The stranger who had his face coughed blood. Dying right in Haze's arms. He frantically tried to help. He wanted to call the emergency number, but his phone's battery was dead. What an inconvenient thing to happen. "Hey, can you breathe?" he asked, knowing nothing of the stranger's condition. "I'll get you to the hospital." It was the only thing he could do. Haze half dragged the stranger into the car he came in. The key was still in there. In fact, the car engine was still on. After maneuvering the stranger's deadweighted body into the back seat, Haze rushed to drive to the hospital. Turning his attention between the road and the dying stranger, Haze asked his name. But, the stranger gave no sound. He tried again, harder this time, still receiving no reaction except for him to slump down from the seat. Haze cursed and stepped on the gas pedal. He didn't know what to do if the stranger died on the way. What would he say to everyone, then? "Hey, please don't die on me," he quickl

Three days later, Haze was discharged from the hospital. The shorter older man from before came back, not with Leonard, but a brunette girl followed in his place. “Good afternoon, sir,” the shorter older man greeted with a bow, “I see you are ready to go out.” “Yes, I’m sick of this place,” Haze replied. Even if this hospital room was bigger and better facilitated than his studio apartment, it was still that. A hospital room. Seeing the question on Haze’s face, the shorter older man finally introduced himself. “How rude of me, I forgot the basic manner of all things. Oh, to be old and alive. My name is Jeremy Tito, Mr. Blackwood’s assistant.” Haze offered a handshake, which the short, old assistant took warmly. “My name is… you know already.” “No need to be shy, Cassius.” Old Jeremy smiled politely, “You have taken the deal, it’s required for you to polish your act from now on.” A little hesitant, but Haze finally nodded. His eyes then travelled to the girl behind old Jeremy.

Haze woke up with a bang.And a boner, to be precise. But no one needs to know that.Especially not Elaine, the girl who dared to slam his bedroom door open so hard that the window rattled."Good morning, impostor," Elaine said with apparent glee after wrenching him away from his nice sleep. She already has a wooden ruler in her hand, ready to take on her role as his teacher for the day. "Get out of bed and present yourself downstairs in one minute. Wear something comfortable to move.""Can you not give me a heart attack next time?" Haze still clutched his chest with one hand. The other one was around his blanket, deliberately trying to cover the tent forming in his lower body.Try as he might, Elaine caught his suspicious behavior. "What are you trying to hide, impostor?"He blushed a little. He had never shown a certain, embarrassing reaction to a stranger in his twenty-three years of life. One that he had only met once, to add. "N-nothing."Elaine's eyes narrowed, moving back and f

Elaine chuckled as she heard what Haze had said earlier. "You think the apocalypse is near?" "If it is, I wouldn't want a bunker to hide and spend the remaining days like a loser. I'd rather burn that one million you give and dance on its ashes." Haze scoffed at her guess, silently labeling her uncreative. "Oh, can I do that now?" Elaine smoothly ignored his question, "Then, why a doomsday bunker?" "My life turned upside down in one night. Who's to say there won't be zombies walking around town next week?" Haze turned away from her, looking at the red light above. "Besides, you said I have everything I might need in the mansion, so why not do something crazy when I have the chance for it? With your permission, of course." The brunette couldn't fault him. She was the one who said that earlier. At least the impostor was not that dumb. This morning, she initially thought that Haze would make her buy unnecessary things that he never had, like designer clothes, exclusive watches, an exp

When Elaine said she would report their finding, Haze didn’t think he’d be sitting on a chair before a closed door of the Blackwood patriarch’s private study. “I thought we were going to the police,” he whispered to the brunette beside him. Elaine side-eyed him as she calmly stated, “Why would I go to a stinky organization?” Haze shrugged, “I don’t know, maybe because it sounds logical?” “Yeah, to you.” She fell in silence then, leaving him with his own thoughts. They had been sitting there for about half an hour, waiting for Leonard to welcome them inside. Feeling bored already, Haze directed his gaze to his surroundings. He found nothing. Literally. Not only the waiting room but also the entire place of this mansion. There was nothing but necessary house appliances and some art, like statues or big paintings along the wall. If nothing else, the Blackwood’s main mansion could be an art exhibition museum, just like the one where Haze stayed. The door opened when he was about to p