An Admirer

The rest of the men began screaming, watching the dead body as Leo once again began taping them up. As blood splattered over his hand in tiny droplets, Ryu's calm and gentle smile slowly transitioned into one of pure madness, a chuckle slowly taking over his lips. 

"Why are you all so scared!? You weren't half as scared when you killed my men!!! Deal with it! I'm giving you freedom!" Ryu got up from his chair with an ecstatic laugh as he aimed the gun at random. Leo himself was silent. He hadn't seen this side of his boss before. It lowkey terrorised him… Another shot fired followed by the suppressed brutal screams which he had no care for. When he was about to kill the third man, his phone rang abruptly, breaking him out of his crazed state. 

"Sir." Leo extended his hand out, suggesting to hold the gun for him instead. Ryu shook his head and picked up the call. 

"Ryu! Where the hell are you!? Everyone's already here!" It was Aldric, fuming on the other side. Ryu looked at his watch in disinterest. The meeting was scheduled at 12 and it was only 11:45. 

"I know how time works, father.  Tell them that I'm not giving out awards for the first comers." 

Saying so, Ryu cut his call with a cold glare in his eyes. Leo was sweating beside him, jaw dropped. Did he just speak like that to THE Aldric Sheng!? Nevertheless he stood silent, watching how his boss was carefully swiping through the phone until his cold gaze was replaced with admiration. He pulled up a picture for Leo to see. 

"Do you see this lady here? She's Darah Chen and she stays at my place for the time being. She's an innocent I suppose, who was pulled into our matters due to unfortunate circumstances. Since I cannot be beside her all the time, I've been on the search for someone capable enough to keep track of her whereabouts and watch over her carefully from a distance. Are you willing to do as I say?" Ryu smiled, watching Leo nod immediately. What a simple task it was. He was relieved for a moment.

"You can get to work tomorrow onwards." 

"Yes Sir! Anything you say!" Leo bowed. Ryu nodded slowly, stepping back as he pushed the phone back into his pockets and hiding the gun beneath his jacket.

"It's not as simple as you think. It's something I can't compromise on…" Ryu muttered as he stopped in his tracks, his back facing the latter. Leo felt silence engulf their conversation, only the frightened sobs of the culprits to be heard. 

"Because that person… is very important to me." The way Ryu said it without a doubt made Leo surprised. He didn't expect those words from the mouth of an assassin… 

"I'll watch over her with my life, Sir!" Leo said with his whole chest to which Ryu nodded. In a second's glance he was out of the warehouse, leaving Leo alone with 3 live men and a gun. 

_______

Darah had a hard time finding her classroom but it was later on noted to her by her classmate that it had been shifted to the second floor from the first. By the time she found the room, she had already wasted 15 minutes and consequently her teacher getting mad. 

"You've been absent for a whole month!? Do you have any valid reasons for that?" The middle aged woman raged slightly, Darah standing speechless at the doorway. But then she suddenly pulled out the medical certificate which was produced by Eliza at Ryu's request. Save me please! 

"Oh. So you got into an accident?" 

"Yes." Darah lowered her head.

A couple of gasps were heard and among them was Darah's one and only friend Judy, who was then looking at her with a sorry face. They weren't really much of friends but just study buddies. Other than that, Darah really had not much interest in coming to this hell of a civil services preparation centre. To add to it was the fact that she desperately needed a job. 

"Well then, hope you've recovered well. You may come in." 

Such a cold bitch… Darah thought to herself as she stepped in. Judy smiled at her from across the rows seeing the latter approach to an empty seat behind her. 

"Are you really alright now? I tried contacting you but no one picked up." Judy whispered to her, pulling her chair a bit closer to Darah's side. 

"Oh my phone broke completely back then. I couldn't get it fixed so I got a new phone altogether." Darah smiled faintly. 

"Was it that serious? Oh my, glad you're okay." Judy sighed in concern, holding her hand as she blinked softly. Unknown to them, a figure was watching their every move, their gaze especially stuck on Darah's soft and short hair moving to the rhythm of her movements. His eyes almost felt like dozing off any moment, watching her whisper softly, a smile popping up on her rosy red lips every now and then. 

"You can print down my notes after class. I've got everything with me." 

Thank you so much-" Darah stopped, feeling a tap on her shoulder from a side. She turned her head in a diagonal direction to see a pair of lips smiling softly at her. 

"Jake? Hey!" Darah gasped seeing him after a long time. She had almost forgotten about him during all this mess. His smile was just as bright as ever.

"Long time no see. Are you feeling okay?" Jake was curious, leaning his head to her side as he looked at her fondly. 

"Y-Yeah. I'm completely fine now!" Darah whispered warm heartedly but it seemed to reach the teacher's ears right in time. 

"Darah Chen! You can share your stories after class!" The teacher warned, making Darah sit straight ahead while she heard a few giggles here and there. Jake had a playful smirk on his face watching her lips turn into an adorable pout… Oh how he wished he could see that closer. For now all he could do was to gaze at her from a distance.