Scenario 4

As Luna reached for the ice cream from the vendor, two gaudily dressed individuals suddenly stepped forward and grabbed the child she was holding.

Feeling the sudden tug, Luna instinctively turned her head, the force of the pull causing her to drop the ice cream.

"What the fuck—"

Her shocked exclamation barely left her lips before she tightened her grip on the child, lifting him by the waist and holding him protectively against her chest.

"Who the hell are you people?! Let go!" she demanded, panic flashing across her face.

Instead of releasing the child, the two strangers pulled harder.

Luna felt the small body in her arms tremble violently, making her clutch the child even tighter.

"Check his calf! See if the cut I made is there!" one of the men ordered urgently.

The other yanked back the child's hoodie and pulled down his long white sock.

But there was nothing—no wound, no scar.

Frowning, the man roughly rubbed the child's leg, trying to remove any possible concealer. But nothing came off, except for the redness left behind from his harsh treatment.

"Hurts—" The child whimpered, his tiny frame shaking harder as silent tears slipped down his pale cheeks.

Rage flared within Luna. She had barely contained her fury when she overheard the bastard mention cutting the child's leg—but now, seeing those tear-streaked, soulless eyes, she snapped.

"AAAHHHHH! PERVERT! LET GO! HELP! PERVERT!"

"Shut up, woman!" one of them growled, reaching to cover her mouth.

Luna twisted her head away and screamed even louder.

At her cries, people in the vicinity turned toward them. The ice cream vendor swiftly grabbed a knife, pointing it at the two men.

"You two," he warned darkly, "if you don't back off right now, I can't promise where this knife will land."

Seeing the growing crowd, the two men quickly raised their hands in mock surrender.

"Sorry, sorry! It was a mistake," one of them said dismissively.

Luna's eyes darkened with fury.

"Grabbing a child, lifting their clothes, rubbing their leg—and you call that a mistake?" she spat.

She adjusted the child in her arms, shielding his face against her chest.

"Someone call the police! These bastards are pedophiles! Perverts! Catch them before they molest another child!" she incited, her voice laced with disgust.

The murmuring crowd shifted aggressively, moving to surround the two men.

Realizing the situation was turning against them, one of them cursed, shoved someone aside, and bolted. His companion followed, both disappearing down the street.

A few bystanders gave chase, but the men were too fast, vanishing into the distance.

Finally rid of the immediate threat, Luna turned to the concerned onlookers, forcing a small but sincere smile as she thanked them. Her expression conveyed lingering fear but also relief at their intervention.

Once the crowd dispersed, she gently set the child down and fixed his sock before turning to the ice cream vendor.

"Uncle, thank you so much!" she said, bowing twice in gratitude.

The vendor waved a hand dismissively.

"Young lady, there's no need to thank me. It's just what any decent person should do." He clicked his tongue in frustration. "Tch... So many perverts these days."

"Here," he said, handing her two ice creams. "These are on the house."

Luna immediately reached for her small wallet, but he shook his head.

"No, no, no. Consider it a gift for the little brave one. I hope she isn't too traumatized by what happened."

Luna bit her lip, offering another heartfelt thank you before walking away with the child.

Once she was a safe distance from the marketplace, she let out a deep sigh of relief.

But she had sighed too soon.

A firm grip yanked her into the narrow gap between two buildings.

Before she could cry out, a hand clamped over her mouth, muffling her scream.

"Hot Pink, don't scream—it's me, Pastel Pink," a husky, masculine voice murmured close to her ear, his breath warm against her skin.

Luna stilled. Thank God, not the enemy.

She released the tension in her jaw, resisting the urge to bite the hand covering her mouth.

Before she could say anything, rapid footsteps echoed nearby, growing closer.

"Shit," the man cursed under his breath. "You two stay hidden. I'll go lure them away."

Luna, sick of hearing the same cliché "I'll distract them while you run" line, didn't give him a chance to leave.

Instead, she grabbed him, shoved the child into a nearby garbage bin, and then—before the man could react—pinned him against the wall.

And kissed him.

Or rather, she barely brushed their lips together, just enough to make it look like an intense kiss.

The man's eyes widened, but Luna quickly shut them with her fingers before closing her own.

The approaching footsteps halted at the entrance of the alley.

Seeing what looked like a couple passionately making out, the pursuers scoffed in disinterest and turned away.

"Disgusting," one muttered.

His companion snickered. "We'll see you say that when you finally get a girlfriend, you single dog."

"The fuck?! You wanna fight?!"

"Enough messing around. We need to find that damn kid, or forget having girlfriends—we'll be lucky to keep our lives."

They ran off, their voices fading into the distance.

Luna immediately shoved Pastel Pink away.

Somewhere along the way, he had tangled his hand in her hair, deepening the kiss she never intended to actually feel.

She wiped her lips aggressively.

"My first kiss—"

"You initiated it," he pointed out flatly.

"Don't you dare start with me!" she snapped, glaring daggers at him.

She hadn't even gotten around to accusing him of turning the kiss into something real when all she planned was a light touch.

The man, undoubtedly handsome, with striking electric-blue eyes and a well-built frame, didn't faze her. Not her type anyway.

"A real kiss is more of an effective strategy," he said with a smirk. "Hiding in the trash wasn't an option, and those guys are thorough. They would've checked if the passionate is too low. The lips had already been touched anyway, a bit deeper doesn't make a difference..."

He raised a brow, looking effortlessly attractive.

"I should've let you go run after them and let them chase you with guns instead," she shot back.

The man coughed, clearing his throat. No rebuttal.

"...That was my first kiss too, if that makes you feel any better," he muttered.

Luna huffed and turned away, ignoring his words as she opened the garbage bin to pull the child out. The boy remained eerily blank, his gaze unfocused.

Pastel Pink eyed the child curiously. "The kid was supposed to be covered in wounds. Where did they go?"

"I covered them with concealer and had him wear thick skin-colored stockings," she explained. "The redness you saw was just from them rubbing too hard. Thank God it only looked like irritation instead of bleeding through."

"You're pretty meticulous," he noted.

Luna scoffed. "I don't take chances when a child's safety is on the line."

Just as she was about to hand the child over and remove herself from this entire mess, a beeping sound came from the man's wristwatch.

His expression darkened.

"You're doing great keeping him safe," he said quickly. "I need to divert the enemy up north and erase our trail. Stay hidden."

"Wait!" Luna grabbed his arm.

He smirked. "Kissing won't work this time."

"Shut up! The kid—I'm not—"

The beeping grew louder.

"You're doing great," he repeated. Then, before she could protest further, he pressed a quick kiss to her forehead.

"We'll meet at the designated spot. I promise."

And with that, he sprinted off.

Luna stood there, momentarily dazed.

Then reality hit.

"FUCK!"

She stomped her foot in frustration.

"PASTEL PINK, YOU FUCKING DOGSHIT!"

Biting back the urge to cry, she hoisted the child up.

"Fine. I'll just take you home and keep you safe myself!"