Several years ago, under the command of Gamagin, Amdusias showed Geon the dream of Rachmaninoff upon his admission to Juilliard. Enjoying an afternoon in the human world after a long while, Amdusias was savoring a sweet caramel macchiato, a treat he indulged in occasionally when descending to the human realm, before returning to the underworld.
"Ha! These uncivilized humans can make a damn fine cup of coffee. Maybe I should kidnap one and lock them in my castle as a barista?"
Though women at the outdoor café threw flirtatious glances at the handsome man leisurely enjoying his coffee, Amdusias, who deemed human females no better than a maid cleaning his toilets, snorted in disdain and ignored them.
"I wonder what sort of fortune has befallen him to receive such favor from Lord Gamagin? It's truly beyond me. He's just a regular human child, yet he's watched over every day. Even Pyemon seems to have taken a liking to him, practically living at Lord Gamagin's castle these days for the pleasure of watching the boy. Maybe I should pay a visit and make my presence known?"
As Amdusias tried to shake off the clutter in his mind, he stood up and finished his remaining coffee, leaving a tip on the table before walking away.
"Someone, please! Please help me!"
Hearing a desperate plea inside his head, Amdusias momentarily paused, then shook his head.
"Humans always have so much to ask for help. No wonder even the gods cannot attend to them all. Better leave before I get caught by those angelic beings."
Ignoring the call, Amdusias stood at a pedestrian crossing, but the plea echoed in his mind once more.
"Please! Anyone, please help!"
Frustrated, Amdusias sighed and vanished from the spot as a woman with earphones, feeling a gust of wind, looked around puzzledly.
Amdusias appeared at the Century 21 department store on 87th Street in Brooklyn, surveying the scene. An SUV crashed into the store's first-floor glass wall, and a group of gunmen behind the vehicle fired into the department store, stepping on the shattered glass to enter.
As Amdusias slowly raised his hand, time seemed to slow down dramatically. The men attempting to enter the department store barely moved as Amdusias entered the first floor and noticed a woman lying on the ground, looking sadly at a certain spot. Approaching her, he touched the woman's head. As her eyes, almost frozen in motion, suddenly fixated on Amdusias, he asked irritably, "What? Why did you call me?"
The woman's face filled with panic as she realized everything around her had stopped, and she looked up at Amdusias in shock. Impatiently waving his hand, Amdusias turned his back.
"Bothered to call me and now you have nothing to say? Well, I'm leaving!"
The woman cried out in desperation, "Please, help!"
Amdusias, about to leave, turned his head and asked, "Help with what? You want to be saved?"
After forming a gesture with his hand, Amdusias shook his head.
"No, saving you would alert the angels. You're destined to die here."
Despair filled the woman's eyes, but pointing at a corner of the department store, she pleaded, "Then please, at least save my daughter!"
Amdusias waved his hand dismissively without looking back.
"Ah, she won't die. Just get hurt."
The woman crawled to Amdusias, grabbing his legs and crying, "Please! She's everything to me! Can you at least tell me how she will be hurt? I beg you!"
Amdusias glanced down at the woman holding his leg, his interest piqued by her relatively good looks. He noticed a little girl hiding in a corner, looking terrified. After a moment, Amdusias looked down at the woman and said nonchalantly, "A bullet will hit her head, but she won't die. Just become an imbecile."
The woman, in a desperate attempt to save her child, clutched at Amdusias's pants, pleading, "Please! Please protect my child! I don't know who you are, but you can do it! Please!"
Amdusias hesitated. While saving a human fated to die was problematic, saving a child destined for injury seemed less so. However, aiding a human without receiving anything in return was repulsive to him.
"What will you give me in return?"
"Anything! I'll do anything! Even become your servant for life!"
"For life? Even if it becomes eternity?"
"Yes, yes! I'll do anything you ask!"
After a moment, Amdusias nodded in agreement.
"Fine. The deal is made."
As they spoke, three bullets from a man wearing black sunglasses flew towards the child. As the woman, watching the trajectory of the bullets in slow motion, looked at Amdusias urgently, he lifted the gunman with one hand and threw him in front of the child at the department store entrance.
Dusting off his hands, Amdusias revealed a grin to the woman.
"I was in need of a child to serve me at meals. See you soon."
As Amdusias disappeared, time resumed its flow, and the man he had thrown landed on the ground, hit by three bullets in his thigh, shoulder, and arm. The woman sighed in relief as the man blocked the bullets meant for her child.
The woman, having heard she would die, seemed to find peace. Even as men pointed a gun at her forehead and laughed mockingly, her eyes remained fixed on the hiding child, praying silently for her safety until a bullet ended her life.
The gunman, after killing the woman, turned his gaze to where she had been looking. Seeing the small figure behind the fallen man, he approached and noticed the trembling child. Recognizing her as the daughter of a man he was fighting, he grinned, revealing gold teeth.
As he aimed his gun at the child and smirked, the child braced for impact, but the man turned away as the police sirens approached. The bullet went through the child's eye, causing one eye to vanish as she slowly lost consciousness. Then, a white hand appeared, catching the falling child.
"Wow, this won't do."
A dark shadow covered the child's eye, and as time passed, police stormed into the department store. Amdusias vanished quickly, and the officers found the child, still breathing but unconscious.
"Here's a child! She's still alive!"
"She doesn't seem injured. Maybe she just fainted."
As they checked the child, her eyelids fluttered open, revealing a faint blue light from her left eye.
***
"So, Kiska. Remember, colors have both positive and negative meanings. Don't forget that, okay?"
As Geon lectured Kiska about colors in the annex, Byungjoon grabbed a juice from the fridge, chuckling.
"Geon, talking like that won't make her understand. Ever heard of age-appropriate education?"
Kiska, happy just to have Geon talking to her, puffed her cheeks and shook her fist at Byungjoon, signaling him not to disturb them. Byungjoon, drinking his juice, rolled his eyes.
"Alright, I'll leave you lovebirds alone. Time for a smoke."
Shaking his head, Byungjoon put on his jacket, stepped outside to light a cigarette, and dialed a number.
"Yes, Director Lin. It's me."
"Hello, Manager. I was about to call you."
"Oh? Is there something up?"
"Could you arrange a dinner with Professor Leontine Price tomorrow?"
"Yes, that's easy. But may I ask why?"
"This opera performance is for African children, right?"
"Yes, that's correct. And Geon is making me nervous with his non-profit endeavors."
"Haha, I see. What does a manager do when their artist chooses non-profit projects?"
"Um... try to persuade?"
"Haha, you need to grow a bit more. If it's not about money, find another way to profit."
"Profit, Director?"
"Yes, even if it's not monetary, we can gain something else."
"Like what?"
"Brand marketing through a good image."
Scratching his head in confusion, Byungjoon asked, "Do you have a plan?"
"Professor Price and Geon are not interested in money, right?"
"Yes, they're so uninterested it's frustrating."
"So, convincing them with money won't work, will it?"
"Definitely not. That's why I haven't brought it up."
"Right. What if we propose a way to support African children with more funds, while keeping our profits minimal?"
"If there's such a plan, they'll both agree."
"Great. See you tomorrow."
"Wait, Director! I can't sleep if I'm curious!"
Click
"Damn it!!"
Byungjoon angrily ended the call and continued smoking.
"What the hell! Why does he always keep things to himself?!"