_02_ (Jace's Point of View)
I was woken up by my alarm and I immediately turned it off before I got up and prepared myself for the duty today.
"Jace, won't you be having breakfast first?" Mom asked when I was about to go out the front door
"No need, Mom. I need to be there at 6 AM sharp." I said
"Jace, it's just 5 in the morning." Mom said
"I need to avoid traffic, Mom," I said and she handed me a sandwich
"I knew you wouldn't eat, so I prepared a sandwich instead." She said
"Bye, Ma," I said and kissed her cheeks then I left
I drove to the address, and stopped by the subdivision's gate, by the security guard's post.
"What brought you here, sir?" he asked in the mother tongue of this place
"Lavalee Hanazono," I mentioned the name of the person I'll be protecting
"Sir, Lady Lavalee is probably still asleep at this time, please come back later. Please write your name so we can inform her that you came later." He said
"I am Detective Jace Scott, assigned to guard Ms. Hanazono during her stay." I said and showed him my police badge
"Oh, is that so, Sir, I apologize." He said and opened the gate
"Please, continue, Sir, the largest mansion in the middle." He said and I drove ahead after thanking him
I drove in the direction he gave and parked in front of the house. I ate the sandwich Mom prepared and looked at the time, 5:39 AM, almost 21 minutes to six am. I read the files about Lavalee Hanazono's friends.
Soon, the men yesterday came one by one until we were almost complete. I went out of my car when the clock in the car indicated that it was 6 AM.
"The men who are not yet here, they can consider themselves out." I said and sat on the hood of my car
Two cars arrived and four more men arrived.
"What time is it?" I asked coldly
"6:05, sir." They answered
"What was the call time?" I asked
"6 AM, sir," they answered
I took out my phone and called my uncle.
"Chief, please tell the Commissioner-General that I will fire four tardy men." I said as soon as my uncle picked up the call
"Alright, handle it." He said then hanged up
"You heard it?" I asked them
"Sir, yes, sir," they answered
"Why are you still standing?" I asked the four of them
"Sorry, sir," they said and rode their car and drove away
"What are you doing here?" I heard a voice behind me said
"Ms. Lavalee Hanazono," we said and bowed
"I was asking, why are you here?" she asked again and we raised our heads
"We are assigned to guard you and the other heiresses with you." Alpha said
"We don't need it." The girl with three ear piercings yesterday, whom I found out is Irene Lee, said
"Ire, chill, they're just doing the orders from above." Ms. Chelsea Lim said
"Let's invite them in," Ms. Jess Collin said and covered her mouth when she yawned
"Come in then," Miss Lavalee Hanazono said and we followed the four of them inside
"I'm Police Detective Jace Scott." I introduced myself
"Alpha Elijah James Luar, assigned guard of Ms. Irene Lee," Alpha said
"Delta Ethan Gonzales, assigned guard of Ms. Chelsea Lim," Delta said
"Lt. Caspian Sandoval, assigned guard of Ms. Jess Collin." Lieutenant said
"Who are you assigned to?" Ms. Lavalee Hanazono asked me
"I am assigned to you, Ms. Lavalee Hanazono." I answered
"There's only four of you." Ms. Jess Collin said and pointed at the four of us
It was an unregistered number but I still answered it and placed it near my ear. It turns out to be the Commissioner-General.
"Police Detective Jace Scott, Chief Deputy John Dela Vega said that you fired four tardy men. I could not send more men so I hope each of you can handle them." He said
"Yes, sir, they proved their worth," I answered
"You have my trust, Detective Scott. Do not break it." The Commissioner-General said
"Sir, yes, sir," I said and he hung up
"Each of us will guard you," I said
"Good, we have school tomorrow." Ms. Chelsea said
"The four of you must come with us." Ms. Lavalee said
"Wait… what?!" Ms. Jess Collins asked in disbelief then turned to Ms. Lim and Ms. Hanazono
"Eodie?" Ms. Irene asked her
"Haggyo," Ms. Chelsea answered
"Mueos-eul-yo?" Ms. Irene said as if she heard a joke
I don't understand what they are saying. They are talking in a different language. These girls are multilingual.
"Babo," Ms. Jess snickered at her
"Yah! You wanna fight?" she said and went to a fighting stance
We were just standing there; watching.
"Yameru," Ms. Lavalee said and they both stood up straight again
"Sorry for these two, who are apparently acting immature again." Ms. Chelsea said
"By the way, stop addressing us as 'Miss', 'lady' and such. Jess will do." Miss Jess Collins said
"Lady Lavalee, a letter addressed to you arrived." A butler I presume said and bowed then handed an envelope to Lavalee
"Thank you, Butler Jin." She said when she received it
"Oh well, we need a thrill." She said after checking the letter for a bit and then handed it to Chelsea Lim
I didn't see what it was because Chelsea Lim hid it in her sling bag.
"I don't mind having a bodyguard but you can't limit our whereabouts." Irene Lee said
"It's not like you would go to a risky situation, Ms. Irene." Alpha said
"Anyways, we'll be studying starting tomorrow and I presume that you guys know that." Chelsea Lim said and we exchanged glances before nodding
"Yes, ma'am," we answered
"We will be with you 24/7." Lt. Caspian said
"Can you make it 18/7? I mean from 4 AM or 5 AM to 10 PM or 11 PM." Jess Collin said and the men looked at me before Delta Ethan cleared his throat
"Why, are you going to a bar?" Delta Ethan asked
"Bingo." Lavalee Hanazono said while forming her hands into a gun and pointing to Delta Ethan
"We cannot allow you to go to a public place alone, especially in a bar." I said
The main reason we are tasked to escort them is the fact that Ms. Lavalee Hanazono is the target of a large crime syndicate, going to a public place and letting this girl tend to themselves is like putting a bunny inside a lion's den.
"KJ," they all said in chorus except Chelsea Lim
"Oh, look at the time we're almost late for our admission." Chelsea Lim said and glanced at the clock.
They all went upstairs while we; their guards stayed here to wait
Looks like guarding them won't be easy. When they went down we went out and we wited outside then we followed their cars. I am currently following Lavalee Hanazono's car. It's a Mercedes-AMG SLC 43 and her roof is currently open.
I connected my Bluetooth earphone when my phone rang and answered the call without checking the caller ID.
"Where are you, Jace?" The brat said
"I'm busy," I said and hung up
I drove closer when I noticed that she is increasing her speed so I contacted the other officers to increase their speed as well.
When they slowed down, I saw that we are in front of a school. They parked so we followed them and we opened the door for them but it seemed that Irene Lee doesn't want to be like a damsel.
We went to the admission office, we trailed the four of them as they registered themselves.
"Will you change your names?" The girl in the admission office asked
What? Change their names? What does that mean?
"Ne," They answered in chorus
Before I could ask, they took out their pens again and accepted a paper from the woman at the admission desk.
"Okay, you can write that here." The woman said and they headed to what seemed to be the room where they'll take the test.
"Will you guys be studying as well?" she asked us and we shook our heads
"No," we replied
When the girls came out, they passed the paper to the admission desk.
"Welcome to Red Fire Academy." She said then the girls went out
Red Fire Academy? What a weird name, but I have quite a hunch as to why Lavalee Hanazono chose that school to study.
We escorted them to the mall, and when they went different ways, I went with Lavalee Hanazono. I accompanied her to the salon then the bookstore, a boutique, and then a restaurant.
I carried all her shopping bags, and all I can say is that I wasn't wrong when I thought she'd be worse than Jean.
"Let's go to the arcade." She said and we headed to the arcade
I saw that her face suddenly looked sad when she got in, and while walking she bumped into a little boy.
"I apologize, Miss." The little boy said
Lavalee leveled to the little boy and smiled before ruffling his hair.
"You're such a little gentleman, aren't you? I guess your mom's looking for you." Lavalee said and pointed to a woman not too far away from here
"Thank you, miss." The little boy said
"It's nothing. You're welcome, little boy." She said and the little boy ran towards the woman
"Let's go." She said and we entered the arcade
She first bought ten gaming tokens before she went to a machine with a gun. It is the kind of arcade game where you just have to target the balloons each color of baloon has a specific number of tickets.
I didn't notice that she was already Level 13. She shoots the balloons accurately.
After a few games, she ran out of tokens but she's already holding a thick bundle of tickets.
"998." She said counting each ticket she had earned
"What are you gonna do with all of that?" I asked
"I will buy something with these for them." She answered and placed the tickets in one of her shopping bags.
***
Translation:
Eodie? - Where?
Haggyo, - School,
Mueos-eul-yo? - What?
Babo, - Stupid