Chapter 3 Go to the past

BRAK!

Andy suddenly fell; someone had hit him violently, making him fall to the ground. "Ouch, that hurts."

"S-sorry, Sir," the person who bumped into him bowed several times, then walked away.

Andy lifted his body slowly until he could stand up again. "Ugh… it hurts so bad." Andy felt his whole body ached terribly. Luckily he was wearing a long-sleeved shirt, so the sharp pebbles on the road didn't hurt his skin directly.

His stomach rumbled; he just realized that he hadn't eaten since lunch. There were not many choices of food that he could eat; fortunately, in front, there was a restaurant that was still open. He walked towards the restaurant. The restaurant wasn't huge, and a bunch of tattooed men was eating there. Several Women sat beside the burly men.

"What do you want to order?" asked a woman with heavy make-up on her face.

Andy looked at the menu on the wall. It doesn't have to be expensive as long as it can fill its stomach. The price of fried rice is the cheapest, and he ordered fried rice.

"Use eggs?" the woman asked again.

Andy shook his head. "No. No need. Fried rice only. Spicy."

After he ordered fried rice, Andy sat at the table; he took a deep breath, contemplating the events.

Not long after, a young woman came to Andy, and she gave him an order. "This is the fried rice."

"Thank you," Andy said with a smile on his face.

He enjoyed his food voraciously. His stomach, which had been struggling for a few minutes to be filled, had calmed down. He took the unsalted warm tea provided free of charge by the owner of the restaurant.

Andy's income is not much; although Andy has worked for sixteen years, he does not have much money. At least he still had 200 dollars left. That's all he is holding now, and he deliberately gave the contents of his wallet and ATM card for the needs of his wife and children at home.

His children and wife still have to eat nutritious food and pay for other necessities, while Andy thinks he can still find menial jobs. Tomorrow he will start looking for work and applying for jobs. The 200 dollars he had to keep until he got a new job.

"Jasmine, why don't you accept my date?" asked a man to the woman who owns the restaurant. The man was one of the herds of men Andy had seen huddled together earlier.

When the man was seducing the woman, his other friends whistled, they replied to each other.

"Just accept him, Jasmine," said one of the male friends.

"Arnold is the strongest among us. He is responsible and never plays with women."

"Yes, right. He's honest and straightforward." The rest of his friends burst into laughter as they edged their friend in front of Jasmine.

Arnold turned around. "Shut up, all of you! If you want to help, don't laugh at me!" hard. He was the leader of the group of men.

No one spoke after that. Arnold was stout and tall. His face and voice were heavy and sinister. Almost all over his body, which is not covered by a shirt, has a dragon, numbers, snake, and other tattoos adorn his dark skin.

The woman called Jasmine did not answer. She remained busy wiping the plates that had just been washed by the young woman in charge of delivering the food.

"You know that I love you," repeated the man as if he didn't know the word surrender.

His friends cleared their throats. Some of them dared to answer. "Why don't you accept Arnold. He's reliable."

Another chimed in, "If you're with him, you can open your shop until morning; no one will dare bother you if you become Arnold's woman."

Arnold smiled. He was pleased with the compliments his friends gave him.

This time Jasmine tilted her head at the man. She smiled warmly and said, "You also know that I don't love you. And you know what does it mean?"

Arnold's face turned sour. It is challenging to win the heart of this woman.

Arnold is a man who has many lovers out there, but this woman in front of him is the only one who always rejected him.

"So, how much I must pay it?" Andy asked; he was about to pay for the meal.

Arnold looked at Andy with a displeased look. The man beside him was about thirty-nine years old, Arnold guessed. However, his face still looks very handsome and dashing even though at this time, the man's face doesn't look happy.

"Three dollars."

Andy took out his wallet. He fumbled in his trouser pocket. Think for a minute, why is there no wallet in his trouser pocket. Andy stammered. He was worried. Previously he was sure that he had a wallet in his trouser pocket.

"What's the matter, Sir?" asked Arnold in an accusing voice.

Andy's face turned stiff, and he didn't mean to cheat. He was sure he had the wallet in his trouser pocket.

So stupid of me! Andy cursed himself. It was the man he didn't know who had bumped into him. He's the one! He had stolen his wallet.

"My wallet was stolen," Andy answered in a trembling voice.

Arnold laughed; his laugh was strange, making the other friends stop their activities from playing cards. "Your wallet has been stolen!" Arnold's voice sounded vicious, it made Andy's nerves seem to be pulled, and now his heart was about to jump out. "Don't tell me you want to play with my lover!" The threat is both dangerous and frightening.

Arnold's five friends, tall and big, stood up from their seats. They stretched their bodies, clapped their fingers together until they made a "crack" sound, and walked forward until Andy's back was pressed against the counter.

Jasmine's maid was terrified. Arnold often acts like a hero like this, making everyone who wants to play with Jasmine end up with battered and broken legs. Everything he did was to make Jasmine accept him, even though Jasmine had never taken him.

"No… no… I never intended to make fun of anyone. I'm telling the truth that my wallet has been stolen," Andy replied, waving his arms across his chest. His face was utterly terrified.

Jasmine immediately came out of the cashier. "Arnold, don't! Let him go. I believe he has indeed lost his wallet." Jasmine stood beside Arnold; she pleaded with Arnold.

Unfortunately, Jasmine's request made Arnold angry. "Do you like this man!" asked Arnold; he was jealous. His pride as a man seemed torn apart. However, Jasmine didn't think anything of Andy; she only felt sorry for Andy.

The man's face was shabby. Jasmine didn't know whether what the man said was true, but Jasmine learned that Andy was in a bad condition.

"You!" growled Arnold, his hands clenched into fists. "You are deliberately seeking my lover's attention!"

"We're not lovers, Arnold!" Jasmine rebuked in a loud voice. Arnold's eyes darkened, and a single punch flew across Andy's face. Tonight was the worst for Arnold. He was flatly rejected in front of other men.

"Fuck! All of this because of you!"

Andy groaned; he was in pain. That man hit, raged, and beat him to a pulp.

"Arnold, stop it! Stop it! He could die then!"

As if something evil had taken hold of the man in front of Andy, the man was utterly dark-eyed. "Beat him!" the man ordered to his friends.

Andy was in pain, and blood was pouring from his face, nose, and all over his body. He curled up, protecting his body, and finally, he was dragged out of the diner.

"P-please," said Andy, his whole body crushed by the scorching blows from the men.

"Why did you do something evil like this!" shouted the woman from inside the diner; she ran towards Andy but was pulled back by the group of men inside.

"Leave him like that! That's the result of daring to lie to my lover!"

Only the screaming "Get out of here all of you! And you! Remember! You are not my lover!" could still be heard in Andy's ears; the rest was dark. Andy's head hurts.