Chapter 15: Bracelet

Our plan to visit the museum and castle ruins on our last day in Japan didn’t push through. Almost everyone was suffering from a hangover after last night’s drinking session.

“Bro, I swear I’m never drinking again,” Kian groaned, clutching his head as he grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator.

“I’ve heard that from you so many times. But the moment there’s alcohol, you’re always the first one to drink,” TJ replied without looking up from his book.

The girls were completely knocked out, still asleep in their room. They had drunk quite a lot last night too.

“Don’t bully my baby. Come here, I’ll kiss you,” Martin teased, imitating what Kian had done the night before. The idiot actually leaned in and kissed Kiefer, who was quietly sitting on the sofa.

“Disgusting,” Kiefer snapped and immediately chased after Martin, who ran straight toward me and hid behind my back.

“Move, Lucas,” Kiefer growled, trying to reach around me to grab Martin.

Martin kept pulling on my shirt so hard I thought it was going to rip. I was getting dragged into their nonsense too.

To play along, I grabbed Martin. Since I was bigger than him, it was easy to spin him around to face Kiefer.

Kiefer quickly hooked his arm around Martin’s neck in a playful headlock, dragging him down while Martin kicked and struggled, laughing so hard he could barely fight back.

“I give up!” Martin yelled, trying to pry Kiefer’s arm off his neck.

I tried to keep my balance, but the next second, all three of us crashed to the floor in a loud thud. Even then, they didn’t stop—Kiefer continued teasing with mock punches while Martin flailed dramatically. I couldn’t help but laugh, stuck right in the middle of their ridiculous wrestling match.

We were still tangled on the floor—Kiefer pinning Martin down while he thrashed around laughing—when a deep voice cut through the chaos.

“Hey, stop that mess.”

Kuya Dave stood at the bottom of the stairs, arms crossed tightly, his expression hard and unamused. His eyes moved from Kiefer to Martin, then landed on me. The weight of his stare instantly killed the laughter.

Kiefer immediately let go and sat up straight. Martin scrambled back, still catching his breath but no longer giggling. The playful atmosphere vanished in seconds. When Kuya Dave looked like that, no one dared to keep joking.

They actually stopped. All it took was Kuya to step in.

“What are you guys doing?” Kuya asked as he walked toward me, scanning my body as if checking for injuries.

“We were just playing,” I answered. The other two suddenly went quiet beside me.

“Stop that before someone gets hurt.” I glanced at Kiefer and Martin. They looked like kids being scolded by their father.

Kuya didn’t stay long. He said he had something important to take care of and left the house. I didn’t ask what it was. I only had two guesses: either business or his boyfriend.

“My back hurts,” Martin complained, rubbing his lower back.

Of course it did. Both Kiefer and I had landed on top of him.

He sat beside TJ. “When Kian kisses me, it’s fine. But when I do it, you act like you want to kill me.” He looked at TJ, hoping for an ally.

“Your breath smells bad,” I teased. His forehead immediately creased.

He hated being teased about hygiene. Among all of us, he took care of himself like a girl—sometimes even more than Angela. His showers could last over an hour, and he never left the house without lotion.

“Me? Bad breath?” he answered sarcastically, then stood up and walked toward the pool area.

“You’re an animal…” TJ muttered. “Out of all the things you could say, you went with that? He practically lives in the bathroom when he showers. You could’ve just told Sydney her breath smells.” He pointed at Sydney, who had just woken up, her hair still messy.

“I literally just woke up and I’m already getting blamed? Thank you, Lord!” Sydney joked, making the sign of the cross.

I sat beside TJ on the sofa, placed a pillow on his lap, and lay down. I opened my phone and checked my notifications and messages.

I went to Facebook, remembering that Ethan had accepted my friend request. I checked his profile, but it was almost empty—no photos, no posts. It looked like a blank page. He had even locked his profile, yet there was nothing to see anyway.

I had sent him a message last night. I opened my inbox, but it was still unread. There were also several messages from other friends and some girls asking if I had time. I ignored them all.

I scrolled through my feed and watched some reels. A red dot appeared on my inbox. I clicked it and was surprised to see Ethan had already replied.

Ethan Hale

What thick-faced.

I laughed at his reply to my message asking if he missed me. I quickly typed back.

Lucas Buenavista

No, it’s thin. You can touch it.

I kept the screen on his chat. I saw that he was typing.

Ethan Hale

No thanks. I might cut my hand.

I was shocked by his reply. What did he think my face was—a cactus?

Lucas Buenavista

Try it so you’ll know.

He saw the message, but he didn’t reply anymore. I turned off my phone, slipped it into my pocket, and closed my eyes. I wondered why he had accepted my friend request in the first place.

Kuya Dave returned carrying some food. TJ gently tapped my head so he could stand up since my head was on his lap.

I got up from the sofa and headed to the kitchen. Sydney and Yohan were already helping Kuya arrange the food on the table.

We were all at the table now, except for Martin.

“Where’s Martin?” Kuya asked.

“He’s at the pool area, Kuya. He said he doesn’t want to eat,” Sydney answered.

Yohan started to stand up, but I stopped him. Without saying anything, I walked toward the pool area myself.

I found Martin sitting by the edge of the pool, drinking beer straight from the can. I sat beside him and wrapped my arms around his neck.

“Sorry, bro. I was just joking earlier.” He stopped drinking and looked at me.

“How would you feel if someone told you your breath smells? Wouldn’t that hurt?” I stared at him seriously.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you.” I made a promise gesture with my hand to show I was sincere.

I remembered the last time we planned a trip to Singapore. Martin had been the last to know about it. In the end, we canceled the trip because he no longer wanted to go.

He chuckled. “You idiot, I’m fine.” I lightly smacked the back of his head. This guy—he really made me think I had hurt him.

“Why are you out here? They’re looking for you inside.” His shoulders suddenly slumped at my question.

“I’m just thinking. You can go back inside. They might be looking for you. I’ll follow later.” I patted his shoulder and walked away.

It didn’t take long before he followed and started joking around with Sydney again.

Since we couldn’t go to the places we planned, Angela and Samantha invited me to the mall. They said they just needed to buy a few things.

The moment we stepped inside Canal City Hakata, it felt like entering another world. The place wasn’t just a mall—it was like a mini-city under one roof. Canals ran through the center, with water sparkling under the lights, like Venice but fully air-conditioned. The buildings curved gracefully, colorful and glowing with shop signs everywhere. The sheer number of lights almost made me dizzy.

Every few steps, something would catch your eye—sudden fountain shows, giant glowing displays, and endless rows of shops. I could smell ramen in the air from the famous Ramen Stadium inside, and the scent alone was enough to make me forget I was carrying a mountain of shopping bags.

I followed the two of them around like a bodyguard, holding all the shopping bags they handed me after every store. Angela and Samantha were wide-eyed with excitement, hopping from Zara to Uniqlo to cute accessory shops, while I trailed behind, loaded with their purchases.

Angela noticed I was struggling with the heavy bags. “You can sit there, Lucas. Just wait for us. We’ll come back for you.” She pointed to an area full of chairs and tables.

“Who’s going to carry all your stuff?” I replied.

“Don’t worry, we’re only going to one more shop,” Samantha said, then grabbed Angela’s arm and ran off.

I walked over to the seating area Angela had pointed out, found an empty chair, and placed all the shopping bags on the table.

I opened my phone and checked my messages. The last one I sent to Ethan was still on seen. I typed another message.

Lucas Buenavista

Tomorrow is my flight back to the Philippines. Anything you want?

I had planned to buy him a pasalubong as an apology for everything I’d done, but I couldn’t think of anything. It would be better if he told me what he wanted.

I scrolled through my feed to kill time while waiting for his reply. My eyes stayed glued to the screen until Angela suddenly appeared.

“Who’s that?” she asked, placing a Dior paper bag on the table.

“No one. Where’s Samantha?” I looked around but didn’t see her.

“She’s still buying something. Let’s just wait for her here.” She sat in the chair across from me.

We both busied ourselves with our phones while waiting. I checked the message again—it was still unread. I looked at Angela and remembered something.

“How did you meet Ethan?” Surprise flashed across her face. She immediately put her phone down and looked at me.

“You’re interested in him?” She raised an eyebrow, a smirk playing on her lips.

“No!” I snapped, but she only grinned wider.

“I met Ethan during one of our department programs,” she said. So he was a nursing student. “We didn’t talk then. I actually spoke to him at my Tita Vien’s restaurant. I went there to visit her and saw him serving customers.” Angela kept talking nonstop while I listened. “That day, there was this really rude customer. I thought she looked decent at first.” We both laughed at that.

“Ethan made a small mistake with the order, and the woman suddenly got angry. She humiliated and shouted at him right in front of the other customers.” My hand clenched into a fist as I listened. “The customer demanded to speak to Tita. Ethan was almost fired, but I stepped in and explained what really happened. After that, we started seeing each other more often at school and talking.”

She told me a lot more about Ethan. Basically, he was working three jobs while still going to school, yet he always looked fresh, without any trace of exhaustion. Angela also mentioned that he was the eldest and was paying for his siblings’ education. I wanted to ask more about his family, but she said Ethan never talked about them.

Samantha soon arrived, and we walked out of the mall together. On the way out, we passed a small stall selling accessories. I invited Angela and Samantha to check it out, and they followed.

The stall mostly sold bracelets, each with a different meaning. My eyes were drawn to a simple white bracelet on the side. It wasn’t fancy or flashy, but it stood out in its quiet way. The plain white band looked simple at first glance, yet it carried a certain weight—like it was meant for something more than just style.

I read the placard beside it. The bracelet symbolized a quiet kind of bravery—the kind that reminded the wearer they could face anything. It also represented strength and selflessness. I remembered everything Angela had told me about Ethan.

Since he hadn’t replied about what he wanted, I decided to buy this bracelet for him. It felt perfect.