Old geezer: [I have bad news.]
"F**k." I cursed at myself for jinxing it.
Old geezer: [You are named as the prime suspect for the recent cadet massacre incident.]
Old geezer: [Stan seemed to have pulled some strings to make you the prime suspect.]
Old geezer: [To make matters worse, the word about it is already being spread like a wildfire and all media teams are asking your whereabouts from the 'academy'.]
'Too obvious..'
Old geezer: [What do you want to do?]
Old geezer: [I can fend'em off if want to.]
'I knew Stan would pull something like this but... oh well, I'll just have to answer them and shove a middle finger at their face, if they want it that much...' I grinned and replied back.
[What do you mean 'fend'em' off.. you old geezer! Talking like a gangster huh?]
Old geezer: [...]
'...this reminds of someone.'
Old geezer: [.... What do you want to do?]
[Call a press conference, I want to show them my middle finger.]
Old geezer: [Sigh...]
[Why're you sighing in a chat?]
Old geezer: [...]
[.... Who taught you that?]
Old geezer: [Your wife... Ahem, I mean my granddaughter.]
"He seriously..... and what do mean 'ahem' in a chat?!" I grunted in outrage.
I glanced at Isha to check if she is okay.....
"Sh*t!"
***
Sector five 'Elmore.'
RING (4x)
In the academy. Quinn sat in his office chair and texted Eshwar to deliver the news, while the academy's smartphone displayed a blue window above it with caller ID on it.
"Haa..." Quinn sighed and leaned back on his chair.
'Stan..... Why did have to mess with him? Didn't you already learn your lesson when he was like 14?' he thought and felt pity for the association chairman.
".... His gaze was enough to bring you to your knees, do you think now would be any different? Hahaha." He mumbled and let out a dry laugh.
"That day it was only a street, now it'll be telecasted every where... In a way, you bought your own demise." He mumbled with his eyes closed.
'It has already been 5 years huh....' he thought.
"Do want to make a deal with me?"
He suddenly remembered what Eshwar said to him during their first meeting in the forest near 'The Soundless Taiga' in Sector One.
"Heh... A mini beast!" Quinn chuckled.
"I wonder how my granddaughter is faring...." he muttered.
"I hope I can at least apologize to her once... If she gives me a chance, that is..." he mumbled and dozed off.
***
A average looking guy was seen practicing his martial art at the edge of the training ground, wearing only his trousers and a black cloth that was his t-shirt flopped next to him. He had a well-built body with sweat beads racing down on it.
"Hey Jiwoo!" Vinny yelled from a distance as he jogged towards Jiwoo.
"..." Jiwoo glanced at Vinny from the corner of his eyes and continued to master his martial art technique.
"... Hey! Don't ignore me." Vinny grumbled.
"...." Jiwoo ignored his whining and continued.
"This son of a.... gun." He mumbled and walked towards Jiwoo.
'I seriously want to ignore everybody and everything related to the nov....' Jiwoo thought but ended it there and shook his head.
".... How did your date go?" Jiwoo asked while panting and continued to practice.
"Well, it went wonderfully! I'm planning on taking you guys out for drinking." Vinny said while brimming with joy.
".... Who 'you guys'?" Jiwoo asked and suddenly started to dash at full speed.
"Haa..." Vinny sighed and joined him.
"You, me, Katline, Katherine, Violet, Eshwar and Miss Isha, if they want to come with each other..." Vinny said and silently stared at Jiwoo who flinched at the mention of Eshwar.
'I know that Eshwar is not at fault but I just....: Jiwoo thought when suddenly a thought flashed through his mind.
"He is technically my parent, isn't he?" Jiwoo suddenly halted and exclaimed out, involuntarily.
"Who? Wait, you have a parent?" Vinny looked at Jiwoo in disbelief.
"...." Jiwoo squinted and furrowed his brows at Vinny.
"I-I me-mean, it's not, I me-mean, I just didn't know and according to the future 'you,' he didn't have any parents... S-so I just blurred out, my bad." Vinny stuttered and scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.
".... I don't have any." Jiwoo said.
'Well, he is 'technically' though, but he see's me like a little brother..... I think? Well at least I can think of him like a big brother...' Jiwoo thought, and his mood improved as a result, which helped him get over the 'novel' and see Eshwar as one of them. Even though he only narrowly beat the novel, it was still a step forward for him.
"Say, should I get a girlfriend too? I mean, I was a loner in the past or future you mentioned, wasn't I?" Jiwoo asked.
"Pfft, yea dude, pfft you totally should! Pfft hahaha..." Vinny said as he laughed his a*s off.
"Heh." Jiwoo chuckled.
'Yea, I should change and stop being so naive...thinking about them like they are just something to manipulate.... It's not that I can change instantly, but it's a start.' Jiwoo thought.
"..... Right! Vinny, here's my theory." Jiwoo said and started to jog.
"About?" Vinny asked after joining him again.
"The system." Jiwoo said.
"Ok, let's here it." Vinny nodded and let him continue.
"... You, me, Eshwar and this 'individual X' as Eshwar named, everybody.... We know the future." Jiwoo choose his words carefully trying to dumb it down so that Vinny can easily understand.
"Right..." Vinny said trying to understand Jiwoo point.
"We know nothing about what is happening, I mean, the three of us when I said we.... What if this individual X is the one behind the system changes..." Jiwoo said.
"..... I thought that too, what your point?" Vinny asked with a confused expression.
"I mean, What if this individual X knows about the future we don't? Let's say that this individual X somehow managed to damage the system and it is increasing its influence here, on earth, to heal or repair itself." Jiwoo said.