"Finally—"
It was the middle of the work day so I didn't find anyone when I got into the apartment.
Seeing Alex was a bad thing to happen, but compared to seeing Silas? No way, I was so happy that I wasn't about to see him any time soon.
He would give me a shower of questions then not give me any chance to escape it.
"When did we become this close? It's so weird."
I hadn't any close friends in my life so treating someone like this, or even being treated like this was new.
What a mystery…
Just imagining taking things lightly with him and the others and ending up being betrayed so badly was cruel.
"As if there's anything they could betray me with."
I had to shower then sleep but the moment I finished changing my clothes I found myself thrown on to the bed unconsciously.
I was too tired to the point I just kicked the thoughts of showing and eating aside, with all other useless things.
"Yeah, just let it to another time—"
Sleeping was the property, and it was the only thing I did well so far…
I slept a whole eight hours, then woke up hungry, so I went out… but instead of finding something to eat, I found the whole group gathering in the living room while planning some mysterious things that included 'kill' and 'beating up' and 'kidnap'.
That of course made me step back slowly, one step at a time, until I reached my room door again.
Seeing them while planning such things wasn't a good idea, especially when I didn't know if I was a possible prey or not.
"Where do you think you are going?"
"..."
"We already saw you. Come and set, we must at least celebrate your freedom!"
"Yeah, and we have to thank you for saving us too!"
"..."
Only Adeline kept silent while allowing them to say whatever they wanted. And, to be honest, her speech was always as bad as Silas's so I didn't want to hear it either.
"Come and set first." Drew pointed at the free chair beside his. "You okay? Why did the HR keep you there for too long when you were supposed to get out early?"
"We just had a little chat."
"Chat?" That was Silas, the one who witnessed me talking with the HR Demon before. "You stayed there against your well?"
"Nah, against what? My well?"
"..."
"I took my compensation out of their eyes."
"...?"
"Stop looking at me like this. What's wrong with standing for my rights?"
"Unfazed."
"Fearful."
"Such a reckless human being."
"Insane."
"..."
I inhaled, feeling as if I was being judged too harshly these days.
What's wrong with these people?
"What did they give you after risking your life to seek compensation?"
"A raise."
"A raise?!" the twins shouted together, as if they expected something more interesting. Meanwhile Silas and Adeline talk in sequence after, saying the most stupid things ever.
"Why does a rich man need a raise?"
"You need it to give it to charity or what?"
"You crazy human beings." I stood up, unable to continue this thing. "I'm hungry, let's talk later."
"Wait, we booked a table at a good restaurant in advance."
"...?"
"Celebrating your freedom, as I said earlier." Drew was the first to stand up after me. "We will think about a way to beat the crazy people later."
"the what?"
"The one who stole the tickets."
Ah…
That one needed a good beat up. Just because of him I found myself in all of that craziness.
"you'll find a good time for that, eventually."
"Yeah, after getting killed by him?"
"Right… this is not something to take lightly."
Aside from the fact that that man was about to die with the two others if he didn't steal the tickets. Couldn't he just steal it from anomalies? Or seeing it in his colleagues hands make it something safe to use?
All people here are crazy, don't even forget that, Nathan.
"Won't we go?"
"Yeah, wait for a minute."
I just changed into a proper outfit before getting out with them… and somehow, the 'good restaurant' they talked about was the one I went to with Hero last time.
Oh, right.
Next weekend may be the last one to see him.
"What are you thinking about?"
"Not much." I sat opposite to Silas while the both twins sat each on a side. "How do people see us outside of the company when we wear the watches? White headed aliens?"
"No, of course." Dean laughed as if that was the craziest thing he'd ever heard. "They see us, it's just that they couldn't remember our faces after."
Oh…
"And, what about that agent from before, he did recognize Drew and Dean even when you two looked like some crazy monsters."
"That—" Dean was about to answer but the waiter came to have our orders so all of the conversation got held for minutes.
I thought that it would end, since it seemed like something they couldn't talk about easily, but Adeline brought it back to the table the moment the waiter left.
"I'm curious too… why talk like that to someone from there?"
"He is our cousin."
"...?"
"The older cousin who does think that if he has the ability to do something, then he must do it."
"We usually have the same conversation every time we meet. Nothing much to worry about."
"..."
It wasn't as complicated as I thought, was it?
"But that one was the only son of one of the Upper echelons on the Disaster Management Authority."
What?
Dean just choked with the water he was drinking while Drew looked at her with disbelief.
I looked at Adeline's direction, too, while feeling as if this was not any information to say casually… or to have casually, so to speak.
"Are you fully aware that what you've said was something you mustn't say?"
"Why?" She answered Drew with a small smile that seemed more like a threat. "You don't want us to know that you are also a part of that family? Maybe sons of someone of the ruling elite there?"
"Ah…" Dean just laughed for seconds after. "No, unfortunately… This assumption isn't true. How could we get into the company if it was right and someone like you could easily figure this much out?"
"...Right."
That's how all the conversation got a quiet awkward end.
I stayed silent, even if I was the one to bring it up, but noticing that Silas stayed silent too was the weirdest part of it—
Somehow that felt as if he was agreeing with all the things they talked about.
Don't even think about it,
I looked at the windows and all of the people outside it.
It will be another week and I'll escape all of this.
Just one week to return to that empty calm lifWait—
My eyes catched a familiar figure outside the window, and I didn't have the chance to hide at all.
All I did was to look at my plate again, as if I didn't see anything out of the ordinary, while crying inside because of my bad luck.
"Why do you seem so calm now?"
Silas asked, and I answered without even looking anywhere beside my food.
"He is here."
"Who?"
"Their cousin."
"...?"
"He is outside the restaurant."
"I think that he is already inside." Drew answered with a low voice so I gave up and looked up. and he was there, heading towards our table without looking around.
What a lovely, beautiful, crazy situation…
Wasn't the one in the Vessel enough? Why another one?
Agh—
At least he wasn't wearing his uniform.
"It has been a long time, Aiden."
"Yeah, how have you been?"
"...?"
"...!"
"..."
Eh?
What just happened?
I looked at the twins and Adeline to find them with their jaws dropped in shock— just as much as I was.
What a dramatic move…
No one imagined that Silas would be the one to talk with him, nor though that they knew each other in the first place.
"Fine as always, did your work go well?"
"As you know. Dealing with customers was never something easy."
"The marketing department is always a cruel place." Silas answered as if this conversation was full of honesty and good intentions. "Would you like to sit with us? I'd like to introduce you to my friends."
…?
What was going on?
I had no idea except one:
They knew each other but as 'normal' people. And Silas knew about Aiden's real work but he just pretended that he had no idea.
What a nice, lovely coincidence…
"This is Drew, and his twin right there is Dean… they are close friends from the tennis club we have in the neighborhood."
Sials spoke lies without even blinking, and the twins acted as if they'd never seen their cousin in their lives, so did their cousin.
That was so weird,
So freaking weird…
"And this is Nathan, we work on some projects together these days in the company."
"Nice to meet you." I shook the hand he offered while acting cool and unbothered. "Nice to meet you, too."
"And this is Adeline," he finally introduced the one who seemed too bored for such things. "She is my sister."
"...?"
"What?" "What!"
What?!