A staring contest!
That was what was going on between them, nobody saying a thing after the nerve-racking question was uttered. Both observed the expression on each other's faces, implicitly noticing how something smelled fishy.
Ukraine worked his brain in the shortest time, comparing her question and what Misaki told him a while ago. Karina just taught him a lesson of never underestimating anyone. While he was interested to get her fired, it seemed she was interested in something else. She had been watching him.
The ongoing silence took most of their time, and time was certainly not on her side.
"I guess I need lessons on how to ask questions, you look like you're exposed", she said, chuckling scoffily,
"No, you're wrong. It looks like you just exposed yourself",
"Oh really? And what is that supposed to mean?",
"You know exactly what I mean",
"Let me make everything simple, I heard you were Kro's PA before me, so my aim for asking that question is to get tips on how I can be casual around her, just like you were when you brought that paper earlier today",
"What? You need tips? How surprising!",
"What's wrong with me asking for tips from you? Aren't we colleagues?",
"Why would someone who worked as a PA for the minister, and even got the job through recommendation ask for tips from a nobody like me?",
Ukraine finally hopped into his car.
Karina watched Ukraine drive away. The moment the car went out of sight, the smile on her face disappeared, being replaced by the most exasperated expression. Her left eye twitched as her hands slowly clenching into fists.
...
AZARADAN
The Market
They walked side by side, Kro in her army attire, and Buk in the same disguise he used as Atta. They walked slowly, embracing every second of every moment. It was the only time Buk could be with her,
"I'm dying", with a serious tone, Buk said,
"You're dying?", asked Kro, wondering what he meant,
"Yes", he nodded, "I'm dying to hold your hand",
Kro rolled her eyes,
"Your choice of words is really alarming", she said,
"You're saying my words flatter you, my queen?",
"A little",
"So, I can't hold your hand?",
"What will people say when they see their captain with a man holding hands?",
"I hear Poqo even carries you on his back. I don't see anything wrong with me holding your hand",
The air between them suddenly changed, jealousy painting the wind yellow. While it took half of his energy to finally say those words, it sounded really funny to Kro. She never thought it'd feel good to see him jealous. She laughed,
"This feels oddly satisfying", she said,
"Not to me, it doesn't", his face frowned like a baby whose candy got stolen,
"We did more than just holding hands at the bell tower", she whispered, "You should know that you can't be compared to anyone, you have your special place, and Poqo has his",
"I know, I trust you", he smiled, "Well, since my first wish got denied, how about my second wish?",
"What is it?",
"I want to see you in a dress",
"Oh gods!",
….
The Fabric Shop
Buk impatiently waited for her to step out of the dressing room. His feet tapped the floor non-stop, his adrenaline giving him the feels.
Kro finally parted the curtains and stepped outside, dressed in a silky, ocean blue dress, covered with white light furs around the sleeves. The dress drew her body lines perfectly. Her hair which was previously in a bun was now untied, falling straight to her waist. She stood before Buk.
Buk was starstruck especially when Kro tried to pose girly. No lady had drawn such a purely mesmerized reaction from him before,
"Wish two granted", said Kro, "Can I go take this off now?", she asked, feeling uncomfortable,
Buk cleared his throat, totally distracted,
"Wait! I have something for you", he said,
He put his hands behind his neck and removed the necklace he was wearing. It was a simple silver necklace, with a moon-shaped white stone at the center, something Kro had never seen before,
"I made this with my blood and sweat for 10 days. This white stone is called Qatasti. They were mostly found on top of the mountain, but after the eruption 2 decades ago, they were extinct. This is the only piece that was left",
Buk put the necklace around her neck, smiling after seeing how good it looked on her,
"You're like this stone to me", he told her,
.....
Present
Restaurant.
Misaki checked the address one last time, and it was correct. She entered the restaurant. It wasn't hard to spot Leo since he already asked her to look for a guy in a white basic shirt.
Leo had no idea that she was there already, so he was a bit startled to see someone pulling the chair back in front of him. All worries of her not showing up suddenly disappeared when he saw her,
"I'm here", Misaki said, smiling, trying to scrub the bad day look off her face. She was still thinking about Karina and Akeshi.
"Are you okay? You look down", Leo asked after he noticed,
"Just a family matter, nothing to worry about",
"We can postpone this if you need to solve this",
"No, I need to clear my head even for an hour, so let's talk about something else, alright?",
"Yeah, let's do that. We should order first, what are you going to have?",
The waiter approached their table, ready to take their order,
"Fillet mignon, medium rare", said Misaki and handed the menu to the waiter,
"I'll have the same", said Leo,
The waiter walked away.
"I need to interrogate you Misaki, I need to be sure about something",
"Shoot",
"Are you sure we've never seen each other before? I feel like I deeply know you",
"Are you trying to flatter me?",
"No, I'm serious, so you're saying you've never seen me before?",
"Nope, but when I saw you that day, I really wanted to be friends with you, that's why your name remained stuck in my head. I'm happy that we're here about to have lunch together, it feels nice",
"We can do this more often if you like, I mean we're friends now",
"Sure, why n_",
"MR. LEO? MR. LEO!", a girl standing a few steps away from their table shouted,
All eyes turned to her. She looked like she was in her early 20s.
Leo smiled awkwardly when he saw the girl, leaving Misaki in the junction, wondering if he was happy or annoyed to see her. The girl rushed to the table where Leo and Misaki were seated. Her attention was fixated on Leo,
"Mr. Leo, you look so different in your casual wear, I almost didn't recognize you", cheerfully, the girl said,
"Ah, you look different too, Omega",
"YES! You're right! I braid it sometimes, you always see me in ponytails, so a change doesn't hurt, right?", she giggled, "Enough about me, what are you doing here?", as she said that, she pulled the chair and sat, leaving both Leo and Misaki baffled.
Misaki couldn't take her eyes off that girl, observing her from the body language to the tone. She looked comfortable around Leo, way too comfortable to think they were teacher and student. But that wasn't the case with Leo; he looked suffocated.
"Mr. Leo, about the lecture last Thursday, what did _",
"Sweetie, what was your name again? Right, Omega", Misaki interrupted, "It's weekend, the time when you forget about work, studies and focus on yourself", said Misaki, leaning forward with her hands clasped on top of the table,
"I know, and this is none of your _",
"Listen here you little shit, laws of our country state if the teacher fails to maintain a generous distance between himself and the students and vice versa results to 15 years in prison", she whispered, "I see you've been pulling your chair closer to him each second, why?",
The girl's ego was beginning to crush, but she resisted to quit so soon. With sass all over her eyes, she fixed her gaze on Misaki,
"Is he your boyfriend or something?", the girl asked,
"He's my husband, and you are?",
Leo was rendered speechless,
"I don't see a ring on his finger", the girl argued,
"Hey, Omega!",
"No, no Leo, don't stop her", Misaki eyes the girl, "I ordered steak, once it gets to the table, I'll use it to slap your face. Oh, and there's the waiter with our food!",
All eyes turned to the kitchen direction, and the waiter was really walking towards them. Omega slowly turned to look back at Misaki and her neutral expression said 'Stay, I dare you'. \
The waiter seemed to be walking in slow-motion, giving Omega enough time to make up her mind, and right there she had to give up or get embarrassed more, she decided to lose,
"Screw you lady", she stormed out of the restaurant,
Misaki found Leo staring at her, his lips curved in an almost perfect smile,
"What?",
"Were you really going to slap her with the steak?", Leo asked,
"Do you think I'm a psychopath? Of course, not",
"You're amazing", he gave her two thumbs-up,
"Stick around me more then, I'm a whole circus",
Inwardly, Leo smiled. There was no doubt that he was heading the right way with her, taking things slowly to see how they'd turn out.
.....
MID-NIGHT
Kro was finally standing in front of the mother in-law's house after driving for almost 4 hours. She had a mini-wireless earbud in her ear, communicating with Leo. Her hands rested at the back as she approached the gate,
"The address is right, walking dead. That's the house", confirmed Leo,
"Is she hiding from the world or something? It's so hidden", said Kro,
The gate automatically opened, and she walked past it. She comfortably walked through the doors like she owned the building. She got inside, very dark and very quiet,
"I'm inside", she kept updating Leo, "I'll start looking for the papers, I'm sure she keeps all Zoe's documents in her room, I'll go there now",
"I'm with you",
She got to the mother-in-law's room, finding her soundly asleep as they expected. Without wasting time, she started checking every angle of the room to find documents which showed which school Zoe was in, but they were nowhere to be found, not in the drawers, not in the safe, not even under the bed. Things started to get complicated.
"She's smart, she never keeps the records in the house", Kro whispered, "I think everything is at the school Zoe's in, she knew someone would come look for them one day", Kro sighed,
A whole minute passed, both trying to come up with anything. While standing at the window, with her arms now crossed, Kro stared at the sleeping mother-in-law.
"Kro, you have no other choice but to do it, it's the only way!", with a nervous heart, Leo suggested, not sure if Kro would agree,
"Are you crazy? I can't do that, I swore to never do that, it's risky for her, she might die",
"We can still try. You know it's effective, there's nothing else we can do. I beg you, get inside her dream!",
"It's not easy as you think. Because her dream is already ongoing, I need to adapt for things to not be suspicious once she wakes up. I need to use less than a minute, if not you know what will happen to her. Our aim is not to leave a trace, remember?",
"Kro, you're way more powerful than you think. I know you're scared but nothing bad will happen again, trust me in this. Get inside her dream, ask for the information and get out. ",
"Leo_",
"Let's help Sue, please",
It surely wasn't an easy decision. Kro kept hesitating the more she neared the bed. Finally, she sat beside the sleeping woman. She takes a deep breath,
"Leo, talk to you in a minute. I'm going in",
"Thank you, you'll go to heaven for this",
Kro took the earbud off and placed it beside the lamp. She placed her hand on the mother-in-law's forehead and closed her eyes,
"God, while everyone trusts me, I trust you",
Her body vanished into thin air.
*****