Since she was a kid, Blue had an independent character and didn't want to depend on others. Even though the orphanage foundation was still paying for her school tuition and giving her pocket money, but she had been working part-time at a café for one year.
She worked at Sip and Feed café not too far from the orphanage and her school. She worked as a waiter there, taking the night shifts since she had to go to school during the day.
Her job was not that hard. She just needed to greet customers, offer the menus, answer questions about menu offerings, process customer's orders, bring foods and drinks from the kitchen to tables, prepare bills, and process payments.
Her boss and her co-workers were also nice to her. They were older than her so they sometimes treated her as a younger sister. They also didn't mind Blue's aloof attitude. As long as Blue could do her job well, then they didn't mind at all.
The salary wasn't very big, but Blue was happy to do the job. At least, she could save little by little to meet her daily needs when she had to leave the orphanage. She was also looking for work experience so that she would not be surprised when she finally had to work after leaving the orphanage.
It was already very late at night, so the café sign had turned from "open" to "closed."
"Mr. Blake, I've finished tidying up the cafe, so I'll take my leave first," Blue said to the café's manager, Harris Blake.
The manager, who was in his 40s, looked up from his phone and smiled. "You're going home by yourself tonight, Blue?" He asked in a friendly tone. "It's better for you to hail a cab. It's already late at night."
Blue slung her backpack and was ready to go. "It's okay, Mr. Blake. I can take care of myself," she replied politely.
"Okay, then," the manager smiled again. "Don't hesitate to contact me if anything bad happens. I'll see you tomorrow."
After she was dismissed, Blue bowed her head a little and walked out of the café. She was going back to the orphanage.
Her daily route was always like that; orphanage, school, café, and then orphanage again. A tedious routine for most people, but not for Blue. If you could describe it, Blue was like a beautiful vase of flowers but it's empty; there were no flowers in it. Blue was so beautiful, but her heart was always empty.
The sound of a car horn dispelled Blue's reverie. She turned to the side and found a very familiar black sedan in front of her eyes.
Slowly, the car window was lowered, and a familiar male figure began to appear in her eyes. "Good evening, Miss Blue. Your private driver is here. Get in the car quickly, please," the familiar male voice broke the silence of the night. Blue smiled a little at the sight of the man, then started walking toward the passenger seat at the front before the man spoke again, "The front seats are already occupied, Blue. You sit at the back."
Blue frowned in confusion at the man's words, but she didn't stay confused for a long time and immediately got into the back of the passenger seat. That was when she realized that her 'Brother Kevin' figure was not alone in the sedan. Another man was sitting next to Kevin.
"Don't look at him like that, Blue. You might fall in love with him," Kevin's voice was heard again with a humorous tone as the tires of his car rolled back on the cold asphalt.
Blue looked away from the man beside Kevin and asked, "Who is he?"
Kevin smiled sheepishly at Blue's rude tone. Blue was always like that with strangers, she was always suspicious and not easy to trust strangers. Kevin used to give her that upbringing, but now he regretted that his upbringing made Blue behave disrespectfully to someone she just met.
"Where is your manner, Miss Blue? Is that how I teach you for almost seventeen years?" Instead of answering, Kevin asked the girl back.
The blue-eyed girl at the back could only snort. "Brother Kevin, who is the man beside you?" She then voiced her question again in a polite manner.
Kevin couldn't help but chuckle. "A new friend," he answered while glancing at the figure of the man sitting beside him. "His name is Kris. He just came from Shallop coastal area in the north, his car broke down, and your kind brother sincerely helped him," he continued boasting.
Kris just rolled his eyes lazily at the boasting. He then looked back and smiled kindly at Blue. "Hello, my name is Kris. I heard your name is Blue. It suits your eyes very well," said the tall young man as his brownish eyes stared intently at Blue's pair of blue eyes.
For some reason, that gaze gave Blue goosebumps and she unconsciously shifted to the corner of the car seat, seeming to be trying to protect herself from Kris's mysterious gaze.
Even though the man she met for the first time was acting nice and friendly to her, but somehow she felt uncomfortable being close to him. As if there was an urgency to distance herself from the man.
Kevin seemed to notice Blue's strange attitude, but he didn't think much about that since he knew Blue's character of always being careful of strangers. It was her first time meeting Kris, so it was normal if Blue's still not comfortable around the tall man. If they continued to meet, Blue surely would feel more comfortable. That's what's on Kevin's mind.
"So, Mr. Kris," Kevin's voice broke the silence again. "Where should I take you? Your car will only be repaired tomorrow, so it will be easier for you if I immediately take you to your destination," he continued.
Finally, Kris turned his gaze towards Kevin and left Blue alone, who was still acting weird in the back seat. "You can take me to a hotel nearby. I haven't had time to find a place to live," he replied.
"Hotel?" Kevin asked again. "Instead of staying at a hotel, you can stay at my house. I live alone. Tomorrow, you can find a place to live if you want."
Kris looked a little surprised to hear Kevin's offer. Since their first meeting approximately an hour ago, Kevin tended to show resentment and irritation towards him. So, it was no wonder that he was now surprised when Kevin suddenly being nice to him.
"Why are you looking at me like that? Are you shocked that I was suddenly being nice to you? Don't be surprised just yet. I will let you stay at my house for the same price as the hotel stay, but of course, it would be more profitable to stay at my house since my house is spacious and I have a maid who will cook for you at no extra cost."
Kris snorted at Kevin's words which finally sounded normal to him. Of course, everything had a price. "Just do as you wish. I just need a place to sleep," he replied calmly.
Kevin smirked triumphantly at the response given by Kris. At first, he only intended to tease Kris by asking him to pay, but it turned out that the tall man beside him took it seriously. It was okay. It was profitable, after all.
"Understood, Sir. This servant will give you the best service during your stay in this servant's humble house," the young scientist jokingly said.
Kris rolled his eyes hearing that joke. "Stop the nonsense and drive safely. You may hit something or someone on the road if you are not concentrating. I still don't want to die just yet," he then replied.
Kevin giggled in amusement at the reply. It was gonna be more interesting.
On the other hand, Blue was still in a position that didn't seem to let her guard down at all on Kris. She even secretly seemed to send a distress signal to Kevin, it looked like she didn't want to see Kevin getting close to Kris because she had a bad feeling towards the man who had been introduced to her as Kevin's new friend.
She didn't understand why Kevin could make friends with strangers like Kris. The Kevin she knew was usually not that friendly to strangers. He did have a few friends, but not that many. And among his friends, there were not many who had a close relationship with him. The only Kevin's close friend that Blue knew was Andre. Apart from Andre, it looked like Kevin didn't have any close friends.
Not many people knew, but Blue had been very sensitive since she was a child. Blue herself didn't know why she could be so sensitive, but she was indeed sensitive in reality. Blue had always been sensitive to the people around her, including people who had evil intentions. And Blue didn't know why but her intuition told her that Kris had bad intentions for her.