Today is Yu's last holiday, as well as the last day he will be on Earth before flying into space, towards the Black Eye tomorrow. That's why when he woke up this morning, Yu seemed to feel confused.
It was not as easy as he thought in dealing with all this before. Yu, who feels fed up and bored with his worthless life is now becoming grumpy, worried to think about one or another possibility that he will meet in outer space later.
The white towel was still wrapped around his waist, it had been more than half an hour since Yu had been sitting on the edge of his bed thinking about this and that since he had finished taking a shower.
Yu finally decided to get dressed, but again lost in thought while holding the credit card he had been given to spend—or doing something with a lot of money on the card balance.
It's useless having a lot of money, after all, nothing is interesting to do, Yu thought. He took a deep breath, then put the credit card on the table just like that.
Yu left his room to get his breakfast.
"It's nice to see you in this dining room," the chef said to Yu.
Yu tried to smile. "Thank you."
"No, don't hesitate. I just wanted to see you a little longer today."
Yu frowned and the chef laughed instead, he sat across the table, opposite Yu.
"I mean, it's an honor for me to serve food and drink to people who will be of great service to science as you."
"You're too much."
"Maybe I am," the chef shrugged, "but you're such a brave man, that's what makes me—I dunno, feel like I know you better. I admire your bravery."
Yu could finally get a little excited at the chef's praise of him.
"You know," Yu said between breakfasts, "you're the second person to say that to me."
"Really?" then the chef started laughing again as if everything around him was a joke. "But you deserve the credit."
"Again, thank you."
"No, don't hesitate. What do you think of breakfast today?"
"Very luxurious and very delicious," said Yu honestly. "I don't know, is there anything special today?"
"No. I deliberately cooked a more luxurious breakfast this time. Just take it as a token of my gratitude for what you're going to do tomorrow."
Yu couldn't help but smile at the chef's sincere words.
"Hey, speaking of what happened yesterday," said Yu. "What is the condition of the Chief Overseer now? You know something?"
The chef took a deep breath. Yu frowned, it didn't seem like the good news the chef was going to deliver, he thought.
"He didn't survive," said the chef, "after struggling for nearly six hours."
"Sorry about what happened to the Chief Overseer."
"Yeah, looks like we all need to grieve a lot."
"You mean?"
"It's not just the Chief Overseer who died, Yu."
Yu took a deep breath. Well, last night he had seen some news, either through the internet or through the news on television. Too many deaths yesterday.
"Alina's fiancé also died."
"What did you say?" Yu stopped his mouthful of food, his eyes widened as he stared at the chef.
"Even elites like them cannot escape the fate of death."
"You're not joking are you?" Yu asked. "No, you're not joking."
"I heard the news from my wife who happened to be in the same hospital where Alina and her family took her fiancé."
Yu took a deep breath. He didn't know what to do with the news. On the one hand, he is saddened, but on the other hand, he is happy with the death of Alina's fiancé. At least, Alina can be free from the person who has always annoyed her all this time.
Does this mean I have a chance to get Alina?
No Yu, no! What you feel is something wrong. You rejoice at the suffering of others. Then, what's the difference between you and the elites you always curse?
"Yu?" the chef frowned at Yu who seemed lost in his thoughts. "Hey, you okay?"
"Aah, I'm…, sorry," Yu cleared his throat. "I just feel sorry and sympathize with what happened to Alina's family."
"Yeah, that beautiful doctor must be very sad. In fact, they will soon be married."
Yu understands the chef does not know Alina's true relationship with her late fiancé. But, he kept quiet. Yu wasn't the kind of person who liked to expose someone's disgrace in front of others.
"All right," said the chef as he rose from his seat. "Eat your breakfast, Yu, eat a lot, then I will feel very appreciated."
"Thank you," Yu tried to smile. "Ermm, one more thing."
Yu's words made the chef stop in his tracks and turn to look at him.
"You want something else?"
"No, this is enough," said Yu. "I mean, do they know the cause of what happened?"
The chef took a deep breath. "It was just a heart attack, Yu, not an infectious disease."
"Hmm, is that so, huh?" Yu nodded although he still had doubts about it.
"Besides," said the chef, "it wasn't just yesterday."
"Huh?!"
"Did you see the news this morning?"
Yu shook his head. "Not at all."
"It's the same this morning," said the chef. "Several people died also of heart attacks all around the world. And yes, the doctors said it was just a heart attack. They don't have anything specific to say."
There must be a reason behind everything, Yu thought. But Yu didn't want to say that because the chef seemed to believe that it was just a normal heart attack.
That is probably yes, considering today's lifestyle is far from so-called decency, etiquette, manner, and so on. What's more, about foods and drinks that are mostly made from unnatural ingredients.
However, Yu still felt that there was one thing that caused these people to have heart attacks even though the disease was not contagious.
The chef finally left Yu who seemed to be lost in his thoughts again.
*