His Brother: The Good Friend

“It’s not like I am wanted or something! You can’t make me cover my face!” Jane hissed. Noah frustratedly massages his temple.

“You aren’t but the exact struggles fit with being known by most people. Humanity wags their tails for the so-called white lotus and all that crap,” Noah declared.

“What do you want me to do? Cover my face then?” Jane crossed her arms and raised her right brow. “Over my dead gorgeous body! I’ll just sue them for intruding on someone's privacy!” she added.

“And you believed you could sue your fan? That’ll ruin your image, idiot!”

“I don’t care! I have another job aside from acting goody-two-shoes!”

Noah groaned. This woman acts differently when Jerson is around, but when it’s only the two of them, she’s really getting into his nerves. He looked at Jane again, who was acting like a brat. Noah didn’t know why he chose this woman and now he regretted such a reckless decision. She’s giving him a severe headache.

“I’ll fire you,” Noah warned but this didn’t startle Jane at all. She even glared at him.

“I dare you, Noah.”

“I'll really dare to fire you, Jane. Now wear this fucking mask and stop getting into my nerves.”

Jane had no other choice but to comply with Noah's demands. She wore a mask over her frowning face, cursing Noah's thick-skinned nature. Jane couldn't help but think that Noah envied her, although she knew deep down that it wasn't true. How could Noah envy her when he seemingly had everything?

“So what kind of person is the Prosecutor?” Jane asked when she calmed herself down. She knew she couldn’t win against him anyway so she just let it slide.

“The kinds you never wanted to mess with,” Noah casually said. Jane wanted to puke at how cringe it sounded for her. She knows that it was often used by some authors when they are describing their main characters, but she did know how credible it is, given that Noah was the one who said it. It might even be exaggerated or may even be an understatement to describe Vishnu. But she wasn’t in a novel, nor a character in someone's tell-tale to assume that such impossible portrayal could be applied to her boss’ brother. She has no idea what kind of people she’ll convene with from now on. From how she sees it, if Jerson backed out, the man must be a big pain in the ass.

“Even his secretary is feisty. I advise you not to act like a brat when you’re guarding him,” Noah added. Jane rolled her eyes.

"Who says I act like a brat?" Jane asked with irritation. The desire to smother Noah overwhelmed her. How could he address her like that? A silent plea echoed in her mind: Can somebody kill him for me, please? Right here, right now! She couldn't stand his behavior.

“Well, you’re acting like a brat now. Don’t you realize that?” Noah retorted, trying to crack Jane’s temperance.

“Just look at that damn logic. I have been like this ever since!”

“Yes. That’s right. A brat.”

"Fuck you!" Jane yelled with wrath, and Noah chuckled at her reaction. He was merely teasing her. He found himself intrigued by how people's emotions could change rapidly. Unlike him, most individuals get easily distracted, leading to swift shifts in their feelings. In contrast, Jerson always remained calm, a trait Noah had noticed and appreciated.

“Fuck me,” Noah said while chuckling.

“That dirty mouth! Son of a bitch!”

Jane felt a wave of frustration as they arrived at the building where she would meet Jerson and the man she was tasked to protect. The presence of Noah had become intolerable, and Jane's emotions were teetering on the edge. The gun in her bag seemed tempting, and from her frowning face, it appeared she wouldn't hesitate to use it. She looked on the verge of snapping any second, on the brink of insanity.

After parking his car, Noah led Jane to Vishnu's office. Uncertain about the cause of the apparent dispute between Jerson and Vishnu in just a day, Noah speculated that it might have seemed like a significant disagreement to them. However, he knew it wasn't that serious. Noah believed they would eventually make up when they started missing each other's presence. Yet, that possibility seemed distant for now.

“I’ll remind you again not to act like a brat,” Noah reminded her again.

Jane just shook her head. She may act like a brat sometimes but she’s very serious about her job. This is why Noah wants her to do it. Without a doubt, she could do the job better than any man ever employed at guarding someone. Well, except for Jerson. Jerson was way too good for her to catch up but he seems distracted for the first time.

Jane elegantly entered the room and met the eyes of a man sitting on a couch. Her eyes didn’t miss the woman standing at the right end of the couch from where the man was sitting. At the opposite side of the couch, Jerson was sitting with crossed legs while wearing his usual indifferent face. Jane wanted to jump at Jerson and hug him but she felt very intimidated. The aura seems wrong. Did they arrive at the wrong time?

“Who is this woman, Noah?” Vishnu asked. Jane could feel how cold this man was. Now, Jane finally understands why Noah describes his brother like that. Just his mere aura could make you understand that this man is stronger. It makes you feel inferior, and that was what Jane was feeling at the moment. She knows that the man was way higher above her. She couldn’t understand why he needed protection when from the first look, he was more capable of doing it himself.

But Jerson couldn’t feel what others were feeling at the moment. He couldn’t understand why they all looked conflicted and he’s confused. He gazes at his good friend who couldn’t even move from where she was standing. It was the first time that he saw Jane at that rate and he couldn’t help himself from worrying. They’ve been friends for a long time.

“Jane.” Jerson's voice was so soft that it almost startled everybody who was inside the room. Rose even flinched when she saw his boss clenched his fist. Vishnu’s gloomy look was what Rose feared the most. She could still remember vividly what happened back then. Vishnu almost burned down the whole building and Rose didn’t want it to happen again. Never again.

“Babe!” Jane shouted and ran towards Jerson who was comfortably sitting in front of Vishnu.

Vishnu unknowingly gave Jerson empty gazes. He could feel his blood burning. The short notice of Jerson quitting to be his bodyguard gave him a bunch of questions that he couldn’t answer. Why? They just met and yet he felt so attached to Jerson and knowing Jerson was quitting made him feel so angry. He just told him to stay away for a moment but he didn’t mean to make Jerson quit. And now, Jerson’s girlfriend will be his new bodyguard? A girl at that? What is he? A joke?

Whatever Noah was thinking when he decided to change his bodyguard on just short notice, he couldn’t help but think that his brother lost his brain somewhere. Noah has gone insane. Whatever reasons Noah has, this was way too much for him. Vishnu shook his head. What is he even thinking? This is just a very simple setup that could benefit him to fix himself. He couldn’t continue being a jerk in front of Jerson. This shouldn’t continue.

But the soft gazes and actions Jerson was giving Jane made him want to drag Jane out of his office.

“Careful,” Jerson said. Jane hugged him tightly so he pushed her gently and slightly and let her sit beside him.

“Don’t you miss me? Noah didn’t tell me where you were staying! That old man knows nothing other than to irritate me every day and he’d been doing it for weeks now,” Jane welp like a little girl telling her parents about his enemy. Jerson looked at her and then looked at Noah with a confused look. Noah sighed.

“Said the brat who acts like a spoiled lassie,” Noah murmured like a narrator of a drama just to mock Jane.

“Say. Is this the girl who’ll protect me from now on? Is she even capable?” Vishnu asks impatiently. He couldn’t stand the drama of the two lovers in front of him.

“Of course, she is,” Jerson responded.

“Is she ready to take a bullet for me?” Jerson’s brows furrowed at Vishnu’s question.

“I—” Jane was planning to defend herself from the criticism she was facing but Jerson interrupted her.

“I’ll kill them before they could even pull the trigger,” Jerson said with determination. Jerson never imagined someone could even think of planning to harm Vishnu. He’ll kill them. That’s for sure. He’ll kill them without thinking twice. Jerson staggered his head making it appear like he was leaning at Jane’s shoulder. ‘Sure I was this Prosecutor’s bodyguard but this killing intent was too much. Really, I couldn’t understand myself well since yesterday.’

“That’s so holy of you,” Vishnu said mockingly. Vishnu’s tone didn’t escape from Jerson’s ear. Jerson could tell how serious the Prosecutor was and he didn’t want to provoke Vishnu any further. Yesterday’s argument was enough for him to stay away. He’ll protect Vishnu in the nightfall so that the prosecutor won’t see him and that’s enough for him to settle down. This is for the best. I should have quit when he told me those words but I know I’ll just regret it if I did. I don’t want to regret anything. I already have ton of it to even think of adding some more.

Noah could feel the tension inside the room and he felt suffocated. He wasn’t used to this setup. He faked a cough first before sitting on the couch in the right corner where he could see the two men who appeared to be in a love quarrel.

‘I could even hear what Noah was thinking. Well, I don’t blame him regardless. My boss's expression looks like someone who just caught his boyfriend cheating on him.’ Rose sighed before she placed the document on the table.

“This is the agreement contract between you and the boss,” Rose said as she shoved the document nearer from Jane’s side. “Please read the binding obligations for both parties and let me know if you want to add something so I could edit it later and send you the new one beforehand.”

Rose’s seriousness and professionalism stunned Jane a bit. Jane could even see a bit of passion in Rose’s eyes and she admired it greatly. She read the key terms of the agreement, delivery of services, price, payments, warranty terms, and general terms. She’s currently in awe.

“And if I didn’t meet even just one of the services?”

“We’ll breach the contract and you’ll pay for the compensation for any damage sustained by non-fulfillment of the obligation you agreed upon signing.”