From a close distance, Richard noticed the hotel building he would be visiting today. His eyes were busy examining its external appearance, which looked towering and quite futuristic. "They did well." He complimented the design of the building, which was quite different from most other models.He then stopped the sedan he was driving. The Bently flying spur was parked in front of the building's entrance and stole the show for its eye-catching customization, stunning colours, and details. A man in uniform stood by and opened Richard's car door. As Richard got out, he gave the valet his car keys and left.Richard entered the building while circulating his gaze calmly, paying attention to the entire building, whose inner appearance was no less impressive than the outer design. Most places that carry the concept of luxury usually show a classic Royal style, but this place was able to show something new. Even though it carries a modern concept, the place does not look complicated at all, w
The stranger, whose name Richard did not know, stayed where he was in a huff. Even without Richard saying anything, he already looked panicked when their eyes briefly met. It wasn't until Richard averted his gaze as if he didn't see anyone in that corner of his room that the man began wandering around it.He nervously searched for a place to hide until he saw a small bar in the eyes of a barista, who was watching him in confusion. The stranger quickly ran and hid in the corner, ignoring the bartender's reaction, who momentarily panicked and then made room for him.The bartender looked at Richard, who casually ignored what was happening and continued to drink his Pina colada calmly on his comfortable sofa. Seeing that, the bartender guessed that he could let him stay there, and both acted as if nothing strange was there."Please don't say anything, and let me hide." The voice from below made the bartender glance up. Meeting her gaze, he saw the body of the person down there trembling w
The man was initially about to leave, but he hesitated to step out and re-entered the room before his feet had a chance to step out."Why?" Richard asked the man with his chin up, acting unconcerned and so distant, even from his voice that sounded so stern and cold. "You don't want to say what happened, but you still want to hide there." From what he caught, that was so.Richard knew something was strange about the man, there was something he was hiding from him, and it seemed to be the reason why he was being chased by a group of gensers. Whatever it was, if he wasn't planning to tell him, then he had no intention of letting her stay there. He did not want her private space disturbed by strangers. He did not come to let strangers settle in a corner of her room."Go away. I don't want strangers coming in and out of my private space as if I'm not bothered and making a big deal out of it." It was disrespectful and belittling to him. Just because she didn't yell or drag him from there di
"I-I... I... I don't know what to give you. I have nothing to give you, sir." He was someone who was in a state of having absolutely nothing.His daily work as a labourer doesn't bring in much money that could enrich him with luxury goods. He lives a very ordinary life, but even now, he is still in debt that needs to be paid. For the past few days, he has been unable to return to his residence because he is avoiding the apartment owner, who continues to collect payments.He didn't live in a fancy apartment, but it was decent enough for him. A thirty-six square meter building with one room and one bathroom was what he could get from his salary. His life was difficult, so he was desperate enough to steal the company's data. His delinquent payments made him utterly helpless as he began to be pressured by the instalments."I have nothing to offer. I'm just an ordinary labourer, sir. My salary is only enough for my daily life." He supports his family, who don't live with him hence, he does
"Who are you?" Balmond was wary. What Richard said was just like he wanted to tie him up. Doing whatever Richard ordered without knowing about the specific order was just like he was facing another danger.He wasn't sure how far to trust Richard, whom he didn't know. After this problem, he might run into other problems due to being mistaken, not being careful when making deals with strangers, and being too easily persuaded. Her desperation could bring her down and worse.He was initially tempted because the situation was so urgent and desperate, but then he realized that she was in an easy position to be tricked. It is possible that this person could have taken advantage of her situation to trick him."What do you want from me?" He was full of presumptions, not knowing whose side to take and who she could trust.Richard smiled, his hand playing with the contents of his glass. "Why are you only worried now?" He liked his caution. For a moment, it made his laugh.It took acumen to read
He shook his head. "Can I think for a minute?" He hesitated again.His mind was currently full of various things that made it difficult for him to make a decision, but when he heard footsteps approaching, he gasped and held Richard's hand who was surprised to see him. "Alright... Alright, I'll agree to join. Now hide me quickly from here. They'll be back." He looked back towards the door with a scared look. Then returned to Richard by holding his hand. "Please hurry, hide me immediately. Don't let them see and catch me."Richard pulled the man's hand that was holding him, then sat him on the sofa. "Calm down. You don't need to panic." He chuckled. "Those people won't come back.""No, you're wrong!" He clenched Richard's hand even tighter.At the sight of him, Richard's forehead bent. The man's fear was not unusual. He looked traumatised. It made Richard look back at him, and he saw that near the man's shoulder bone was a blackened bruise.Richard's face turned hard. "Have they caught
"Be prepared. They might be moving to find your position right now." Richard put his cell phone back into his coat pocket.Balmon turned to look at it. "What do you mean?" He looked confused. He knew that the computer device he used to load all the data could hide the IP address well enough that people would not easily know where he was.He looked frantically to his right and left. At any moment, those people could come and put him in danger. He then looked again at Richard, who was calm. He was a little annoyed that he trusted him too much."What should I do now?!" He shouted frantically. "You said you would protect me."Richard turned to him with a frown on his forehead. One thing he didn't like was that he was troublesome when he was scared. "You don't need to panic. I keep what I tell you. Trust me."He had already done that. Since he had trusted him so much, otherwise, he would not have obeyed Richard by spreading all the data he had. Knowing he would be in danger if he did so, h
Balmond entered the large building uneasily. His eyes kept looking left and right at the building, trying to mark it and remember. Richard did say that he would take care of him and make sure it was safe for him, but that did not immediately dispel his anxiety about what else might happen.On the one hand he was worried about his situation, on the other hand he was also concerned with his family whose situation he did not know whether they were safe or not because since he became a wanted man and was on the run, Balmond did not contact his parents at all. He was afraid that those people would track down his parents' whereabouts if he did."I don't understand why the job I thought was safe got me into this trouble." He muttered quietly behind Richard as he followed Richard's steps into the building.The building's appearance looked magnificent, with a futuristic design like most other office buildings. When he got out of the elevator and walked through the corridor, Balmond found that
One evening, after a few hours, more than one helicopter landed in the village area, and the whole village became crowded because of this.They did not expect that the missing person who had been searched for by the strangers who came to the village was still alive. To them, it was quite impossible; considering what the storm was like that day and the ocean was a fierce place, they did not think that the missing person was still safe and intact."Mr. Richard." Smith got off first and came to him hurriedly.The 45-year-old man hugged Richard so tightly and emotionally that he had almost given up hope in his quest to find Richard. He himself had even stopped hoping that the possibility of Richard being alive and somewhere was such a great miracle. He was alive and found somewhere.Smith released his embrace and looked at Richard with happiness mixed with emotion. "I'm glad you're okay, sir."After Smith let go, James, who was led by Rachel, hugged him tightly. "I trust you are doing wel
"Alright, then. Tomorrow, we will go to look for your family's whereabouts." Alexa made the choice; Richard looked at her, who seemed confused.Richard didn't understand why Alexa seemed so serious when they had never discussed it with obvious effort before. "Why all of a sudden?" he wondered if perhaps they no longer wanted him there. Is it possible that my presence is becoming inconvenient?"Alexa smiled with a shaded face, her head shook, and her hand rubbed lightly over the back of Richard's hand, trying to get his attention. "No, it's not. Your existence is not inconvenient at all; quite the opposite. I'm honestly grateful to have you here." Alexa pursed her lips tightly and turned her attention to stare straight back ahead.She stared at the vast and calm expanse of the sea. Her feelings about letting go of Richard were still quite reluctant. She had a great desire to keep Richard there, but she also didn't want to be selfish."Today my friend came to tell me that in the village
After finishing cleaning up, Richard went to Alexa, who also seemed to be cleaning up the glasses in their house's living room.Richard's eyes scanned the place, looking for the whereabouts of the guest whose voice had been heard earlier when he entered through the back door. "Has the guest gone home?" he glanced over and helped Alexa.Without hesitation, Richard's hand took over the tray Alexa was carrying and placed it in the kitchen. At the same time, Alexa followed suit, carrying the snack container. "Yes, they're home." She replied flatly, without any expression that sounded cheerful from her answer.Richard watched her, noticing something a little different about Alexa's demeanour compared to usual. He thought maybe the guests had affected her mood, or maybe something else was to blame. He wasn't sure exactly, but even he didn't want to ask if Alexa didn't seem to want to explain. "Who are the guests who came?" She made small talk while walking towards the dining table.Approach
"Jacob, where are you going?" one of the villagers greeted Richard, who seemed to be walking with an axe in his hand. "Are you heading to the forest?" he asked enthusiastically because he was happy to see Richard, one of the new residents there.Richard, who had just managed to turn around and look for who was talking to him, smiled and nodded. "Morning, Mr. Jack." He politely greeted the old man whom he recognized as Sam's friend."Yes, morning, young man." He smiled kindly in response to Richard's greeting. "If you have time, come to the house. You promised to help me yesterday when you were free."Richard nodded. "Later, when I am free, I will try to drop by, sir. " He selflessly helped some nearby neighbours who needed his help.It had been a month since he had been in that place, and now he was living a very normal life there. Just like everyone else, Richard also had his own activities. Sometimes, he joined some men to go fishing at sea, without him knowing that he used to be a
Sitting in his private room, James looked anxiously at the picture frame containing Richard's picture. For days, he had been waiting for news of Richard and conducted a massive search. But the search was ultimately fruitless. There were still no reports of Richard's whereabouts or any signs of him being stranded somewhere.Her worries grew as time passed. The first 24 hours after Richard disappeared were the golden hour to find his whereabouts and determine whether he was in good or bad condition.But a week had passed since then, and there was still no further news of his whereabouts."Is there still no sign of Richard's whereabouts?" James asked Smith in the room.His anxiety was rife with other things, his heart was in turmoil, and his feelings had become chaotic since Richard's whereabouts were declared missing.The news of Richard's disappearance made him not stop thinking about where Richard was and what the situation was like. His condition, which he continues to worry about, c
"What took you so long to come back?" Alexa, who was waiting there, turned her head and noticed Richard, who had just returned, walking over to her.Richard nodded his head. "In line." he took over the groceries held by Alexa.Telling her about what he experienced while inside earlier, for him, Alexa didn't need to know that the Baron was still bothering him. Apart from not wanting to make the woman anxious, he also didn't want Alexa to have a particular view of his attitude that could be considered rude by her.He smiled at the woman. "Do we have anything else to do? Or do you want us to go home?"Alexa helped Richard carry a few easy things to take to not burden Richard too much. "Let's just go home; it's too late. Tomorrow, I have to get up early to store breakfast because Dad will be leaving early in the morning." She started to leave the place, followed by Richard, who walked beside her."Tomorrow morning? Where is Sam going?""Dad said there is someone he needs to help. One of t
Alexa glanced at Richard with a gaze that stared strangely at him."Why are you looking at me like that?" Richard, who realized her gaze, then asked.Alexa headed back to stare straight ahead. "I was just wondering. How could you do that? When you did it earlier, I looked so expert. Unlike someone who just tried, your posture and then the techniques you used seemed to clearly show that you were an expert." She looked back at Richard in confusion. "Tell me, how did you do it?"Richard looked at her in silence for a while. Like Alexa, he was confused by what had been done. He did not expect that his ability was that great.The more he thought about it, the more astonished he became. He obviously didn't remember anything at all., but strangely, he could do it all so well. "I don't know., Richard shook his head as he replied. "I'm not sure myself what I'm doing and how I'm doing it so well. All I feel is that my body knows how to do it." He explained the confusion to Alexa.After hearing
"No, it can't be like that. I disagree that I should stay away from her." Baron rejected their agreement, which he agreed to without thinking.Obviously, Baron rejected Richard's request to limit his interaction with Alexa. He dared challenge Richard and felt hateful and annoyed at him because Alex was the reason. He didn't want any other man or Richard to get close to him.Baron has liked Alexa for a long time, and Jack, from their teenage stuff, has always followed and been attracted to her. But his feelings were unrequited because Alexa didn't show any interest in him at all.The Baron knew that. He knew that Alexa didn't like him, but he still tried to get close to her, hoping that someday Alexa would change her mind. He kept trying and never gave up because he thought that maybe his efforts would be rewarded with what he hoped for someday.But if he couldn't get close to her in the end just because he lost the bet, then his efforts all this time were futile and ridiculous.He sho
The two of them were now in their respective positions, wearing a set of arrows and getting ready in place. He arrows where they were. They were surrounded by people who wanted to witness the showdown between the two.On one side, Richard only came along with Alexa, who was currently so nervous and anxious about the possibility of Richard's condition getting a bad name with this challenge.On the other hand, Baron was surrounded by friends who were eager to see Richard defeated. The young men of the village clearly disliked Richard's existence and the way Richard behaved towards them.Specifically, they didn't need a reason to dislike Richard because even just looking at him could immediately make them dislike him and want to look down on him."Shouldn't you undo your intentions, Jacob?" Alexa approached him again and spoke in a worried tone.She was distraught, having promised her father that she would look after Richard. She would take Richard there with the insight that maybe from