3 days later
"Professor Ring, were you part of the military?"
The white-haired professor shook his head, "There isn't much to talk about it. My father was a part of it. So I am in the department too. By the way Aree, how are your wounds?"
Aree didn't touch the topic the professor wanted to avoid, "It was not much, and the treatment here is much more superior, I have no problem in moving around in a day."
"Good, good. Still, you should rest well. Here look at this." Professor Ring pushed a file towards him, "Read it."
Aree had already an idea about the file. He opened the file and the smile became brighter.
"It is not a matter of joke." Voice of Professor Ring was serious, "Your work had gone through quite harsh criticism from the higher authority. 21 dead counts weren't something the city had seen in the last couple of years but you have done it in the first mission."
"Professor do you know what was written in the briefing of the mission? The kidnapping of a little girl, enemy 5-7. As you can see none of the first group was dead." From the look on the professor's face, Aree was sure that he had known about the mission, "then please ask those people behind the desk from where those 40 people came from?"
"That is not the problem here."
"That is definitely the problem here." The voice was calm but the professor felt chill down his spine. "This lack of information not just jeopardize the mission but put the life of all the concerned parties in danger, including the hostage."
"Still killing inside the city is not a good sight."
"So they want their own man dead rather the enemies?"
It was an easy question but he had no answer. Saying 'yes' would mean they had sent them to a suicide mission and the negative response will be in support of killing.
"It is lucky that it was sloth, other coordinators might have failed miserably."
"He is suspended." The professor wasn't sure whether or not to disclose the news.
"And the reason is…" the room got colder.
"He had hacked into the road security system and traffic light."
"That means Chap too." All the professor can do was a nod.
Aree stood up, "I think you have enough connection with the department. Just forward my message that I am resigning."
He wanted to lash out, but the professor wasn't the person he should talk.
It wasn't a response the professor had expected and was shocked. Before he could recover Aree had already left the room.
The university was the same as always. There was a familiarity in the chaos. He had no intention of going to the class. So he found a suitable place under a big tree, put the bag under his head and closed his eyes.
"What am I doing?" The voice inside his head keep asking the question and he had no answer to it. His life was on the right track and he had everything he needed. Parents who love him, too much money to count but still it felt empty. He didn't have so much money in the last life, neither had loved but he had a goal, a dream he wanted to achieve.
'Was she the only aim in my life?' Even if he wanted to deny it somewhere he had felt it was true. After taking rebirth there were so many things he could do but other than becoming rich and protecting his family, he had done nothing.
Other would have been happy with it but, Aree wasn't one of them and he had no idea what he was lacking.
His love felt distant, there is no chance to contact her. Though there was occasional interaction, it felt that fate likes to tease him from time to time.
'I will get over it. It is not like she is the only girl in the world. I will get over it, just you see.' He screamed in his heart, but these things are easier to say than doing it. Even as he was thinking about it, he felt it was becoming hard to breathe. Something was weighing down on his chest.
"What?" As his hand moved over his chest he could feel something on it. A small face was smiling brightly at him. "What are you doing here?"
"Can't you see I am sleeping?" She gave his chest a light pat, "This is my pillow." And top it off with a giggle.
Aree sat back up in a daze, "I am not dreaming?" He got pinched by the little hand as an answer.
"What are you doing here? Where is your guardian?"
"Brother, I want to eat ice-cream."
"But sweety where is your mother?"
"Give me an ice cream first, and my name is not sweety."
Aree took up the bag and was about to leave, stopped only to see that the girl was not moving at all.
"Pick me up." The demand wasn't much but her attitude was something else. He felt she was a totally different girl now. Aree picked her up with a smile on his face.
"What is your name?"
"Mother told me not to tell my name to others?"
"Didn't your mother told you not to eat food from unknown people too?"
"But I know brother." She was confused not understanding what is the problem with it.
"But you didn't tell me the name." For a moment the little girl didn't know how to respond. She had no idea how eating ice cream was related to her name.
"Ok then, I will give you ice cream and you will tell you your name too."
"I want chocolate." Hearing that there is a solution she became a jubilant again.
Her eyes sparkled seeing many different types of ice cream. She struggled down from his embrace and almost stick herself to the glass display.
After struggling for a long time, and receiving different types of suggestions from the bystanders, she settled with not just one but two.
Aree took her to a bench and made sure she didn't make a mess. But now the child was in a new dilemma. After another set of furious struggling, and multiple licks, "Brother, you eat the strawberry."
"Sweety, you are a good girl." Aree couldn't help but feel warmer in his heart. With a smile, he added, "You can have both."
With a bright smile, she said, "I am Mishu." She asked without stopping the eating spree, "But brother, I don't know your name too."
"I will tell you but you can't say what you have seen that day. You have to promise me."
"Hu hu." Too much concentration of ice cream can be observed from the lack of response.
"But, you broke the promise before, so you don't need to know."
"Hu hu" The response was the same for a moment before the licking stopped and she shouted, " No no, I want to know brother's name."
Aree broke into a smile, he wanted to say the name out loud but a shout, "Hey, you what are you eating?"
The sudden shout froze Minsu in the middle of a delicious lick, one of them even fell from the cone, but she didn't dare to look at it.
'Could it be her mother?' before Aree could turn to look, another shout, directed towards him came, "Mr, are you trying to kidnap her?"