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Law enforcement...?

Sorin scoffed. Him? A cop? He had passed that stage of realizing his dream. But... Why not be realistic... while also realizing his dream?

"No way this is gonna work," he muttered as he prepared for his application. He finished it by dawn and sent it before going to bed. He reminded himself that he needed to sort out his resume so he could go on job hunting the day after tomorrow.

But he opened his eyes to the blaring ringtone of the new phone he bought on loan.

[Mr. Sorin Adler?]

"Yes... it's me," he answered with his raspy morning voice.

[I noticed you sent an application for our office job? Would you like to come for an interview tomorrow by 9?]

All the sleepiness disappeared from his being immediately. He stood from his bed. "I'm sorry... which office is this...?"

Sorin heard a small chuckle on the other side of the phone. [You applied for our law enforcement positions. We saw your excellent resume and how you were recommended by our other promising applicant.]

Sorin's brain immediately finished its wiring after his morning reset. He blinked and remembered his uni friend who sent him the job application information via email last night. "Oh, I'm flattered."

Sorin grimaced because of his weird wording. But the person on the other side laughed. After informing him of the place of the interview and after Sorin was sure that it was legit, they thanked each other.

He went back to his bed after, thinking that he should treat his university friend who recommended him and passed the info to him to a meal. A really expensive meal.

He didn't want to believe it was true, and they said if something was too good to be true, it might be true. Still, he would continue his research after this. He better be safe while also being optimistic.

And surprise, surprise.

No, actually, surprise!

It was legit. As he passed the interview, he was scheduled for other tests and, eventually, the academy. Everything was smooth sailing for him because, apparently, he fitted well into his new job.

He was brave, although a bit reckless. He was strong and smart, although he had a 'unique' sense of justice and 'creative' problem-solving ability.

He turned 27 and got promoted to detective. With his salary now, he could move to a bigger apartment. Maybe he could also put a down payment for a house. It was weird. Was this how it feels like to be successful?

He did it. He was able to get a low down payment. After deciding to move out, suddenly, Amy invited him over to her apartment. She knew he was going to move out and planned a small goodbye party to celebrate it.

Sorin agreed to come.

At the end of the night, Sorin helped Amy clean up the small celebration when Amy suddenly asked, "Correct me if I'm wrong, but... around four or five years ago, you had a really beautiful girlfriend, right?"

Her words felt more than strange to Sorin. "What? You knew I struggled to even have a nice dinner. I still got a bit of student loan even now, and I saved a lot of money to buy a house. You thought I had the expense to have a girlfriend?"

"Eish, these days, having a girlfriend is not financially expensive. A girlfriend can also help you save money as long as she agrees to live frugally with you," Amy said.

"Then, where is the 'really beautiful girlfriend' who wants to suffer like that with me?" Sorin asked sarcastically.

Amy narrowed her eyes. Her facial features were cute and youthful, and when she curiously looked at him like that, she made Sorin want to snicker teasingly at her.

"Are you trying to gaslight me? I am so sure you had a reaaaally beautiful girlfriend back then. I wondered where she is now..." Amy muttered.

"Hmm... If you remember someone like that, then tell me what's her name or what's she looks like. Maybe she was one of my old coworkers," Sorin finished cleaning up and sat on the couch.

And as Amy followed him with apples to peel, she looked unsure herself. "She... had platinum blonde hair? Or was it platinum white? She was tall... and warm, and also had a nice voice."

"She was charming and friendly, and her smile was really pretty..." Amy continued.

Sorin grabbed the apple from her hand and took over the knife to peel them. As he tried to remember someone like that, he muttered, "Who?"

Amy turned to him, shaking her head. "Men..."

"Hey," Sorin protested. "I can't remember every 'beautiful girlfriend' you claim I had."

"I definitely remember you had one..." Amy fidgeted beside him on the couch. Amy gasped, her face paled, "Or was it a dream...?"

Sorin chuckled. "What kind of a fever dream you had---"

SLICE!

"Ah! Blood!" Amy exclaimed as she immediately grabbed some tissues. She warped Sorin's finger with it and pressed his injury with her hand. "What were you thinking? Can't you be more careful?"

As she sighed and grimaced for him, Sorin fell into a weird trance. When he came to, he whispered to Amy with a smile. "I'll be fine. It's going to heal tomorrow."

"It's quite deep, though," Amy said. "Should we go to the hospital?"

"I've had deeper cuts than this and rubbed some dirt to it," Sorin said with a soothing tone. "But... what were we talking about?"

Amy raised her face at him. She blinked for a while and then shook her head. She stood up, saying, "It's okay. I forgot too. I'll grab you some first aid, so don't rub dirt into it!"

Sorin smirked. As Amy showed her back to him, he noticed her well-developed ass, accentuated by her leggings. Oh, how her legging did a fine job.

Sorin acknowledged that he was dense just a couple of years ago, but he wasn't as much today.

When the girl next door always accidentally bumped into him no matter what time he went to work... and when a girl dressed so particularly and meticulously planned every single time they met like Amy does... he knew she wanted him.

Or maybe she was just too obvious about it these last couple of weeks.

Suddenly, she invited just him into her apartment. And suddenly, she asked about his nonexistent 'beautiful girlfriend'.

Maybe it was time for him to be more confident about starting a relationship. He was finally stable financially now, and he just bought a house. He could... start his life.

He had known Amy for almost five years now. He didn't know whether it would be a good decision or not, but...

'It's worth a try.'