Chapter 387. My First Day Back at Work. (1/3)
Today marked my first day back at work without the need to disguise myself. I felt a great sense of liberation after five weeks of that hellish routine. It was truly a relief. I could walk the streets without the fear of being stabbed in the back… for the most part.
There were surely some stragglers from Swastika who slipped through the cracks still around, but the likelihood that they’d set their eyes on me should be pretty low. Their anger should be directed toward the police who raided them and Faceless who killed off the rest.
Since it all happened outside the city in the middle of nowhere, the police wouldn’t ever discover a thing. They were already buried six feet under.
The ones who were killed off were the worst of the worst in Swastika. Nobody would care if those guys mysteriously disappeared. Nobody would even bother to look for them if they were no longer causing trouble.
But enough of them, I’d like to put all of that behind me and enjoy the leisure time I currently have at work.
At the end of the week, as long as our time off request was approved by the Owner, Rosa and I would be headed out on a two-week-long vacation together.
“This is so unfair. You and Rosa have been spending so much time alone together and now you’re both using your paid vacation together?” Alicia grumbled to my side.
It was Tuesday, the day after my little chat with Officer Johnson over the phone, and we were now back to our usual schedule.
“Sorry… Rosa helped me a lot recently and I owe her big time.”
“Seriously, what’s with you two? Both of you left me in the dark when you were out doing something so dangerous this entire time…”
She naturally wasn’t in the best mood right now. It’d already been a week since she found out everything that happened. When we returned home with Irene that night, Rosa explained everything to her and why the Owner assigned her to stay with the disguised Yuna at the other location for those five weeks.
She didn’t believe any of it at first, but when the story broke on the city news the following day, she had no choice but to believe it. The police raided and got rid of Swastika just as she was told.
Yuna and I were used as bait to lure Swastika out from hiding so the police could jump on them while their full focus was diverted away from them. They exploited the gap where their attention was split on multiple different fronts to secretly tighten the noose around their necks.
But what really made it all possible was gaining control of the brain to lead them into a trap.
“Sorry for keeping you in the dark.”
“I just want you to... rely on me too. I feel like I’m... dead weight.”
“You’re not dead weight at all. I was relying on you a lot. To keep Yuna safe and sane while she was under all that stress every day. You acted as her mental support while she was at work with you. You were a great help whether you realize it or not.”
“I was?”
“Yeah. So thanks.”
I scanned the store and confirmed there weren’t any customers looking our way. There were only two in the store right now but they had their backs to us. I tapped Alicia on the shoulder to which she turned my way and innocently questioned, “What?”
I leaned forward and gave her a brief kiss on the lips.
It took her a second to react. Her lips formed a squiggly line.
“That was a cheap sneak attack. We’re at work. It would be bad if a customer saw that.”
“Well, they didn’t.” I gave her a nonchalant shrug.
“You’re a bad guy… getting kissed out of nowhere like that when we’re at work doesn’t make me happy at all.”
“Oh? I see. Alright, I won’t do it again.”
“Huh? You won’t?”
“Well, since it made you uncomfortable. I promise I’ll never do it again.”
“Never?”
“Yeah.”
“Uhh… that’s…”
“What?”
“I mean… I didn’t feel uncomfortable or anything.”
“No, you’re right, I don’t know what came over me just now. I won’t do it again since you didn’t like it.”
“I…” she paused and raised her balled-up right hand in front of her lips before she continued, “never said I didn’t like it.”
“But you just said it didn’t make you happy at all.”
“It did… make me happy though.”
“Oh? It did? I don’t know if I believe that.”
“My heart skipped a beat…”
“You’re just saying that.”
“I had butterflies in my stomach. Ugh…” She squatted down behind the counter, hugged her knees, and ducked her head down behind them as she complained, “stop making me say such embarrassing things. You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you? You’re a bully. A big bad bully.”
“You mean a devil, don’t you?”
“Yeah, yeah. A devil. The worst type of devil who plays with girls' hearts. To think that you... even did it with Yuna before me and Rosa. You’re awful. I’m not going to fall for your smooth talk anymore.”
“You won’t? Alright, I guess I’ll need to stop trying to smooth talk you.”
“Don’t.”
“What? But you just said-”
“Shut up. Girls are complicated. Always making me say embarrassing things... One day… I’ll definitely make you say stuff that makes you feel super embarrassed.” She grumbled while glaring up at me.
“Hahaha. I have skin so thick I’ve long forgotten how to be embarrassed by the stuff I say.” Well, if someone read out loud some of the stuff I’d written or I read it out loud myself, I’m sure I’d remember how to be embarrassed in no time.
“Don’t laugh, it’s not funny. I’m being serious.”
“Alicia, a customer.”
When she heard that, she jumped up to her feet, entered work mode, and greeted them with a cheerful smile.
The second customer in the store entered the line while Alicia cashed out the customer who showed up first.
When I finished bagging up the first customer’s items, I heard the front door open up. A new customer had entered the store. As I was preoccupied with bagging I hadn’t taken a look to see who it was. But by the time we got to the second customer, I finally looked up and realized who it was.
Why the hell is he here!
Externally I didn’t let it show on my face, but on the inside, I freaked out as sweat accumulated on my back.
This customer had only been here once. He only bought a pack of cigarettes. As for his identity… it was someone I’d talked to only yesterday… Officer Johnson.
I was most definitely cursed. I was convinced of it. It’s my first day back, and he coincidentally showed up here today?
If I hear some bullshit about intuition, I’m going to punch him.
When we took care of both customers, Officer Johnson greeted us, “Yo kids, you two remember me? It’s been a while, hasn’t it? The two of you weren’t here the last time I came a few days ago. I heard from the red-haired girl who works here that you were sick.”
“Haha… Rosa told you that? Yeah, I’ve been sick for a while and a friend has been covering for me. I’m feeling a lot better now though.” I sure wish she would have told me this guy showed up last week. But she didn’t know about Officer Johnson, only Alicia had met him before.
“Good to hear it. You have any customers as bad as the one you had the first time we met?”
“No, there haven’t been any like him.”
“Well, that’s good. He’s behind bars and locked up for a long time. It’s a shame his father caught on quickly, used a body double to buy time for his escape, and fled the country. But at least all his assets were frozen and confiscated. Though he’s lost almost everything now, he still has connections to other people with wealth and power. It’s not impossible for him to change his identity and start all over.”
“I see. Should you be telling us all this though?”
“Well, you two were involved to a degree. Since he escaped, you two should be careful.”
“Why should we be careful? What do we have to do with it?”
“Well, you never know what can happen. People who let money and power get to their heads are crazy. He might get some weird ideas and try to target anyone. There are still a lot of… strange aspects about the case that aren’t fully understood.”
Chapter 387. My First Day Back at Work. (1/3)
Today marked my first day back at work without the need to disguise myself. I felt a great sense of liberation after five weeks of that hellish routine. It was truly a relief. I could walk the streets without the fear of being stabbed in the back… for the most part.
There were surely some stragglers from Swastika who slipped through the cracks still around, but the likelihood that they’d set their eyes on me should be pretty low. Their anger should be directed toward the police who raided them and Faceless who killed off the rest.
Since it all happened outside the city in the middle of nowhere, the police wouldn’t ever discover a thing. They were already buried six feet under.
The ones who were killed off were the worst of the worst in Swastika. Nobody would care if those guys mysteriously disappeared. Nobody would even bother to look for them if they were no longer causing trouble.
But enough of them, I’d like to put all of that behind me and enjoy the leisure time I currently have at work.
At the end of the week, as long as our time off request was approved by the Owner, Rosa and I would be headed out on a two-week-long vacation together.
“This is so unfair. You and Rosa have been spending so much time alone together and now you’re both using your paid vacation together?” Alicia grumbled to my side.
It was Tuesday, the day after my little chat with Officer Johnson over the phone, and we were now back to our usual schedule.
“Sorry… Rosa helped me a lot recently and I owe her big time.”
“Seriously, what’s with you two? Both of you left me in the dark when you were out doing something so dangerous this entire time…”
She naturally wasn’t in the best mood right now. It’d already been a week since she found out everything that happened. When we returned home with Irene that night, Rosa explained everything to her and why the Owner assigned her to stay with the disguised Yuna at the other location for those five weeks.
She didn’t believe any of it at first, but when the story broke on the city news the following day, she had no choice but to believe it. The police raided and got rid of Swastika just as she was told.
Yuna and I were used as bait to lure Swastika out from hiding so the police could jump on them while their full focus was diverted away from them. They exploited the gap where their attention was split on multiple different fronts to secretly tighten the noose around their necks.
But what really made it all possible was gaining control of the brain to lead them into a trap.
“Sorry for keeping you in the dark.”
“I just want you to... rely on me too. I feel like I’m... dead weight.”
“You’re not dead weight at all. I was relying on you a lot. To keep Yuna safe and sane while she was under all that stress every day. You acted as her mental support while she was at work with you. You were a great help whether you realize it or not.”
“I was?”
“Yeah. So thanks.”
I scanned the store and confirmed there weren’t any customers looking our way. There were only two in the store right now but they had their backs to us. I tapped Alicia on the shoulder to which she turned my way and innocently questioned, “What?”
I leaned forward and gave her a brief kiss on the lips.
It took her a second to react. Her lips formed a squiggly line.
“That was a cheap sneak attack. We’re at work. It would be bad if a customer saw that.”
“Well, they didn’t.” I gave her a nonchalant shrug.
“You’re a bad guy… getting kissed out of nowhere like that when we’re at work doesn’t make me happy at all.”
“Oh? I see. Alright, I won’t do it again.”
“Huh? You won’t?”
“Well, since it made you uncomfortable. I promise I’ll never do it again.”
“Never?”
“Yeah.”
“Uhh… that’s…”
“What?”
“I mean… I didn’t feel uncomfortable or anything.”
“No, you’re right, I don’t know what came over me just now. I won’t do it again since you didn’t like it.”
“I…” she paused and raised her balled-up right hand in front of her lips before she continued, “never said I didn’t like it.”
“But you just said it didn’t make you happy at all.”
“It did… make me happy though.”
“Oh? It did? I don’t know if I believe that.”
“My heart skipped a beat…”
“You’re just saying that.”
“I had butterflies in my stomach. Ugh…” She squatted down behind the counter, hugged her knees, and ducked her head down behind them as she complained, “stop making me say such embarrassing things. You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you? You’re a bully. A big bad bully.”
“You mean a devil, don’t you?”
“Yeah, yeah. A devil. The worst type of devil who plays with girls' hearts. To think that you... even did it with Yuna before me and Rosa. You’re awful. I’m not going to fall for your smooth talk anymore.”
“You won’t? Alright, I guess I’ll need to stop trying to smooth talk you.”
“Don’t.”
“What? But you just said-”
“Shut up. Girls are complicated. Always making me say embarrassing things... One day… I’ll definitely make you say stuff that makes you feel super embarrassed.” She grumbled while glaring up at me.
“Hahaha. I have skin so thick I’ve long forgotten how to be embarrassed by the stuff I say.” Well, if someone read out loud some of the stuff I’d written or I read it out loud myself, I’m sure I’d remember how to be embarrassed in no time.
“Don’t laugh, it’s not funny. I’m being serious.”
“Alicia, a customer.”
When she heard that, she jumped up to her feet, entered work mode, and greeted them with a cheerful smile.
The second customer in the store entered the line while Alicia cashed out the customer who showed up first.
When I finished bagging up the first customer’s items, I heard the front door open up. A new customer had entered the store. As I was preoccupied with bagging I hadn’t taken a look to see who it was. But by the time we got to the second customer, I finally looked up and realized who it was.
Why the hell is he here!
Externally I didn’t let it show on my face, but on the inside, I freaked out as sweat accumulated on my back.
This customer had only been here once. He only bought a pack of cigarettes. As for his identity… it was someone I’d talked to only yesterday… Officer Johnson.
I was most definitely cursed. I was convinced of it. It’s my first day back, and he coincidentally showed up here today?
If I hear some bullshit about intuition, I’m going to punch him.
When we took care of both customers, Officer Johnson greeted us, “Yo kids, you two remember me? It’s been a while, hasn’t it? The two of you weren’t here the last time I came a few days ago. I heard from the red-haired girl who works here that you were sick.”
“Haha… Rosa told you that? Yeah, I’ve been sick for a while and a friend has been covering for me. I’m feeling a lot better now though.” I sure wish she would have told me this guy showed up last week. But she didn’t know about Officer Johnson, only Alicia had met him before.
“Good to hear it. You have any customers as bad as the one you had the first time we met?”
“No, there haven’t been any like him.”
“Well, that’s good. He’s behind bars and locked up for a long time. It’s a shame his father caught on quickly, used a body double to buy time for his escape, and fled the country. But at least all his assets were frozen and confiscated. Though he’s lost almost everything now, he still has connections to other people with wealth and power. It’s not impossible for him to change his identity and start all over.”
“I see. Should you be telling us all this though?”
“Well, you two were involved to a degree. Since he escaped, you two should be careful.”
“Why should we be careful? What do we have to do with it?”
“Well, you never know what can happen. People who let money and power get to their heads are crazy. He might get some weird ideas and try to target anyone. There are still a lot of… strange aspects about the case that aren’t fully understood.”
