'Great, just what I need. I can already see the headlines: 'Creepy Guy at Bus Station Stares at Young girls'
He lowered his bag and ironically stared at the girl, who was trying to suppress her laughter.
"Seriously, what are you trying to do? Get me kicked out of here?"
"Don't worry, Onii-san, I'm not going to get you in trouble. Just give me some money, and I'll let it slide," she whispered with a mischievous grin.
"Wait, you're actually blackmailing me?" Luck blurted out, stunned by her audacity.
The truth clicked into place, piece by piece
He'd always assumed this kind of scenario was limited to those over-the-top, sleazy, and perverted manga plots.
Turns out, reality was not far off.
"Just 10,000 yen will do," she whispered, her voice as casual as if she were asking for spare change.
Luck's jaw dropped. "10,000 yen?! Are you out of your mind?"
He couldn't believe it—she was treating it like a normal transaction.
"Do I look like an ATM to you?" he sputtered, trying to make sense of how he'd landed in this ridiculous situation.
The girl just shrugged, enjoying his reaction. "Hey, you gotta pay up if you want me to stay quiet."
"I didn't even do anything!" he protested, his voice rising in disbelief.
"It doesn't matter," she said, waving him off with a smirk.
"Who do you think they'd believe? A cute girl like me or… well, a chubby guy like you?"
The way she said 'chubby' almost sounded like she was trying to be polite, which was surprising since he had expected something worse.
Luck's face flushed with frustration. "Wow, way to rub it in,"
"And no, I'm not giving you any money," he shot back, folding his arms.
"I'm broke too, okay? I've got three days before I get evicted, and I'm barely hanging on by a thread here. "
"I believe you," the girl sighed, rolling her eyes.
"You believe me?" he asked, his voice lifting, thinking for a second that there was a glimmer of hope.
"Yeah," she nodded while scrutinizing him from head to toe, "Just look at you. I doubt you've got any job besides playing video games all day and wasting your life,"
Luck blinked, momentarily stunned. "You really don't pull any punches, do you?"
"Nope," she said, standing up and stretching her arms "Alright, I've wasted enough time here."
With that, she turned and walked away, leaving him standing there, both relieved and slightly insulted.
'Unbelievable,' he muttered, clutching his bag a little tighter. 'What kind of world am I living in?'
As he mulled over the bizarre encounter, his gaze drifted back to the girl, but his attention was suddenly caught by a middle-aged man in the corner, leering at her.
'You've got to be kidding me; No way that's the guy they were looking for?
No matter how he looked at him, the guy seemed like the type who'd pin down some helpless girl.
'Wait, why do I even care about her? She's bad news... totally bad news. I should just ignore her '
But as he watched the creepy dude, a nagging voice whispered in the back of his mind.
'What if she really is in danger?'
It bothered him more than it should have, especially after their strange encounter.
He sat down and flicked on his phone, losing himself in his game to calm his racing thoughts.
In the end, he decided to act only if he saw an actual crime.
Reporting the middle-aged man without solid proof would make him no better than everyone else who judged others by their appearance.
A few minutes later, he heard the rumble of a bus getting nearer.
HISSSSS!
As the bus doors swung open, passengers began to board in a steady stream.
Some hurried inside, eager to get their preferred seats, while others hesitated at the entrance, struggling with their bags or checking their tickets again.
Elderly riders stepped aboard carefully, gripping the handrails for stability, while younger travelers strolled in with their earbuds in, hardly paying attention.
The line moved smoothly, with each person settling into their seats to the sounds of shifting bags and the soft creak of the bus.
When he finally got inside, he was surprised to see that most of the spots were already taken.
To his surprised, the same rude girl glared at him, and the seat next to her was free.
She even tapped it, trying to invite him over.
Not wanting any trouble, he opted for a seat on the opposite side instead.
He figured it would be a dumb decision to sit next to someone who could turn him in just for existing.
As the last passenger settled into their seat, the bus door shut close with a firm thud.
The engine fired up, and the bus slowly backed up, moving away from loading section.