase that, what do you want me to say?"
"I need some relationship advice"
"In what?"
"I don't know. I am just afraid"
"Afraid of what?"
"What if...if I make a wrong decision and end up hurting Elena"
"I see"
"So do you have anything to say?"
"No matter what I say, in the end, it's up to you two to decide what to do"
"But...anything that is wrong is the relationship or something like that"
"I am no expert in relationsh.i.p.s, but I will just say this, 'Let others eat shit', why follow others?"
Now that's something I wanted to hear.
"So you are saying that whatever Elena and I decide, it's okay as long as we both are fine with it?"
"Yeah. I mean, the relationship is like a...you know...how do I say it...it's like a bond"
"What does that mean?"
"Argh...you won't understand it. I will explain it in simple words"
"Please do"
"Relationship...take it any relationship. Let it be wife and husband, girlfriend or boyfriend, son and mother, son and father, brother and sister, brother and brother, with friends, or any other relationship. They are like a thing, a thing which is connected to the threads"
"...."
Now I am more confused.
"Don't make that face, man. I am trying my best here"
"Sorry"
"So I was saying...relationsh.i.p.s are like a thread that makes you a human"
"....."
So I guess I am not a human.
"And out of all the threads, the weakest yet sharpest thread is of girlfriend-boyfriend or husband-wife"
"Weakest?"
"Weakest would be an exaggeration, let's say, the most fragile"
Is there any difference between them?
"Why is it fragile?"
"Relationsh.i.p.s are built on mutual feelings and emotions"
"Yeah"
Mom told me this before.
"If there is no mutual understanding or trust, it will break apart"
"The thread will snap?"
"Yes. And it would be hard to join it again"
"I see"
I somewhat understood what he meant.
"If there is something you don't like, tell your partner and discuss it"
"Hmm"
Elena and I have done that many times.
"It's perfectly fine and normal to fight. Obviously, they would have different perspectives and ideals. You can't go against them"
"Yeah"
"You can't force your ideals on someone and vice versa"
"Yeah"
"If they have any ideal that contradicts yours, then talk it out"
"If I can't support it, I shouldn't oppose it either?"
"Exactly! How did you understand it?"
"I don't know. I just thought it was the right thing to say"
"I see"
Why do I feel like this?
Why do I feel like I had some kind of dream last night?
It was a very pleasant dream, I am sure of it.
Remember. Remember.
"Das, are you okay?"
"Ricky"
"What?"
"It's fine as long as none of us mind, right?"
"It should be okay"
I remember now. I had a dream about Elena last night.
We were at the beach. We were in LWO.
Elena talked about some things.
It was a pleasant moment. I didn't want to forget it.
Why did I have a dream like that?
I could feel the chilly breeze.
I could feel the cold sand.
I could feel everything.
Is that even possible?
Can we feel in dreams?
If it was a different type of dream, like some unique dreams, lucid dreams, then I could have remembered it.
Why did I forget about it?
Why did I remember it suddenly?
"Hey Das, if you don't mind, can I ask how far you and Elena have gone?"
"Why do you want to know?"
"Just curious, considering the latest survey, the relationship ratio is down to 3%"
"I know"
"I will talk about me. Rikka and I did it on our first day"
"First day?"
"Yes, but well...we weren't going out"
"Then...does that mean..."
"No. I don't know what you are imagining but you are wrong"
"So, what else?"
"We got married the next day"
"Did you marry because you did it?"
"No. We were already in love, so we got married"
"Why marry?"
"Well, our family background is complicated, but we loved each other, and we wanted to marry, so we got married"
"You could have taken your time and spent some time with her before marrying"
"Hey, what do you think marriage is?"
"It's just another word for me"
"Well, you are not wrong, but it depends on the people. There are many who are in love, but can't marry"
"It's their fault. If you love, then do whatever it takes to be with the person you love"
"Why are you suddenly talking like this?"
"I am just sharing my thoughts"
"You know, I think the same"
"Huh?"
"Marriage is just another word for me, but after I got married, I understood the true meaning of it"
"I see"
"Do you know the relationship ratio according to the latest survey"
"Yes"
"The maximum duration of a couple that has stayed together is 6 months"
"I know"
"All other couples break up within 2 months"
"I know"
"It's awesome that you and Elena are doing great"
"It's all thanks to her"
"The ratio of having s.e.x after going out is 3 days. In just 3 days after going out, they do it"
"I know"
"I will ask again, how far have you gone?"
"We haven't done anything"
"I am not saying that you shouldn't do it. Take your time. As I said 'Others can go eat shit'. Why do we need to follow them? Take it at your own pace. Others are doing it, so we should do it too, I have heard this many times and many youngsters mess up after that"
"I don't care what others think"
"You know what I say, do it if you want, but 86% of couples break up after that. Out of that 86%, 82% break up because of cheating. Cheating is very common nowadays. And after what happened with Joey..."
"Joey?"
"It's nothing"
That is one of the reasons why I wanted to take it slow with Elena.
When we started going out with her, deep down I used to think that we would either break up or she would be fed up with me. I didn't want to do any of that stuff with her, but after our first kiss on our first date. I felt disgusted for thinking that.
"And it's not like if you got married you will always be together. I am sure you have seen the divorce ratio too"
"73%"
"Yeah. And it keeps increasing"
"I have no obligation to that. I have my own thoughts, I have my own things I want to do, and I will do it my own way. No one can stop me from doing it"
"That's the spirit"
"I will be going now. Thanks for your help"
"I wasn't of any help, but nevermind"
I got up and walked out of the--
"Hey Das"
"Hmm?"
"If something comes up, or you are in trouble, hit me up. Got it?"
"Yeah"
I am jealous of Joey for having this kind of older brother.
I went out of the café and decide to go somewhere. Somewhere I haven't gone since I was a kid.
I booked a taxi and went to the next city, the city where Lier lives.
Please report us if you find any errors so we can fix it asap!
Dammit!
It's already past 10 AM.
I hope Ricky is still there.
There are people around, so I can't use my power to run faster.
After running for a while, I reached our meeting place.
I asked him to meet me at the café near his university. I thought it would be easy for him since it's close to their university, but I just remembered that they have a vacation now.
I searched for Ricky in the café, but he wasn't there.
"Did he leave already?"
Well, I guess...it is my fault--
"Hey!"
I glanced again to see Ricky sitting in the corner. There were three men standing beside him.
Are they his bodyguards?
"Hey...Ricky"
"You guys can leave me alone now" he said.
"But Godfather, Godmother told us to--"
"Do I need to repeat myself now?"
"We are sorry! We will keep an eye on you from outside" the men said, running out from the café.
"Don't do that either--hey, listen to me!"
"....."
"Sorry about that. They are my...friends, yes, they are my friends"
I don't have friends, but I don't think that's how you treat friends!
"Sorry for calling you out suddenly"
"No, it's okay. We have vacation anyway"
"Rikka is not with you?"
"As I said, we have a vacation, so she is at her family home"
"I see"
"If you don't mind, can I ask you, how did you get my contact information?"
I stole it!
"Joey, Joey gave me"
"I see. I am glad that you guys are getting along"
"Yeah"
"So Adas...umm, can I call you Das?"
"Yeah, sure"
"Okay. You can call me Riku. That's my real name"
I already know it!
"Don't tell Rikka that I told you my name"
"I won't"
"So, why did you call me here?"
"It's about relationsh.i.p.s"
I need some advice and asking an experienced person is the only option.
"Go ahead"
"I need some relationship advice"
"Like?"
"Have you ever thought about any girl other than Rikka?"
"That question again. Don't tell me that you really cheated on Elena!"
"I didn't!"
As long as she is fine, I won't consider that as cheating.
"As I have said before, the only girl I have loved is Rikka"
"What if any other girl confesses to you?"
"Well, I am already married, so it doesn't matter"
"What if you weren't married, and some other girl confessed to you?"
"Umm...I don't think I would go out with her. I only love Rikka"
"What if you haven't met Rikka, and some girl confessed to you?"
"Well...I don't think something like that is possible"
"But what if that happened?"
"I have a very nasty family background. No girl would ever confess to me. Actually, forget about confessing, no girl would even talk to me"
Those answers are not helping!
"....."
"You are asking questions like that. Did any girl confess to you?
Not just one girl! 3 girls have confessed to me.
"Something like that"
"I see. Does Elena--I can call her that, right? Or do you mind?"
"It's fine"
"So, does Elena know about it?"
"She does"
"What do you want to do?"
"I..."
I can't say that Elena doesn't mind it!
"Okay. Let me rephrase that, what do you want me to say?"
"I need some relationship advice"
"In what?"
"I don't know. I am just afraid"
"Afraid of what?"
"What if...if I make a wrong decision and end up hurting Elena"
"I see"
"So do you have anything to say?"
"No matter what I say, in the end, it's up to you two to decide what to do"
"But...anything that is wrong is the relationship or something like that"
"I am no expert in relationsh.i.p.s, but I will just say this, 'Let others eat shit', why follow others?"
Now that's something I wanted to hear.
"So you are saying that whatever Elena and I decide, it's okay as long as we both are fine with it?"
"Yeah. I mean, the relationship is like a...you know...how do I say it...it's like a bond"
"What does that mean?"
"Argh...you won't understand it. I will explain it in simple words"
"Please do"
"Relationship...take it any relationship. Let it be wife and husband, girlfriend or boyfriend, son and mother, son and father, brother and sister, brother and brother, with friends, or any other relationship. They are like a thing, a thing which is connected to the threads"
"...."
Now I am more confused.
"Don't make that face, man. I am trying my best here"
"Sorry"
"So I was saying...relationsh.i.p.s are like a thread that makes you a human"
"....."
So I guess I am not a human.
"And out of all the threads, the weakest yet sharpest thread is of girlfriend-boyfriend or husband-wife"
"Weakest?"
"Weakest would be an exaggeration, let's say, the most fragile"
Is there any difference between them?
"Why is it fragile?"
"Relationsh.i.p.s are built on mutual feelings and emotions"
"Yeah"
Mom told me this before.
"If there is no mutual understanding or trust, it will break apart"
"The thread will snap?"
"Yes. And it would be hard to join it again"
"I see"
I somewhat understood what he meant.
"If there is something you don't like, tell your partner and discuss it"
"Hmm"
Elena and I have done that many times.
"It's perfectly fine and normal to fight. Obviously, they would have different perspectives and ideals. You can't go against them"
"Yeah"
"You can't force your ideals on someone and vice versa"
"Yeah"
"If they have any ideal that contradicts yours, then talk it out"
"If I can't support it, I shouldn't oppose it either?"
"Exactly! How did you understand it?"
"I don't know. I just thought it was the right thing to say"
"I see"
Why do I feel like this?
Why do I feel like I had some kind of dream last night?
It was a very pleasant dream, I am sure of it.
Remember. Remember.
"Das, are you okay?"
"Ricky"
"What?"
"It's fine as long as none of us mind, right?"
"It should be okay"
I remember now. I had a dream about Elena last night.
We were at the beach. We were in LWO.
Elena talked about some things.
It was a pleasant moment. I didn't want to forget it.
Why did I have a dream like that?
I could feel the chilly breeze.
I could feel the cold sand.
I could feel everything.
Is that even possible?
Can we feel in dreams?
If it was a different type of dream, like some unique dreams, lucid dreams, then I could have remembered it.
Why did I forget about it?
Why did I remember it suddenly?
"Hey Das, if you don't mind, can I ask how far you and Elena have gone?"
"Why do you want to know?"
"Just curious, considering the latest survey, the relationship ratio is down to 3%"
"I know"
"I will talk about me. Rikka and I did it on our first day"
"First day?"
"Yes, but well...we weren't going out"
"Then...does that mean..."
"No. I don't know what you are imagining but you are wrong"
"So, what else?"
"We got married the next day"
"Did you marry because you did it?"
"No. We were already in love, so we got married"
"Why marry?"
"Well, our family background is complicated, but we loved each other, and we wanted to marry, so we got married"
"You could have taken your time and spent some time with her before marrying"
"Hey, what do you think marriage is?"
"It's just another word for me"
"Well, you are not wrong, but it depends on the people. There are many who are in love, but can't marry"
"It's their fault. If you love, then do whatever it takes to be with the person you love"
"Why are you suddenly talking like this?"
"I am just sharing my thoughts"
"You know, I think the same"
"Huh?"
"Marriage is just another word for me, but after I got married, I understood the true meaning of it"
"I see"
"Do you know the relationship ratio according to the latest survey"
"Yes"
"The maximum duration of a couple that has stayed together is 6 months"
"I know"
"All other couples break up within 2 months"
"I know"
"It's awesome that you and Elena are doing great"
"It's all thanks to her"
"The ratio of having s.e.x after going out is 3 days. In just 3 days after going out, they do it"
"I know"
"I will ask again, how far have you gone?"
"We haven't done anything"
"I am not saying that you shouldn't do it. Take your time. As I said 'Others can go eat shit'. Why do we need to follow them? Take it at your own pace. Others are doing it, so we should do it too, I have heard this many times and many youngsters mess up after that"
"I don't care what others think"
"You know what I say, do it if you want, but 86% of couples break up after that. Out of that 86%, 82% break up because of cheating. Cheating is very common nowadays. And after what happened with Joey..."
"Joey?"
"It's nothing"
That is one of the reasons why I wanted to take it slow with Elena.
When we started going out with her, deep down I used to think that we would either break up or she would be fed up with me. I didn't want to do any of that stuff with her, but after our first kiss on our first date. I felt disgusted for thinking that.
"And it's not like if you got married you will always be together. I am sure you have seen the divorce ratio too"
"73%"
"Yeah. And it keeps increasing"
"I have no obligation to that. I have my own thoughts, I have my own things I want to do, and I will do it my own way. No one can stop me from doing it"
"That's the spirit"
"I will be going now. Thanks for your help"
"I wasn't of any help, but nevermind"
I got up and walked out of the--
"Hey Das"
"Hmm?"
"If something comes up, or you are in trouble, hit me up. Got it?"
"Yeah"
I am jealous of Joey for having this kind of older brother.
I went out of the café and decide to go somewhere. Somewhere I haven't gone since I was a kid.
I booked a taxi and went to the next city, the city where Lier lives.
Dammit! It's already past 10 AM. I hope Ricky is still there. There are people around, so I can't use my power to run faster. After running for a while, I reached our meeting place. I asked him to meet me at the caf near his university. I thought it would be easy for him since it's close to their university, but I just remembered that they have a vacation now. I searched for Ricky in the caf, but he wasn't there. "Did he leave already?" Well, I guess...it is my fault-- "Hey!" I glanced again to see Ricky sitting in the corner. There were three men standing beside him. Are they his bodyguards? "Hey...Ricky" "You guys can leave me alone now" he said. "But Godfather, Godmother told us to--" "Do I need to repeat myself now?" "We are sorry! We will keep an eye on you from outside" the men said, running out from the caf. "Don't do that either--hey, listen to me!" "....." "Sorry about that. They are my...friends, yes, they are my friends" I don't have friends, but I don't think that's how you treat friends! "Sorry for calling you out suddenly" "No, it's okay. We have vacation anyway" "Rikka is not with you?" "As I said, we have a vacation, so she is at her family home" "I see" "If you don't mind, can I ask you, how did you get my contact information?" I stole it! "Joey, Joey gave me" "I see. I am glad that you guys are getting along" "Yeah" "So Adas...umm, can I call you Das?" "Yeah, sure" "Okay. You can call me Riku. That's my real name" I already know it! "Don't tell Rikka that I told you my name" "I won't" "So, why did you call me here?" "It's about relationsh.i.p.s" I need some advice and asking an experienced person is the only option. "Go ahead" "I need some relationship advice" "Like?" "Have you ever thought about any girl other than Rikka?" "That question again. Don't tell me that you really cheated on Elena!" "I didn't!" As long as she is fine, I won't consider that as cheating. "As I have said before, the only girl I have loved is Rikka" "What if any other girl confesses to you?" "Well, I am already married, so it doesn't matter" "What if you weren't married, and some other girl confessed to you?" "Umm...I don't think I would go out with her. I only love Rikka" "What if you haven't met Rikka, and some girl confessed to you?" "Well...I don't think something like that is possible" "But what if that happened?" "I have a very nasty family background. No girl would ever confess to me. Actually, forget about confessing, no girl would even talk to me" Those answers are not helping! "....." "You are asking questions like that. Did any girl confess to you? Not just one girl! 3 girls have confessed to me. "Something like that" "I see. Does Elena--I can call her that, right? Or do you mind?" "It's fine" "So, does Elena know about it?" "She does" "What do you want to do?" "I..." I can't say that Elena doesn't mind it! "Okay. Let me rephrase that, what do you want me to say?" "I need some relationship advice" "In what?" "I don't know. I am just afraid" "Afraid of what?" "What if...if I make a wrong decision and end up hurting Elena" "I see" "So do you have anything to say?" "No matter what I say, in the end, it's up to you two to decide what to do" "But...anything that is wrong is the relationship or something like that" "I am no expert in relationsh.i.p.s, but I will just say this, 'Let others eat shit', why follow others?" Now that's something I wanted to hear. "So you are saying that whatever Elena and I decide, it's okay as long as we both are fine with it?" "Yeah. I mean, the relationship is like a...you know...how do I say it...it's like a bond" "What does that mean?" "Argh...you won't understand it. I will explain it in simple words" "Please do" "Relationship...take it any relationship. Let it be wife and husband, girlfriend or boyfriend, son and mother, son and father, brother and sister, brother and brother, with friends, or any other relationship. They are like a thing, a thing which is connected to the threads" "...." Now I am more confused. "Don't make that face, man. I am trying my best here" "Sorry" "So I was saying...relationsh.i.p.s are like a thread that makes you a human" "....." So I guess I am not a human. "And out of all the threads, the weakest yet sharpest thread is of girlfriend-boyfriend or husband-wife" "Weakest?" "Weakest would be an exaggeration, let's say, the most fragile" Is there any difference between them? "Why is it fragile?" "Relationsh.i.p.s are built on mutual feelings and emotions" "Yeah" Mom told me this before. "If there is no mutual understanding or trust, it will break apart" "The thread will snap?" "Yes. And it would be hard to join it again" "I see" I somewhat understood what he meant. "If there is something you don't like, tell your partner and discuss it" "Hmm" Elena and I have done that many times. "It's perfectly fine and normal to fight. Obviously, they would have different perspectives and ideals. You can't go against them" "Yeah" "You can't force your ideals on someone and vice versa" "Yeah" "If they have any ideal that contradicts yours, then talk it out" "If I can'tsupport it, I shouldn't oppose it either?" "Exactly! How did you understand it?" "I don't know. I just thought it was the right thing to say" "I see" Why do I feel like this? Why do I feel like I had some kind of dream last night? It was a very pleasant dream, I am sure of it. Remember. Remember. "Das, are you okay?" "Ricky" "What?" "It's fine as long as none of us mind, right?" "It should be okay" I remember now. I had a dream about Elena last night. We were at the beach. We were in LWO. Elena talked about some things. It was a pleasant moment. I didn't want to forget it. Why did I have a dream like that? I could feel the chilly breeze. I could feel the cold sand. I could feel everything. Is that even possible? Can we feel in dreams? If it was a different type of dream, like some unique dreams, lucid dreams, then I could have remembered it. Why did I forget about it? Why did I remember it suddenly? "Hey Das, if you don't mind, can I ask how far you and Elena have gone?" "Why do you want to know?" "Just curious, considering the latest survey, the relationship ratio is down to 3%" "I know" "I will talk about me. Rikka and I did it on our first day" "First day?" "Yes, but well...we weren't going out" "Then...does that mean..." "No. I don't know what you are imagining but you are wrong" "So, what else?" "We got married the next day" "Did you marry because you did it?" "No. We were already in love, so we got married" "Why marry?" "Well, our family background is complicated, but we loved each other, and we wanted to marry, so we got married" "You could have taken your time and spent some time with her before marrying" "Hey, what do you think marriage is?" "It's just another word for me" "Well, you are not wrong, but it depends on the people. There are many who are in love, but can't marry" "It's their fault. If you love, then do whatever it takes to be with the person you love" "Why are you suddenly talking like this?" "I am just sharing my thoughts" "You know, I think the same" "Huh?" "Marriage is just another word for me, but after I got married, I understood the true meaning of it" "I see" "Do you know the relationship ratio according to the latest survey" "Yes" "The maximum duration of a couple that has stayed together is 6 months" "I know" "All other couples break up within 2 months" "I know" "It's awesome that you and Elena are doing great" "It's all thanks to her" "The ratio of having s.e.x after going out is 3 days. In just 3 days after going out, they do it" "I know" "I will ask again, how far have you gone?" "We haven't done anything" "I am not saying that you shouldn't do it. Take your time. As I said 'Others can go eat shit'. Why do we need to follow them? Take it at your own pace. Others are doing it, so we should do it too, I have heard this many times and many youngsters mess up after that" "I don't care what others think" "You know what I say, do it if you want, but 86% of couples break up after that. Out of that 86%, 82% break up because of cheating. Cheating is very common nowadays. And after what happened with Joey..." "Joey?" "It's nothing" That is one of the reasons why I wanted to take it slow with Elena. When we started going out with her, deep down I used to think that we would either break up or she would be fed up with me. I didn't want to do any of that stuff with her, but after our first kiss on our first date. I felt disgusted for thinking that. "And it's not like if you got married you will always be together. I am sure you have seen the divorce ratio too" "73%" "Yeah. And it keeps increasing" "I have no obligation to that. I have my own thoughts, I have my own things I want to do, and I will do it my own way. No one can stop me from doing it" "That's the spirit" "I will be going now. Thanks for your help" "I wasn't of any help, but nevermind" I got up and walked out of the-- "Hey Das" "Hmm?" "If something comes up, or you are in trouble, hit me up. Got it?" "Yeah" I am jealous of Joey for having this kind of older brother. I went out of the caf and decide to go somewhere. Somewhere I haven't gone since I was a kid. I booked a taxi and went to the next city, the city where Lier lives.
