"Who were you talking to?"
Luna almost jumped when the deep voice entered her ears. Once she heard it, before she looked away, she had already guessed he directed the question at her. Indeed, who would ask a normal human being the same question? There wasn't any.
And when she finally turned her head, it was not only her who was surprised but also Rio.
The reason?
Because of the existence of a man they never thought would stand there and stare at them. Correction. Only Luna.
Luna swallowed hard. This situation was so shocking that she didn't know how to react. But, really, how should Luna answer that question? That she was talking to the grim reaper? Impossible! No one would believe it. If it was a ghost, that made more sense.
"I-I was talking to myself. Entertaining myself." She stuttered a little when she said it. Still, she hoped the man would just accept her answer with no additional questions that bothered her.
Zach was silent, but his face revealed a thought. He glanced briefly at her surroundings. And when he found nothing—which meant the answer was correct—he turned his gaze back to the woman dressed in all black.
From the start, he felt strange with her style of dress. Even though she had taken off her black coat and carried it in her hands, it still bothered him.
"You're the woman I helped earlier, aren't you?" he asked. In fact, he already knew the answer. However, as a conversation starter, he asked her. Well, just a small talk. Also, he wanted to show that he wasn't really a stranger who suddenly talked to her.
"Y-"Her words stopped as she realized something. She shouldn't have responded that way. After all, she had not seen the face of her helper even though she already knew how he looked. "So you helped me this afternoon?" This was a natural reaction. She needed to show her acting skills as much as possible.
Without waiting for a reply from him, she walked over to him. "Thanks for helping me. I'm here to tell you that."
Now, she sounded convincing, didn't she?
A faint smile tugged at his lips. "You don't have to come here. I was planning to see you."
One more thing that surprised Luna. Zach wanted to visit her? Her? Someone she just met that day?
And only a wide grin she could show. "I'm already here." If she knew this, she would be better off waiting for him at the clinic instead of exhausting herself by walking to his office.
"How about I take you home?" He offered as he moved to open his car door for her.
Luna was worried. Of course. She had no home and didn't know how to say it.
"You don't want me to take you home?" Zach asked after finding she only standing there.
"It's not like that," said Luna quickly. She bit her lower lip as her doubts grew bigger. "I don't know where to go home." Softly, she spoke her sentence. Really, it was a terrible first impression.
He heard it and saw the anxiety that was so obvious on her beautiful face. His brain was working to put it all together. There was only one possibility he could think of. She ran away from her house. "I have an empty apartment you can live in." Briefly, he offered his help, even without using a questioning tone to ask about her willingness.
Oh, it should be the opposite. It was Luna who needed to beg for his kindness to help her from the worst fate that could happen to her. Lost amid the night in Jakarta. "May I?" Again, her acting skills were needed here. She really needed his help.
Zach gave the nod. "Yes. It just so happens that the place hasn't been empty for long. You could stay there rather than being left vacant."
It made sense. Buildings that were left unoccupied for a long time would invite negative energy, including the angel of death to come. Especially if the place was still good. It would become a favorite place for us.
Ahem. Angel of death. She used to be.
"H-How much is the rent?" One important thing she learned from the human world. Nothing was entirely free.
Zach's eyes widened, not expecting to hear that question. Before long, a small laugh escaped his lips. It was also funny to have the woman in front of him respond to his help like that. In fact, he was sincere about it and never thought about rent or anything. "No need. But, if you really intend to pay, you can start from next month."
A diplomatic answer, right? He still gave her the freedom to repay his help.
"Really?" Disbelief was shown in all her expressions. It was a tempting and suspicious offer. It was too good to be true, right?
"Yes."
"You won't go back on your word, will you?" She again asked, more to reassure herself.
He could no longer hold back his laughter. Luna's reaction seemed to entertain him and release his fatigue after working all day taking care of the company. "You can keep my word," he promised between the laughter that began to subside.
"Then, I want to use it," said Luna while grinning. "That's if your offer is still valid." In the end, she tried to contain her enthusiasm. As a person who accepted the kindness of others, she did not want to appear greedy.
"Of course." Zach immediately responded. "Come in." He again signaled her to enter his car. It had been a long time since the door had been left open and only became a spectator to their conversation.
Oops, there was one more person, his driver.
Luna walked closer to him and his black sedan. Her steps were light as if a weight had been lifted on her shoulders. She no longer needed to think about where she would sleep. One problem solved.
But her feet stopped just one more step before she entered his car. She moved her body, so they were face to face within three inches. And suddenly, she extended her right hand. "My name is Luna."
Ah, it turned out that Luna wanted to introduce herself. Looking back, they missed that opening.
Zach shook her hand while saying his name. "Rangga."
"Nice to meet you, and thanks for helping me."
"Thank me later when we get there."
"Oh!" Luna slightly exclaimed in response to his sentence that seemed like a subtle command. Perhaps his patience had run out to enjoy her speech on the busy, hot, dusty pavement. Who could stand to linger outside when other places were more comfortable and offered guaranteed privacy?
She withdrew her hand. "I'll go in," she continued, more of a mutter to herself. Then she moved into the car, followed by Zach behind her.
After the doors were shut tight, the middle-aged man with grey hair dyed black started the car. Then their car slowly left the area and joined the long traffic jam.
"This driver should also die today."
And, of course, they weren't the only three in there. There was Rio, who continued to cling to her side and followed wherever the former grim reaper went.