A customer in the diner had finished their meal, so Tony left to remove their dish and wipe the table.
Nick just sighed and settled on an empty table at the corner of the diner as he waited for his meal.
A few minutes later, Tony served him the dish.
Nick thanked him, removed the ceramic cover of the bowl, and took in the splendor and aroma of the meal. The bowl of ramyeon with thin noodles soaked in a chicken-flavoured broth was garnished with spring onions, leaks, carrots, two semi-cooked eggs, and sliced cheese.
Nick immediately dug in. The meal tasted spicy and sumptuous. He had it to give it to Eugene once again, the dude really knew his stuff.
As Nick ate, Tony joined him on the table with his own bowl of ramyeon.
Of course, Nick didn't mind and even engaged Tony in some casual talk.
Tony ate his meal and openly commended Eugene's cooking skills, which Nick concurred.
After a few seconds, Nick asked, "Tony, is everything really okay?"
Tony froze for a moment with some noodles in his mouth but regained himself and quickly swallowed.
He let out a hollow chuckle and said, "To be honest, I don't know how to answer that. But I'm fine. Really. What I'm to do isn't complex. I just have to provide for my child and Emma in the manner I can."
Nick silently stared at him. He knew things were more complicated than that.
Tony continued eating, but noticing the awkward silence, he paused and decided to elaborate. "I won't lie. It's hard sometimes to get through the day. I'd be lying if I said I haven't had thoughts of just skipping town and going somewhere else. But, when I see Emma's belly, I feel motivated, sort of. Have I told you?"
"Told me what?"
"The baby, she's a girl. I always wanted a daughter. It doesn't matter what anyone says or thinks, even my wife. I'll get up and do whatever just for my girl to have a proper life."
A smile crept on Tony's lips as he continued, "I might've lost my job, but I'll get an even better one. It's things like this that test our strength and help us grow."
Hearing Tony, Nick fell into a brief contemplative state.
'We're strong and growing, so what? We know the ones that reach the top aren't the strongest, neither are they the kindest, nor the most hardworking. They got to those heights by cheating, lying, and stomping on the heads of us, the "good people".'
Nick studied Tony's face. His friend was really hopeful.
Nick just sighed and smiled. "You're going to be an amazing dad."
"Thanks," Tony said with a soft smile.
Just then, Eugene joined them on the table too, and leaned in close, whispering, "Nick! I have something for you."
Eugene was a chubby middle-aged man of average height with short black hair and an unkempt stubble peppering his chin.
He suspiciously bobbed around, scanning his vicinity as he took out a book with a hand-drawn front cover of a male warrior surrounded by numerous pointy-eared beauties with large bosoms.
"Feast your eyes on the latest edition of Hero x Elves!" Eugene said.
With curiosity, Tony leaned in close and asked, "What's it about?"
"You won't understand. Only a fellow cultured man like Nick would."
"Nick, you read these types of comics?" Tony asked, surprised.
Not sure whether Tony was talking about the unique black-and-white nature of the comic or… something else, Nick still felt a bit embarrassed.
He coughed and answered, "Sometimes."
Eugene showed Nick the non-colored comic and narrated the latest developments in the story to Nick. Then, he began indoctrinating Tony into the world of "culture."
Nick remained silent after a while, his mind constantly thinking back to Top Idol. He pinched himself just to make sure he wasn't dreaming.
Gazing at the ceiling of the small diner, he suddenly voiced, "Have you guys heard of an app called—"
His eyes fell on the frozen faces of Tony and Eugene, who were patiently anticipating his question.
Nick remembered a rule he read and sighed. "Don't worry about it. It's… a scam anyway."
At around 2:30 p.m., Nick paid for the meal and bid Tony, Eugene, and Nana goodbye then left the diner.
Nick passed by the laundry area of the apartment complex and met Mike, the neighbor who lent him the expensive Ralph Lauren suit he wore in the "stunt" of yesterday.
He informed Nick that he would soon come over so Nick could help him edit a video of his. Mike was a social media influencer and could probably edit, but not as well and professionally as Nick, who had learned it so he could earn through commissions online.
Nick got to his apartment and read some more rules, but he quickly ended up wishing for something more productive to do with his time.
Top Idol didn't seem to offer anything other than v-points, so since he was still alive, why not look for work instead of idling about?
He sat on his bed and dialed Desmond's phone number.
Desmond said he didn't have anything for Nick at the moment, but the latter should be up and ready because anything could come up.
"I guess it's a free afternoon for me," Nick muttered and fell back on his bed. It was a rest anyway.
Not long after Nick entered his apartment, there was a light rap on his door.
Nick didn't think much about it and answered the door, already expecting Mike to show up anytime soon.
Unexpectedly, a stylish man with light wrinkles on his face, permed short black hair, tinted shades, and a trimmed goatee stood casually at the door.
He was in an ash-grey suit with the first two buttons of his beach-design inner shirt left undone to reveal the thick 24-karat gold chain resting on his hairy chest.
Nick's heart raced, and he drew in a deep, frigid breath. 'Boss Falco!'
Behind were three men clad in black suits with red inner shirts. There was one in particular with a bald head, towering over six feet, and had a ghastly scar on his face that extended from his forehead and trailed down, right beneath his left eye, and stopped at the lower part of his cheek.
Boss Falco's eyes lit up as he set his eyes on Nick. He smiled, revealing his near-perfect dentition and golden incisor tooth.
"Nicky, my boy, it's nice to see you're well." The boss's voice was gritty and not too pleasant to hear.
Right after he greeted, his eyes coldly stared down at Nick and added in a calmer—albeit more chilling—tone:
"Where's my money, kid?"