After the "Three Idiots" left Terry, they decide to head to the arcade.
While walking, they noticed that "Boss" walks faster than usual but still, they follow him like a loyal dog tailing its owner. One of the duo suddenly raised a question, "What happened earlier?" still confused with the happening earlier. The other one also asked in confusion, "What's with the total reversal of attitude?"
Hearing the duo ask the questions, Clarence suddenly stopped in his tracks and turn around to look at the two 'Idiots'. He coughs and said "Are you guys blind? Didn't you see what happened earlier? I punch a person in the face so hard that it made him an idiot. What if his mother knows that it's me who made her son an 'idiot'? Did you think of the consequence? Do you both think that I am solely responsible for what happened? Did you think that you will be Scot-free just because you didn't do anything?"
Clarence answered the question with his own question, making the duo 'Think'.
Within a few minutes, it seemed like the time stopped. The duo 'Think' while their "Boss" stared at them. Clarence lost his patience, used both his hand to smack the two idiots head at the same time.
"Arghhh"
"F*ck"
The duo clutches their head in pain while looking at the boss like he 'Wronged' them.
"Don't pretend to 'Think' if you don't know what the meaning of what I said" said Clarence in an annoyed tone.
The duo awkwardly scratches their painful head while looking at their "Boss", waiting for the explanation. Clarence while looking at the two idiots didn't know what to say. He clears his throat and said with a serious tone "You're asking why I did all that?" the two nodded at the same time, while their boss continued "You both should think broader, you both narrow-minded fools. I did what I did because I'm afraid that It might become evidence against us."
The duo was still confused, not understanding what their "Boss" is talking about. Clarence annoyance to the duo reached its peak, he said with a grave tone "You both might be thinking that it's only me that made Terry an idiot. Maybe physically I did all of it but you witnessing the incident and doing nothing about it makes you an accomplice of mine. If it all comes down to it, we all might be in trouble. I did it all to save both of you from trouble, I can't bear to see you both in trouble because of me. That's why I clean all the 'Evidence' that might point to us and changed my attitude towards him just to steer clear and save us all." He sighed like a hero who sacrificed all he had to save the world.
Hearing all the "Reasons" the duo looked enlightened and suddenly felt gratitude to their "Boss". They looked at Clarence in a new light, like a damsel in distress that has been saved by a hero. Clarence feeling the two idiots stare at him like a maiden in love, felt creep out and release a slap at the back of the two idiots head once more.
Being slapped didn't make the duo angry like before, they accept it as a blessing and thank their "Boss" profusely for thinking of their well-being before his own dignity.
While walking, Clarence was deep in thought. In his head, he tried to recall those eyes, he didn't dare mention what he felt when his eyes made contact with Terry's. He felt like he would fall in an endless abyss which frightened him. No words can be used to describe what he felt, that's why he didn't dare to stay any longer at the old school building and decided to make an excuse to walk off.
Suddenly, raindrops start to fall. They run as they take cover from the rain. They talk as they wait for the rain to stop. Without them noticing, they start to get closer than ever because of an incident that roots from them bullying someone.
….
Terry didn't know that he struck a weird impression with Clarence, and even if he knew, he wouldn't care.
As Terry walks in the familiar alleyways, he can't help but reminisce. It's like the palm of his hands, he still knows where and when to turn even if you put a blindfold in his eyes, he can even walk home backward if he wants to.
He stopped walking in front of an old looking but clean apartment. He walks in front of one of the apartment units then muttered to himself "Home". It's been ages since he last uttered this word. This apartment unit is the only place he considers 'Home', whether it's this life or his previous.
In his previous life as Little Nine, he can have all he wants. Authority? Power? Women? Anything you can think of as long as it can be bought by money, he can have. But the only thing his missing was his 'Home'. He can buy a big house, a mansion, or even a high rise building if he wants to, but what he wants, was already lost. And now that he's been given a chance, he would do anything to keep this 'Home'.
He shrugged those thoughts, took a deep breath, and reach out his hand on the apartment doorknob but when he noticed the number 9 attached at the door. he was stunned for a moment then smiled wryly. He almost forgot that they were living in apartment number nine of this low-cost apartment. 'What a coincidence.' He once again reminded of his title 'Little Nine'. He made his resolve that no matter what, he won't become his previous self, he won't be the 'Little Nine' he used to be.
He collected himself and turn the knob to open the door, then removed his wet worn-out shoes and place it outside before stepping inside the apartment. He's about to announce that he's home but he remembered that his mom's at work around this time, so he walks straight to his room for a change of clothes before going to the bathroom to take a nice bath.
The bathroom was small but enough for a single person to move about. As he removes his still wet school uniform, he happened to look at a cracked mirror hanging in front of him. He can only be disappointed with himself from what he saw. In his reflection, all he saw was a malnourished body. His body was so thin that he can even see his rib cage without holding his breath, signifying his malnutrition. He asks himself 'Is this my body? My scar ridden body previously is way better looking than this.' The only good side with his outer appearance was his face. He luckily has a good looking face. he's just thin which pulls all his good points down the drain.
'Well, I guess I must start with this body of mine.' The first thing he intends to do is resolve his undernourishment. Mentally, he is as stronger than anyone he knew but physically, even a grade school bully will be enough to trash his current body. He started to think of what to do.
He had witnessed all kinds of martial arts in his previous life, He even fought with some of the so-called 'masters' in martial arts, but he wasn't impressed with those flashy moves. For him, those flashy moves won't do anything in front of an opponent with a gun. A gun with a bullet is the best, so he decided to start with just some basic exercise, he will only think about what to do next when the time comes.
While looking at his reflection in the mirror, his eyes landed in his neck and saw his ring with the new maple leaf pendant attached in his travel-worn necklace. He frowns when he notices that a tinge of red/orange color has been added in the leaf pendant. He recalled that when the first time he laid eyes on the pendant, it was like a rotten leaf, but now with the added color, it looks more 'alive'. He casually cast these random thoughts aside and made an excuse, that he didn't look at it carefully earlier so he didn't notice the actual color of the pendant.
He took a fast bath and walk out of the bathroom wearing a short and a T-shirt. He still wore the necklace, he will never remove it and never planned to. For him, if he was to choose between his necklace and the head of all the presidents in the world, he would gladly serve those heads in a silver platter.
He suddenly remembered his phone and rush back to the bathroom. His phone was still inside his school uniform's pocket. Upon retrieving his phone, he's about to get out when another thought flashed in his mind. He looked at his wet uniform and decided to wash it. 'If I want to change and re-write my own story, I better start with small things like this.' He said to himself.
He's not new with chores like this, especially when her mother died in his past life, he had no choice but to do daily chores with his own hands. Even when he succeeded in his 'Career' he still does those menial tasks. He refused to hire someone to serve him not because he's stingy, but because he remembered what his mother always told him when he's young.
"If you can do things, do it, and if you can't, then that's when you seek help."
His laziness was etched deep in his bones. Only when he's suffering hardship then he realized his mistake, and that realization only struck when it's too late which caused his regrets.
After he washed his school uniform, he decided to rest in his 'Room'. Well, actually, his 'Room' is just one corner of their living room. It's a part of the living room with a retractable partition to serve as 'Privacy'.
He sat on the floor and lean on the wall. He's panting a bit while pondering 'Such simple task and I'm almost out of breath.' He can only shake his head disappointingly. He reaches to his phone and tried to open it but another wave of frustration overwhelms him. 'Why can't I open this thing? Out of battery?' He suddenly remembered that his phone also got wet with him, he didn't bother about it earlier because he's pondering about many things, it seems like it broke.
He can only sigh once again. He can't remember how many times he sighed from frustration and disappointment from the beginning of his 'Re-do' until now.
He shrugged all this negative thought. He set aside his broken phone and lie down directly at the floor. He looks at the wall, the ceiling, and even the retractable partition. A Familiar sense of comfort that he hasn't felt for a long time rushed from the depths of his soul.
This feeling of comfort made him smile. He once again muttered "Home" and unknowingly, he drifted in the world of dreams as he fell asleep.