Chapter 27: Chapter 27
They finally arrive at their destination after a rough ride where James and Kyle do not stop strowing shades at each other while Angel acts as the babysitter of the two. Kyle has multiple “man caves,” as he calls them, and this is one of them- a penthouse in the heart of Seoul.
“Wow! I must say you are really loaded,” James said in a tone that clearly shows his amazement of the place. Kyle just smirked, which obviously shows how pleased he is with the complement as it makes him feel that he has just taken the upper hand.
Angel has been here a couple of times, but Kyle’s place still doesn’t stop to amaze her. “Yea, Kyle is loaded,” Angel muttered to herself with a sad look in her eyes as she observed the expensive-looking chandelier made of gold and crystal in Kyle’s celling.
James found his way into Kyle’s kitchen and attracted the house owner’s expensive-looking fridge. James' smile was automatically lost when all he saw inside were water bottles, fruits, and beer cans.
“So you do not cook,”
“Obviously,”
“But these are working, right?” James checked the burners in the kitchen and smiled when all of them clicked in a proper condition.
“I will just order,” Kyle is trying to open his frequented food app as fast as he can to prevent James from showing off his cooking skills in front of Angel again. Still, it seems that fate is in James’ favor tonight as Kyle’s phone shut down before he was able to open the app.
James watches Kyle as the latter shows a clear sign of dismay. James smiled as it was evident that he would be able to take over tonight’s diner, a way to show how well he knows his way around the kitchen.
James ordered some fresh produce from an app, watched Kyle annoyingly enter his address on the delivery, and then started his showmanship once the delivery arrived. It only took 30 minutes for James to prepare a mouthwatering dinner. It really helped a lot that Angel has been watching and complimenting him throughout, and he did not even bother all the shades Kyle is throwing at him.
“It looks delicious!” Angel exclaimed. “You are such a nice cook,” She continued while chewing a piece of meat.
“It’s not that hard,” Kyle nonchalantly said that making Angel look at him annoyingly.
James just smiled. He knows he won this round.
The dinner is done. It is now it is time for the movie.
Kyle pressed a remote that pulled out a big screen down from the ceiling. James smirked as Kyle nodded pleasingly and took a quick glance at him after Angel said, “I will never get used to that,”
Kyle’s living room became private with all surround sound once the movie started. The film that they will watch is Human Centipede, a horror. Kyle had already planned everything a week before, right after Angel agreed to watch the movie together. Though Kyle knows that Angel is a fan of horror and thriller films, and she is not easily scared by the scenes, there is something she never failed to respond to – the sounds! Angel, for some reason, is easily startled, which is why Kyle made sure to install additional speakers in the living room to increase the probability of Angel being started and hugging him for some seconds; maybe something good would happen. It was a perfect plan; everything fell in place except for one, James.
Kyle glared at James at this thought. He thought that this might have been the best moment for him and Angel, he even prepared a wine, but he did not put it out because Kyle didn’t want to share it with James.
The movie is starting, the lights in the living room are out. The sounds from the film are immersive as if you are part of the story, of the thrill and horror.
Angel is sitting between Kyle and James. She is calmly watching the movie, the entire opposite of the two. James’ face is almost transferred to the coach, while Kyle cannot look at all; his eyes are closed at most scenes.
A gruesome scene popped out where bodies and feces were everywhere as people were sewed together, James almost fainted, and Kyle almost gave up to the urge to grab the remote from Angel’s hands and change the damn movie.
The first movie is done; Kyle and James’ souls almost followed as their abdomens turned inside-out. On the other hand, Angel is now scrolling on many similar films when her eyes land on the “SAW” series.
Kyle and James looked at each other, and for the first time, seemed to get into terms when they both said Angel smiled a chilling smile and was about to click play.
“Wha-what about a different genre?” James said, stuttering and giving a signal to Kyle to second the motion.
“Yi-Yea, you are a Romance Writer. How about watching Romance, hehe,” Kyle awkwardly said.
“puff, you chickens,” Angel handed over the remote to Kyle and excused herself to go to the bathroom.
The boys are happy and relieved with their teamwork, and for the first time, they both think that the other person is not that bad.
The next movie is the Notebook, chosen by Kyle, and when Angel saw it, she smirked and thought, “What a shame,”
Kyle and James are both crying when the movie film. At the same time, Angel looks earnestly at the film and recognizes and assesses how the writer made such beautiful characters and connections.
The plan to watch one movie became a marathon since James keeps on cooking snacks, and Angel enjoys it a lot. Kyle also enjoys James’ company even though he doesn’t acknowledge it to himself.
Kyle put out some beer in the third movie, and they watched an old comedy titled Rush Hour. James was laughing hard most of the time, and Kyle watched silently while Angel and occasionally smiled.
James, who has been observing Angel for the whole time, can’t help but wonder why her expressions are not expected. He wanted to ask, but he was reluctant, so he just kept drinking beer, and before James realized it, he was already drunk. A mistake that will haunt him for the next days to come.