Chapter 28: The Perfect Lie
The resort’s breakfast room, where the morning sun shone brightly through large windows, looked out onto the blue beach. The air was fresh and airy, filled with the scent of coffee and pastries. The cheerful laughter of other families and couples created a creepy normalcy, a cruel contrast to the tension between the three men.
Minh and Tung arrived at the table first, but did not sit next to each other. There was an invisible space between them, a wall of awkwardness and guilt. Minh was acting. He talked and laughed loudly with the others in the group, making lame jokes. But his smile did not reach his eyes. He was using the noise to cover up a terrible fear and confusion, a disgusting pretense. Tung was a ghost. He sat with his head down, his hair disheveled, his eyes dark and bloodshot as if he had been up all night. He said nothing, just used his fork to smash the fried egg on his plate into a shapeless mess, like his mood.
Quan sat at the head of the table, quietly drinking tea and observing. He looked at Minh acting, looked at Tung collapsing, and he knew, a storm had swept over the two of them last night.
Someone in the group patted Minh on the shoulder. “Hey, why do you look so exhausted? Where did you fight last night?”
Minh laughed out loud, too loud, too fake. “Oh my god, what a fight! I was so drunk I fell asleep! My head is still ringing!”
Tung, hearing Minh’s lie, shivered slightly. He bowed his head even lower. He felt disgusted, both at Minh and at himself, a rising disgust.
The stage was set with the two main actors in a state of disrepair. Everyone was waiting for the appearance of the female lead.
The group was talking and laughing, but Tung, Minh and Quan’s attention was directed towards the dining room’s entrance, where a fateful appearance was about to take place.
And then she walked in.
Ngan was a cruel contrast. She looked like she had had a perfect ten hours of sleep, not a trace of a wild night. She wore a mint green shift dress, the light fabric fluttering with each step, like a cool breeze. Her hair was neatly tied up, revealing her white nape. Her face was lightly made up, hiding all traces of a wild night, leaving only a fresh, radiant look, like a queen stepping onto the stage.
Tung raised his head reflexively, but as soon as he saw her, he immediately lowered his head, as if her bright light burned him, a deep shame. Minh’s laughter stopped for a second. He looked at her, a complicated look of desire, fear, and a bit of morbid admiration.
Jun frowned slightly, a thought rang in his mind: “Unbelievable! She is not a survivor. She is a winner.”
Ngan walked up to the table and smiled at everyone, a warm and innocent smile. “Hello everyone, good morning! Sorry, I woke up a little late.”
She sat down, choosing a position not too close nor too far from Tung and Minh, a delicate arrangement. Her act was perfect in every detail. The morning’s deception had reached its peak, an artful cover-up.
The whole table was trying to maintain a normal conversation, awkward laughter rang out. Ngan was calmly spreading butter on a slice of toast, her movements elegant, like a perfect hostess.
One girl in the group, completely oblivious to the tragedy that had just unfolded last night, turned to the table and cheerfully asked, an innocent but sharp question: “But I have to admit that the beds at this resort are really comfortable. Did everyone sleep well last night? I was so drunk that I passed out when I got back to my room.”
That innocent question was like a bomb exploding in silence, creating a chain reaction. Minh reacted almost immediately, as if he had already prepared an answer.
He laughed loudly, a laugh too loud, too fake, like someone trying to cover up the truth.
“Delicious! Delicious! I sleep like a bear!”
Tung, his whole body was tense, like a string about to snap. He didn’t dare to look up, just looked down at his plate, like a sinner. Ngan didn’t react at all. Her hands were still steadily spreading butter, her eyes were still on the slice of bread, as if the girl was talking to an invisible person. Her calmness was more frightening than any confusion, an absolute control.
Minh’s lie and Ngan’s silence hung in the air. The tension had reached its limit. Just one more mistake and everything would fall apart, every secret would be exposed.
Immediately after Minh’s lie, the atmosphere in the dining room became suffocatingly tense. All attention, even if only subconsciously, was focused on the three of them, as if waiting for something to explode.
Tung couldn’t take it anymore. The guilt, the disgust, the heartbreak, and Minh’s lies… all piled up, like a time bomb about to explode. His hand holding the fork began to shake uncontrollably.
The metal fork slipped from his stiff fingers and fell to the tiled floor. A sharp, ear-piercing “KENG!” sound cut through all the laughter and conversation, shattering the silence. The entire dining room seemed to stop for a second. Everyone at their table turned to look at Tung, their eyes filled with curiosity and scrutiny.
Tung had become the center of attention. His face was red with shame, with utter humiliation. He clumsily bent down under the table to pick up his fork, his head almost hitting the edge of the table. He looked like a sinner being brought into the light, clumsy and pitiful, without any strength left.
Minh paled. He knew Tung’s action was a silent confession, a declaration of the truth. Their secret was about to be exposed because of a dropped fork, a small detail with the power to destroy.
Tung was still huddled under the table, his face red with embarrassment. Everyone was looking at him curiously. The silence became awkward.
Amidst the chaos, Ngan took action. Her movements were slow, calm, and graceful, like a queen controlling the stage. She gently placed the slice of bread on her plate, picked up her glass of orange juice, took a small sip, then slowly took a napkin and dabbed her perfectly painted lips.
After naturally drawing attention back to herself, she turned to the girl who had asked earlier. Her smile was bright and her voice was sweet, flowing smoothly without a ripple, like a perfect lie. “I slept well too. Maybe it’s because the air here is fresh, it’s easier to sleep than at home.”
Everyone in the group breathed a sigh of relief and continued their conversation. Tung finally sat up straight, his face still red but out of sight. He didn’t dare look at Ngan. Minh didn’t dare either. The rift between the three of them had now become a chasm, covered by a perfect smile and a cruel lie.