Chapter 3
At the moment, I was staring at Lisa.
She was smiling at me.
We were around the same age, and she had black hair and strikingly cute eyes.
With her hourglass figure, my thoughts raced to places unknown.
Kai called her over and said, "Hey Lisa, my friend's got something he wants to tell you."
Sighing, I hesitated for a few seconds before saying, "Sorry about that," while pointing at Kai, who was already walking out of the school, heading home.
"So, does that mean you didn't have anything to say?" Lisa asked, looking at me with a confused expression.
"Not really," I replied, scratching my head. Then, I decided to just go for it—what's the worst that could happen?
"Well, I find you cute, and I was wondering… if you'd like to hang out sometime?"
Lisa chuckled before responding, "Thanks for the compliment, but at the moment, I'm busy with other things."
Strangely, I didn't feel disappointed. Instead, I felt relief—a feeling I didn't expect. I couldn't quite understand why that was the emotion I experienced, but I just added, "It's okay. See you next week."
Lisa waved goodbye as she joined her friends, who had been waiting for her.
A little later, I found Kai waiting for me, eating some meatballs. I grabbed the plate and started eating them, which made him laugh.
"So, how did it go?" Kai asked.
"I'm going to kill you," I replied, a meatball still in my mouth.
The road was slightly crowded with people heading home or to work for the night.
Kai laughed again and gave me a quick hug. "What did she say?"
"Well, I told her I thought she was cute and asked if she'd like to hang out. She said she was busy, though who knows if that's true," I explained.
Kai chuckled and said, "Who knows if she's really busy or not, but at least you got it off your chest, didn't you?"
"Yeah, and… weirdly, I felt relieved when she said no. Is that a good thing?" I asked.
"I don't know," Kai said thoughtfully before adding, "Maybe you felt relief because now you know you can move on to another girl. Or maybe—deep down—you're afraid of a relationship."
I was confused by Kai's last comment. "What do you mean I'm afraid of a relationship?"
Kai, taller than me and an upperclassman at our school, replied, "It might come from thinking relationships are super complicated or that you have to be perfect—or some other silly idea you've got in your head."
I thought about it for a moment as Kai took another meatball. "You might be right," I admitted.
Kai gave me a concerned look but then smiled. That's when I asked, "Anyway, how's your brother?"
"He's doing okay. He should be released by the end of this year or maybe next year," Kai said.
I paused for a moment, thinking. "You know, now that I'm thinking about it… how are you paying your school fees and still managing to buy things like games?"
Kai smirked. "What took you so long to realize?"
Honestly, it hadn't taken me long—I'd always suspected. That's why I bought lunch for him every day and sometimes even extra food before we went home. But he stopped me when he realized what I was trying to do and said, 'I'll be okay.'
Now that I was thinking about it more, I realized it had been almost a year since I'd been to Jack's house. Was I a bad friend? "I always noticed," I said, "but I never asked."
Kai nudged me lightly. "I like this new version of you."
I gave him a puzzled look, so he explained, "You can't tell? Before, you would've left without saying anything to Lisa.
Before, you wouldn't have stood up to those bullies.
Before, you wouldn't have told your mom you were worried about her.
Before, you wouldn't have thought about looking for a job.
And before, you wouldn't have sent your sister to your grandma's place to lighten the load on your mom."
Kai flicked my forehead. "Bro, you used to be the idiot who did whatever I said. Now you're even challenging me. So yeah, you're changing."
Kai didn't say anything else after that, and we kept walking. He was right—it was such a gradual change that I hadn't even noticed. But it was there.
Then, someone I never thought I'd see again returned.
'Did you miss me?' asked Alter Elijah.
'It's only been a few hours,' I replied, smiling.
'I know,' Alter Elijah said. 'But you also understand why you created me, right?'
'To some extent, yeah. I want to keep feeling this change in me,' I said.
'Good, because I've adjusted our tasks a little,' Alter Elijah said.
A screen popped up in front of me:
[Name: Elijah Havor]
[Level: 1]
[Tasks:]
Ask Kai how you can also make money.
Work hard and use that money to help your mom.
Smiling, I turned to Kai and asked, "Kai, I know you're doing something to make money. Can you help me do it too?"
Kai grinned. "For sure, my guy."