The Day I Kissed An Older Man

Corinne immediately frowned when she saw Jeremy already seated inside the private dining room of a restaurant.
“What’s he doing here?” she asked Lucas unhappily, blaming him for not telling her that Jeremy would be joining them for dinner.
Lucas could tell Corinne was angry, but he expected this. “He’s going abroad soon, and he wants to treat us to dinner tonight.
Just treat this as his farewell dinner,” he explained gently.
‘He’s going abroad again?’ thought Corinne with a frown.
“Is this necessary? I mean, Mister Jeremy takes the plane like normal people taking the bus, so do we really need to have a
farewell dinner with him? Or does he not plan to come back this time?” she asked mockingly to hide the panic rising in her chest.
Jeremy got up and pulled out a chair for her. “You don’t sound like you want me to come back at all.”
Corinne scoffed. “And you make it sound as if I have a say in that.”
Jeremy was not in a hurry to explain himself. Instead, he gestured at the chair with his chin and said, “Why don’t you take a
seat?”
Corinne walked over and unceremoniously sat down.
At that moment, Sunny asked, “Jeremy, which country are you going to this time? When will you be back?”
“Molomia, and I’ll be back in three days if everything goes to plan.”
Corinne took a sip of her lemon-infused water thoughtfully and said nothing.
Jeremy waved his hand again for both Lucas and Sunny to take their seats before sitting next to Corinne.
The four of them skimmed through the menu.
Corinne remained silent throughout the whole process as Jeremy and Lucas ordered her favorite dishes.
Even when the dishes were served, she still kept her head down, lost in thought.
Jeremy placed a piece of chicken onto her plate. “What are you thinking about? Why aren’t you saying anything?”

Corinne suddenly raised her head to glare at him. Finally, she could not hold back her question. “Why are you going to
Molomia?”
Jeremy was a little taken aback, but he answered honestly, “To settle matters that unsettle you. I promise I’ll solve them as fast
as possible and give you an update.”
Corinne frowned. “Must you go at this time?”
Jeremy raised an eyebrow slightly. “You don’t want me to take care of the problems now?”
Corinne fell silent. She wanted the problem with Sophia to be solved as soon as possible, but for some reason, she did not want
him to go to Molomia that night. She could not help but feel something bad would happen to Jeremy if he went there.
Jeremy placed some more food on her plate. “Here, eat your dinner first. You can ask all the questions you want after you’re
done eating,” he said with gentle patience as though coaxing a child.
Corinne picked up her utensils absent-mindedly and started shoving food into her mouth without really tasting them.
At that moment, Lucas stood up and said, “Please carry on. I need to step out to take a call.”
After that, he went outside. Before he did, however, he shot Sunny—who was eating happily—a look.
Fortunately, Sunny understood what Lucas meant. He, too, quickly got up and excused himself to go to the restroom.
Thus, only Corinne and Jeremy were left in the private dining room.
After a long moment of silence, Jeremy silently ladled some soup for Corinne.
In the end, it was Corinne who broke the silence.
“Jeremy... Can you not go to Molomia?”