Chapter 6: Clueless

Aria smiled broadly when she saw the man who had always accompanied her lately, walking into the Florist where she worked.

And to answer Conni's curiosity, of course Aria introduced her friend to her boss politely.

“Conni, this is my friend, Alexander. And Alexander, this is Conni, the loveliest Florist owner ever!" Aria giggled, introduced Conni who looked stiff where she was standing.

"We met two months ago but he only told me his true identity last night."

Conni, who was already pale with fear, smiled slightly at her. "I-Identity?" Conni asked in a squeaky voice. She could barely made her voice out.

"Identity card!" Aria laughed. "And even though he is old, I don't think that will hinder our friendship." She laughed again. Alexander didn’t change his stare on Aria who now looked very happy when she said that, with his flat gaze.

"Ah, I see..." Conni tried to look as normal as possible, but she failed right when Alex turned his gaze on her.

How could she keep her body from shaking under Alexander's extremely cold and cruel gaze?

And how could Aria choose to be friends with Alexander? Hadn't she seen Alexander's identity? Did this innocent girl still not know who her new friend is?

Aria then rushed to take the bouquet of flowers she had prepared and handed it to Alex.

“You must be early for this, right?” Aria smiled at him. Alex looked at her with the same flat gaze he always showed to Aria. However, his coldness only add up to his hotness.

Aria's face heated up because Alex just looked at her without saying anything. It's always so hard to breathe around him anyway, she said internally to herself.

Alex took the flower from her hand and took out a black card for Aria.

"Okay, Wait a moment!" Aria took the card from his hand and rushed behind the cashier's desk to swipe it. Aria was so focused on what she was doing that she didn't notice Conni who was scared to death in front of Alexander.

When she was finished, Aria returned the card to Alex. “Thank you, Sir.” She giggled.

“Come on.” Alex gestured his head outside for Aria following him.

“Err… You go first, I still have to help Conni close the shop. Besides, it's not dark yet. I'll go home by bus." Aria said smiling at him. But Alex frowned.

The man turned to Conni with a disapproving look and the poor Florist owner immediately waved her shaking hand at Aria.

“No, no… You can go home now. These matters, just leave it to me, okay?” She rushed inside to get Aria's small bag, and immediately handed it to the clueless Aria. While Aria could only stare at her in confusion,

"Here, check it out, don't leave anything behind."

Aria, who was still confused, could only stare at her blankly while holding her small bag. She then looked at Alex and it turned out that the man was already waiting for her to go outside.

"Well... everything is in here..." She said. After that, she felt a large hand placed on her lower back and pushed her gently.

“Come on…”

It turned out that it was Alex who urge her and looked like he couldn't wait to get out of there.

"Bye, Conni!" Aria still had time to wave at Conni, who also waved her hand with a very odd expression.

She frowned. Did Connie suddenly get sick? Or, did she just see a ghost? She looked very pale.

….…

"When are you free?" Aria asked Alex who was focused on driving the car. "I just got paid and got a bonus today, so I'll pay your treat last night." She said proudly.

She saw Alex small smirk. Her cheeks heat up. She couldn't help but fall under the spell of Alex's perfect figure.

“Today.” His short answer made her eyes widened.

And Alex never play with his words. He took her to a cafe which was actually not too far from her apartment.

“Woah, this is a new cafe?” They get out of the car. The parking lot is quite spacious and there were several chairs to hangout outdoor.

“Great! If we drink our late night coffee here, we can see the stars in the clear sky.” Aria said as she walked beside Alexander towards the cafe building which was filled with warm yellow lights.

They went inside and suddenly, the atmosphere, which was initially filled with the murmur of people chatting, became quiet when they looked at Alex. They seemed to avoid eye contact with him, but glanced at Aria curiously.

Aria was certainly increasingly aware of this strange thing. But zhe didn't want to worry about it for now. Today she still had somtime to hang out for a while. She felt grateful that Conni closed the shop much earlier than usual.

“Hi… Er… Can I help you?” A waiter greeted them, and his reaction was the same as the other visitors. He seemed to avoid making eye contact with Alexander. But still smiled sweetly at Aria.

"Hi, Good afternoon, Sir." Aria greeted him with her usual sweet smile. The young waiter looked fascinated to see her. It had been three months since he moved to this city to help his brother open this cafe, but this was the first time he had seen a girl as beautiful and sweet as Aria.

“I want this bread… oh this one too. Alex, which one do you want?” Aria showed the menu she took from the waiter.

Maybe Aria didn't see how people widened their eyes when they heard her call Alex so casually.

Alex, who of course didn't give a damn to his surroundings, pointed to a piece of bread that Aria had previously pointed to.

“Oh, we like the same taste!” Aria giggled. She immediately ordered two glasses of iced chocolate for her, and a cup of black coffee for Alexander.

“Where do you want to sit?” Aria asked after paying for their order. Alexander didn't take his eyes off the girl and her cheeks turned red again.

“Pick a spot.” He said indifferently.

Aria looked around her. Actually, there were lots of empty seats because the room was quite spacious.

However, right at that moment she saw the gazes of people who were curious when they saw her but avoided Alex's gaze. They even looked uncomfortable when they saw Alex was here.

Aria pursed her lips. But then her smile grew when she saw the outdoor seats.

"I want to eat my snacks while enjoying the air outside..." Aria said, smiling broadly at Alexander, who immediately nodded and waited for her to walk first.

“I'm glad I can go home early today.” Aria said when they were sitting at their table and enjoying the order that was hurriedly delivered by the waiter.

“Usually, I have to go home immediately and cook for grandma. But today I have a little time to play before going home.” Aria smiled while occasionally sipping her ice chocolate.

“Not that I'm complaining. It's just, I can breathe a little while..." She said looking at Alex’s bread which he hadn't touched at all.

Since then, Alexander had not moved at all from his position. He sat, leaned back in his the chair, arms folded across his chest, and his eyes did not move from Aria at all.

Aria took the bread and began to cut it into small pieces and handed it back to him.

Alex looked at it for a moment before he decided to take one piece and chew on it. Aria smiled seeing that he wanted to eat with her. She also began to take one piece of her own and ate it too.

“But, I have something that's been lingering on my mind since this morning, though…” Aria began. She took a big bite and it made her cheeks puff. Alex watched her and couldn't help his breathy chuckle when he saw her.

"What is it?" He finally asked.

Aria leaned forward, placed her hands on table and looked at Alex sharply. “Why does everyone look scared when they hear your name? They look even more afraid when they see you, just like Conni. Do you guys know each other? Or, Have you ever bullied them?” Aria asked in a whisper. She didn't want anyone else to hear what she said.

Alex chuckled at her adorable behavior.

He let out a slow grunt. "No, I don't know them." Alex answered her. He leaned forward, his elbows resting on the table, just like Aria was doing now. Making their faces closer.

Arai gulped when she could see her reflection clearly in his black deep orbs. She felt like she could drown at any moment in his eyes.

“Are you… a dangerous person?” Aria asked, still whispering. She tried to meet Alex's intense gaze even though she was actually having difficulty breathing because of it.

“If I were a dangerous person. Will you afraid of me?” He asked.

Her eyes slightly widened, but then, she looked down on the table. Aria baffled in her own mind.

Then, she answered without moving her eyes from the table, avoiding Alex's gaze.

“Yes…”