John reveals himself.

John who was watching Sabrina without making a move was amused.

The way she repeatedly kept checking her phone, looking at the time and waiting for any message, as well as her nervous antics, such as biting her nails and looking around restlessly, that were escalating by the minute…

At the same time, he finally had the time to notice her appearance, sitting under the light from the lamp on the bench in the dark night that did not had the moon.

She was wearing blue pajamas with floral patterns along with a baggy off white full sleeve T shirt. Her hair was tied up in a bun, and tiny sheens of sweat were visible on her forehead.

It was obvious she had rushed here, leaving everything behind without wasting any time.

“Now seems to be a good enough time?”

John muttered to himself, and causally walked towards Sabrina. Actually, there was still some time till the promised one hour was over, but he was bored of just watching now. There was no point in waiting more.

John was standing right behind Sabrina, but she did not seem to notice him approach at all, let alone stand next to her, seemingly lost in thought while staring at her mobile screen. He could see that his messages were open on the screen.

“Fancy meeting you here, Sabrina.”

John maintained his casual tone as he called out and addressed her.

Sabrina seemed to suddenly break free from her daze, her back straightening as she turned her head to look at the speaker. She almost cursed out loud.

“Fu…O-Oh John, it’s just you. You scared me.”

At first she thought it was that unknown person, that scared her a great deal. However, as soon as she saw that it was John, she relaxed.

John teased lightly, “What? It seems like you were expecting someone else. Should I take my leave of I’m not welcomed here?”

“N-No…!”

Sabrina almost shouted, but then she looked surprised and embarrassed as she laughed sheepishly. She stuttered twice as she spoke, clear evidence of her nervousness and fear.

“I-I mean, no it’s fine. Y-You can stay.”

As the words left her mouth, a sudden worry filled her mind. What if the unknown person appeared now?

Of course, she felt at ease when she had a familiar and reliable face around her in such a situation. But…what if that unknown person misunderstood it as her bringing along someone?

Would that unknown person not just expose everything then?

However, now that she had told him to stay, she couldn’t tell him to just leave either.

‘It is fine for now…There is still time before appointed time…”

She was broken out of her reverie of thoughts by John’s voice.

“Are you fine? You look a little pale.”

John’s voice was soft and there was a gentle smile on his face. He is too quick to worry, thought Sabrina. But she did not hate it. That was exactly what she needed right now.

Though, she could obviously not disclose any information about the blackmailing. She gathered her composure and replied normally, trying to change the topic.

“Don’t worry about it. More importantly, what are you doing here? Do you live around here?”

“Yeah, I live nearby. I was just taking a stroll. Also…”

The smile on his face remained unchanged as he continued after a pause.

“…I think you have my grocery bags.”