Porsche POV
“Don’t tell me you are going to drop me off at the same gas station again.” Said the hoarse voice from the man behind me. Right now, his condition is better than yesterday, even though there are still signs of bruising on his face. Bruises from either the previous fight or from the fighting chaos we just went through.
“Arrrrghhhh, they are coming!” I exclaimed. I wasn’t talking to him; I was talking to myself in a low voice after glancing in the rear-view mirror and accelerating when I saw the man in black on a motorbike trying to catch up with us. Today is time for action. The bike behind me was trying to match my speed on the highway but didn’t go faster than us. I didn’t stop and kept looking for a way off the main road, turning into a small narrow alley with a bumpy road. My ability to navigate this rough off road shouldn’t be doubted as my motorbike is an off-road motorbike with agile manoeuvrability. I have no doubt I can leave the man in black behind.
“Be careful!” Kinn’s hoarse voice flew away as the wind hit his face. One hand gripped my waist tightly while the other is holding on to the back of the seat.
“Hold on tight.” I ordered him before driving my bike faster. He released his grip from behind the chair and hugged me tightly. His head rested on my back to avoid the wind that was hitting his face.
“Hey, I am not dead…” The husky voice said before looking around. I turned off my motorbike engine after sensing that no one was following us anymore. This is because the road I had taken was extremely complicated and difficult for ordinary motorbikes to ride so that no one would be able catch up with us. I let out a sigh of relief when my motorbike arrived in front of my house.
“Where is this?” I actually didn’t want to take the risk of bringing him to my house. But in an emergency like now, the area I know the most is the road around here. And without realizing it, this road had led me straight to my house. Kinn breathed a sigh of relief, as if he had just been on a tour of hell, then followed the path towards my house.
“Wait!” I said, stopping him in his tracks. I did not turn to him, just took a cigarette from my pocket, and lit it until the white smoke flew in the wind.
“…” He did not say anything, just looked at me and raised his eyebrow questioningly
“Fifty thousand …” I said, holding the cigarette in my mouth, then turned my body to look.
“Huh …” He chuckled in his throat, then made a face of disbelief.
“Yesterday my watch…” Before he finished speaking, I quietly swallowed and interrupted him.
“Yesterday... was yesterday; it has nothing to do with today.” Actually, I was secretly worried that he would ask for his watch back; because I had already sold it to pay for Che’s school semester bill, repair the air conditioner and pay off all the debts until there was no money left.
“Yesterday you asked me for fifty thousand, today you asked me for fifty thousand, the total should be one hundred thousand total. Meanwhile, you took my watch which can be sold for at least four hundred thousand. If you are not stupid, you can find a shop that will buy it. Otherwise, I will pay in advance.”
The man smiled, which made me momentarily considering punching his cocky face as he glared at me. Those eyes had a terribly ferocious light locked on me as if they wanted to show that he was no ordinary person. His face had several bruises in several areas, but that did not make the face of an Asian-European mixed race look any less handsome. Today, I saw his face clearly, with all the traits and personality of a well to do family. I didn’t respond, staying silent as he would make calculations with me later.
“Who the hell are you? Go away!” I said in a steady voice. If the outcome is not what I expected, do not expect me to volunteer to help.
“Hey, I am seriously asking. You have a nice face, why are you a criminal?” I asked. He laughed in response to my question, standing with his arms folded on his chest. As he walked towards me, he looked at me intensely from head to toe with an ominous smile that made me move backward quietly.
“Shut your mouth and get out of here.”
“Why is it so noisy outside?” We heard the front door opening from within, revealed the body of my brother who was wearing his pyjamas. He was acting sly, looking straight at me.
“Oh … Hi.” My brother greeted the person he did not know. The bastard looked at my little brother and nodded his head in response.
“You, get back inside the house first.” I said to my brother.
“What are you doing in front of the house? The neighbours will wake up because of the noise. Come in and talk inside.” He immediately opened the door to invite us into the house.
“Then, am I going to be a bother?” He asked, but I immediately grabbed my brother’s collar from behind before he could answer.
“I’ll go in first, wherever you come from, go back.” I frowned and glared at him to hold him in place.
“You dare do this to me…” His voice was raspy, suppressing his voice in anger. But I was not afraid as I did not care about him; I was about to go into the house and leave him alone.
“Wait, no one has ever done this to me!!!” He took my hand and squeezed it tightly. Even though it did not strain my muscles, I gasped and pushed him away hard.
“Why? Who do you think you are? I can do more than grab and break your neck!” I said emphatically. We looked into each other’s eyes without compromising. “If you don’t leave now, I will kick you.” I threatened.
“Hey…hey…” Che, who had gone back inside, leaned his head out from behind the door and looked at me.
“Che! Go inside!” I pushed my little brother’s head and entered the house, then slammed the door hard in front of Kinn’s face.
I do not care anymore, maybe this will be bad and bring bad luck for me. But I am so pissed off, I cursed that arrogant bastard. Maybe it is true that he has a higher social position then the people living around here. But I am not afraid of that bastard. I am only afraid of one thing. I am afraid he will ask for his watch back.
I pressed the button my cell phone to call Jade. Maybe she was at the hospital or temple right now. But her voice still sounded like usual. She said the police came and cleared up the mess not long after we left the club. Jade complained to me and asked what problem I had with those gangsters. I realized the karma that I have to accept tomorrow is to clean everything up and try not to lose money at the same time, with great prayer preparation of course.
“Jade has already told Porsche, right? What should you do to calm down your emotions…?”
The next day, I lowered my head to see Jade in her office. I will not try to explain anything because she will misunderstand me to have a relationship with the gangster next door.
“I am sorry Jade.” I raised my hand to apologize to Jade who let out a long sigh. I am trying to sound apologetic. But regarding this matter, I was not in the wrong. The culprit is Kinn because yesterday I was forced to fight for him again and now, I must pay the penalty for the damage caused by the gangsters who came looking for me because I had rescued Kinn the previous night. If I had known it bring this kind of bad luck, I would have not interfered that night
“All right, now help me unpack the goods, the new furniture will come this afternoon.”
“How much…” I asked in a faint voice. Although to be honest I am not ready to listen to the amount of money needed to replace the damage caused by yesterday’s incident.
“How much for what??” Jade’s face was confused.
“Losses due to the damage…”
“Hey, Porsche has no obligation to pay for it.” Jade replied, waving the Chinese fan in front of her face.
“I have a little bit of savings…” Even though saying this felt very heavy, I did not want to run away as if I was not responsible for what had happened.
“Calm down, Porsche… This time we are lucky that Mr. Kinn has come and taken responsibility for all the damage done yesterday. Otherwise, I can’t imagine how many years I would have to cut your monthly salary to pay for everything.”
“Kinn?” That arrogant handsome face appeared in my mind again.
“Well, Mr. Kinn said that they were his enemies too; I saw him get involved in the fight yesterday.” said Jade confidently.
Huh, you can hold on well, bastard! I did protect him from enemy attacks, even for the sake of money. But when the gangsters saw how Jade was with her kung fu, that really helped us to be able to escape together. So, it is only natural for Kinn to provide compensation.
“Yes…” I said as I smiled faintly at her.
“If I recall yesterday’s incident, it seems very funny and makes me laugh just thinking about it. You know… everyone scampered away like rats when the police came, as if the police had surrounded a brothel.” Jade joked while untying her hair.
“Jade is looking like a woman.” I said.
“When the police arrived, Jade ran away. Jade thought you would be caught and was incredibly surprised when I saw Kinn had come to help.” Jade said to herself while holding back the laugher on her lips with one hand.
“That was incredibly good luck, as Mr. Kinn is very influential. What happened yesterday did not get out to the public. This morning he came to take the CCTV and when he was looking at it, his face was very scary.”
“Why?” I asked again
“Ahhh … he is handsome. So handsome that he looks creepy. What a crazy person. He just walked in, and I can already tell he has husband written on the middle of his forehead,” Jade answered. It seems like she is head over heels for him.
I then got up to help the others clean up the room, wipe the blood stains, clean up the broken glass and the scattered tables and chairs. Fortunately, none of the employees or customers were seriously injured, although there were several employees who had received hits or blows to the point of bruising. However, I was not hurt in the slightest, so they could not help teasing me and saying they were hurt protecting me. So, I told them I would pay for all my co-worker’s meals as apologies for causing a mess. This situation has left a pleasant taste in my mouth because at least I do not have to pay for all the damages. Moreover, last night I did not receive any money from him.
I walked to the smoking area. It was nine o’clock by the time we finished cleaning and arranging all the new furniture at the club. Today we are closed so there are only staff and employees helping tidy up the club rooms. I rested by sitting on a large plastic ice bucket next to the club. I smoked my cigarette, before exhaling the cigarette smoke which was in my lungs.
Suddenly I was interrupted by the sound of footsteps. Well, it seemed like someone was walking over to me.
Like I said before, this alley is quite quiet, and people rarely pass it because its small and dark. That is why the sound of those steps made me a little wary.
“Hey…” the footsteps stopped not far from me. I turned my head while frowning, staring at the man in black clothes. I do not know who he is, but I am sure he had spoken to me clearly and then took a step closer to me. When I looked at the person in the dark, I could vaguely recognize the person. I jumped up from the ice bucket, threw the cigarette butt on the ground and stomped on it to put it out….
“What now…” I chuckled as I asked Kinn, who was walking towards me. I quickly swept my gaze around him just in case there were any enemies chasing him here or not. This is because it was ingrained in my mind that he would always appear soon followed by dangerous men and bloody battles like the second World War. However, today I hope that World War two does not happen again, otherwise Jade will definitely curse me.
“What, is someone being hunted again?” I asked just as the man stopped and stood in front of me without saying a word…
“There’s something I want to talk to you about…” Kinn started to say in a hoarse voice, but my heart was beating as if it was afraid of something.
“What do you want to say?” I asked flatly, trying to suppress my feelings.
“Come with me!”
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“We have a lot to talk about…” Kinn stuck his hand into his trouser pocket comfortably. His piercing eyes stared at me to the point that I, myself, cannot describe how it felt
“But I do not.” I answered. My heart is still pounding, and I intended to go back inside.
Hmph! My arms were grabbed tightly and pulled…. until I had to turn around and face him again.
“But I do!” He said in a deep voice.
“But I do not!” Anxiously, I pulled my arm back and pushed him away firmly. I pushed Kinn’s chest until he took a few steps back. His men, who were quite far from him, immediately rushed towards me. I saw the man’s big posture and grabbed a piece of the broken wood table that was from yesterday’s fight that had been kept at the back of the shop. I threw it at his face, so he had to bend down to dodge my throw as he tried to attack me. I threw a punch at the face of the person who was trying to hit my face, until Kinn could not just stand by, watching as his men collapsing in succession.
He made a few moves, so I threw my fist, intending to hit him. But my wrist was floating in the air because Kinn had caught and held it tightly. But I did not lose my focus and quickly raised my leg to hit him, but he easily dodged it.
I did not give up and kept throwing punches with my other hand. And at that moment, he easily grabbed my other wrist, twisted, and crossed it behind my back and then pushed me against the wall. Why isn’t today better? After the previous two days…. I have continuously fought chaos.
“Get off, you jerk!” I turned my head towards him as his sharp face drew closer, leaning his weight on my body as his hands continued to exert strength gripping my hands behind my back. His current expression looked like he was tightly caressing my body. Shit! Fuck this!
“Hey, I am here to negotiate with you.” His sharp face was so close that I felt a burst of hot breath drifting across my face.
“I do not want to.” I said while trying to hide from the face that was coming closer and giving me goosebumps.
“Huh… I thought you would be better than this.” He said with a laugh. Hmm… yes! You seem to have underestimated me too much sir!!!
“Yes!!!” At the end of the scream, I jumped up and buried my face in his neck as I bit him with full force. I then shook my arm free and pushed him away from me.
“Shit!” He shouted loudly. I ignored him as I hurriedly rushed inside and locked the door. I quickly ran to the staff room to get my bag until the people in the room looked at me in confusion. “What’s wrong?” Asked one of the senior employees at the club
“Don’t tell me you are going home first. If you leave, I’ll cut your pay!” Jeez… I was not ready for that. Whoa… okay I admit… I was really scared right now. But I was not afraid of the arrival of gangsters who would take revenge. I was afraid Kinn will come and ask me to return his watch.
After escaping death last night, I had rushed home and spurred my bike at the speed of light. In my head are only watches…. watches and more watches. If Kinn wanted to discuss something with me, what else could it possibly be other than the watch? It should be noted however, that the watch was worth more than five hundred thousand…no, six hundred thousand… no, it didn’t cost seven hundred thousand.
At 6 am, I got up to go to the market and prepare breakfast for Che, my brother. Well, I can’t really say that I woke up this morning, because I could not sleep at all. That was because I had thought about that bastard Kinn all night in fear he would come for me all the way here.
“Everything looks expensive lately!” Che said while narrowing his eyes and staring alternately at me and the dishes on the dining table.
“Is this all bought by Phi? Ah, never mind, I have to eat quickly and go to school.” He grabbed the big prawns and ate them with some rice. Today’s breakfast really looks extravagant. There was bread, butter, milk, orange juice, with a few servings of meat and shrimp. Even though… usually there is only rice and fried eggs.
“I will give you your weekly pocket money so please pay for your school bills as well.” I dug into my trouser pockets and pulled out the money for my brother’s school fees.
“Shit!” Che’s eyes widened and stared at me without covering his surprise.
“I will also give you a month’s full allowance now.” I think it is better to use as much money as possible to pay for everything we need. Now that I know Kinn better, I know it will be difficult to get the money from him. So, I will use the money I do have, now.
“So, you seem to have a lot of money right now. Where Did Phi get it from?” Che asked.
“Of course, this is from my savings.” I’m sure my brother did not believe what I was saying. He looked at me suspiciously until I hurriedly shooed him away.
“Go, study now and save it!” I shouted at my brother who was wearing his high school uniform, then sighed. At least I can still pay my brother’s expensive school fees for the next half year.
Everyone maybe wondering why I sent my brother to such an expensive school. It is because I did not want him to feel he had lost out on opportunities. We have attended that school since kindergarten when our parents were alive. That school is also my alma mater, and I did not want him to suddenly change school and make him feel less fortunate. He has never complained and has even said it was okay to study at any other school. But I want to fulfil my brother’s needs like when my parents were alive.
No matter how tiring it is.
I will do it and take good care of him.