The weather outside was perfectly fine. It was a major contrast to the gloomy atmosphere inside the church. The priest was constantly spouting words of comfort to the bereaved. Although, it was evident that none of them were listening attentively.
Fran couldn’t do anything but watch Noah, Natalie, Nigel, and Sean grieve in silence. Fran also was heartbroken because of Mister Jin’s demise. The five of them were in the church because of the funeral mass for Mister Jin. The body had already been cremated. Because they were in a foreign land, no one beside the family attended the mass—which was what they really wanted. The Alva siblings and Sean both preferred a serene farewell ceremony for their loved one. Fran also thought the same.
After the funeral mass, Sean talked to Fran and the Alva siblings with tears in his eyes.
“I can’t still accept that Jin is not with us anymore. I know you all feel the same.” Sean looked miserable. “I’ve been with you, guys, for only a short time but I do consider you as my children.” Sean wrapped his arms around them. “You can always count on me to be with you when you need me.”
Natalie started to cry. Fran and Noah held hands. Nigel Alva remained quiet. The five of them stayed closer to each other for a very long time.
Sean had to settle some things, hence, he eventually bid them goodbye. Fran, together with the Alva siblings, went back to their rented villa to take a rest. They were scheduled to fly back to their country tomorrow. Sean would remain in A country for another week or so. But, he would definitely come back and continue running the shop he built with Mister Jin.
At the villa, Nigel went to his own room without saying any word. Natalie did the same. Fran and Noah also went to their own room. Together, they lay down on the bed. There was a short silence between them, until Fran decided to talk first.
“I’ve read enough books and memorized a decent amount of words and lines to help me deal in several occasions in my life. But, I simply do not have the words to ease the pain you are feeling right now. I don’t know what to say to you, Noah. Just know that I love you and I am always be by your side.”
Noah wrapped his arm against his waist. “The agony of my dad’s passing is still fresh. It’s next to impossible to move on without this grief for a very long time. No, this grief will stay with us until the last day of our lives. But, it will be bearable in time. You know why? Because we’re always be here for each other. There’s no need for fancy words to be spoken, or for words of comfort to be told. Us, being together, will suffice. I love you, boo. Thank you for being my dad’s friend. You made him happy.”
“More than being Mister Jin’s friend, I am fortunate enough to be his family, too. Thank you for giving me the chance to be with your father until the end. Just like what he said in my dream, I’ll take good care of you, Noah. I’ll try my best to do the same with Natalie and Nigel, too.”
“We’re family!” Noah smiled. “I’ll take good care of you also. I won’t let Nigel bully you and I will definitely tell Natalie that she can’t hog you all for herself. You’re mine, ah!”
Fran caressed his boyfriend’s face lovingly. “How can you be this handsome?”
Noah giggled. “Well, my wife looks divine…”
“Who’s your wife, ah?”
Noah placed his body on top of Fran. “Hmm, guess?”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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“Oh, Natalie…” Fran gave his sister-in-law a comforting hug. All of them were coping with Mister Jin’s death in their own way, but still, it would be the hardest for Natalie because she became too attached with her father before his death.
Noah joined in. He hugged both Fran and Natalie and they stayed like that for a long time. Then Natalie blurted out the words:
“Let’s go to Nigel’s room!”
Fran met Noah’s gaze. They understood what the other was thinking.
“Okay, let’s go!” Noah agreed.
Fran just nodded.
They had never seen Nigel Alva dropped a single tear upon Mister Jin’s demise. Though, it was not because Nigel still harbored ill will towards his father, but rather he had no idea how to properly show his emotions. Fran and Noah both understood that the eldest Alva had mastered the art of keeping all his emotions by himself, however it didn’t mean that Nigel didn’t have a hard time taking in his father’s death. Fran heard that before Mister Jin died, Nigel had forgiven his father and they patched things up. So, no matter how great Nigel Alva was, he still needed the comfort from his family.
So—Fran, Noah, and Natalie went to Nigel’s room. It was Nat who knocked on the door. There was no response from the person inside of the room. The three pushed their luck further. Eventually, they heard Nigel said:
“The door is unlocked.”
It was a subtle invitation for them to step inside the room. When they opened the door, the three of them saw Nigel reading some documents. He looked busy.
Fran, Noah, and Natalie looked at each other. Natalie whispered something to them. Fran and Noah nodded in agreement after hearing what the lady had to say.
“1, 2, 3…Go!” Natalie exclaimed.
Fran and Noah grabbed Nigel at the same time. They forced him to stand up and dragged him to the bed. Because of the surprise attack from Fran and Noah, Nigel couldn’t react properly in time. He found himself sandwiched between his brother and Fran on the bed.
“What are you, guys, trying to do?” Nigel asked.
“Comforting you.” Noah answered.
“Yeah…” Fran agreed.
“What?” Nigel looked confused.
“We know you’re not sleeping properly for the past few days.” Natalie said. “It’s been hard on all of us. Daddy is in heaven, but I’m sure he wanted for us to be there for each other in these trying times. Well, from now on, we’ll be here for you…”
“Sleep,” Noah added. “The three of us will be with you.”
“Are you saying that you three will be sleeping with me on the same bed?” Nigel said in disbelief.
“Yes.” It was Natalie who replied.
“Hey, Fran, are you okay with this?” Nigel asked.
Fran smiled. “Yes.”
“Let’s cuddle together!” Natalie announced. “When Sean arrives, he’ll join us for sure.”
“You, guys, are crazy!” Nigel accused them.
They just laughed it off and together, the four of them stayed in bed.
Nigel sounded opposed to the idea at first, but he was the first one to fall asleep. Natalie giggled, though not a moment later, she was already snoring.
It was a very special moment for the Alva siblings. Fran was fortunate enough to witness something precious. Mister Jin must be smiling while looking at them from the afterlife.
*****
The media didn’t have a tiny bit idea about what happened in A country. So—Fran, together with the Alva siblings came home as quietly as possible with Mister Jin’s ashes. They were gone for a little longer than a month. After they left the airport without any hitch, the four of them went on to live their normal lives. However, there was something different from before. Fran, Noah, Natalie, and Nigel became closer to each other.
Fran, Noah, and Natalie went back to school. Fran and Noah were given special projects for them to catch up with the lectures that they missed while they were away. Natalie was the same. So, for the rest of the remaining semester—the three of them, were too busy with school works, however, they didn’t forget to keep in touch. Together with Nigel, they formed a group chat to inform one another about what they were up to. It was pretty fun.
When the first semester was done, Fran went to many dates with Noah. Sometimes, they would eat out with Natalie. And in rare occasions, Nigel would join them. Though, all in all—Fran and Noah were getting along perfectly. Noah would even sleep at Fran’s house whenever it was possible to do so. They spent their short break in bliss.
Then, the next semester arrived. Fran thought that he would have a peaceful semester; however, life was really unpredictable. The peaceful campus life that Fran had been dreaming of was easily shattered into pieces when he saw Chelsea Meyer on the first day of the new semester.
“Hello, Fran…” Chelsea had a smirk on her face.
“What are you doing here?” Fran asked in a monotone voice.
“I’m enrolled in a short course here. We’ll be fellow students from now on.”
“Okay.”
Fran was about to leave when Chelsea grabbed his arm.
“Aren’t you curious what I’m planning to do to you?” Chelsea asked. “You’re partly the reason why I’m here.”
Fran looked tired. “Well, color me surprised.” He said in a sarcastic tone. Then, he walked away.
“Fran!” he heard Chelsea called out his name.
As usual, Fran ignored her.
That girl! 😡
I love how the iceberg that is Nigel Alva is melting and its thanks to his dad and his siblings!
thanks for the chapter <3
Good god! This bitch is still around!
As usual another nice chapter. Thanks.
🤣🤣🤣🤣 I don’t know who you are but I love you🤣🤣🤣
🤣🤣🤣
Aww, how they care for each other~
Thank you for the chapter <3
Well I guess we already knew Fran’s mom doesn’t disapprove of them sleeping together 😄. I’m glad Sean’s going to keep the shop going.
Man, I loved this chapter, it was just so so sweet. I’m glad that the 4 of them got close, and that scene of them cuddling was everything! This would have been the best chapter ever but someone just had to appear 😒