The week passed by slowly.

Well, slowly for Joseph who felt like the days were long despite it being full.

Much to his surprise, he became rather popular on TokTik and even had some regular readers of his blog. Both used different usernames, so no one knew that the two were the same person.

He found comfort in the comments and soon developed a sort of friendship with them. There weren't many, but quality over quantity, right? He never asked any personal questions and neither did they. As for his blog, he never gave out names and only referred to people as their connection to him.

Lianne was, of course, 'sister' and Stephan was 'father'. Kyle was 'sifu' and Kay … Kay was 'crush'. He didn't reveal he was 13 or that Kay was 20, but rather, that his crush was an older woman.

Turns out that he wasn't alone.

The good thing about the Internet was that it connected you to people who are like-minded. People were also more willing to be open behind the anonymity of the screen, so the bond that is created could occur faster than people who met in real life.

There were two regulars of his blog that commented frequently: Cole_Dorillo and YuuSakurano. There were others, too, like mamacat, Spade_Z, and Excellsaga. But it was the first two that interacted with him the most.

He appreciated all, of course, and enjoyed reading their comments.

They all gave him motivation and hope. Some encouraged him to hang on, while some advised him to let it go. To meet people his age. Be more open and sociable.

He read them all and took them to heart, but at the end of the day, it was still his choice.

Which, truth be told, he didn't know yet what was the right choice. There was a conflict between his head, and his heart.

His head was telling him that this was all insane and he was only looking at Kay like a replacement mother figure. Yet, his heart told him otherwise for no guy would feel the way he did for her, and mistake that as being what they felt for their mother.

For example, being unhappy to think of her being with another guy. Heck, just her going on a date made him edgy, what more a blind date with the intention of marriage in the end?

She probably saw him as a little brother, or, at the very least, a little boy that has yet to grow up.

He acknowledged the needing to 'grow up' bit, but little brother?

Urgh.

No.

Just … no.

He couldn't stand that.

The sound of the keyboard finally stilled in his room as he punched in the last sentence. He leaned back on his chair, not bothering to re-read it before posting it. He hardly did any edits and didn't care about the spelling errors or typos.

Mainly because, the blog was meant to be him, freely spewing out his thoughts as he felt them. Raw and unfiltered. Who cares about grammar at that point? He wasn't writing a novel to sell and he didn't quite care if his readers chastised him for it.

They didn't need to read it now, did they?

This wasn't some webnovel that they were paying to read, after all. Neither was he seeking actively for some readers to boost viewership or whatnot. He didn't bother with that at all. Hence, without such worries, his blog was also as carefree and frank, like he was.

Joseph sighed, as he switched off the computer.

On the bright side, when this 'holiday' was over, he'll be going back to Country M.

Thus, all of this … whatever he was feeling … would naturally just die as time goes on. He would meet other people and this crush would be but a memory.

All he had to do, was get through the days while he was staying in this house.

✿ Author only posts on w.e.b.n.o.v.e.l. ✿

Kay thought about her impending blind date.

He had already contacted her, and they agreed to meet up in the following week. She wasn't really looking forward to it, really but she had to take this step.

Come out from her comfort zone.

Which was ironic, really, considering that she's already at the top, so to speak.

One would normally view 'comfort zone' to be being in a position, or situation, that was so comfortable that one didn't really work to improve themselves anymore. No challenges and such.

Thus, Kay, being the acting CEO already meant that she was at the pinnacle of her career … at the age of 20. What more is there?

In truth, there was another meaning to it and that applied to Kay quite well : being in a situation where one feels safe and at ease.

And for Kay, that meant living her life as it was - no hassle with boys and just work.

She wasn't planning to actively seek out guys and thought of letting Nature take its course.

It was that slight hitch in her life that made her deviate from her original plan.

Kay thought of her blind date.

Ronaldo.

Like the footballer?

Kay had to giggle at that.

She needed to find some sort of amusement over this whole thing so that she could go for the date in a positive state of mind.

However, the date that was supposed to happen, had to be postponed for another week.

Kyle had fallen into a coma

Kay already knew something was wrong before Sayuri called her up.

She didn't know what it was, but it was as if a part of her was suddenly gone. Though Kay shared a telepathic communication and were empaths where they shared emotions and feelings, the connection was actually deeper than that.

It was, however, something that neither truly was aware of until that moment.

For Kay, at least.

She felt so lost and empty, that she panicked.