Escape The Villain (Overhaul x Reader)

Chapter 2: First Encounter

The warm light from the dining room radiated through the window glass and sprawled onto the mini lawn as I stood by the gate, dreading to go in. I could already hear the laughter of my parents and their favourite child booming inside the house. Twilight began seeping into the salmon pink hue sky, gradually shrouding the earth in solemnity as well as my heart. At this moment, I had already mentally prepared myself for what was to come.

Slowly, I plodded down the stony pavements that led to the entrance door. Once I entered, the door closed behind me with a click instantly ceasing the once lively atmosphere.

Here comes the party pooper

Without making eye contact, I walked straight ahead sensing the hostility in their faces from my peripheral vision.

"Have you had dinner yet?" my younger brother, Shion, asked all the way from the dining table.

My body tensed a little. Even though my stomach was yearning for the savoury taste of curry, I refused to sit on that table with my parents. Not when they had such a condescending look, reminding me once again that I was nowhere as great as my brother.

"I don't feel like it," I merely replied as I walked up the stairs.

Behind me were whispers of that old geezer, telling Shion how he shouldn't concern himself with me, accompanied by that hag agreeing after him like a dog. The steps creaked intensely as I climbed up with irritation and stomped into my room, slamming the door shut.

"I guess I'll sneak out for supper later. No way in hell are they going to leave leftovers for me..."

I head to the bathroom for a quick shower. The water coursed through the locks of my (h/c) hair, in between my chest and arms, and down where it ricocheted the tiles. No matter how loud the water gushed or the pipes roared, I wasn't able to mute the noise in my head that was sneering at the fact that I was just a hopeless child locked in a cage where no one could save me. No matter how hard I worked balancing my school-life and part time job, I was far from achieving what I wanted—to escape this hellhole with Eri.
Oftentimes I dreamt about a knight who could bring us faraway from our despair, but I soon had come to terms that it was just far-fetched. There was no handsome guy coming to find me while saying "I'm here to save you". 

Therefore, I would be the knight himself.

———

My body slumped onto the bed waiting patiently for the clock to strike 12. When the world fell silent and the living room darkened, I slipped onto my hoodie and leggings before exiting the house. The midnight street was serene with street lamps lining up the road. The light and shadow alternate between each other as I ambled down the concrete pavement, one second bathed in the ray of light then shrouded in darkness the next. Small stones of the asphalt road grated underneath the car wheels as they drove past me. And once again silence befell until I finally reached my destination—the convenience store, also the place where I was currently working part-time at.

As soon as I walked past the sliding door, the bell chimed signalling my arrival to the cashier who happened to be my workmate.

"Welcom– Oh! Y/N!!! What brings you here?" Nanami asked, full of elation.

"Starvation," I casually waved my hand. "How's your midnight shift going?"

"Terrible. My back is aching like an 80 year old because my body decided to do some gymnastics in my sleep or something. I woke up with the upper half of my torso on the ground and the lower half on the bed!" she grumbled.

I tittered, "Must be training for the Olympics."

"I'd win gold for sure," she laughed.

I worked my way to the microwaveable meals section and scanned through every one of it, deciding on what to stuff myself with. My top three options were Mac & Cheese, Carbonara spaghetti and Yakisoba. They looked so good that I wanted to devour all 3 of them but my tummy would threaten to throw up if I did. I finally settled on Mac & Cheese, neglecting the fact that I was actually lactose intolerant.

As I crabbed sideways to the drink section, the bell rang again accompanied by heavy footsteps. It was rare to find someone else at this timing in the store however that was the least of my concern. My primary concern was finding out that my favourite pomegranate juice was down to just one can, even though I was planning to buy more to stock up my drinks in the fridge.

I guess maybe I could ask Nanami to check the back.

My fingers stretched out to reach for the last can until a white gloved hand bumped onto mine, immediately making me retract. He mirrored me almost as quickly but had a stronger reaction and for a second I thought he was going to snap. Instead, his demeanour remained calm so I figured he could just be sensitive to human touch.

"Sorry... You can have it," I beckoned him.

"No, it's fine," he answered in a low guttural voice, which, surprisingly, was pleasant.

His golden eyes bewitched me, akin to honey under the divine sun—lustrous and glazed. I was almost at a loss of words by his long lower lashes that sprawled down his pale face. Even with his black mask on, I could tell he was indeed one charming man.

"No,no. I work here, so I can just check the back or something. No worries," I replied to which he smiled with his eyes.

"Thank you."

For a moment I forgot how to breathe. How could someone look so enchanting yet ominous. There was something about him that sent chills down my spine and it was not in a good way. Almost as if I just encountered the leader of a wolf pack.

He walked away and headed to the cashier where my friend was ogling him up and down. From his auburn hair to his broad chest which stretched his black buttoned shirt a little too far.

"T-that w-will be 300 yen..please," she stuttered, not even trying to hide her bashful face.

After payment, he thanked her with a slight nod before leaving the store. The room went quiet for a few seconds and as if on cue, our heads swiftly spun towards each other, eyes widened.

"DID YOU SEE THAT? THAT BEAUTIFUL MAN? I WASN'T DREAMING, WAS I?" she screamed.

"Yes, Nanami, yes. I saw him too..." I muttered slightly dazed.

I walked towards her and placed a bowl of Mac & Cheese on the counter. "By the way, do we still have pomegranate juice at the back?"

"Nahhh. It's out of stock at the moment, even though I've been telling the manager about it. She doesn't seem to care since customers don't buy them regularly."

"Tsk.. but I do," I mumbled, slightly disappointed that I gave away the last pomegranate juice to a guy who I probably would never meet again.

"So how would you rate him out of 10?" she smirked as she rang up the item.

"No comment!"

I quickly left the store before she could swoon over the guy again. The topic of love or men, for that matter, wasn't of my interest simply because I already gave up on it long time ago. There was no point mulling over it now since I knew love would always skip me. And that was fine.
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