The 21st Floor

For about a minute...

Rurouni remained unconscious on the grass.

Completely separated from reality.

Then...

BZZZT!

His phone vibrated.

Rurouni's eyes slowly opened, felt like the sky is spinning.

"...Huh?"

He stared at the sky for a few seconds.

Then remembered everything.

The truth she's hiding for past six months.

It might sound exaggerated, but it's not.

He couldn't even begin to imagine how much more respectful their parents would have towards her...

If she told them the truth.

It made a curious question appeared in his mind.

Why? Why did she hide that, anyway?

He slowly sat up, phone vibrated again.

A new message from Somya.

Somya:

Come quickly.

I'm waiting, you know.

And properly thank me later for giving you spoiler twice.

Otherwise who knows what might have happened to you.

Rurouni stared at the message.

I must say, she saved my life this time.

I can easily imagine myself getting a serious heartattack.

“So... this is how it feels when something you've completely believed in turns out to be completely wrong.”

He stood up, brushed the grass off his clothes.

"But oh well. The worst has already happened."

"And I'm already the most pathetic in KRI anyway."

Rurouni stretched his arms, shoulders, then his legs.

He took a deep breath, started thinking about his real goal, the twenty novels again.

"Let's just get this over with."

He began thinking seriously.

"Now the real question is..."

"Should I ask Karika to lend me some novels..."

"Or should I prepare myself to be humiliated while begging Somya?"

He suddenly laughed, felt like he made a character development after waking up just now.

"Hahaha! It's good to have no respect."

"No respect means nothing can get in the way of reading novels."

He nodded seriously, feeling proud of his goal.

"Both options are shameful."

"But somehow..."

"I've become even more shameless."

Rurouni looked toward the enormous building, the previous shock he had became slightly weaker now.

"...Let's go."

He started walking toward the entrance.

The closer he got...

The larger the building appeared.

Eventually...

He reached the entrance, no fear as for now.

Before he could enter...

A large, dark-skinned man stepped in front of him.

"Who are you?"

Rurouni stopped immediately and looked at him.

The man's body was muscular enough to make him slightly nervous.

He looked exactly like the kind of bodyguard Rurouni had read about in his novels.

Except...

This one was real, not someone's imagination.

Rurouni swallowed, then politely bowed his head.

"Hello. My name is Rurouni."

"I came here to take my big sister home."

The bodyguard looked at him for a moment.

Then his expression softened drastically.

"Really?"

"Then this must be your first time coming here."

Rurouni nodded, still nervous though.

The bodyguard smiled, pointed at himself.

“Don’t worry. I was a little nervous at first, just like you.”

“If there’s anything you don’t know, just ask me.”

Rurouni immediately relaxed, bowed a little.

"Thank you."

"By the way..."

"Could you please tell me where my sister works in this company?"

The bodyguard nodded with a warm smile.

"Of course."

He pointed toward a large information chart near the entrance.

"Just go over there and find your sister's name in that chart." 

"The information beside her name will tell you her floor number and room number."

Rurouni looked toward the chart, understood the process completely.

"...Oh."

He had been imagining himself wandering around this enormous building for hours.

But maybe...

He wouldn't have to suffer this time after all.

Rurouni bowed slightly with extra drama.

"Thank you, sir."

"I hope you're happy for the rest of your life."

The bodyguard blinked, surprised a little by his exaggeration.

"I only did my job, though."

Then he noticed something...

Rurouni had already walked away with a smile.

The bodyguard shook his head slightly.

Then returned to his assigned position.

Meanwhile...

Rurouni happily arrived in front of the chart.

He looked at the bottom, then started searching.

Nothing on the ground floor.

He smiled since he expected as much.

"Okay. Let's try the first floor."

He searched again with confidence.

Still nothing.

His smile faded slightly.

Second floor, smile faded.

Fifth floor, smile disappeared.

Tenth floor, frustration rose a little.

Fifteenth floor, feeling sad with frustration.

He finally went to the last floor in the chart.

Twentieth floor.

Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Rurouni stared at the chart, frustration at the peak.

He started scratching his head now.

The bodyguard noticed him standing there acting so dramatic.

So he walked over immediately out of concern.

"What happened, bro?"

Rurouni turned toward him in slow motion.

There was a tiny bit of relief in his eyes.

"I couldn't find her at all. Is there another chart where she might be listed?"

The bodyguard shook his head towards him.

"No. This chart contains the names of every employee in the company."

Rurouni's expression became empty again.

Of course...

What was I even expecting from this dark future of mine?

The bodyguard placed a hand on Rurouni's right shoulder, giving him condolences.

"Don't be so sad. Just tell me her name."

"I might know her."

A tiny spark of hope returned to Rurouni's eyes.

"Okay. Her name is Somya Rakhora."

The bodyguard froze, silence for some seconds.

Rurouni looked at him, thinking he's being dramatic.

Then...

"Are you sure?"

Rurouni immediately became nervous.

"Y-Yeah."

"Why?"

The bodyguard didn't answered this time.

Instead...

He gently took Rurouni's face and turned it toward the right side.

Rurouni let him do what he's doing in hope of finding her sister.

...

There was a coloured poster on the wall.

It wasn't particularly small like others we see in our daily lives.

In fact...

It was enormous enough to scare someone.

Approximately forty-seven metres tall.

Rurouni stared at it, trying to accept the reality.

The poster showed two women.

At the top was the name:

TOKYA

Then...

The owner of the company.

Alina Ohooya

And beneath her...

The manager.

Somya Rakhora

They stood close together, each with a hand resting on the other's shoulder, looking more like family than coworkers.

Rurouni was still staring at the poster.

His brain processed the information.

Slowly. Very slowly.

His sister that he tries his best to ignore.

Was a manager of this company.

The company that was apparently large enough to make him question whether it was even legal.

And not only that,

She is also good friends with the owner too.

While he was struggling to buy a single novel even after saving money for an entire month.

He closed his eyes, his brain switched off again due.

He started collapsing without any warning.

The bodyguard immediately caught him.

"Whoa!"

He gently held Rurouni before he could hit the ground.

"...This kid."

The bodyguard looked at Somya from the poster.

Then at Rurouni that's unconscious right now.

"Is he really her little brother?"

Before he could think about what to do next...

BZZZT!

His phone started ringing, expression changed completely just by that.

Then he immediately looked at the screen.

There was only one person whose calls he would never silence, no matter the time or place.

Alina Ohooya.

The bodyguard immediately answered.

"H-Hello, ma'am." 

Just as he was about to explain what had happened...

The bodyguard heard something.

"Bring him to me."

BEEP—

The call ended in an instant.

The bodyguard stared at the phone, then looked down at Rurouni.

He finally understood the whole thing.

She had been watching. Probably the entire time.

The bodyguard sighed in relief since the situation is not his problem anymore.

"Well, at least I don't have to figure out what to do with him."

He carefully picked Rurouni up like a little kid.

Then began carrying him toward the elevator.

The elevator doors opened.The bodyguard entered with him.

He selected the twenty-first floor.

The system asked password since it's not accessible to others.

He typed the password.

104168

Green light appeared, doors closed.

Up they went, took some time.

Eventually...

Ding!

The doors opened. The bodyguard stepped onto the twenty-first floor.

This floor was very different from the others.

It was enormous compared to any floor.

And almost completely empty.

Because only two people worked here.

Alina Ohooya.

And...

Somya Rakhora.

The bodyguard walked toward the room, opened the entrance door.

Nobody was there but he wasn't surprised.

The floor was simply too large for a person to be visible immediately.

He carried Rurouni inside gently with extra care.

Then placed him near the white-yellow sofa.

Rurouni remained unconscious like a dead body.

His mind had already suffered enough for today.

The bodyguard quietly left him there.

Then returned to his assigned position.

The floor became awkwardly silent again.

The long-awaited meeting...

...was finally about to happen.