The big abandoned underground subway is nasty but cleaner than the street alley on the way in. The electric high-speed metro train is lying still on the railroad. But, there is light inside shining out, showing that there are people inside.
"Thug!!"
Laith kicks the automatic door out of his way.
Seeing several men wearing gangster jackets with tattoos on their faces. They are blocking the way.
They hesitated to stand, facing Laith and Raden.
"Arg!!"
Laith grabs one of the man's necks up, and then someone uses the iron baseball bat to hit Laith's arm.
"THUG!!"
Then, the baseball bat is bending.
"Ha!..!!"
They are all shocked.
"Where the fuck are they!?"
Laith.
"Who!!?"
"I see blood."
Laith says to them and glances at the blood splashing out on the fall on the way inside.
"Them."
Laith answers.
Then, Laith throws that man away, hitting the train wall.
Laith and Raden walk past them ignorantly and push the automatic door again.
They try to after, but Laith's shadow spreads out and sprints on the floor, attacking them individually while Laith heads to the target.
"THUG!"
The door is broken and flies away.
"What the fuck!?"
The big man behind the desk flinches and gets up after unannouncedly seeing Laith and Raden inside his workplace.
"Laith!!"
"!!"
Laith takes himself in front of that big man and grabs that man's face.
"Thudd!!"
Laith puts his face against his desk violently.
"Argg!!"
That man screams and tries to push himself up, but Laith's strength is hard to resist.
"What the fuck Laith!!?"
"You know what it is, Udemy!!"
Laith shouts.
Then Udemy's men run inside, and Raden uses his shadow to defend rather than fight back. And no one can come in between Laith and Udemy.
"You sent those fuckers to harass my girl!?"
"Ha...But she's fine, isn't she?"
"ARGH!!"
Udemy screams because Laith pushes his head harder, and the desk starts to crack.
"Fuck! Laith, I don't fucking have no idea they did by themselves!"
"Do you think I believe that? You are the alpha; your cups don't run around without your order, Udemy!"
"Arg!!! Stop! fuck!"
"Boss!"
And then Arkardy walks in.
"HM!"
Laith.
"Those men you're looking for..."
Arkardy tells Laith and drags the man with one arm out and throws him on the ground before Laith.
"Not just me!!! they're..."
Then, Arkardy drags all of them out.
"Ha...You guys are so afraid of her that much… to hunt her in a group!?"
Laith pushes Udemy's head, pulls out hard, and lets go of his face.
Laith comes to them, who are sitting on the ground with their missing body parts. One is missing his arm, another is missing his leg, and another has a broken arm.
"Karma is a bitch, right?"
"Ha... We're sorry, Mr. Kint!"
One of them.
"Tell me...because of your boss's order? Or your dirty, nasty self!?"
"Ha...I...We didn't do anything to her yet, please.....We didn't even touch her."
"Lies."
Laith tells him and opens his palm, and then the black smoke floats around his palm.
"He touched her boobs!!"
Then the man shouts out.
"Fuck!.. Her shadow ate my arm... please, it ate. It killed one of us already. Please, we're sorry."
"You touched...her...Heh..he....hehe."
Then, Laith is about to lose his mind again.
Raden glances at his team leader but does not stop him.
"Your fighter sucked, so you chose to play dirty....on her."
"Ha... we're so sorry, please."
"Slash!!!"
Then, the black smoke of Laith's hand slices through their necks and they are all falling down.
"Ha...Laith!"
Udemy.
"If you still want your fighters in the ring, don't fucking do this again. I won't let you pass this time."
Laith's shadow is sucked back to Laith's hand and disappears.
"Don't ever touch or come near her again."
Laith leaves the last words.
The Playground
Emris takes me to my room, opens the door for me, and I take off his jacket and give it to him. He takes it, and then he steps forward to me closer, forcing me to step back inside the room. He shuts the door behind him.
And he's in my room with me.
"I'll stay here."
"… I'm really okay, Emris."
"If I leave, you'll go after him."
"…"
Then Emris walks past me, holds my hand and takes me to sit on the couch together with him.
"You don't have to hold your tears."
"…"
Xin
'…'
Xin, I'm sorry… where are you...
'…'
"Hic…"
Emris is still holding my hand.
"Xin is gone…"
"…"
"Hic…"
I pull my hand back and wipe my tears again.
"Tell me… how can I help you feel better…?"
"…"
Emris moves his body closer to me, touches my hair, and puts it back over my shoulder. I look at him.
"Tell me, Roelle."
He calls my name for the first time.
"…"
I move closer to him and hug him. I put my face inside his hard chest. He holds me in and wraps me tighter.
"Xin… he will comfort me… he will let me hold him."
"…"
"If he's really gone, what should I do…Emris?"
"He's your shadow… he's never really gone."
"Hic…hic.."
I curl my body up in his arms. He holds my body up along with me and lets me sit on his lap. I hold his neck and put my face inside it.
"…Roelle."
He softly calls me again. His hands are big enough to hold my body entirely. He lets go of one hand and strokes my head, up and down, along with my hair.
He's so warm.
"Please stay with me tonight."
"…"
He pauses his hand.
Then, he puts his face on my shoulder and slightly moves to my neck.
"Um."
He makes a sound in his throat to answer me, and his breath is all over my skin. He breathes me in and out along with his hands, which feel my entire body.
…
"Let her go."
"…"
"You left her."
Emris talks to the shadow while holding the tiny body that has fallen asleep in his arms.
"…"
"I am here."
Xin.
There's no sign that Emris will let go of her. Forcing Xin Steps closer to the man, Xin tries his best to calm himself.
"You better not leave her alone again."
"…let go of her."
"Hic… hic…"
The tiny body cries in her sleep.
Emris is about to hold her in, but Xin steals tiny body from him. And carries her up.
"Roelle…"
Xin.
"Xin…"
"Yes."
"Hic….ummm."
She curls her body to Xin and holds him tight.
Emris's watching them.
"Your job is done, leave."
Xin tells Emris and carries Roelle to her bed.
"…"
Emris's hesitant to leave her, but he has to. Then, he closes the door.
Emris walks himself downstairs, seeing the rest of the team in the room.
"Where is she!?"
Mr. Laith.
"Don't"
Emris.
"Is she… okay now?"
"Do you really care for her?"
"!?"
"Not just because she earns you a lot of money."
"Riz."
Raden.
"I told you. You could get her killed. You know what I meant, not just in the ring."
Emris.
"I care for her. I know… did she stop crying?"
"She cried because of you… she's your responsibility? Then do it better… if you can't take care of her, just let her go...or leave her to me."
Emris tells his team leader and leaves the building.
Raden runs after Emris outside.
"Riz."
"…"
Emris doesn't stop.
"Why are you acting like this?"
Raden asks him from behind.
Emris stops and looks at the sky.
"I don't know…"
"Team leader really cares for her than fucking money… you know it."
"Um."
"Then why did you say that to him?"
"…"
"You like her too?"
"…"
"Not like the way I like her but the way that Team Leader likes her."
"…"
"You're not like yourself since she's here…"
"Sigh…"
Emris turns his body to the side.
"How... I'm still myself."
"You talk to her more than the rest of us. Today, you opened your mouth more than three months combined. You went to her every match and put down your phone to watch her. And you came to watch her tonight in the audience view with Coach."
"…"
"You searched for her shoes for two whole days."
"…fuck."
Emris rests his body by squatting and rests both his arms on his knees.
"And earlier, you lost your shit over her…should I go on?"
"…I turn my shape… in front of her… I beat them up in front of her…Rad."
"…"
Raden steps closer to his friend and stands beside him.
"I don't have to continue the rest then."
"… I fall for her, Rad… fall too hard."
"…"
"…Team leader is crazy about her."
Raden.
"Hmpt…"
"But I'm not sure what exactly is on his mind."
"…"
"I don't want our team to split up."
Raden speaks his mind.
"No. There's something bigger than this for him to do unreasonable things."
"We can't be sure… team leader will get whatever he wants… he's a crazy genius, you know him."
"I know he's a totally psycho one."
"And you too, Riz…. Roelle sure brings out the hidden sides of both of you that easily...."
"…"
Emris looks at his palms and pictures the tiny girl he held onto earlier. He let her sit on his lap and held him tight. He still smells the sweet skin of her neck.
And he covers his face with both hands.
"But I'm glad to see you like this... You're more human than you think."
Raden.