90 Days Missing You's

MAX'S ADVICE

"A week or so the child grumbled, I think you should take him to the mental doctor. Free BPJS wearables. Oops!"

I glanced at Laura who was whispering into Leonhart's ear, her hand on the shoulder of the man who was waiting for the hot stream of coffee to come out of the machine. Leonhart grinned, revealing a series of well-groomed white teeth.

"Let's take him there, if I have to put our boss on his shoulders, like Tarzan and Jane. Romantic right?"

Now, the two of them were laughing together, perfectly matched. Like Barbie and Ken. This makes me wonder, why aren't Laura and Leonhart alone? At the very least, it would relieve me of one problem, Max's jealousy.

I snorted and stood as a horde of apprentice boys - all of whom were young girls in uniform - walked up to the cash register to pay. Even though the payment had been completed, the horde did not immediately leave. They pushed each other as if there was something they wanted to express.

"This is a little bit of a tip from us."

"Oh, my goodness. Thank you, Brother." My eyes sparkled at the kindness of their hearts. How not? Imagine, tips of one hundred thousand rupiah given free into a jar.

"Not for Aunt, but for (they whisper) that handsome barista," one of them explained. Then, the apprentice girls together showed off the most perfect smiles, some of them waving towards Leonhart at the back.

Feeling like a nagging neighbor fence, I slowly walked away from the cash register so the girls could look perfectly at Leonhart. Who knows, after that, there will be a hundred thousand more tips in the jar. After they left, I felt a little relieved.

"You jealous?" ask Leonhart.

"On those girls? Why jealousy?"

"Your face is red."

"It doesn't mean I'm jealous, I'm old-fashioned and humiliated." I took a deep breath and nodded.

Leonhart laughed, the waves melodious in the ears. "Don't do that. Even if it's two weeks away from your twenty-sixth birthday, it doesn't mean you're old. You're still my most beautiful boss."

"Huh, you little bitch! Do you have another boss?"

Leonhart just laughed and walked over to Laura who was giving customer orders from behind the coffee machine.

"By the way, you haven't returned the favor to me, Yu."

"Reply? I've paid your salary and your labor BPJS bills on time. Not to forget either, I split the tips fairly."

"I drove you home last week. After you, uhm .. lament fate."

"I didn't ask you, did I? You took the initiative to drive me home. Anyway-" The entrance bell rang, "who told you to drive me home?"

I turned around and to my surprise, Max was standing there with Nikita Willi. With the sunlight shining down on her back, the woman's blonde hair looked radiant.

So pretty! I immediately rushed out of the counter and walked up to the young artist, ignoring the presence of Max beside him. Maybe my eyes are glazed now. "Please sign here, Sister Nikita. I'm your fan."

Nikita Willi laughed, her voice was so sexy. "okay."

"He's younger than you, Yu," Max said. It means to explain, but the word 'young' spoken by Max even feels like a flick in the ear. I snorted and gave a cynical look at Max who was looking at me with his two thick eyebrows raised.

"Please, Brother." I gave Nikita Willi my sweetest smile while driving her to my Wall of Fame. The Wall of Fame in question was actually a large frame of canvas imprinted on the wall. Only celebrity guests are allowed to sign there.

"Thank you, Sister Nikita, may our service be satisfactory. What message do you want, brother? The coffee's free on the house, but the food's still paying."

"No problem, let me pay." Max smile. "As usual."

I can't have a face mask, because I'm dealing with Nikita Willi who returned the marker. "Thank you," he said.

The woman then took Max by the arm and walked gracefully towards the seat in the corner of the room.

If Max is in love with Nikita Willi, it's not her fault. I'll agree too. Heavy, I took a deep breath and passed.

Just as I got behind the counter, Max's voice called out to me, "Yu, can we order now?"

The hell! I gritted my teeth and clenched until my knuckles turned white. Why does that guy like to play me? I looked at Laura and Leonhart who were trying to hold their laughter behind the coffee machine. Laura even crouched down to make her expression invisible to guests.

I turned around and threw an overly friendly smile. "Of course, sir."

I recorded every detail Nikita mentioned carefully - nonfat milk, a diet sugar sachet, less sugar, and in a mug. I gave the paper to Leonhart while sending her a message. "For Max, add Bayclean in the espresso. Please take my revenge, Leon."

Leonhart chuckled then said, "Laura, I'm busy. That is, this time it's your turn to take our boss to the mental doctor."

"Just keep bully me. Already, ah! I'm tired. You serve your guests here first. Call me after those two guys disappeared." I turned around and passed towards the study behind the counter, leaving the two employees who were still laughing behind my back.

How could he not feel guilty after deliberately foiling my date? And, no apologies at all, even though she knew that I was going on a date that night. I even got dressed!

Of all the ex-lovers I have, uhm ... How many are there? I'll count a little while. About seven, I guess. None of it pisses me off like Max. Is this karma? It shouldn't be, because the mistake I made was unintentional!

The more I think, the more my head hurts. I leaned my forehead over the pile of hands and tried to sleep. I don't want to rely on that red paracetamol, maybe I just need to rest my brain for a moment.

The sound of the sliding door made me snort and hold my head up lazily. "I told you not to bother me."

Glegk! I looked at Max, who was closing the sliding door and walked over.

"Until what?" tanyakanya. He was sitting comfortably in front of me, as if this cafe was part of his bureau's ownership.

"Until you leave" I replied.

Max took a deep breath and then released it slowly. His outstretched hand picked up the pen and started scribbling the scrap paper on the table. "You still angry?"

"Should I be happy?" my cynic.

"I saved you, you know?"

"Saving? You-."

"Ryuichi is a member of the Yakuza. You know it's the Japanese mafia, right? She owns a network of Japanese restaurants in Indonesia and .. I don't want you to get involved with her."

I'm clucking. "What do you care?"

The pen was accidentally released by Max and made a clashing sound when it touched the table. I flinched and widened under Max's sharp gaze.

"That'll be my business when you get involved with him. You don't want to when you get older, you're tied up in a sushi bar and enjoyed by the Yakuza, right?"

I can imagine old Japanese movies, where women were tortured and used as a sort of yakuza-like spirit game. But that's in the movie. I'm shaking. "You're scaring me."

"What am I trying to scare you, Yu?" max said without loosening his gaze. A moment later, his molars bully and he snorts before saying, "If you want to know, what if I scare you, then I'll show you."

Max stand. In an instant, he was already at the side and pulled me. Roughly, Max pushed me against the wall and overcame it with his body, so I could not move. I squirmed, trying to break away, but the grip of his hand was so strong and did not slack even though I was struggling off.

"Let go, Max! You're crazy!" hardikku while continuing to thrash.

"Are you scared now?"

I could feel my lips and the teeth inside were trembling in fear. However, even with a trembling voice I still replied, "No!"

Max raised his firm chin and looked at me. I look back at him. I can't turn around, I'll show you that he can't scare me. My breathing began to betray with the inability of my lungs to breathe in more oxygen as Max's body pressed me closer to the wall. Then, his lips dropped, getting closer. I could only look at him.

Wh-tok-tok!

The sound of knocking on the door made Max reflex to pull himself up and let me go. He took a step back, then restored his black hair, not knowing that it could make his neatness disappear.

"I'm sorry, Yu," Max said. His face looks frustrated. His breath was wheezing and his up and down movement of his chest was rhythmic with my breath.

Is Max scared too?

Then, his gaze turned cold before saying, "Listen to my advice, Yu, no one is playing with lawyers, unless they are in trouble. Fall in love with people around you. The man you know is good."

I still stared at him in silence as Max moved towards the door and shifted his leaves, revealing the figure of Leonhart. The two men looked at each other, before Max continued his steps away.

Just like this, I just noticed that Max is taller than Leonhart, his shoulders are bigger. More sturdy. As if he could bear all the problems of the world. And, that made my eyes tear up.

Leonhart hurriedly shifted the door shut behind him and met me. Covered in my face, his eyes shone with anxiety as he asked, "You okay? Did he hurt you, Yu?"

 "I-I'm fine. Max just ...."

"What only? Why are you shaking?"

I didn't answer Leonhart's question when the man pulled me in his arms. My gaze was still fixed on the figure that had just left.

Max ....