"You killed him." I looked at the corpse, then shook my head. "What do we do now?"
JJ threw the blood-soaked weapon to the ground, then leaned her back against the wall and tilted her face up to look at me.
"Aren't you scared? I could kill you too."
"Not exactly scared." I said that, then walked over to an old tarp lying beside the trash cans, picked it up with both hands, and spread it over the corpse. "After seeing that fight just now, I think fear wouldn't do much anyway. No matter how strongly the fight-or-flight response inside me kicks in, I still wouldn't be able to escape death."
"So you're really not afraid?"
Her gaze drilled straight into me. There was no killing intent in it. It felt more like she was simply curious.
"Yeah. If I die, then I die."
"Then that's boring…" She let out a sigh and raised both of her wounded hands toward the sky. "I guess for now, I won't kill you. But can you give me food and a place to stay? For the time being, I can't fight anymore."
Only after hearing JJ say that did my hand finally relax. I secretly let out a heavy breath, trying to release the fear bottled up inside me.
Scared shitless!!!
I had acted all tough in front of her, sure, but inside, my mind had already completely collapsed. If I hadn't forced myself to stand there and hold it together, I probably would've dropped to the ground crying and begging for my life by now.
Good God. Someone had just died right in front of me. His artery had been bitten open, then he got finished off with a blow to the head from a water pipe. Give me a break! This was my very first day on the job! If things are like this, how am I ever supposed to dare go outside at night again?
America is terrifying! I have never wanted to go home this badly. One wrong move and you get shot, or beaten to death. Not to mention I'd just finished working myself half to death, and for a few lousy bills I got chased, threatened with murder, and now had to clean up a body for someone else like this…
I honestly wanted to cry…
But I still had to clean this up properly. Luckily, there were trash cans nearby. Very convenient for me. Now all I had to do was "package the goods" carefully and stuff them into the trash so neither ghosts nor gods would know a thing. Then we could leave here smoothly.
"Wait." JJ suddenly raised a hand to stop me just as I was about to pull the tarp over the assassin's face. "There's still one thing I need to do with him."
"What, are you planning to hit him a few more times to feel better? I know he beat you up pretty badly, but there's no need to torment the corpse any further."
JJ didn't answer me. She slowly walked over to the assassin's body, then reached deep into her clothes and pulled out a small metal candy tin. I hadn't seen it before. It seemed she had tucked it into some hidden pocket inside her black dress, around the waist.
Click clack.
The candies inside made a rattling sound when she gently shook the tin. It looked pretty old. The outer label had peeled off, and the metal casing itself was dented from impacts.
I stepped aside as JJ approached the body. She bent down and stroked his head with a gentle hand. Even though blood was still seeping from the wound, she didn't seem to care in the slightest. Then JJ opened the candy tin, carefully slipped two fingers inside, took out a pale pink candy, and placed it into his mouth.
"I can't remember who you are, but it seems like we met before… I think…"
Her expression looked strangely sorrowful. The scar on her face trembled slightly. The scene looked like two old friends saying goodbye, as if that deadly fight from moments ago had never happened.
"What is that?" I looked at the candy tin in her hand. "Why give a dead man a piece of candy?"
"Fare for the boatman, to cross the river."
And then she quickly stood up so I could finish the rest of the job. From behind me, I suddenly heard a soft voice say:
"Goodbye… okay?"
…
It was pretty difficult cleaning up a corpse while trying not to get blood on myself. This wasn't the first time I'd been assigned work like this, but actually doing it had never once been easy.
At six forty-five in the morning, I made it back to the bus stop with a badly injured girl slung over my shoulder. At first, JJ had been able to walk a few steps on her own, but right after we came out of the alley, she collapsed to the ground. The injuries from that fight had probably left her whole body worn out. There were visible bruises all over her face, arms, and legs. Not only that, her stomach and chest had taken the worst of the attacks. The fact that she was even still alive right now was already lucky enough.
At first, I had intended to leave JJ back in that alley, but seeing her injured that badly, I just couldn't bring myself to do it. My qualities as a gentleman wouldn't allow it. But above all, I was still very curious about this person. It would be better to keep her by my side than hand her over to the police or to any agency or organization.
The bus finally came, just as the sunlight was peeking out from behind the old apartment blocks. A few shards of glass glittered under the dawn. I carefully slung her arm over my shoulder and helped her onto the bus. The driver threw us a deeply suspicious look, though he still motioned for us to get on.
"She fell down the stairs."
I tossed that line back before he could even open his mouth, then helped the young girl to the first row of seats.
Luckily, there weren't any passengers on the bus besides us and an old man in a beret sitting in the back row—which meant not many people would pay attention to me and her. This beat-up old bus didn't even have a surveillance camera, so I could relax a little…
After sitting down in the seat beside her, I took out my phone, plugged in my earphones, and sank into old melodies. The sky gradually brightened.
The "journey" back home passed in peace. Only a few passengers got on and off this bus during that hour of travel. They all ignored us and walked straight to the back row.
Hmm… when you think about it, I guess that made sense. A young man and woman on an early bus, the girl wearing a thin dress that showed a lot of skin and layer upon layer of bandages, while the boy—me—was covered in mud with a cut running near his temple. It was hard not to imagine that they thought we'd had some kind of romantic conflict.
Right when the bus stopped at my station, she slowly woke up.
"Where… are we…?"
She suddenly asked, her voice exhausted.
"Bus Stop 12. Can you walk by yourself?"
I felt completely drained after a "stormy" night of work—and last night really had had a storm. Sigh. Most likely I'd have to skip a class and stay home today.
"No… hungry…"
She suddenly whispered that into my ear, and her breath sent a current running through my body, from my feet all the way to the top of my head.
"But I'm not. Didn't we already eat earlier?"
"Not enough. I'm hungry!"
Her voice rose in irritation, and she gave my shoulder a "light loving smack."
Thunk.
Immediately, one side of my shoulder let out a strange sound. It had almost gotten knocked out of place.
"Hey. That hurts!" I gritted my teeth and turned around. "A while ago you were still trying to kill me. If you asked properly now, then maybe—"
"I'm starving… Feed me…"
She started flailing, her voice turning almost clingy, like a cat rubbing itself against its owner. That cute expression on her face made me doubt my own memory: had she really tried to kill me?
It seemed none of the things I said were getting through to her. I crouched down and lifted her onto my back, giving her my shoulder to cling to.
Hmm. She's light. Carrying her on my back felt even lighter than carrying a suitcase. More than that, the warmth and softness of a girl's body—honestly, there probably isn't a mattress in the world that could compare. Could I just take her home and stuff her like a plush toy?
"Hey, hey, don't you think I might kill you again?"
Once more, she leaned close to my ear.
"In your condition right now, I don't think so."
"Is that so…"
She said that, then placed her hand on my neck and lightly scraped one sharp fingernail along the artery there. Hah… she really does behave like a cat. But definitely not a house cat.
"All I'd have to do is move my nail a little, and you'd have a hard time stopping the bleeding…"
If I said, "I'm not scared," that would be a false statement, and I might have to pay dearly for that mistake. She was not joking at all—and I had been far too careless in giving her the perfect position to strike from behind me.
Swallowing hard, I slowly turned my head back toward her.
"Ah, um, so… you don't want to eat? If I get killed, there won't be anyone to cook for you. Think carefully, miss."
"Tch. How boring… Can you at least pretend to be scared a little? This makes me lose interest…"
She said that, then pulled her hand back and obediently rested her head on my shoulder.
My mother often said that knowing how to cook was a strength when living alone. Only now did I truly understand how golden those words were. They didn't just save my empty stomach—they were saving this cheap little life of mine too. Cooking is wonderful!
The road was only a few hundred meters, just a few minutes on foot, but it felt as if I had just gone through a journey full of thorns. Every second that passed, I felt as though I were breathing in the fear of death hanging on my back. Only after stepping through the door of my room and dropping that "burden" off my back did I finally let out a sigh of relief and release the pressure inside me.
Ah, well, speaking of the matter of someone of the opposite sex coming to my private room—this was actually the first time. Throughout my high school years, I didn't have many relationships with girls. Almost all of them stopped at the level of basic social interaction. Except for a few special cases… However, everything changed from the day I entered Srimnet Medical University. I'd had more contact with the opposite sex, even physical contact. But that was only possible when they were in a "still" state, in old Penor's room.
So having a "specimen" that was still alive and moving walk into my personal room like this made me feel a little excited. My heart was beating faster than normal, and my breathing had become more hurried.
"This feeling… could it be…"
Muttering under my breath, I cast my eyes toward where she was standing, only to be met with a smile that was a little too eerie and a pair of blood-red eyes no less "affectionate," like a carnivorous beast observing its prey.
Mm. I understood now what kind of state I was in:
Excitement.
"Hm."
I pretended to bring my left fist to my mouth and cleared my throat, trying to regain my composure. Poker face, poker face.
"Welcome to my humble abode. You can leave your shoes outside…"
I said that, then glanced down at her deathly pale bare feet.
"Or not, that's fine too…" I quickly corrected myself. "Just make yourself at home."
She nodded, then stepped into the room. As expected, she didn't have the slightest bit of caution.
And JJ did exactly as I told her. In fact, her attitude was even "more natural than at home." She kicked aside everything she considered an obstacle on the way to my mattress, including an empty energy drink can and a ridiculously cute P*kachu coffee mug lying on the floor.
"Hey, hey, be a little careful, will you?"
"No. Go do something. I'm sleeping."
She said that, then threw herself down onto the only mattress in the room.
"You little—stop that! Go shower and wipe off all that blood before you lie down on there. If you do that, how am I supposed to dare bring my laundry downstairs and wash it with everyone else?"
Of course. How the hell was I supposed to explain bloodstains on the mattress?
But JJ didn't answer. She lay motionless on the mattress without the slightest bit of guard up. Maybe this was her limit too. Seeing that, I didn't bother her anymore and ran to the kitchen to make something for JJ to eat when she woke up and needed strength again. Probably fried noodles. It's not like I had many options right now anyway.
"I wonder if that tomato I bought last week is still usable…" I let out a sigh and walked toward the tiny refrigerator in the room.