Right after eating, Ivan and Silvia prepared the table in the living room. It was Ren’s first sleepover and since there’s no one to tell them what to do, Ivan prepared everything they needed to have an enjoyable night. The awkward air around Ren and Elishia has finally disappeared and they have become comfortable with each other’s company, good enough to wash the dishes together. “What do you think Ivan is trying to pull?” Elishia wiped the dishes with a dry cloth, “I know I’m his cousin so I should know how his brain operates and I do. But that is before he entered high school,” she turned to him, waiting for his response.“His plans, huh? Ivan can be difficult to figure out sometimes. His mind operates on a rather difficult wavelength, after all. Although I’ve seen some crazy things today, I don’t think he will pull something on the same level.” Ren smiled, surprising Elishia because of his certain level of trust for her cousin.“You trust him that much, huh?” said Elishia.Ren no
‘What the hell is going on?’ Is what I want to ask after suddenly falling into a kind of situation where I don’t even know how to deal with. This is the very first time that I’ve slept in the same room with someone of the opposite sex. And it just had to be Ivan’s cousin of all people.Not only that I don’t know how to act in this particular situation, it’s also thanks to the noises they’re making that makes the atmosphere between me and Elishia awkward. Just listening to the busy duo is putting me on the edge. And it’s not just me, I think Elishia feels the same.I turned to look over to her direction, to the bed. And to my surprise, I saw her staring back at me. I immediately turned around as if I saw nothing.Why was she looking at me? Is she perhaps uncomfortable sleeping in the same room with a man? Yes. That must be the reason why.“Elishia, are you asleep?” I asked, softly.There’s a chance that I was just seeing things. After all, we’re all drowsy earlier. She must have falle
I woke up and saw the exact same thing everyday for the last 17 years of my life. A piece of stale bread and a glass of milk that’s on the verge of expiring were the first things I saw the moment I walked out of my room. That’s usually the staple food in our household every morning. If you look at it, it's not enough for a growing kid like me who is trying to study and get at least a scholarship to go to a public college, but it’s more than enough for me.As someone who is not worth much, I can’t complain. I can’t. But with that kind of food greeting you everyday for almost your entire life, you’re bound to get sick of it someday. And that day arrived a long time ago. Sadly, I can’t do anything about it.“Meat” Oh! How I hope to wake up at least once in my life and see meat being served on the table. It can happen if I just focus on working and stop shooting for a scholarship. But even that’s hard if you are sitting at the bottom of the food chain. Unranked individuals like me can o
For the first time in a while, I wasn’t greeted by the usual stale bread and milk. There are still plenty left from the leftovers from last night. Fortunately, we have a small fridge to prolong them long enough to save them for another meal.“Morning, Mom.”It seems like my mother doesn't have any work today since she’s preparing breakfast. She usually leaves for work around this time and returns home at 12 AM to rest for the day. I’m glad she could get some rest before another unforgiving day of work.“You’re up early.”“This is usually the time I wake up. Where’s dad?”Mother handed me a plate of rice and a reheated bowl of soup yesterday. I only noticed it just now and it seems like it’s raining. What a perfect meal on a cold and rainy day! I hurriedly sat on the table not wanting to let the soup go cold and started eating immediately.“Your father is out today. It seems like there’s been a problem from the recent irregu
“Aiyo! Morning, Ren. What a great day, huh? Say, what are you planning to do on your birthday?” Asking me something like that out of nowhere, there’s no way I can think of something on the spot. “My birthday, huh? I don’t know. Since it’s the same day as the college entrance exam, I guess I’ll be studying?” Right after I said those words, Ivan looked at me with a disappointed look on his face. “Hey, Ren. I know I should be saying such things, but it's your birthday. Shouldn’t you at least enjoy yourself even for just a day?” What’s this guy saying? I just told him that it’s the same day as my entrance exam. I can’t just skip it. “Come to think of it, it’s been a long time since you got to celebrate your birthday. And for a few years now, I’m the only one who gets to receive a gift from you. That eats my conscience away every year, you know?” “If it troubles you that much, then just a gift is fine. There’s no need to celebrate, is there?” It’s true that I gave presents to Ivan
‘Boring’ That’s how my life has been for a while now. Everything is so easy to get as long as you have money. Luxury cars, branded clothes, latest model phones, and even people. I can confidently say that I have everything. Everyone I know is doing everything they can to get what they want even when they already have everything and they are happy. So I thought I’d do the same, and my father would immediately give me what I demanded. That’s how you can make yourself happy, by getting what you want. I was happy. The joy of getting what you want is satisfying and fulfilling, but that did not last long. And soon, I realized how boring and dull my life has been to have granted everything I wanted without doing anything nor working hard to get what I want. As soon as I heard that we needed to move because of the nature of my father's work, I felt relieved and hopeful that this would somehow make me realize true happiness. “Young miss, we are going to arrive soon.” I looked at the world
“Let me guess, you don’t have bills?” I shook my head. I got so used to the cashless life back in Sector B that the idea of bills went out of the window.“It’s fine. It can’t be helped since you don’t have any cash. The meal, just think of it as my treat.” He said with a smile. “Follow me, it would be dangerous for you to go through the entrance. You should take the backdoor instead, it’s much safer and the people outside will not notice anything since its in the same direction of the restroom,”He led the way, and the owner noticed us and gave us a confused look.“Something came up, Mr. Kim. Please deduct her meal from my paycheck.”The owner just gave him a thumbs up.“I don’t know if you’re just visiting Sector D but make sure not to do that again. You're fortunate that you did that here in our shop otherwise things would have turned ugly. Do you know how to get home?”“Of course, I’m not a kid you know?”Th
“How is she doing?”Steppen instantly prostrated himself in front of the company owner right after his inquiries all while bathing in cold sweat. An unexpected reaction from someone who was feared by his own subordinates.“This is all my fault! If only the ground floor was guarded tightly, then all of these wouldn’t have happened and the young miss wouldn’t be put in danger! Please allow me to apologize for my men’s lacking ability!”The company owner just looked at him blankly and buried his face beneath his palms.“It’s not like I’m pinning everything on you, Steppen. Sure, I’m angry that my little princess was injured but I’m glad that it was the only thing she suffered. Rather than that, I’m far more concerned about her mental health. She hadn’t sulked like this before, locking herself up inside her room and not eating her meal. That’s far more concerning for me.” The company head said, putting his pen and paper down.“She didn’t tell me anything about the young man who save