BIA Ch. 56

He had thought it before, but Bran is a really good driver. Better than Samuel or Manny. Whether it was his wide field of vision or something else, he had an amazing grasp of the flow of traffic, and his lane changes were incredibly smooth. And above all, he was a master of cutting in. Thanks to that, they arrived at Blue Shrimp much faster than the navigation predicted, a little after 8:30.

But maybe because it was Saturday evening, Blue Shrimp, unfortunately, was already closed for orders.

“Last order is until 8:30.”

Isaiah said, pointing to the writing on the chalkboard he had seen on TripAdvisor.

“They open early for breakfast, though.”

“This is quite the tourist spot, isn’t it?”

Bran said with a smirk, arms crossed.

“We can come tomorrow morning.”

“I guess so.”

Isaiah looked around the restaurant with a regretful expression.

“Does it remind you of something?”

“Um… no.”

When he said he couldn’t really tell just by looking, Bran nodded with a face that seemed to say, ‘That’s understandable.’

As soon as they left the restaurant, Bran started looking for a hotel nearby.

“There’s only one five-star hotel.”

“Really? In a tourist spot?”

“It’s not exactly a proper tourist spot.”

True. Isaiah mumbled, leaning his head against the car window. It was only in the last ten years or so that the Liberty Port area had started to become known as a tourist destination. Before that, it was just a small port city on the outskirts of Eloy City.

“Anyway, since there aren’t any other options, let’s just go check it out.”

The hotel was a bit small for a five-star. Which meant the other hotels around here were probably not worth looking at. Which also meant most of the tourists would have flocked here.

He had a bad feeling when he saw there were hardly any parking spaces left, and sure enough, there were no rooms available below a deluxe room.

“Figures. It’s Saturday today, after all.”

“We’re staying in a suite anyway.”

At Bran’s words, the front desk attendant said with an apologetic look.

“I’m sorry, but there’s only one suite available right now.”

“Oh, wow.”

“Just a moment. I’ll check if there are any cancellations that haven’t been processed yet.”

The front desk attendant quickly typed on the keyboard and asked.

“You want two suites, is that right? How long will you be staying?”

“Until Thursday for now.”

Isaiah was startled and exclaimed.

“What?”

“Do we really need to stay that long?”

Isaiah looked around once, then whispered into Bran’s ear.

“No, more than that, isn’t your announcement about the boss’s successor on Wednesday?”

“I’m just holding it for now. I don’t know what the schedule will be like.”

While the two were talking, the front desk attendant, having finished checking the rooms, said with a still apologetic tone, “Unfortunately, there are no rooms available today. The only room available now is a corner suite. From tomorrow, you can have two suite king deluxe rooms as you requested, or you can use the suite harmony room on the 23rd floor. This room is a two-bedroom.”

“Then let’s move rooms tomorrow, and for today, we’ll take the corner suite.”

Ok? Bran asked Isaiah.

“What?”

“Sharing a bed.”

“Oh? Ah, well, yeah, it’s fine.”

Isaiah answered with a slightly flustered voice.

“The bed will be big anyway.”

“It is big.”

“Then it’s fine, I guess.”

Isaiah said, pretending to be nonchalant. But inside, he was screaming. Hoping that this heart-pounding sound was only audible to his own ears, Isaiah pretended to adjust his jacket, covering his chest with his arm.

The room felt a little small for a suite, maybe because of the layout. But the bed was bigger than he expected. If a skinny guy like Chester were to squeeze in, three people could sleep comfortably.

“A large king sized bed, I see.”

Bran threw his jacket carelessly onto the bed and said,

“My bed is this size.”

“Really? You use such a big bed when you’re alone?”

Isaiah said, trying to sound cheerful, and lay down on the bed. His whole body sank into the soft mattress, and fatigue washed over him instantly.

Ah, right… I was sick, wasn’t I.

Only then did Isaiah remember the fact he had completely forgotten. Thanks to the unexpected cohabitation with Bran, he had forgotten he was even sick.

“Ugh, ah…”

As soon as he realized it, his whole body seemed to ache, whether it was his mood or something else. Seeing Isaiah put a hand on his forehead and groan, Bran asked.

“The medicine?”

“Medicine? Ah, Tylenol…”

It must be in the car. Isaiah said with his eyes closed.

“If you tell the front desk, they’ll probably bring you some fever reducer.”

“Maybe…”

Isaiah mumbled whatever came to his mind. He knew he should take medicine and sleep, but he was too lazy. He just wanted to sleep as he was.

He actually dozed off.

“Wake up.”

Suddenly, a large hand grabbed his shoulder, and Isaiah opened his eyes with a start.

“Eat something. And take your medicine before you sleep.”

Isaiah was dragged by Bran into the living room. In his hazy state, he looked around and saw food laid out on the living room table. It seemed like the menu they had ordered from room service.

“Here.”

Bran sat Isaiah on a chair and slid a plate of clear soup in front of him. Isaiah, still a bit groggy, took a spoonful of the soup. Then, surprised by the deeper-than-expected flavor, he unconsciously opened his eyes wide and murmured,

“Wow, what is this…?”

“Pot-au-feu.”

It was a menu he had never heard of before. He didn’t know which country’s food it was, but it was delicious anyway. The broth itself was rich and good, and thanks to the vegetables and meat being cooked until they were soft, he could eat quite a lot of the solids as well.

“You’re eating well?”

Bran said, as if impressed, watching Isaiah, who had almost emptied the pot-au-feu plate.

“Yeah, I got hungry while eating.”

“Eat this too.”

Bran pointed to the steak he had ordered for himself. He had barely touched the food he had ordered since earlier and had only been drinking. Perhaps because he was drinking without any snacks, the liquor in the bottle was disappearing at a very fast rate.

“No, I’m full.”

“If you need more, order anything. There’s a menu behind the phone over there.”

“No, really, I’m okay.”

Isaiah took the napkin off his lap. When he showed with his actions that he didn’t intend to eat anymore, Bran didn’t push him further.

“Then take your medicine.”

Bran pointed to the fever reducer placed on one side of the table. The medicine the hotel had brought was Motrin.

“Um…, I’ll wash up first.”

Isaiah put down the medicine box and slowly got up.

“Take your medicine and then wash up.”

“No, I’ll take it after I wash up.”

Isaiah ran to the bathroom.

He deliberately took his time washing up, but as soon as he came out of the bathroom, Bran said,

“Take your medicine.”

“I got it.”

Are you my dad? Isaiah smiled as he tightened the belt of his robe.

“If I were your dad, I wouldn’t have ended it with nagging.”

“I would have run away then.”

Bran shook his head as if dealing with a immature teenager and poured himself some more liquor. It seemed someone had come by while he was washing up, as the table was now neatly cleaned. And there was another bottle of liquor that hadn’t been there before.

“Dad, stop drinking.”

Isaiah jokingly patted Bran on the back and walked to the window.

“Wow, this is nice. I can see both.”

Since it was a corner suite, the front window of the room was structured with an almost 90-degree bend, so through one side of the glass, he could see the wide expanse of the sea, and through the other side, he could see the hotel’s main pool. And because it was a high floor, he could see the town’s scenery at a glance beyond the hotel grounds surrounded by a small forest. It was a place where development had just begun, so there were no fancy night views or skyscrapers, but instead, he could fully feel the quaint atmosphere of the port city.

“Is that a harbor way over there?”

Isaiah said, practically glued to the window.

“Yeah.”

He was startled by the reply, since he had just muttered to himself. He looked to the side and saw Bran standing there, having arrived at some point.

He was drinking as he looked toward the harbor. Right in front of him was the hotel pool with its fancy lighting, and if he just turned his head, he could see the beautiful night beach with its gentle waves, but he didn’t even glance that way once. He was just staring far away at the harbor in the darkness.

As he looked at his profile, the words he had said in the car suddenly came to mind.

“Oh, come to think of it, did you come to Liberty Harbor often?”

“Why?”

Bran turned his head and asked. Isaiah was momentarily flustered by his strangely sharp gaze and stammered.

“Uh, uh, just because.”

“You said earlier that this place has changed a lot, when we were coming from the restaurant to the hotel.”