She smiled at the sight. It was beautiful!

She spent about two hours settling the rest of her semester. She could finish her courses early as long as she finished everything including the final exam. 

She adjusted her bag and started to walk toward the bus stand. Mei Li would pick her up and bring her to her home. Although it was hard,  still she did tell Mei Li about her decision last night, after the photo shoot. Mei Li could not stop grinning when she heard about it, which Ryn complained dryly.

No doubt Mei Li would start arranging so many works for her, in order to fill her time, Mei Li would claim.

Of course, the first thing Ryn would do once she was done with everything regarding her study was learning how to drive a car. She could not depend on everyone to bring her everywhere!

And she also wanted to avoid the kidnapping incident from happening ever again.

Harry and his friends were heading toward the basketball court when he noticed her standing at the bus stand. He paused and then told his friends to go first. Then, he jogged toward Ryn with a smile on his handsome face.

"Hey," he greeted.

"Hey yourself," she replied, c.o.c.king an eyebrow seeing him in his sports attire. "Basketball practise?" she nodded at his attire.

"Yeah," he scratched his head sheepishly. As he was about to invite her to watch him playing, he saw her waving her hand at something behind him.

Not again, his heart whispered. Was she waiting for that man?

He turned and the smile dropped. A familiar car drove toward them. It stopped and the window was lowered down, revealing the smiling Mei Li.

"Oh, hi Harry," she greeted, a bit shock to see both models under her responsibility were together at the bus stand. Was he going to go with them too?

He greeted back half-heartedly. It seemed like he would not be able to have Ryn watching and cheering him during the game. It was obvious Ryn had another commitment, being a model and all that.

"Work?" he asked, trying to hide his disappointment.

"Yeah," Ryn replied before Mei Li could say 'no'.

Mei Li's brows lifted almost to her hairline when she heard it. Why would Ryn lie to Harry? Had something happened between both of them that she did not aware of? Oh no... would this affect their work?

"Oh... Then... I'll see you later," he said slowly. He leaned forward toward Mei Li, "Bye, Mei Li."

"Bye," Mei Li waved back even though she was still confused. 

"What was that about?" she asked once Ryn got into the car and closed the window. 

"Nothing," Ryn replied, buckling the seat belt around her.

"Are you sure?" the manager was quite worried because she knew how stubborn Ryn could be.

"Hmm..." Ryn threw her sight out of the window, at Harry who was walking back to his friends with his head lowered down. Somehow she could feel he was sad with the way she treated him but just a moment ago her guts told her not to get too close to him.

Enough was enough.

Besides, after today, they might not see each other again on the campus. Even when working, it would be hard for them to meet each other. Her work demanded her mostly abroad while he was still learning how to be a model.

Maybe the only time they would have the chance to meet would be during the show with Mika's label. That's all.

Other than that? No. Everything would go back to what it used to be. Everything should be okay.

She closed her eyes and told herself a few more times. Her existence in his life was temporary. It was even an accidental friends.h.i.+p. She was older than him for a few months, and it brought a bit of uneasiness in her when he and the others kept thinking she was the junior. Maybe it was her face but she did not want to get involved in this childish war again.

Mei Li, probably could feel the uneasiness in her, kept quiet along the way. She let Ryn with her own thought, too worried to make her 'client' angrier.

"Thank you," Ryn said once they reached in front of her apartment. She leaned forward to look at her manager who was still in the car. "Don't worry. Nothing is wrong."

Mei Li chewed her lips worriedly, "Are you sure everything is alright?"

"Yes. Go back to the office. I will tell you later if I need you," she told Mei Li with a gentle smile.

Not knowing what else to say, Mei Li closed the window and changed the gear.

Ryn watched the car leaving. She sighed a bit and walked into the building. Hopefully, this decision was the right decision for her... and for everyone else.

She locked the door once she entered it and leaned back against it. She closed her eyes and tried to clear her mind. 

Unconsciously she reached for her phone and dialled someone.

"h.e.l.lo?"

"Andy?"

"Speaking."

"I think... I might go there earlier than I plan."

She could hear hustle from his end and knew he was doing something when she called. She closed her eyes, silently apologizing for disturbing his day... again.

"Were you being hara.s.sed by anyone? Do you want me to solve it for you?" he asked, sounding so gentle and tender, just how she remembered him. With her, he always gentle and always look after her.

"No..."

"I saw that press conference. Are you still with him?" he asked curiously. There was no anger or sadness, just pure curiosity.

"No... we're just friends," she choked out, hugging herself tightly.

"Do you want me to warn that woman?" he asked.

"No. It was... She won't dare to do anything to me. She is busy looking for money to pay for the lawsuit," Ryn explained. Paused and then added, "Andy, I think I need a break from everything."

"Are you sure you want now instead of next month? I thought you're busy being a model," he asked, this time sounding worried. She sounded like she was tired of everything.

"I have three days off."

"What about your cla.s.s?"

"I only need to go to the final exam in two more weeks."

He sighed. It seemed like she was serious.

"I'll prepare your room. Just come here and clear your mind."

"Thanks, Andy. I'll call you when I arrive." After saying goodbye, Ryn walked into her bedroom and slammed herself on top of the bed. She covered her face with both arms and sighed heavily.

Maybe a new place would make her mind clear and the stuffiness she felt all the time recently would go away. 

She fell asleep while fretting whether to inform her manager, Mei Li and her best friend, Mika before she left or just left a message to them on the way. She did not want them to be worried and thought something bad happened to her, but at the same time, she did not want any of them following her to her retreat. She wanted to go alone, to get some fresh air and to think.

*~*~*~*

"Hey, what's wrong with you today, man?" 

Harry did not answer. He knew it was his fault the team lost. He could not stay focus. Even when he was reminded a lot of times during the game, he could not muster the strength to focus on throwing the ball. Most of the time, the ball that was supposed to be his would be stolen by the rival or the ball he tried to get would go to another person. Today was the worst game he played in his life.

"Yeah, man. If you don't feel like playing, you can tell us. We won't force you," another added, giving him a weird look.

The Harry they knew was so into the game. He did everything so quickly just to steal more time to play with his favourite game, basketball. Even when he was tired, whenever he was on the court, it was as if he was injected by chicken blood. The energy in his body was endless, he could still play another game when everyone else felt like their feet turned into jelly.

That was why when Harry started to lose focus and kept making mistakes, they all felt weird. They tried to ask him whether he still wanted to play and he did say he wanted to continue. They shrugged it off and thought the problem was just a temporary one but the whole time, Harry could not concentrate on the game. It gave them all a puzzle.

What was wrong with Harry today?