C H A P T E R
T W E N T Y - E I G H T
It happened so fast.
I was alone inside the city, walking past its rain-soaked streets.
"Don't lose the goggles or the medal. Protect it as if you're life depended on it," Kun warned me before we parted away.
"Head straight to where Ten told you to go. He's the only person you could trust so much in this wrecked city," Wendy, eyes heavy with distress, told me before I went by myself.
It felt good to have acquaintances remind you about your safety. For once, I'd always thought I was alone in this fight, this mess, this mayhem. But with the people sorrounding me the past few days, it seemed like I made friends as much as I made enemies.
The citizens of Neo City never changed, neither did the city itself. People were hurrying to pass the intersection with colorful umbrellas, their boots and shoes and heels creating a puddle of water on the ground. Morning rain was least expected, so I never brought an umbrella with me. Good gods, I had nothing but weapons in my bag right now.
I shielded myself from the rain by standing below a shed. I mentally said a thank you inside my head for Mark's goggles being water resistant.
Standing beside me was a person with a bright yellow raincoat. I couldn't resist to look at the box of cake he was carrying, its familiar brand, its lemonade-and-strawberry-colored outside design matched up with a doughnut with a smiling face. The Happy Bakery. It was my favorite sweets shop when I was young, maybe even until now. I stopped eating too much sweets because Sicheng's mom told me it might turn my teeth bad, or might add excess fats on my body. She cared about appearance so much that I just wanted to vomit.
The man was talking with someone on his phone, his voice challenging the light thunderstorms from above, causing me to hear the conversation unintentionally.
"Sorry, sweetheart, Papa's about to go home. I am just stuck up in a rain."
Five seconds clicked by.
"Yes, Yes. I brought the cake you told me to. Yes! It's their last stock, baby. But don't worry, Papa was able to make it."
A soft smile curled my lips upward.
I remembered Baba. He would do the same. Instead of a cake from The Happy Bakery and the rain getting in the way of his delivery, Baba's would be apples and snow respectively. We're apples and snow. Apples. Snow.
That's gone forever.
Out of nowhere, I asked under the rain, "No umbrella?"
Can I just stop sticking my nose on someone else's life? Answer: no.
He glanced at me as if a moth just landed on top of the cream of his special delivery cake for his daughter.
"The Champion," he muttered in disbelief.
I didn't know what to say. Was I that popular already? I wished every drop of falling rain could erase each memory of me embedded into every strangers' minds.
"Oh, Sir, you flatter too much. I am not the Champion," I smiled and raised both of my brows.
"But..but... You look exactly the same."
"I have been told that many times," I shrugged one shoulder.
"Impossible," his eyes blinked rapidly. "You..."
Someone cleared his throat. A person, not too tall but still taller than me, stepped forward between me and the man I was talking to.
"Is it too unbelievable that someone could resemble Dong Sooji's beauty?"
Amidst the hood and heavy coat he was wearing, I could tell who it was. My eyes lighted up.
Ten.
Before the man could accuse me any further, Ten pulled out a brand-new looking umbrella and offered it to him, "You can take this and use it go home," he said.
The rain continued falling down, but this time it sounded like beating drums to my ears.
The suspicious look in the man's eyes was gone, replaced by a look of gratitude instead.
He eyed the umbrella; a thing so simple could be the greatest tool
to find his way home to his daughter. I wished it was that easy for me too.
The man took the umbrella from Ten, glanced at me for a second, then glanced at Ten, opened the umbrella, tucked the box of cake inside his coat, and crossed the streets without looking back.
When he was gone, Ten threw a glance at my direction.
He smiled. "And this is why I don't want you to become the Champion in the first place."
"I thought we're going to meet up at Phase 11?"
"Yeah, but when it started raining, I immediately knew you'd be in trouble. So as a gentleman, I came to pick you up myself," he winked.
"Oh, Ten."
I was about to hug him as an indication for how much I missed him, but when I was about to touch him or anything, he backed off as if he was a mouse running away from a cat and urgently said, "Whoah, whoah, sweetheart. Calm down. I know you miss so damn much but I'm wearing a brand-new set of Balenciaga right now!"
I raised a skeptical brow. "So?"
"You're drenched from head to toe!" he announced as if it were big news. "You're going to ruin my fabulous outfit."
I furrowed my brows and crossed my arms in front of my chest.
Ten studied my expression for a few seconds, studying it so much as if it amused him, until he opened his arms and finally said, "Just kidding, princess. Come over here."
________
Filled with artifacts, Phase 11 was never short of customers.
The whole place had interior walls filled with neverending galleries. Above us, the chandelier was like a mix of the old and new generation design, its onarments twirling like vines of plants as if it belonged to an old fairy tale book. And then there are crystals, twinkling and changing its color from cyan to neon green in repeated cycles. It kind of looked like the chips.
Phase 11 was like a museum, but not really one. It's more of a collection of records. Even I could find my own ones here. However, I knew that Sicheng's mom forged it to hide my real identity.
If the Dong family was able to do it, then the others could too. In other words, not everything you see or read inside this place could be trusted.
Ten was wearing a fit turtle-neck sweater, making his slim body even more defined. For some reason, only a few people darted their eyes towards us. Curiosity was painted all over their facial features; however, nobody dared to confront either me or Ten.
"Why did you bring me here?" I asked him.
He smiled. "I just want to show you something. But you'll probably get bored."
"Is this about the virus?"
Ten clicked his tongue. "Oh, Sooji. It's disheartening me whenever that word comes out of your mouth the very first thing you enter the city. Is that all you think about?"
"It's what everyone thinks about."
He waved his head. "Well, not me. I want that shit out of my life. I mean, yeah, finding the cure is still my concern. But honestly? I would prefer forgetting the virus rather than fighting it. You know what I mean?"
For the first time, I actually didn't know what he meant.
He scanned my face for a few seconds and then looked away, "It's eating up our lives. That virus? It's not just killing us. We're letting it kill us before it even blasted infections! Like tick, tick, boom!" he made sound effects of an explosion. "It destroys even us, the non-infected."
"Careful with your words, Ten."
"I'm sorry, but I don't mean to sound selfish. I know that being safe from the virus makes us one of the lucky persons. But it's all the same, Sooji," he inhaled sharply.
"They suffer the death. Meanwhile we-" his breath hitched "- we endure the pain."
His words left me dumbfounded. Subconsciously, I bit my lower lip as I stared at the flawless marble floor.
"That's why we're looking of a cure for it, remember?" I eyed him intensely; I received no response. "Ten, please tell me you're still in this plan."
"I am," he didn't look at me when he said that. "But you're tangling yourself up even tighter, Sooji. You are ruining the plan."
"What?" I asked, a surprise tone resonating from my voice.
We were still walking.
Ten's jaw gained tension and after that, he said, "Being the Champion? Negotiating with Yuta's parents? Holding the responsibility of one of the Bosses' sister? Yeah, Sooji, you sure are tangled. I tried pulling you out, but you won't let me to."
"This is not under my control, Ten. You know that."
"I know. And that's exactly why I'm a part of this plan!" Ten stopped on his tracks, causing me to stop too. He looked at me straight in the eyes, his Adam's apple bobbing as he said, "I can't leave you, Sooji. Never."
I felt a sensation on my chest. Ten stared at my eyes even longer. Beyond my expectation, he grabbed both of my hands and squeezed them. I winced.
"Forgive me if I am too persistent, Sooji. I know how uncomfortable it is for you to live in the woods with Yuta. I know that you woke up early to have an early travel. I know that City 127's too foreign for you. I know we pushed you too much. I am pushing you too much. But I want to ask you another favor."
My forehead earned a slight wrinkle. Softly, I asked him, "What is it?"
"After I show you around Phase 11, you need to go to Phase 9. The Nakamotos arranged a welcome lunch for you. I-I want to make sure you're safe," he squeezed my hands even tighter.
I lifted my gaze to meet his. If compared to the chandelier above, Ten's eyes were more stunning. His orbs were like flicks of candlelight every person would fly towards. I should flick him off, but I couldn't seem to.
I didn't blew the candlelight the away; it's blowing me.
"Take me with you, okay, princess?"
________
A/n:
Uh-oh Yuta, someone's trying to snatch your girl. Lol jk ;)
Oh btw lol I'm asking for song recommendations again! :D I super duper loved listening to your song recommendations from Boss before~ Now I'm making a new playlist for Champion since I'm the type who's more driven to write whenever I listen to inspiring songs~ Drop by your recommendation and I'll sure to add them on my own playlist :) Preferably, something that suits this story and its characters!!😍
Till next time!
Lumi