"Mimi? What's wrong?" Jinny shifted her gaze when she noticed the girl beside her was tense
It was only after hearing Jinny's voice that Mimi returned to her senses. She quickly looked between Jinny and Kenji, who was walking right toward her, when her eyes suddenly lit up.
"Jinny, you see that man walking over here?" Mimi directed her gaze toward Kenji.
Jinny looked over and sure enough, she saw an attractive man in a suit walking toward them. She couldn't help but feel a chill run down her spine upon seeing him. He had such a cold face.
Very quickly, she nodded her head. A hidden smile brushed Mimi's lips.
Putting on a concerned expression, she said: "I saw him watching me earlier with a weird gaze…I overheard he's an obsessive gothic Lolita lover."
Jinny's eyes widened in surprise. Looking at Mimi's appearance, her expression turned even more twisted. The girl was dressed in all black and dark makeup as usual; however, today she was dressed in a multi-layer, long-sleeved ruffled dress that covered all the way to her neck.
Truthfully, she wasn't too far off from looking like a full gothic Lolita.
Did that mean he was walking over here because of Mimi?
For some reason, this didn't sit well with her. As a fan herself, Jinny knew how crazy people could get when met with the thing they idolize. Hers happened to be two men close together - regardless if they were straight or not. However, under no circumstances did she approach them.
This was something only crazed fans would do.
After learning the man approaching them was an obsessive Lolita fan, which Mimi happened to look like, Jinny's senses became alert.
"Ms. Mimi, please run away while I distract him." Jinny got up from her chair and stepped in front of Mimi, shielding her from view.
Unlike her usually soft and kind voice, the Jinny now carried an intense aura. Mimi blinked in surprise before she lowered her head to hide a smile.
Even though she appeared soft and meek at times, when it came down to it, Jinny could become a scary person. Like a cornered squirrel protecting its nuts. This had been one of the reasons Mimi recruited her as her disciple.
And because she was easy to push around.
"Thank you, Jinny." Mimi smiled gratefully before she ran off.
Jinny watched her leaving figure with a determined expression.
When Jinny turned around, she saw the man who was approaching them earlier quicken his pace. By now, his expression was incredibly dark. Jinny felt a chill run down her spine, but remembering his motives her expression hardened.
This time…I will protect you, Master Mimi!
…
While Jinny distracted Kenji, Mimi had already run to the elevator. Leaning against the wall, she caught her breath and collected her thoughts.
Damn it, what was Kenji doing here? After failing to kidnap her once, was he going to try to do it again in broad daylight?
No, he wasn't that reckless. For certain he was going to interrogate her into confessing, possibly by using threats. Not the most fun thing she wanted to do on her list today.
Ding--!
When the elevator door opened, Mimi raised her head and suddenly froze.
What…How did he find her so quickly?!
Standing in front of the elevator, a pair of frosty eyes stared down at her. It was none other than Kenji. Under his familiar cold stare, Mimi clenched her teeth.
It appeared Jinny wasn't able to hold him off for that long.
Mimi composed her expression and cleared her throat.
"Excuse me," She tried to step around the corner, but was blocked by a hand slamming in front of the wall beside her.
Feeing a chill run down her spine, Mimi glanced up to see Kenji staring back at her with a terrifying expression.
"Answer me. What's your relationship with Shen Jue?" He asked her icily.
Mimi almost wanted to snort at how similar he sounded to her when she was also looking for Shen Jue. Guess that was one thing they had in common as siblings.
Putting on a confused expression, she frowned. "Who's Shen Jue?"
A vicious sneer crept across his face. "There's no use in playing dumb with me. Now answer the question, or I promise you, I will make you regret it."
Ah…there's the threat.
Inwardly, Mimi was sneering viciously inside, however, on the outside, a frown marred on her face.
"Do you mind stepping away from me a little? I can feel your breath on my face." Her face scrunched up with disgust.
A corner of Kenji's mouth twitched a little, his expression chilling a few degrees. Instead of stepping back, he drew closer with an even more threatening aura.
"How do you know Shen Jue?" His tone was ice cold.
Mimi's frown deepened. Before she could answer, a hand suddenly came in between her and Kenji.
"Mr. Hirogori, I would appreciate it if you would please reframe from harassing our employees."
Looking up, Mimi saw Juno staring at her brother with a sharp gaze. It was full of warning. Kenji gazed back at him without a change in expression. Silently, he stepped back and allowed Juno to stand in front of her.
"Considering this is the first time you've behaved this way, the company will let this slide once. However, please don't approach our employees in such a manner again or we'll report you for harassment."
Rather than being intimidated by his words, Kenji looked amused. His lips curled into a contemptuous sneer.
"You would create a feud between our companies over simple harassment?"
Juno nodded with a serious expression. "We take the physical, emotional, and mental safety of our employees very seriously. Regardless of who you are, if you threaten those boundaries, the company will not hesitate to take action."
Kenji's eyes narrowed, his thin lips pressing closely together as the two men stared at one another. In an instant, the originally still atmosphere turned so tense that there should have been sparks flying through the air.
Finally, Kenji withdrew his cold gaze to look at the girl standing behind Juno. Mimi's senses were finely honed, so she immediately realized there was a cold gaze leveled on her. Staring back, their eyes met, but both could not read each other's thoughts.
Kenji was a little surprised. For him, it had been the first time he had seen such emotionless eyes - other than Tobias Itou or his father. To not see a shred of emotion on her face was alarming considering she was just a simple employee, not to mention a teenager. It had been so dull; Kenji felt a sense of familiarity within her gaze.
After a short moment, he looked away and back at Juno. His expression was full of ridicule. "To risk a feud just to protect a bunch of replaceable employees, your boss has stooped low."
In response to his mocking words, Juno offered a courteous smile. "If that's how you see it."
Kenji frowned and clicked his tongue. Before leaving, he stole one last glance at Mimi, who no longer bothered to look back at him. When he left the building, his mind was in deep thought.
Her eyes were violet. Nothing like Andras. No—they were not just different, but completely rare. In his life, Kenji had only met one person who possessed such a color, and that had been one of his father's late wives.
She was dead now. As for the cause of her death, Kenji seemed to have forgotten. At that moment, his movements paused.
No, he remembered. She died during childbirth.
But who did she birth?
The harder he tried to remember, the more his head began to throb. His father had many women and children - possibly more before him. However, either all of them died from a family enemy or were thrown away when proven useless.
But that woman with the violet eyes, he could never forget. A small woman with round violet eyes and a fresh lively personality. She had been the first of his father's wives who didn't seek after his wealth, but rather fell in love with him.
Love. A useless emotion in the Hirogori family. All emotions were useless.
But because of her strong connections, his father kept her around. When she became pregnant, everyone in the family prepared for the next prodigy to come. Not once did anyone regard the situation as welcoming a new member of the family, but rather the family name.
That day, when she gave birth, they were informed she had passed away due to excess blood loss. When his father was told this, there wasn't a single change in his expression. All he cared to ask was the gender of the baby.
The gender…it was a girl.
Kenji remembered this clearly from the disappointment in his father's face. A girl was useless in the family. They were more emotional and harder to discipline. Only Emily had been the first successful female member. Or so they thought at the time.
All Kenji could remember at the time of that child's birth, was Emily taking it in her arms and cradling it. He remembered mocking her for showing affection toward someone who would be useless to their rise in success.
Those appeared to be the last memories he had of his half baby sister. He didn't even know her name. To remember the little sister, he hardly knew or saw, he felt nothing.
If something is forgotten, it was most likely never important.