Chapter 4 - The Familiar Stranger

Today would mark the last day of work for Katherine at Lefty's Mart. While she was happy at the fact that she'd managed to leave her husband's family major for seven days straight, she was also sad as today would be the last day for her.

The other reason for her moody expression was the fact that she'd only managed to meet half of the required amount for the mission's completion.

She'd been happy to resume work as this was the only mart that was willing to hire her. She didn't even do her research well enough to know that this was one of the marts with the least number of customers.

On the day she came for the interview, she'd been happy to get employed on the spot because of the number of customers she saw in the store. Unknown to her, the store had been offering a massive discount price for products that day.

Now that she was here and working as an employee, she faced the hard truth. The store barely had customers. The owner had even come on the third day with a smile on his face.

"The mart has experienced a fifty percent increase in customer patronage since your arrival. Once again, I'm honored to have you work with us." Those had been the words of the mart owner.

Katherine didn't know whether to cry or smile at those words of his. Even the scarce number of people was a fifty percent increase? How was this place before her arrival?

Too tired to continue thinking about it, Katherine sighed and sank into the chair personally provided to her behind the counter. After her shift ended, she noticed the owner would move it away.

"Today's the last day and I'm yet to meet the target. I'll just sleep until it's time for my shift to end. I guess my first outside mission was a failure after all." Katherine placed her head on the counter and soon, she was fast asleep.

She didn't know when she fell asleep but soon enough, she was up, accompanied by a horrifying scream.

"Ahhh!" The terror in her face was boldly written, a result of the nightmare she'd just experienced.

She panted heavily as she recalled the events of the dream. As it became clear to her, she understood. It wasn't a dream. She was simply relieving the memory of how she'd died and this time, it felt horrible and terrifying.

"How did I not feel this way the first time?" Katherine asked herself after managing to stabilize her breathing.

"Feel what?" She heard a deep voice close by. She raised her head and noticed a male figure standing in front of the counter. He looked young, probably in his mid-twenties, and good-looking too. Overly so. He had dark hair and black eyes and was dressed in sports wear—a tank top and a short.

There was a white towel around his neck and judging from how she had to slightly raise her head to look at him despite standing on a more elevated ground compared to him, she knew he had to be tall.

How had she not noticed his arrival when the doorbell announced the arrival of any and everyone who entered the store?

The man seemed to notice her confusion and quickly provided an answer. "Sorry, when I got here, I noticed you were asleep and decided not to wake you up until you did so yourself or until I couldn't wait any longer."

Hearing his deep soothing voice made her heart skip a beat and she squinted her eyes while staring at him. "Do I know you?" Katherine asked with a curious expression.

This stranger felt… Familiar.

He smiled, appearing even more attractive. "I don't think you do. We've never met. Besides, I'd never forget someone as beautiful as you."

Badum!

Another skip in her heartbeat. Her face reddened but she found it almost comical. Each time he spoke to her, she felt like she knew him.

"I… I see." Katherine said after a few seconds of awkward silence. "Thank you." She added after another second.

The man smiled in response. "I was only stating facts. There was no need to act all flustered and even thank me. You deserve all the praises you're not getting." Without waiting for her response, the man revealed the basket in his hand, placing it atop the counter.

It was a combination of various things and as Katherine offloaded the items from the basket, she kept getting the urge to ask what he was going to do with them.

There was a compact instant camera, a mini projector, a mid-range headphone, a pair of sunglasses, two bags of potato chips, and two mid-range walkie-talkies. She didn't bother to ask what he wanted to do with all of them seeing how the man kept staring at her as she scanned each item.

"If you don't mind, would a picture be possible through the compact camera I just purchased?" The man finally broke the awkward silence that surrounded the entire store, his question seemingly audacious.

Katherine stared at him and shrugged. "Not one." She replied but somehow, the man heard something different.

What he heard was along the lines of… "just one."

Before she knew what was happening, she'd heard a shutter sound and a picture of her had been printed out from the camera.

"Huh? What was that?" Katherine questioned with a confused look. She'd told him not to go ahead but he'd done so regardless of her warning.

"Sorry? What was what?" The man asked with an even more confused look, holding the photo in his right hand.

Katherine pointed at the small picture of her in his hand. "Why did you take a photo of me even when I declined your request?"

"Pardon? Didn't you say 'just one' a moment ago?" The man asked with slightly raised brows.

Katherine shook her head and repeated her response "I said, 'not one' but I believe you heard something different."

It was clear to him now after her explanation. He'd misheard her words and acted wrongly. "Apologies then. Sorry for the inconvenience I might've caused you." He bowed gently, handing the small photo over to Katherine.

Shaking her head, she declined with a smile. "It's fine. You can keep it if you want."

With a smile, the man pulled back his hand and tucked the photo inside his pocket. "Thank you." His gaze returned to the items on the counter and he asked. "How much do they cost in total?"

She looked at the monitor connected to the counter. It displayed the individual prices of the items and then the total of everything which she immediately called out. "A total of one thousand two hundred dollars." Even as Katherine called out the price, her eyes widened.

Only now did she notice the price of what he'd bought and although it was just a few items, the total was just two hundred dollars short of her target for the mission's completion.

Without a word, the man pulled out a wallet from his pocket and counted a few $100 bills. As he counted, Katherine packed his items into a bag.

"What's the name?" The man asked as he received the bag from Katherine.

She didn't know when she uttered her name. "Katherine…"

The man received the bag and handed the payment to Katherine. "Name's Joe. Once again, I apologize for the inconvenience and I hope to see you again.."

Before Katherine could finish counting the notes, the man had vanished just as quietly as he came. "Sorry, but you seem to have added an additional two hundred," Katherine called out, raising her head only to find herself alone in the store.

"What the…"

Ding!

She received a notification from the System and immediately knew what it was without opening the notification. The mission had been completed. Slowly, a smile crept into her face.