The Prelude

Something unexpected happened after Kylee and I confronted Reyson last week. Danny posted a video on Social Media explaining the issue that had happened and told everyone that Reyson didn't do anything wrong and that he was the one who should be apologizing right now.

The video circulated around the campus, causing many students to feel dumbfounded by the situation. But thanks to that, the latter's reputation has been restored and Reyson could take it easy without anyone lashing at him.

However, what I'm intrigued at doesn't have anything to do with the process that Danny used to reconcile. I was trying to figure out who is the one behind the scenes who provoked Danny to do that public apology.

The reason I'm confused is that I should be the one planning to tell Danny about the circumstances and have him make a choice. It feels strange for him to use that kind of approach, knowing that I had the same alternative as well, there is a possibility that someone knew what I'm alluding to and decided to suggest it themselves.

"You've been working hard lately, Nathan. Are you feeling well?" Mr. Finn—the owner of this cafe where I'm working part-time—asks me.

"Oh, I'm doing well these days. Thanks for asking." I responded while wiping the counter.

Let's use this opportunity to talk about my other part-time job. Since delivering food and doing services wasn't enough to earn me a few bucks, I decided to apply as a Barista at Mr. Finn's coffee shop.

I work every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The shifting of the schedule wasn't all that bad and the work is not arduous either since serving coffee and making beautiful artwork of it was within my scope. And Mr. Finn was always generous to me as he gives me a raise every single day.

While I was cleaning the counter, I noticed that there was a signboard attached outside the window that says they were looking for a new employee.

"Are you looking for another employee to watch the shop, Mr. Finn?" I asked.

"Ah yes, that's right. I understand that you and Miss Crisanna must have been having a hard time doing a two-set shifting. That's why I'm going to hire another Barista to complete the schedule. The shop has been going well for the past few months so it's time to raise the bar." he answered.

Miss Crisanna is the other employee here and she's my Senior at work. Her shift starts in the morning while I do the rest in the afternoon after school. But sometimes, she would stay until the evening to help me with the customers.

And that's the reason why I admire and respect her so much. She's been taking care of me even though it's hard on her case. I've been thinking about how can I repay her someday but the only way I can help is by driving off customers who hit on her.

Yes—Miss Crisanna is a beautiful, kind, mature, and diligent worker. Because of that, customers always annoy her by asking for her number or asking her out which makes her uncomfortable.

So what's my role you ask? Heh, I'm proud to serve this Queen. Call me a fiendish knight or whatever, I'm going to serve you my fist if you lay your hands on the Queen of this Cafe.

Well, I guess Mr. Finn considered our vitality inside the workplace and decided that things will be easier for us if he hired another one.

"Oh yeah, don't worry about the shortage of pay. I'm not gonna cut you off just because I hired another one haha!" he added.

"Thank you so much! Thank you so much!" I bowed numerous times.

After sorting the equipment, a group of students entered the cafe.

"Welcome to Finn's Cafe—!"

"Geh!"

As I greeted them, one student caught my eye. She made a disgusted face and turned her head away.

"Why do you always appear wherever I go? Are you a creep or something?" Kylee asked as she sat near the counter.

"Stupid mongrels like you wouldn't understand—Gughh!" I got hit.

"I shouldn't have asked that. Give me some hot chocolate and one of that strawberry cake," she ordered.

"Yes, Ma'am."

This woman really annoys me but I can't make a scene or I'll be in trouble.

As I served Kylee's order and the others, I went back to wiping the counter when she spoke up. "Have you checked the social media?"

"Yeah. Looks like things are back to normal. So, what happened?" I asked.

"What do you mean?"

"That was not included in our script. It's far too unlikely for that guy to know my intention."

"I don't know what you're talking about but maybe Danny did that after talking to Reyson. And social media is a great way of promoting and informing people. It was a good choice." she answered, taking a sip.

"Is that so...?"

"Now then, can you tell me the real reason why you entered the committee?" I knew Kylee was going to ask that eventually but I didn't expect it to be now.

"Did you figure that out by yourself or did you hear it from the President?" I asked.

"Most of it was my speculation but Fuyumi confirmed it." she nodded.

"I see. Well, I didn't exactly join because I'm interested. I told the President that I'll do whatever she wants since I caused her injury and all that trouble. She suggested that I should help the committee and she's okay with it." doing that ruined my plan to spend time with Autumn though...

"But the President is fine now, isn't she? She removed her cast last week. You don't have any reason to help anymore. Are you still going to stay?"

Although Kylee is not fond of me, I can feel that there was a hint of sadness when she asked that question.

Sure, the committee does have a lot of members but she feels alone all the time because none of the students from our class was willing to help her. Her case was pretty similar to Fuyumi's.

"..." she hung her head, waiting for my answer.

Both of you are struggling right now. That's enough reason for me to stay.

"...of course. Are you stupid?"

"—!" she widened her eyes, astounded by my answer.

"I'm not going to leave until the President said so. And besides, just because she removed her cast doesn't mean she's already good to go. I'm going to stay longer..." I dropped that out in order to reassure Kylee.

"I see... that's fine then..." she smiled.

Come to think of it, this is the first time I saw Kylee smile genuinely. She always has that stoic, emotionless face so this is a new feeling.

Well, anyway, my role is not done yet so I need to persevere.

***

The cafe is closed early today because of some personal stuff that Mr. Finn had to do. I wasn't in the mood to return home early so I decided to stroll around the town for some fresh air.

The district has unimaginable views that can be visited by a lot of people. This place is so grand that it became a popular tourist spot among the foreigners who always record their trips. You can even take your girlfriend on a date and you have so many options to choose from.

In other words, you have a high chance of success if you ask a girl out in this place. It's full of spots that are decent enough to express your feelings. I can imagine myself and Autumn strolling around and having fun and then I will confess—

Dream on, nerd... You have a low chance of experiencing something like that.

It was already 8:00 PM but I didn't head toward my subdivision route. Something caught my attention through the opposite street where I'm always walking.

It's faint but I can hear some music reverberating through the alleyways.

Is there a party going on at this hour?

Curious about the sound, I changed my route and passed through the alleys on the right. The opposite street was actually deserted and the vicinity was enclosed by an array of junkshops and creepy buildings which I don't know if there's someone living in it or not. Either way, I steeled myself and went through the place.

As I reached the corner of the alley, I saw a hidden building shined with pink lights flickering through the neon board.

Wait, what the hell is this?

I was stumped. Who knew that there would be some kind of nightclub in this place? I guess it makes sense why it was hidden from the public. The place itself is for adults who want to mingle all night and have a drink. It definitely exudes matured stuff just from the light itself.

It's okay for me to check it, right? I'll just take a look inside...

I know that I'm digging for trouble but it wouldn't hurt to least scout the place. This is my first time seeing a nightclub in person and they're totally different from what I imagined.

Silencing my movement, I noticed that there was a bouncer scanning the entrance. He's got to be patrolling the area if he's moving around.

As he circled through the side, I quickly crouched and entered the door silently. From there, I was greeted by a massive boom of speakers ringing from all sides of the ground.

Oh crap...

The whole room was cramped. It's stupendously full of adults drinking with the hostesses, a group of businessmen relaxing, and a bunch of couples dancing and mingling together to the sound of the beat.

What's more, the DJ seems to be enjoying himself by remixing a lot of copyrighted songs.

So this is what a nightclub looks like, huh...? 

I heaved a sigh and stared at the bar through the left. There are a lot of ladies watching the bartender do some tricks while mixing their drinks. I've seen a lot of them from a video that I watched and they're actually pretty good. The way they mix everything while doing some tricks is phenomenal.

Since I was feeling out of place, I decided to head home and suddenly stepped back when I accidentally bumped into someone.

"Kyaa!"

I turned around quickly and noticed that the lady fell on the floor.

"S-Sorry!" I extended my hand and supported her to get back up. I noticed that she wearing a Hostess uniform.

Her reddish-brown hair was styled in a slick and captivating curl, exposing her enchanting face that is painted elegantly with light makeup. Her red lipsticks match really well with her revealing dress, emphasizing a fiery outlook while producing an alluring aura. If I was a normal man, I would've already thrown myself onto her.

As for her skirt, I noticed that hers is a bit different from the other hostess' uniform. It almost looks like it was a dress, specifically made to perform.

"I'm sorry too, I wasn't looking in my way... Do you want me to serve you a drink?" the Hostess bowed as she asked me.

"Ah, it's no! It's fine. I'm actually lost..."

"What? Are you underage?"

"Y-Yes..." I told her the truth. I could tell that she was shocked.

"Oh no, if the bouncer finds out— how did you even get in here...?" she asked while scanning the area. She was making sure that no one heard us.

"I used my skill and entered without them noticing me..."

"What—"

"Hey, you! That kid over there! You got some nerve to enter, huh?" while we are talking, the Bouncer that I outsmarted noticed my figure.

"Yikes, this is bad! Here, come with me!" the Hostess took my hand and we instantly dashed.

"Hey! Wait! Get back here!" as the Bouncer tried to chase us, the Hostess and I scuttled around the room and rushed through the back door. Since there were a lot of people, she used that advantage and we disappeared in the middle, blending with the crowd.

When we reached the back side, she opened the door and pulled me outside. The backdoor leads to the street near the town so I'm familiar with the place.

"Hah... Hah... We lost 'em. What are you even thinking? Going inside a nightclub when you're not even qualified." the Hostess scolded me.

"Sorry, I just got curious... I didn't drink though. I was actually planning to leave." I responded.

"Anyway, don't come back in here again or you'll get in trouble. It's already late for a teen like you to be wandering around. You need to go home, got it...?"

"Yes... thank you for saving me." I nodded and bowed.

"Don't worry about it. I need to get back to work, have a good night..." and so the beautiful lady went back and closed the door.

I thought I noticed something strange about the way she acts but... Oh well, time to go home, I guess.

***

As Nathan left the nightclub, the Hostess went back to the private dressing room intended for the staff.

"Hah..." she let out a deep sigh and sat down near the mirror to fix herself.

"Oh, what's wrong? You look exhausted, did something happen...?" a masked man wearing an extravagant suit entered the room.

"You know that this is the dressing room for the ladies, right? Do you mind?" the Hostess snapped as she combed her hair.

"Nonsense! I own everything in here, which means... I have the right to access it..." the masked man went behind the hostess and smelled her hair. "So, did something happen?"

"Nothing... it's none of your business..." although the Hostess didn't like it, she didn't have the power to resist.

That's because...

"Well, as long as you work hard and don't cause any scene... You really need that money, right? If you fail, there would be nothing for you." he scoffed.

"I know that, Manager..."

"Good, I look forward to your performance next week, Miss Angelica..."

The door behind her closed and she was now alone. The presence of the man who crept up on her made her vulnerable but she couldn't resist. She needed to follow him and earn some money.

It was the only way to keep her family from breaking apart.