“I rarely remember my dreams, but this one was vivid.
I found myself in a colourless night, where black ink seemed to paint the ground.
It took me a few moments to realize I was lying down, on the verge of fainting. A sharp knife had pierced my stomach, leaving me gasping for air. The ink around me was my own blood.
As I lowered my gaze, a tall and thin demon appeared before me, pressing its boot against my neck. The pain may have been imaginary, but the fear was all too real.
This lunatic demon never ceased to terrify me whether it was happy or sad. That night, its anger reached a terrifying peak.
I felt my trachea being forcefully closed, cutting off the flow of air to my lungs. Despite my desperate efforts, oxygen could not reach me. Terrified of my impending death, I silently shed tears.
“You spoiled brat, this is the last time you’ll run away, you hear me?” its deep and spiteful voice echoed in my ears.
Deep down, I knew that provoking its anger once more would be my final mistake.
It wasn’t a scene worth remembering.
I stare blankly into my cocoa, watching the foam pop and swirl on the surface of the brown drink in an asynchronous rhythm. “Why doesn’t this crap reflect my face dramatically like in anime?” I mutter to myself.
I retrieve my phone from my pocket and open it, only to discover a series of missed calls and unread messages.
Closing my phone, I lie back on the sofa and gaze up at the ceiling. Taking another sip of cocoa, I murmur to myself, “I guess I’ll never see the end of Mecha Dinosaur Impact…”
“Hey, are you busy?” Boobies suddenly interrupts my thoughts, appearing back upstairs.
“You said I could keep the cocoa, so no need to ask for it back,” I reply clearly.
“I’ll make another one! And if you’re not busy, you should know that our next mission is to kill ESMERALDA for the old man. He’s offering us 5 million each.”
“Five million…” I mutter, astonished by the sum.
“Y-yeah! Isn’t that awesome?”
“FIVE MILLION?!” I leap off the sofa, losing my balance and spilling cocoa on my face.
What the hell? Is this some kind of dream? With that amount, maybe we can finally escape our debts and I won’t have to take on those jobs anymore! Perhaps she’ll even forgive me this time…
“W-where is she?” I stammer, trying to catch the droplets of cocoa around my mouth with my tongue until Boobies hands me a handkerchief.
“I have a plan to lure her out,” she says.
I gaze into her eyes for the first time and notice their blood-red colour.
With her silver hair shining in the dim light, she grins like a predator, exuding a terrifying aura. But unlike a certain demon, I find her presence strangely alluring. So, I awkwardly smile back, feeling that she is sexier than scary in that precise moment.
An entire week has passed, and I’m drenched in sweat inside this black suit.
Panicking, I attempt some breathing techniques and pour myself a huge glass of water.
The flashes of different cameras, the commotion in this wide, crowded room, and being the centre of attention are all sensations I nervously experience.
My hair is pulled back into a high ponytail, and the slightly oversized shirt prevents me from suffocating. My usually loose tie now holds my neck a bit tighter under the comfortable vest, and my running shoes have been replaced with perfectly polished black leather ones. From the outside, I might appear as a proper young businessman.
“Stay calm, I’ve got you covered!” says the woman in my earpiece.
“Easier said than done! I feel completely exposed without my glasses, my ribbon, and my earrings, not to mention I can’t see a thing!” I murmur in response.
“It’s your fault for not liking contacts. If you’re scared of people, it’s better if you can’t see them anyway.”
“It’s even scarier when I can’t see them!”
“Can you spot the target? Is she here?” the young boy asks through the same earpiece.
“I have no clue! I can’t see anything, for heaven’s sake! Why isn’t Boobies doing this?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I can disguise myself all I want, but I’ll never look like a man! Besides, how would you cover me with your small knife?”
“I just want to go home!”
Tears well up in my eyes as the reception begins.
The emcee on my left takes the microphone and announces, “Welcome, good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for attending the highly anticipated press conference of the Kingdom’s Castle president: the young genius 33-year-old entrepreneur, Dianon Mask! It has been ten years since he inherited the company from his father, who built it from scratch. After two generations of concealing their identity, they have finally decided to unveil their face to the world. Let’s begin with a brief presentation of their achievements.”
The two fools in my earpiece chuckle upon hearing “Dianon Mask.”
“I can hear you laughing!” I cry out.
Get me out of here…
“FIVE MILLION?!” she exclaims.
If I had known she would be so thrilled with such a small amount, I would have said just one million.
She nearly drops some cocoa on the sofa, but I’m too happy to scold her over 1% of the money.
Besides, I need her help.
“W-where is she?” she asks eagerly.
“I have a plan to lure her out. Come with me downstairs.”
I lead her to the basement, where Abhi retrieves a mannequin dressed in a black suit.
“It’s a bit dusty, but with a bit of cleaning, it’ll look as good as new,” he says, yawning.
I glance at Diana and smirk, saying, “It’s going to fit her perfectly!”
“W-what?” she hesitates.
“To lure her out, we need something big, which calls for some preparation and acting skills. Hehehehe! Try on that suit to see if it needs any adjustments. Abhi, take control of the old man’s company databases using the IDs on his phone. I’ll send some emails from his phone as well.”
“H-how long will this take?”
“Oh, I don’t know, a week, a month… You can stay here as long as needed. Go change behind that door. I’ll go buy some groceries. What do you want to eat?”
“Chicken curry,” says Abhi.
“Uhhhh, borgar?” DIANA suggests.
I squint my eyes at her. Is she trying to be funny?
“Curry it is. Burgers are not exactly diet friendly,” I respond, heading out of the basement.
I enter my bedroom, take a shower, and change into more casual attire: blue jeans and a short-sleeved purple blouse.
After applying some makeup and grabbing my purse, I leave the apartment to go to the grocery store.
Upon my return with the curry and some seasonal fruits, I find that idiot perfectly dressed in the suit, running around the flat with a screaming Abhi on her shoulders.
She just needs a better haircut to pass as a handsome young man.
After a few minutes of yelling, we finally gather in the living room to enjoy our curry.
DIANA and Abhi discuss their favourite cartoons, and I try to change the topic to books so I can join in the conversation.
Once we finish eating, we settle down to watch the latest episode of Mecha Dinosaur Impact on TV.
I can’t make heads or tails of it since I haven’t seen the previous episodes!
Exhausted, we all fall asleep on the sofa, huddled under Abhi’s favourite tiger blanket.
The next day, it’s DIANA’s turn to bring dinner.
I hand her some bills, and seeing her silly grin, I half expect her to return with a bag full of candies.
But to my surprise, she comes back with a bag full of hamburgers…
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