BXBX NOVEL Chapter 5 - A CAR AND A SHIP
"You will find someone, Kevin. You will find the right one," Kevin mumbling in annoyance, repeating what his colleague had just said to him. "What kind of person is the right one for me? When can I meet them?" He continued his monologue.
It was quite late when he walked out of the building where his laboratory was placed. 10 PM was certainly quite late for some people to come home from work, but it was still quite early for Kevin. He often left the building at 2 or 3 in the morning. It could be said that he often spent the night with specimens in the laboratory. Alone.
Tonight, he was forced to go home early because he had to pick up his car at the car repair shop. The shop owner had been terrorizing him for a few hours, telling him not to be too late to pick up his car because the shop will be closing soon.
But, Kevin was a workaholic and very comfortable spending time in the laboratory, so he forgot to pick up his car that had just been serviced. That didn\'t bother him, though. The shop was his regular shop, and the owner was one of his friends. Getting a scolding or two didn\'t mean much to him.
The handsome scientist strolled along the sidewalk while whistling casually. The distance from the laboratory to the destination shop was quite far if you had to go on foot. The distance was one kilometer, not bad for burning fat on the body, right?
Kevin just thought of it as a substitute for exercise. He rarely exercised. He made excuses for his busy life, but the truth was he simply didn\'t like doing activities that could make him sweat.
While he was still whistling casually, his almond eyes caught the sight of a young man struggling with a car engine that seemed to be emitting smoke. Oh, one unfortunate guy and his car broke down at this hour.
Feeling pity, Kevin finally walked over to the stranger. He tapped the unlucky young man on the shoulder without being preceded by a greeting or anything else, making the young man flinch in surprise.
"Is there a problem with your car?" the young scientist asked.
The young man who was startled immediately turned around and looked at Kevin irritatedly. "Can\'t you ask nicely?" He asked while grumbling a little.
It made Kevin chuckled lightly. "Didn\'t I just ask nicely? I didn\'t ask while hitting you, did I?" He asked back with his innocent face.
The unlucky young man just snorted lazily and turned around again, struggling back under the hood of his car, trying to find out what had made his car broke down at almost midnight like this.
"Okay, I\'m sorry I shocked you," Kevin finally admitted his mistake. "My name is Kevin, and I offer you help nicely," he added.
The young man, who was still annoyed, still didn\'t turn around and was still busy struggling with his car engine. "Do you think a car engine is different from a ship engine?" He asked strangely.
The strange question made Kevin frown. "Ship engine?" He asked back like a fool.
"Yes, the ship engine," the young man who owned the broken car replied. "I\'ve been fine with ship engines so far, but why is this car engine so difficult to maintain?" He asked, finally turning around.
In this era, all people used modern electric cars, no longer using fossil fuel cars. Of course, the car engine was different than ships that still used Marine Heavy Fuel Oil.
The two youths finally facing each other again. Kevin\'s body was very tall, 184 cm, but facing the unknown young man in front of him made him feel small for the first time in his life. How tall was the young man in front of him? 187 cm? Or 190 cm? Kevin couldn\'t predict. The only clear thing here was, the young man was taller than him.
"I\'m not too familiar with car engines either. How about we just take it to the shop?" Kevin suggested in the end.
"We?" The young man asked back as his index finger pointed to Kevin and himself.
"Yes, we. Didn\'t I offer to help you earlier? That means, me and you will take this car to the shop together," Kevin answered while grinning innocently.
The tall man seemed to be considering Kevin\'s offer. There was a line of doubt and disbelief on his handsome face. Naturally, the tall man had doubts. A stranger suddenly came to offer help on this lonely night. What if he turned out to be a car robber?
Kevin seemed to be sensitive to the suspicions of the man in front of him. Slowly he took out his wallet from the back pocket of his pants, then pulled out a business card and handed it to the stranger.
"I am a scientist under Orka Research Center, my laboratory building is not far from here. I\'m not a criminal," he said.
The stranger accepted Kevin\'s business card and read the small rectangular object carefully. Kevin\'s name, occupation, laboratory address, and contact number were written neatly on the paper.
The man then looked back at Kevin and looked up and down his appearance. "You don\'t look like a scientist," he said after observing Kevin\'s appearance for a long time.
Kevin also observed his own appearance and asked, "Then, what do I look like?"
The taller man grinned slightly before answering, "A con artist." While casually tucking Kevin\'s business card in the back pocket of his pants.
Kevin\'s eyes widened at the answer of the stranger. "What? A con artist, you said? This is the first time someone calls me looking like a con artist!" he replied angrily, unable to accept what the stranger said.
"People like you usually only rely on looks to make money, and cheating is one way. I only speak based on experience," the young man said with an innocent expression.
Again, Kevin looked at the young man with disbelief and irritation, but it was only for a moment because then he realized something. "So, you think I\'m handsome and I can use my good looks to cheat?" He asked confidently.
The stranger just rolled his eyes lazily. "If you intend to help me, please call the repair shop and ask them to send a crane or a mechanic here. I just got to this city and I\'m really tired, you know?"
Kevin didn\'t reply right away, instead, he intently observed the appearance of the strange young man in front of him. Earlier, the young man indirectly called Kevin handsome, but for Kevin, the young man in front of him was more handsome than him. Okay, his skin was a bit darker than his, but he had a muscular body and a charming face.
\'He looks like an underwear model.\' Wait, what was he just thinking? Why did he suddenly have such disgusting thoughts?
Shaking his head to brush off his bizarre thoughts, Kevin then said, "There\'s a car repair shop nearby, but they don\'t seem to want to send a crane or a mechanic at this hour. We better just push your car there. It\'s only 300 meters from here."
Now, the strange young man seemed to be shocked and looked at Kevin like the latter had two heads. "Pushing the car?" He asked to make sure. Kevin nodded casually at the question, and the young man in front of him continued, "Okay, I\'ll drive, you push." He immediately closed the hood of his car, then quickly got into the car and sat behind the wheel. Not to forget he also closed the door and the side window.
Kevin, who saw the fast movement, could only gawk. "Hey!" He screamed after he regained his composure. "How can you ask me to push your car? Your body is bigger than mine!" He continued while banging the closed car glass. He hated sweats, so why was he being asked to push a car 300 meters away?
The car owner lazily lowered the window again and said, "You said you wanted to help me, and you would be very helpful if you\'re willing to push my car up to the shop."
Kevin was at a loss for words. How unlucky he was to meet a selfless creature at nights like this! He was about to swear and kick the car door when the car door suddenly opened from the inside and the owner of the car came out laughing evilly.
"I was just kidding," said the handsome young man while giggling. "You drive, and I\'ll push the car to the shop. You\'re the one who knows the location of the shop, after all," he added calmly.
Kevin\'s patience was being tested the whole time. He regretted his decision to help the stranger who was very annoying like hell. But, just like a Russian proverb "Regretting the past is like chasing after the wind." It was useless for him to regret his decision.
Ignoring his bitterness, Kevin finally got into the car and closed the car door with a slight slam. "Hurry and push!" He gave the order angrily.
The owner of the car grinned again before finally striding towards the back of the car and with all his might pushed the red four-wheeled vehicle. It didn\'t take long for the vehicle\'s four wheels to start rolling on the smooth asphalt.
Feeling the vehicle moved slowly, now it was Kevin\'s turn to grin. At least he managed to make the irritating young man sweat on this cold night.
"Hey, aren\'t you ashamed of your muscles? Why does your push feel so weak?" He even had time to tease the young man whose name he did not know until now. Ah, right, he still didn\'t know the young man\'s name. "By the way, you haven\'t introduced yourself to me yet. What\'s your name?" He asked, glancing at the young man through the wing mirror.
The young man looked back at Kevin through the same wing mirror and answered, "Kris. My name is Kris."