Chương 28: My Family

Kein chose not to make any risky decisions. Pausing for a moment so that the soccer players wouldn't see him, Kein then picked up his pace again after an unintentional break.

After walking for quite some time and almost losing his balance, Kein stopped again and confirmed that he could not continue his morning jog.

[Good! You've completed 30 minutes of morning jogging. The daily mission will open in a few minutes.]

"What?!" His voice was spontaneously loud around the pedestrians. They looked at Kein with confused faces as well as slightly distant considering how strange he was.

Realizing his reaction was too much, Kein whistled while looking up at the partially clouded sky, acting silly as if it wasn't him who surprised them.

'Damn it. I'm really mortified.' Kein couldn't cover his face even with his hands. 'But I'm really surprised. Will the daily missions be unlocked from now on when I finish my morning jog? So what if I don't have time to do the morning jog but can do the daily missions?'

Actually, Kein's questions and confusion deserved an answer to avoid misunderstandings. Unfortunately, the 'system' did not say anything and seemed to be still processing some daily missions that he had to complete

Forgetting not to provide mineral water to restore his body fluids, Kein decided to go straight back to the dormitory that was already behind his back. Although he couldn't jog, but his steps could walk very fast as if he was being chased by time but tried to remain elegant and not childish in the eyes of other students.

Entering the dormitory, he hurried to take off his shoes first. He didn't want the smell of his socks to anger his friends. Then headed to the room that was still open 30 minutes ago. Nothing had changed, except for Damian who was no longer in the room. Kein hurriedly closed the door as tightly as possible and switched on the air conditioning. He took one of the chairs and sat right under the cooling breeze.

"Ahhhh, what kind of pleasure is this? Kein took off his clothes while closing his eyes. Enjoying the soothing cold breeze after his hard morning workout.

After a few minutes of Kein cooling down his body, it didn't feel like the whole room had a similar temperature. From outside, the room door opened and one of the occupants was drying his grey hair with a towel. At that moment, he saw his friend who didn't react at all when the door slammed quite hard.

"Hey, Kein. Get up! Why are you sleeping while sitting? Get your clothes and go clean your smelly, sticky body!" Damian commanded like a mother.

Kein suddenly woke up with a face that was as calm as possible. "Contained. You're not my mum."

"Then, where's your mum?"

Kein, who had wanted to continue sleeping, suddenly got up from the chair with a ferocious stare, like a wild animal eyeing its prey. Standing in front of his friend while exhaling heavily.

"Do you want to join my mum's death or what?!"

"No, mate. I was joking, seriously." Damian took a slight step back, raising his hands, signaling his love of peace and not expecting his friend's reaction to still be sensitive when it came to his family.

There was no reply from Kein. He immediately turned around and picked up his sports t-shirt that he had put somewhere else.

"You are my friend. My close friend, even my family. But don't make my family's death a joke."

"Of course, Kein. I won't repeat the same mistake." Damian had a slightly bigger body than Kein, there was not even any more effort to start a fight or gradual bullying.

After that, the atmosphere became awkward and not what Damian had expected. He admitted the mistake of using one of his family as a joke. Although he realized before he said it, there was no hint of Kein's anger.

Without putting on his top clothes, Kein left the room while carrying a towel and other toiletries. While heading to the bathroom, both his classmates and seniors watched with puzzled faces. Even his classmates and teammates said hello but there was no greeting or smile on his face.

Kein wasn't sad or gloomy, but they could all see the anger that covered his face and was very difficult for a teenager like him to conquer. Once in the bathroom, Kein regained his composure after splashing the free-falling water all over his body. Placing the upper part of his head under the falling water from the shower.

His eyes were tightly closed. There was nothing to imagine at the moment, but temporary darkness while trying to cool down his mind and heart. Regarding the previous matter, Kein was actually not a teenager who got easily carried away when his close friends offended his family. After all, it was not the first time he heard something like that. But somehow today was different....

"Do I miss my mum, my dad, or Sofia? It could be all of them."

The flames of his heart burned even more when he began to reminisce about the times when Kein and his family were together. Those times were very beautiful. Those times can never be replaced. But those times could not be obtained again.

PLAKK!

Kein slapped himself in the face with both hands. It was loud enough that the bathroom user next door who was defecating was startled and squealed because he thought someone was disturbing his peace.

'There's nothing to cry about, Kein. It won't bring them back. They are already at peace in Heaven. Your crying is just a disaster that torments them.' Although it sounded quite cruel, Kein tried to encourage himself.

In the same place, Kein distanced himself slightly and jumped up and down while shouting. It was an extreme measure but it did wonders for self-motivation for a youngster like him.

"Hey! Who's trying to knock down the bathroom when I'm trying to take a shit!"

Back in his room, his face was a little more refreshed. His mind and body were also ready and energized for a full day. Unfortunately, it was all a fleeting thought and the opposite of what happened. He was sleepy again, not realizing that he had pressed the wrong button and used warm water.