Great Luxuries

Mark looked at his plate. 

He was sitting in a fine wooden chair, before an elegant table of the same material. 

After having left the room, the house had seemingly expanded to magnificent proportions, leaving the young man bewildered. There was a long corridor lined with a plethora of doors. He followed it until he came across what seemed to be the living room, then continued before he found the eloquent dining table and took a seat. 

Sunlight poured through the pale-white curtains, endowing his surroundings with a pristine splendor. An alluring aroma wafted through the air as Mark held himself back from taking a peek.

And then the brunette left the kitchen with the steaming dish in her hands.

A smile adorned her face as she gently placed it in front of him.

Upon seeing the contents, Mark was unable to peel his eyes away, stricken by the sight. 

'This is...' 

A bit too fancy for the first meal of the day. No, something of this caliber deserved to be in one of those high-quality restaurants, not at a house, let alone being served to a guest like him. 

On the plate, a masterfully seared steak was embellished with an assortment of herbs. An enticing sauce lined the tender meat, adding to the overall beauty that the dish exuded. Upon witnessing this sight, Mark wondered why someone as unqualified as him had to desecrate this work of art. 

The perpetrator of the crime looked at him.

"What's wrong?" 

Mark broke out of his stupor. 

"Ah- thank you very much for the food." 

He neatly cut well-seasoned steak and dipped it in the surrounding sauce. Upon eating it, he felt an assortment of emotions well up from his heart. 

Joy for being able to have such a delicacy, regret for not being able to savor it any longer, and a sense of humbleness after having wondered how much each bite costs. A smile lined his face as he looked at the creator of this masterpiece. 

"This is the best meal I've had in my life." 

That was not a lie. The circumstances he grew up in were not miserable, but a luxury like this was still beyond his reach. 

The brunette proudly laughed.

"I'm glad. Of all the things I can cook, this is my specialty." 

She looked to the side, a bitter glint in her eyes.

"Perfecting it was painful." 

Mark could understand. After all, each attempt costs a steak, and he could barely afford a single one! 

A thought popped into his head.

'I don't have to pay for this... do I?'

He returned his focus to the alluring delicacy. If he were to pay for this, he might as well enjoy it to the fullest first. 

As he was about to finish the steak, he heard a set of domineering footsteps approach from behind. 

"Is breakfast already made?" 

The brunette gazed at her father. 

Mark turned around. Now that it was the day, he saw the full appearance of the old man.

Black hair started to whiten on both his scalp and beard. His crimson-red eyes seemed to be capable of burning things to the ground. 

For some reason, seeing those eyes made him uneasy. 

"Good morning... sir" 

The muscular father chuckled heartily.

"Just call me Jack." 

But at that moment he stopped and went quiet.

An unsettling pressure emerged in the dining room as Mark ate the last bite of the succulent steak. 

From looking at Mark, to the empty plate, and then to the smirking brunette, the old man's incredulous shock slowly turned into a burning ire. 

"Was that..." 

A sea of passionate rage rolled through Jack's mind. Mark used the full extent of his ability to try and calm him down, but his efforts were akin to dropping a bucket of ink in a lake. It was futile. The man was mad to the point of being unable to speak. 

Mark threw a glance at the brunette. 

The muscles on the old man's face began to twitch. 

"Was that my premium quality cut?" 

Upon hearing those words, the innocent bartender paled. 

'What did this idiot get me into!?' 

He didn't know what 'premium quality' exactly meant. But Jack's expression let him take a pretty good guess. 

It was probably something that he couldn't afford. 

The chef plead to her father. Her peach eyes watered with an apology. 

"I just wanted to thank him for his actions last night..." 

Jack put his trembling hand to his face. 

"Your mother and I were going to celebrate our anniversary with that." 

"Oh..." 

The brunette bowed her head. 

"Sorry." 

A momentary silence ensued as the old man's chastising stare permeated the dining room. Mark felt an invisible pressure in the house, it threatened to burst through the walls at any given moment. 

'Is this how I die?' 

The insufferable silence was broken by the sound of soft steps in the hallway. He turned and looked at the approaching figure. She had pure blue eyes, like that of a pristine pond. Her familiar caramel hair flowed down her back while she strode into the room. 

Jack's expression softened as his wife became the center of his attention.

"Melissa, I'm sorry. We might have to change our anniversary plans." 

The mature woman's blue eyes moved across the room as her gaze landed on her daughter shortly before locking onto Mark. Her nose seemed to have already picked up on the lingering scent of steak.

"That's a shame..." 

The young bartender was lamenting his life choices. Perhaps he should have pretended to be asleep when the idiot knocked on his door. 

'What a terrible first impression!' 

A sense of dread invaded Mark's mind upon seeing the mother. Trauma and paranoia worked in ghastly harmony as household memories flashed through his mind.

Nevertheless, he simply held his head down in a silent apology for his actions- even though he was really the victim. 

"Let's just get another one." 

Mark slowly looked up, shocked by Melissa's nonchalance. Her blue eyes shone with a profound glimmer.

As if inspired by her words, the old man seemed to have had an idea as his eyes lit up. 

Jack looked at his daughter with blazing authority. 

"Go get us a steak"

He wrote down something on a piece of paper and gave it to the nameless brunette. She accepted it and folded the paper into her pocket. 

"And you." 

A pair of crimson eyes pierced Mark. The young man shivered under the intense gaze. 

"Escort her while she looks for it." 

'Oh, that's not too bad.' 

It was a lighter punishment than he was expecting, but he had no problems with that! How benevolent Jack was for letting him off without even a slap on the wrist. A smile crept to his face. 

"I won't let you down."

The two quickly left the grand house. Looking back, Mark was able to see the magnificent structure. Though it only had one floor, it covered a large area of land. 

"Call me Celeste today." 

"Huh?"

Mark looked at the brunette, her unfounded demand catching him by surprise.

"Why?" 

"Because we're going to a public place. It will be easier if you can call me out from a crowd.' 

Mark nodded. Having a name certainly does come with benefits. 

"But how am I supposed to remember?" 

She smiled, having been expecting such a response. 

"I'll remind you. And hopefully, you'll get used to it." 

The two continued walking. They faced the rising sun as it approached the periphery of the overhead fog. Looking around, Mark found himself in the wealthy district of the city- at the other end from where his own house was- the impoverished shambles that people called a neighborhood. 

'Luckily I didn't go back last night.' 

If he did, getting lost was a certainty, getting robbed was likely too, and even being killed was possible in the treacherous stretch to his house. 

Though, Mark nevertheless got into a predicament with Celeste's parents. 

Speaking of which... 

He threw a glance at her. 

"Aren't you rich enough to live by yourself?"

Celeste smirked in return.

"Why do you ask? Did seeing my parents make you afraid of doing anything~" 

Mark sighed. 

'What did I expect.' 

He looked in the direction of the slums, his gaze piercing through the city walls and reaching his house. 

"Would you not live by yourself if you had the money?" 

It's what he would do. Maybe he was biased because of how his mother treated him. Not that he was trying to move away, but if at one point he can he will definitely do it. 

The less he stays with his mother the better.

Celeste looked at him, seemingly having sensed the meaning behind Mark's words. 

"Even though our family has money, living together is the best option. It gives less housing and food costs while more security for each other."

She smiled.

"I believe that the greatest gift I have is the support of those around me"