The Incident

"Ah, Mel Mel! Give me back my glass! How could you be so mean even if you've become this pretty? Huu ... I'm so sad!"

Melanie stood with her hands on her hips next to Cassandra who was starting to reach for the glass Melanie had snatched away to prevent her from getting even more drunk. Melanie had tried to convince her to go home several times, but it always ended up like this.

"Stop whining like a baby, Cass! You're bleeding my ears! Mel, just give her the drink back!"

Instead of complying, Melanie shot a sharp glare at Priscilla who was sitting frozen, swirling her drink in her glass. Melanie clicked her tongue in annoyance, trying to shake her sister awake so they could go home immediately.

In the end, Melanie managed to get the women up from their seats and pushed them into the car. Fortunately, Katty and Tiffany were also still sober, so they took care of the rest and drove them home first in their car. Melanie sighed, staring at the two drunk women remain in Priscilla's car with an annoyed face before heading back into the bar to pay their drinks.

Melanie handed over the credit card from Cassandra's wallet which she had tossed carelessly on the table, as if she wanted to invite a bunch of thieves to take her belongings. Melanie leaned on the table, waiting for the clerk to finish processing the credit card she had just given, hoping that the card was still usable and had money in it.

At that moment, she felt a vibration in her pocket. Her brow furrowed as she saw a message coming in from someone who seemed to have been absent from her life for quite some time.

Unknown: "Get away from that bar! Now!"

With wide eyes, Melanie quickly typed a response, "Why?"

Unknown: "There are a bunch of dangerous people in there! Go, Melanie! Now!"

Despite being overwhelmed with confusion, Melanie decided to trust this stalker of her and immediately stepped outside after the clerk at the register finished processing her payment and give back the card. After fastening her seatbelt, Melanie steadily pressed the gas pedal and drove out of the bar's parking area.

Not long after Melanie had left the bar, she jumped in shock when she heard the loud sound of shattering glass from the place she had just exited. Slamming on the brakes, Melanie glanced through the rearview mirror to see that the large window of the bar had shattered into pieces, and from inside she saw a group of men with firearms in hand. Melanie swallowed hard. Meanwhile, her hands instinctively gripped the steering wheel as her feet pressed down on the gas pedal. After that, she dared not look back although that horrific sight remained etched in her head and seemed impossible to erase even after days had passed.

~𝘋𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘺 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘺~

Melanie stepped out of her dorm room with her hair tied haphazardly. She hurriedly walked to the bus stop and boarded one that was still waiting there. Glancing at her watch, Melanie pulled out her earbuds from the bag, then plugged it into her ears. She leaned back against the backrest while staring blankly outside through the window.

Since her stalker had given the warning message at the bar, he had disappeared from her life. Again. Of course, Melanie felt it was unacceptable to be treated that way, although he had warned her to leave the place before it which meant he tried to safe her from that situation. He should have known many questions were swirling in her mind after that incident. About who those armed people were, why they had been there, and whether her appearance was related to all of this. However, how could Melanie answer all the questions in her head if the one who had the answers had buried himself deep underground again?

For now, Melanie was trying to focus on her life without paying attention to anything else. Evidently for the past few months, nothing had happened to her like what she had seen that night at the bar. Everything resumed as it had been, normally, as if the incident had never occurred, or it was just a wild imagination of hers since, after all, she had consumed alcohol that night, which could have been a strong reason for her head not to function properly.

Melanie stepped off the bus after it stopped in front of a well-known mall. She walked in with the other visitors, making her way immediately to the fourth floor.

She headed toward one of the fast food stalls in the area at the back. With a formal smile on her face, she approached a tall, thin man who immediately stood up to shake Melanie's outstretched hand.

"I really did not expect my place to have such barbaric guests that night," said the gray-haired man to Melanie who nodded while typing every word he said into her laptop. "Fortunately, there were no casualties. However, I still have to face the reality that some properties of mine, like tables, chairs, glasses, and windows, became my responsibility, even though I have insurance for that."

"Then, how about the perpetrator? I suppose they already have been caught."

He did not answer immediately. He sighs, swirling his tip around the rim of his glass in silence for a few moments. Seeing that reaction, Melanie could already guess the answer.

"When I heard the first shot, I rushed to call the police. But somehow, before they arrived, the shooter ran away through the back door. The police tried to catch them when they finally arrived, but ... that's it. They never told me about the progress regarding the shooter."

Melanie halted her fingers from the keyboard, then intertwined it on the table while staring intensely at the man in front of her. "Help me refresh my memory, Mr. Gallahar. Didn't you say that only you and the employees had the back door key?"

"Yes! That's what I'm wondering too, Miss. That key is only used when we want to dump trash or receive deliveries. So, as usual, I left the key in the locker room while I served a VIP guest on the second floor. I've already asked all of my employees about it, but they all have no clue. Also, the key isn't lost or anything when I've checked it. It just hung there. Untouched."

Melanie pauses for a moment, then cleared her throat. "Sir, did you check your employees' backgrounds thoroughly before you hire them?"

The expression on his face was one of surprise upon hearing Melanie's question, looking taken aback. However, he nods confidently and said, "Of course. Most of the ones I remember have experience working in another bars. The rest only have experience as waiters in cafes or convenience stores. Nothing unusual."

Half an hour later, Melanie finally finished her interview with the owner of the bar she had visited that night with Priscilla and the girls. Although she still had suspicions about one of the bar employees and wanted to investigate further based on their resumes when they applied for jobs, Melanie wanted to leave that part to her colleague who hadn't come with her today. After all, as an intern, she wasn't too sure if she had the right to do that alone without her senior's approval.

After watching Mr. Gallahar's back as he walked down the escalator, Melanie sighs and began to pack her things into her bag. Just as she was about to leave, Melanie turned around and decided to buy something first to eat later when she returned to the dorm.

When Melanie arrived at the dorm, it was already five pm. As she was about to go upstairs, the dorm supervisor appeared from the maintenance room on the ground floor and offered her a pack of cookies. Melanie accepted it happily before she said goodbye to head up to her room on the third floor.

Once in her room, Melanie immediately took a bath to refresh herself. After that, she ate, then lazed around on her bed while watching a movie on laptop. Near midnight, she turned off the laptop and prepared to sleep.

However, just as Melanie about to close her eyes, she heard a soft knock coming from her tightly closed door. Melanie stared intently at the door without moving a muscle for a few moments before finally, reluctantly, she walked over and opened the door for whoever rude guest was visiting her at this hour.

Behind the door, stood a tall figure in his thick parka jacket and a dark neck gaiter concealed his features. His hands were gloved, clenched tightly at both sides. Even though he wore the hood of his jacket to cover his head, Melanie could still tell that whoever stood in front of her was lowering his head, staring at the tips of his black boots which were white from the dusting of snow that had begun to fall.

"Can I come in?"