As planned from Charles's idea, Clara took a deep breath as she sat in a small, dimly lit room. Around her stood many of her subordinates wearing their distinctive black uniforms."As I wanted, this shop will continue to operate as a normal bakery and serve as our hideout," Clara explained, looking straight ahead with determination.Everyone nodded in understanding. Meanwhile, Clara's gaze swept the room and settled on one of her subordinates who was fidgeting restlessly."Axel, why are you like that?" Clara scolded, making the new recruit jump in surprise and stop moving.Axel smiled nervously, shaking his head. "It's nothing, boss. Just a mosquito," he answered, causing Clara to roll her eyes lazily."I have a new idea. While this bakery is being set up, one or two of you should pretend to apply for jobs at our enemy's cafe," Clara ordered, making everyone curious and confused."What do you mean, boss?" Axel asked, slightly protesting.Clara nodded. "Yes, how about it, do you want t
Dirgantara sat squinting at the two young men in front of him. He hadn't intended to provide information about job interviews, but suddenly they showed up offering themselves.The cafe owner didn't want to hire any more employees, while the two men kept persuading and begging. There was a hint of pity in their words."Please, sir. Hire us, our office went bankrupt and we don't know where to work. Meanwhile, our children at home are still young," said Farhan with a pitiful voice and a feigned suffering expression. His eyes produced fake tears.Secretly, Axel, seeing Farhan pleading like that, laughed inwardly. He never thought that the person he had always seen as a wise figure would now act so strangely when pretending. Farhan had quite a high sense of humor."Alright, you're hired, but remember, only as a cleaning service. I have enough baristas and other staff," Dirgantara said to Farhan, unable to bear the man's sad face any longer.Farhan smiled proudly and happily. He clasped his
While carrying out their mission, Axel and Farhan pretended to focus on work. They were slightly distracted a few times as their eyes kept glancing at drawers or other storage areas."Excuse me, but are you done sweeping? I need to put some important documents in here," said Dirgantara's secretary, carrying several red folders.Farhan, who was busy sweeping while glancing at a nearby drawer, suddenly stopped. He looked up and stood with a smile."Go ahead, I'm finished cleaning this room," Farhan replied, then hurried out of Dirgantara's office and pretended to clean the corridor not far from there.Dirgantara's secretary glanced over and caught an awkward smile from Farhan that seemed a bit suspicious. The girl just remained silent, shaking her head slightly as if she didn't care.On the other side, while looking left and right to make sure no one was around, Farhan turned to Axel, who was busy checking supplies in the kitchen from a distance. When their eyes met, he waved his hand,
Clara took a few steps back, her face slightly pale with furrowed brows as she looked at Franklin, who was staring at her angrily. She clenched her fists tightly, trying to maintain her composure. Meanwhile, her heart was racing as Franklin continued to glare at her."I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, really," Clara said with a trembling voice.Franklin snorted in annoyance. His eyes glared sharply at Clara. "Always so careless. Can't you focus when you're working?" Franklin asked in a slightly condescending tone with a raised voice.Clara took a deep breath and returned the sharp gaze with a thin smile. "I already said, I didn't mean to, I'm sorry."Dirgantara, who was sitting next to them, tried to mediate the argument. "Calm down, Franklin, it's just a small accident. Don't blow it out of proportion."Franklin only glanced briefly at Dirgantara's words, but he ignored his colleague's advice. He looked back at Clara with disappointment."You always have an excuse for messing everything u
Farhan tried as quickly as possible to hide his tense face with a thin smile that showed calmness. Although he was trembling slightly, he tried to answer properly. "Sorry, sir. I just came to clean this room. There were some files that were messed up. "Dirgantara raised an eyebrow with narrowed eyes. "Cleaning? Why does it have to be this late at night?" he asked in a stressed tone. He glanced at Axel who was standing next to Farhan. "And why is Axel here too?"Axel, who heard his name mentioned, immediately felt his blood rushing. Before he could open his lips to respond, Farhan immediately cut him off. "Axel is just accompanying me, sir. I'm afraid to work alone at night because I'm afraid of the dark," Farhan said with his arm slightly around Axel. Dirgantara looked at Axel with a sharp gaze, searching for any sign that they were lying. Axel tried to smile even though it was forced. "What Farhan said was right, sir. He needed help, so I decided to accompany him."Dirgantara stil
A few days later, Clara held another important meeting between her mafia members. Axel and Farhan re-entered the same room. Before that, they approached the door and knocked on it 5 times, showing the code they used to show that they were members. The door opened slightly, revealing the tense face of one of their mafia members. "You're late," the man said as he opened the door wider, letting Axel and Farhan in. "Clara's boss is waiting," he continued as he pointed to Clara who was sitting with a sharp face. The atmosphere in this room seemed more tense than last night. All the members were gathered around a large table, where Clara's boss sat on the frontmost bench in the middle between the right and left benches. The girl's gaze was sharp as she saw Farhan and Axel approaching. "What did you find?" Clara asked matter-of-factly. Farhan handed over his cell phone, showing a photo of the evidence of corruption found. "We found these documents in Dirgantara's room," he said, making
After the incident at the meeting office yesterday morning, Franklin became increasingly anxious because his hatred for Clara was met with the girl's kindness. An expression of uncertainty appeared on his face. Throughout the day, before keeping his promise to meet Clara, Franklin spent time reflecting in his dark, unlit room.On a slightly bright afternoon, Franklin finally opened his bedroom door and came out. He walked a bit wearily as he passed through rooms in every corner of the house. His steps sounded like very clear knocks on the marble floor.The young man's steps halted when Mrs. Smith, sitting on the living room sofa, called his name. "Franklin, is there a problem? You haven't come out all day," said Mrs. Smith, then took a sip of the hot tea in front of her.Franklin smiled faintly at his mother. "Just a minor issue, I'm tired from being busy working yesterday," he answered in a low, flat voice.Mrs. Smith nodded. Her black eyes sharpened as she looked at Franklin at the
That afternoon, after the two had finished enjoying Clara's chocolate cake and had a cup of tea each, Franklin happily took Clara for a walk in the park near the town square. They didn't feel tired as they walked because of the bond they shared. There was only happiness in their hearts. There was occasional soreness in the legs, but the rapid beating of the heart and the smile on the sweetly decorated face made the pain disappear. The night breeze that hit Clara and Franklin's clothes and their hair, made the atmosphere more intimate and piercing in the soul. Clara smiled and wrapped her arms around Franklin. The girl showed comfort when she was around the young man beside her. The handshake grew tighter as if hoping Franklin wouldn't leave her again. There was hope that this was the beginning of a new happiness in their relationship. Franklin, despite smiling and talking sweetly to Clara, his heart was filled with plans for revenge. In the back of his mind, Franklin kept making pro