ROMANCE

[HAPPY birthday, Sol Fontana.]

Sol greeted herself while she was sitting on the bench in front of the convenience store. Her phone vibrated, but she merely watched the name displayed on the screen: Cloud.

[My pet will just probably greet me for my 17th birthday.]

When Cloud's call ended, an unregistered number began calling her.

It was definitely Yue.

[I should change my number.]

"Uhm?"

She raised her head to meet the Cashier Boy who handed her a slightly heavy plastic bag. "Welcome back."

He just gave her his refreshing smile before he handed the plastic bag to her. "Uhm, I did my best."

She was confused by his words. But instead of asking him what was wrong, she just opened the plastic bag in her hands and took a peek inside. She frowned. "Good sir, don't you know that root beer is non-alcoholic?" She raised her head to give him a pout. "I asked for a beer."

"Uhm, sorry," he said in a shy and guilty manner. "I'm also not allowed to buy beer."

Her brows furrowed in confusion. "Why not?"

"I'm a minor, too," he explained. "Maybe you're thinking that I'm already eighteen because you saw me working at the fast-food chain earlier. But to be honest, I'm not working there. I just proxied for a friend who's sick." He paused before he continued. "I'm only seventeen."

Ah, that explained it.

But something else got her attention.

"Wait, you remember me?" she asked. "If I remember it correctly, our eyes met for only a few seconds."

Much to her surprise, his cheeks suddenly turned pink.

[Is he blushing? Oh, he is. How cute!]

"Uhm, your face isn't exactly easy to forget," he said while looking down at his shoes. Ah, he must be embarrassed. "That's why I remembered you."

Aww…

This boy was so normal! If they were in her "world," Yue or Cloud would have probably eaten him alive before he could even talk to her. She was so glad that she ran away from those psychos.

[I like this boy– he's refreshing.]

"I don't have the right to be upset because it was me who forced you to do me a favor without giving you the chance to explain," she assured him, then she stood up with the plastic bag in her hands. "Thank you, good sir. Take care."

"Uhm, wait."

[How many "uhms" have he said ever since we met? He's just getting cuter in my eyes. I wanna squeeze his cheeks!]

But of course, she kept her cool. "What is it?"

"Uhm, for you," Cashier Boy said while handing her another plastic bag. "Sorry, they don't sell cakes here. So I got this instead."

She accepted the plastic bag. "What is it?"

His face turned red, and he couldn't meet her gaze. "Uhm, h-happy birthday."

And then he ran away from her.

She couldn't help but giggle while watching him run from her while almost tripping several times. "Cute," she whispered to herself. And once the Cashier Boy was out of her sight, she took a peek inside the plastic bag that he gave her. She smirked while shaking her head. "I don't like sweets though."

Then, she noticed that the money she handed him to buy the beer was there.

That meant he used his own money to buy her the root beer.

"He's too pure for someone like me," Sol whispered to herself, her smile now gone. "What a waste."

***

SOL arrived at her apartment complex at 1AM.

To her surprise, there was a commotion. It seemed like something serious happened because the police were there, and she saw bloodstain on the ground.

"Sol!" Amelia, her landlord's wife, called her. The old woman looked worried, then she grabbed her arm. "Why did you get home so late? Do you have any idea what happened here in our neighborhood?!"

"I have no idea," Sol said politely even though she wanted to roll her eyes. How the hell was she supposed to know what happened when she just got home? "What happened?"

"Jojo and Jubel, those two brothers, they were stabbed by an unknown man!" the older woman exclaimed. "They were drinking by the side of the road when a man approached them to ask for directions. Then, all of a sudden, the man pulled out a knife and stabbed Jojo's left eye. Then, he stabbed Jubel's right eye! The brothers were rushed to the hospital, but the suspect is yet to be caught!"

Ah, okay.

"Who are Jojo and Jubel?" she asked. "Are they tenants here?"

Amelia let out a frustrated sigh. "Jojo and Jubel were two of the construction workers who renovated your bathroom. They're the youngest among them, so you should remember them," she said. "Moreover, those two always follow my husband whenever he talks to you about your unit's renovation."

Ah, Jojo and Jubel must be those perverts who would always give her lewd looks.

She didn't care about what happened to the two.

But the suspect, on the other hand, must be…

[No, don't be paranoid], she thought to herself. [There's no way that psycho would know about those perverted brothers, right?]

"Sol, please take care of yourself," Amelia said in a frustrated voice. "You're a girl, and you're very pretty. It's impossible for you not to be noticed by perverts. Next time, don't come home late."

She almost smirked bitterly.

[Why do people always tell girls to be extra careful instead of telling boys not to assault girls?]

But instead of voicing out her thoughts, she just smiled politely at the older woman. "I'll keep that in mind, Mrs. Amelia," she said while gently pulling the older woman's hands on her arm. "Good night."

Then, she quickly walked past Amelia and her other neighbors to get to her unit.

Since her apartment was on the second floor, she had to use the stairs. It was a two-story building but there wasn't an elevator. Thus, she had to walk.

While walking in the long and dark hallway, she couldn't help but smirk.

"Come home early to be safe?" Sol whispered to herself bitterly while shaking her head. "The only time women will be safe to walk in the streets is when every single man in this world disappears."

***

SOL knew that Yue had sent people to spy on her in the past. Cloud was one of his "eyes." That psycho was that possessive of her.

But since she made a deal with Yue, he promised that he wouldn't ask his people to keep an eye on her this time. Yue might be a psycho, but he wasn't a liar. Well, he never lied to her at least. Plus, the idea that Yue came here to stab guys who looked at her lewdly was ridiculous.

"I'm thinking about that psycho again," Sol said to herself while shaking her head. Then, she let out a sigh– causing the bubbles around her to pop. Right now, she was in the tub while enjoying the rose-scented bath bomb that she just bought yesterday. There was a can of root beer and a single piece of cupcake on the tray beside her. It was only for aesthetic because she didn't like eating while having a bath. "Just relax, Sol Fontana."

But she couldn't relax.

The way the perverted brothers were stabbed in the eye was a signature move of that person.

Yue once stabbed a college guy in the eye for hitting on her in a club.

But she was certain that the psycho wouldn't step foot in that place just to stab people in the eye. He may have sent his men to do it though.

Still, it was impossible to happen.

"Because first of all, how would that psycho know that those perverted brothers were giving me lewd looks?" she thought loudly to herself. "I'm pretty sure that I'm alone when Mon and his men were here. He's a psycho– not a psychic." She laughed sarcastically at her own corny joke. "Unless he has a third eye that could look into my apartment…" She trailed off when the realization hit her. "Fuck."

She stood up and looked up at the showerhead's holder rack, then she squinted her eyes and stared at it until something shimmered inside.

A. Fucking. Lense.

Yes, lenses were attached to the holder rack!

And knowing Yue, he wouldn't stop at installing one spy camera in her bathroom.

[There must be hidden cameras all over her place!]

Now the possibility of Yue sending one of his men to stab the perverted brothers increased.

If that psycho saw how Jojo and Junjun looked at her through the spy cameras that he installed in her apartment, he would lose his mind. That was how overprotective Yue was to her.

[But that's not important right now.]

She didn't supervise the renovation of her bathroom.

Yue probably took advantage of that. His network was impressive. She wouldn't be surprised if he managed to plant his own men among the construction workers who worked on her bathroom.

Maybe that was when the spy cameras in her apartment were installed without her knowledge.

[Calm down, Sol], she said to herself. Then, she dipped herself in the tub while reaching out for her phone. Then, she called Cloud to confirm her guess. [Please let me be wrong this time.]

"Hey, baby girl," Cloud greeted her in his usual sleepy and "bedroom" voice. "Happy birthday–"

"Did you ask your underlings to install spy cameras in my place, you bastard?" she snapped at him. Cloud was the best among Yue's people when it comes to spy cameras. "I'll kill you if you lie to me."

"Don't be mad at me," he whined like a child. "You know that I'm just a humble servant of your brother, don't you?"

Sol couldn't help but scream in frustration. "Cloud!"

"I'm no snitch, baby girl," Cloud said in a sleepy yet serious voice. He even yawned before he spoke again. "Just ask your brother Yue about the spy cameras, okay?"

***

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