The Watch

I don't know when I fell asleep. I only know that just before waking up I felt someone's weight on my body. When I opened my eyes, I saw the cat from yesterday sitting on my stomach. It looked up at me questioningly and I couldn't help but pat his head a little. I picked up His Furriness and then realization dawned on me. If the cat is here then... I looked around properly and it was just as I expected. I was sitting on the floor of someone else's room with my back next to its owner's bed. Having sat there all night, my ass hurt. And my neck was sore from laying my head back against his bed in an uncomfortable position.

Somehow, I became nervous and uneasy at the thought of having slept there all night defencelessly. Not to mention how this may seem in the eyes of others.

So, I got up and opened the door carefully. I looked around first and after I confirmed that there was no one around, I stepped out of the room and closed the door behind me.

There was complete silence in the house. The only sound came from the kitchen. I followed the sound and went in, not being bothered by the looks the cook gave me since I was supposed to wait in the dining room for my breakfast patiently.

"Is anyone home?"

"The young master and Mr. Liu have left already. They won't be back until dinner."

"How about Mrs. Liu?" I asked innocently, realizing for the first time that up until now, no one had mentioned anything about his mother.

The cook gave me a horrified expression as if I had asked something inappropriate but answered me anyway.

"She died a long time ago. The young master was still little. I believe he cannot remember much about her.

"Sorry, I didn't know."

"No worries. Just don't mention it before him. And please, next time don't come in here. I'm already in the middle of cooking lunch. And even if I'm only making it for us, you're just disturbing me."

"Why, the young master doesn't disturb you then?"

"He isn't supposed to be here either. The kitchen is not a place to eat in. Except for us, employees of course," she added. And for average people like me, I thought. But never mind, people like you couldn't even imagine what it's like to live in a flat so small that there's definitely no dining room to eat in.

Then something came to my mind.

"Then why was he here? On the first morning, after I got here, he was sitting right here." I pointed at the table in front of me.

"Sometimes he likes to have breakfast here but only when his father is not around. Mr. Liu wouldn't like him to get his clothes to smell of omelet, bacon, and whatnot. But I guess the young master just feels lonely to eat all alone in the dining room which is only full if they have guests."

"I see. So, this is your little secret," I said but somehow this made her embarrassed, and stopped chopping the carrots.

"Please, don't tell Mr. Liu. He likes to respect formalities."

"You don't have to worry about that. I was just curious." She seemed to calm down a little but not entirely. "Do you mind if I eat my lunch here? Since I slept in, I missed breakfast already. And I, too prefer to have company when I eat."

"Alright, just don't let Mr. Liu see you here."

After getting her approval, I sat down on one of the chairs and just watched her cooking. It reminded me of my mum and it saddened me a little. It seemed like ages since I last saw her. I quickly reprimanded myself in silence, since I at least have a mother to go home to, while he doesn't.

I don't know how long I sat there, I didn't even see the moment when a full plate was put before me. I just looked down at the table and it was suddenly there. I ate what was on it just as mechanically as I took note of everything around me as if I was daydreaming in a half-sleepy, half-awake state.

What finally woke me up was the front door being shut. I stood up quickly and after complimenting the meal, left the kitchen. He was standing in the hallway just as elegant as ever, even in a jeans and shirt combo. When he noticed me, he immediately yelled at me."Hey, bring the things in the car to my room!"

And just like that he ran past me, up the stairs. I couldn't help but shout after him.

"I, too, have a name, you know," but he didn't seem to hear or pretended like he didn't. I went outside and to my surprise, the driver handed me... Books. Books after books, after books. Loads of books. That is absolutely not what I expected. If I expected anything at all.

I managed to bring everything in in one go but going up the stairs was more difficult than I imagined it to be. I cursed myself several times for not thinking of putting them in a bag since it would have been a lot easier to carry them.

But I still managed to get to his room without dropping any of them. If I were to drop even just one, I wouldn't have been able to bend over and pick it up, in dread that I drop them all accidentally.

But now I had to face the challenge of opening his door with my hands full of his stuff. And I know I shouldn't complain since this is what assistants are for. But still.

I finally managed to open the door with my elbow and close it behind me with my foot helping me out.

All the while, he was just casually sitting in his chair looking at his phone. I suddenly felt a muscle tense in my temple.

It took him at least half a minute to realize my presence or he already did the minute I stepped into his room, just Mr. CEO decided that he would finish what he was doing first.

"Put them on the desk," he said and I complied.

"An essay is due?"

"No. That's why you will read half of it," he said casually.

"And why the hell would I read your books?"

"They are not mine. They belong to the local library." He pointed to the barcode on the book and the name of the library above it. "Besides, I got these for you, not for me. And it would take a long time if I were to read all of them myself."

I had absolutely no idea what he meant until I looked down at the books in front of me. They were all about the theory of time travel.

So, Mr. CEO really does want to help me.

"And do you think we'll find the answer in these?"

I picked up one of the books and leafed through its pages.

"Maybe. Maybe not. It's worth giving it a try."

"If you think so..."

"I don't know exactly how it happened at all, so I got what I thought might be useful."

"It could only be the watch. That was the last thing I touched before getting here."

"I meant I didn't see it. Different types may have different theories behind it regarding how it works in practice."

I rolled up my sleeve and showed the watch to him which I started to wear recently.

"This is it."

"It can't be," he said after looking at it.

"But it is."

"No, it's impossible."

"Why?"

"Because it's my father's."