Chapter 4
The Next Day
I got home late yesterday and found my mom asleep, surrounded by papers scattered across the table.
My sister will be returning soon, and Mom already looks more exhausted than usual. Kai's words from the day before—asking me to meet him—echoed in my mind.
At 5 a.m., I met him just outside the gate of our apartment.
I've never had a friend like him. Seeing him, I greeted, "Morning, Kai."
"What's up, Elijah? You seem somewhat ready," Kai replied.
He was dressed in a hard hat, a hoodie, gloves, sweatpants—the only visible skin was his face.
Meanwhile, I had on a plain black shirt, some pants I found, and sneakers.
"Yeah, you need to change those clothes," Kai remarked, eyeing my outfit.
"Right now?" I questioned.
Kai sighed. "Maybe next time you're running. Anyway, I'll just show you what to do today. If it starts getting easy, come to me for the next steps."
I nodded as he instructed, "Now, follow me."
We started jogging.
At first, we didn't talk much, but after about 5 kilometers, I shouted, "Bro, where the heck are we going?"
Kai, 5 meters ahead of me and seemingly unfazed by the jog, just smiled.
"Come on. Are you this weak, huh, Elijah?" he teased.
I stopped talking—speaking seemed to sap my energy—and focused on jogging.
The pain in my sides grew worse as we kept going.
By the time we hit 10 kilometers from home, I was nearly collapsing.
Kai stopped and turned to see me doubled over, panting heavily.
"Now I know why Lisa said no," he said with a smirk.
I frowned but didn't respond, too exhausted to banter.
Kai chuckled and motioned for me to follow him.
We entered a rough part of town, where unnamed gangs often hung out.
I felt uneasy, especially when I noticed a group of men watching us from afar.
Kai, however, seemed unbothered, so I tried to hide my fear, though inside, I was freaking out.
Eventually, we arrived at an old building.
The windows looked like they were about to crack, and the front door was unlocked.
Kai seemed to know the place, so I didn't ask too many questions.
"Hey, old man, where are you?" Kai shouted after entering.
A door on the other side of the room—beside the staircase—opened, and a man appeared.
He looked like he was in his 30s, with green hair and eyes, and a fit physique.
His bored expression turned to Kai as he asked, "What do you want, kid?"
"Well, do you remember that friend I'm always talking about?" Kai asked.
"You mean Elish or something, right?" the man replied.
"It's Elijah, Mike," Kai corrected, shaking his head. "This is him. I was wondering if you could find a job for him."
Mike gave me a once-over before looking back at Kai. "What do you see in this skinny kid?"
A vein throbbed in my forehead, but Jack just grinned. "Just answer the question."
Mike shrugged. "Take him to the factory on Monday. That'll do." With that, he disappeared back into the other room.
Kai patted my shoulder with a smile. "I won't be able to take you there on Monday, but here's the address. You start at 5 p.m., two hours after school. Just stick with it for a while."
I looked at the papers Kai handed me and frowned. "What the heck is this?"
[Tasks Updated]
-Go for a 10 km jog
-Do 100 push-ups
-Do 100 squats
-Do 100 sit-ups
-Do 50 pull-ups
-Work for 3 hours starting at 5 p.m.
-Study Math and English for one hour each
[Reward: Money and a cheap snack.]
[Penalty: Walk shirtless for 10 minutes outside.]
I hung my head in defeat as Kai patted my back.
"You'll be earning 20 bucks a day, and this workout will get you the muscles Lisa's been missing out on."
Motivated by that last line, I straightened up. "When do we start?"
"That's the spirit," Kai laughed.
We headed to an open space nearby and began the workout.
Almost immediately, I regretted my decision.
Crying through the process, I wanted to quit so badly.
It took us three hours to finish, and by the end, I was walking like a zombie.
Kai laughed and said, "Progress takes time, but stick with it, and you'll catch up to me eventually."
At 16, Kai was already fitter and better-looking than most guys.
Even through his clothes, you could tell he worked out, which was part of why every girl at school liked him—along with his devilishly handsome face.
'Why are we even friends again?' I wondered bitterly.
"What's with that face?" Kai asked.
"I'm going to kill you," I growled before chasing him.
Kai just laughed, easily outrunning me with a grin