Fuck.
My core feels like it's burning. It's painful.
'So this is my end, huh? I was wishing to provide her more, but I guess I can no longer fulfil that responsibility.'
My vision's turning foggy.
My consciousness gradually dissipates.
'Can't believe this is the way I go. So lame.'
…
"They've grown bigger for sure," Voice 1 said.
"Of course, I've been taking good care of it since then," Voice 2 replied.
"But you know who's grown bigger?... My daughters. Look, I've got their pictures on my phone. They look adorable don't they?"
"They're just toddlers the last time I've seen them, now they've grown into ladies."
"Yeah, that one on the left even started rebelling."
"Oh, she? You're joking, right?"
"I'm not. It's really hard to believe, but that's her."
Laughter reached my ears as my eyes were engulfed in darkness.
"They're actually the reason why I'm here. I want to hire one of your agents to work for me."
"Well, I've got the perfect agent that suits the matter…" "Hey, brat! Stop standing there like a statue. C'mere and meet our client!"
My eyes spontaneously opened as if I had woken up from a nightmare.
Shocked and confused that the pain in my chest is gone, I stroked my hand along my chest and found nothing that perforates me.
My chest doesn't have a hole and I'm fine… But how?
I glanced over my shoulder and there I found Franky and that bastard Esperanza acting so close as if they were friends.
Those voices when I was unconscious sounded like it was theirs.
I went over to them with my fist clenched tight.
"What on fucking earth is going on here?!"
"Chill, brat. What's with the sudden outrage?" Franky said to me.
"Chill? Do you expect me to chill after I nearly die?!"
"What do you mean 'die'? You were shitting yourself right by the doorway."
"Ah, he's an agent here. It's my fault, Franky. I put the muffinhead under my spell." Esperanza said.
"I've told you not to troll with your abilities," Franky said, disgruntled.
"I'm just fooling around, I won't do it ag-"
Franky aggressively leaned over the counter table and grabbed Esperanza's necktie.
*BONK*
He gave him a solid headbutt.
"Ouch. I missed that headbutt, Franky. But that's excruciating if you don't know."
He calls Franklin by his nickname. That only means they're close—really close.
But that still doesn't change the fact that Esperanza is a DH. A top-ranked DH, at that.
"Franky," I called him out in a dead serious tone. "You welcomed an enemy into our base. We must exterminate him here and now."
"No need to be belligerent, Hayden. Froilan is an ally. We're batchmates at college and you have my word that he's trustworthy."
Franky went over to me and whispered.
"Froilan acts immature because that's the way he is, so please understand that he's a dickhead."
Franky then introduced me to him.
"Anyways Froi, this is Hayden, AKA agent Wolf."
"Introductions are unnecessary. I actually bumped into him earlier," Froilan said.
"You mean your CAR bumped into me?" I fumed.
"I do apologise about that," he said with an annoying tee-hee.
Fuck, it irritates me.
"C'mon, brat. He apologised already. Just settle this out so we can move on to discuss the mission." Franky tried relieving the tension between me and this asshole.
"After he punctured a hole in my chest? No way in hell I'll work for this dickhead."
"I didn't kill you, nonetheless. It's just my illusion spell… Okay. I sincerely apologise. So if you find the kindness in your heart to forgive me, I'd like to hire you as a bodyguard."
I don't know much about being a bodyguard since all I did in my experience was to kill, not to protect.
But regardless of the mission, my mind stays the same.
"I'd rather be impaled to death than work for you. And also, you're an SSS-rank DH. People like you don't need a bodyguard."
"He's not the one in need of protection. He's hiring you for his daughters," Franky said.
"What gives? That dickhead owns the Twilight guild. He could hire a suitable bodyguard with more experience there," I yapped.
"But I want you, muffinhead," Esperanza said. "I've taken quite a liking to you. And hiring you also serves as my gesture of apology."
"Hell no!"
"Please?"
"Nope."
"Even if I beg?"
"Even if you let me punch your goddamn face, I still won't work for you."
"How about 30 grand (30,000$) a month? Actually, no. Make it 50 grand. How does that sound?"
~~~~~~~~~
Later after that chaotic back-and-forth conversation with Froilan and Franky at the HQ, I somehow ended up in the backseat of a Mercedes-Benz with a wrecked bumper.
Of course, Esperanza is the one driving.
Being alone with him in this car irks me.
I was quietly gazing out the window as the loquacious dickhead can't keep his mouth shut.
"A study shows that silence drives humans to insanity. Not talking is unhealthy, you know…. So don't mope there on the window like a child."
'Yea, as if he's talking too much and yet he's crazy insane.' I thought to myself.
I tried my best to seem unbothered since arguing with this dickhead is practically pointless.
"Are you still mad? I'll give you the initial salary once we get to my mansion, so don't look so grumpy."
Esperanza added, "Oh, by the way, muffinhead. You don't have to work 24/7. You must monitor and guard my daughters only during school hours. Once you get them home safely, your shift is over and you don't have to exhaust yourself." "Also, since you'll be guarding them in school, you'll have to enrol too. I'll handle the documents and I'll give you school uniforms."
While we're stuck in traffic, Esperanza shifted his gaze to me and gave me a serious look.
"And REMEMBER, no one shall know that you're their bodyguard. You must protect them in secret. My daughters are all I have left, I'll entrust them to you and you ought to live up to my expectations."
"Copy," I affirmed, calm and collected.
The serious look in his face quickly switched into his natural playful countenance.
"You finally spoke! Does that mean we're cool now?" He said with excitement in his tone.
"..." Awkward silence falls through.
He let out a doleful sigh. "Ugh… I guess that means 'no'."
After an hour of zooming across the road with this dickhead's reckless driving, we eventually arrived at his massive mansion alive.
Spiked brick fences encompass the entire place.
We drove through the steel gate with an armed guard abiding by his post.
I can spot the luxurious mansion in the distance.
The outside is so spacious that you could build a baseball field on their grounds. Once we got to the mansion's frontage, I got out of the vehicle and scanned my perimeter.
A well-trimmed lawn that expands like a rice field, a perfectly maintained garden, a pool, and a two-storey wide mansion that even looks more luxurious with its genius architectural design and the window walls are just too pleasing to the eyes.
A male servant approached Esperanza and Esperanza gave him the key.
The servant then gets in the car and parks it in the garage which looks more expensive than my house.
This dickhead honestly exceeds my expectation of how rich he really is.
"Let's head in, shall we?"
He led me inside through the enormous door and the interior looks more surprisingly posh than the exterior.
He guided me into the reception room and we settled on the couch.
A maid accommodated us and brought us water and orange juice in a steel pitcher.
"Call my daughters in their rooms?"
The maid laid the pitcher atop the glass table and replied, "Of course, sir."
The maid then went upstairs to get the girls.
"I've got a twin and they're about your age."
'My age? I didn't even tell him my age.'
"One of them is nice and easy to get along with, but the other is rebellious. She actually objects to getting a second bodyguard."
"You initially had a bodyguard?" I asked.
"Yep. But he can't guard two because my daughters are in different classes. That's why the bitch doesn't want another body guard because she feels like it will restrain her from rejoicing her youth."
"What do you mean rejoicing in her youth, exactly?"
"She cuts classes, gets home late, and parties with her friends then comes home reeking of alcohol. But that only happens sometimes because Jace (the other bodyguard) keeps an eye on her. But she often slips away because Jace can't monitor two at once."
'Now I see why the girl objects to the idea of having a new bodyguard.'
"It's really frustrating to contain that bitch. But with your help on the job, I bet that bitch can't act the same way," Froilan said.
Clacking steps sounded from the spiral staircase.
I slid my gaze in that direction and saw a blonde, teenage girl in a knitted cardigan tucked in her tea-length skirt.
There's also a man about the same age behind her.
Based on his outfit, he seems to be the bodyguard, so he should be Jace.
On the other hand, the girl's blonde, long hair was tied short by a blue ribbon, and she was elegantly dressed despite being just at home. That said, judging by the way she dressed, I knew she was the nice twin.
They stepped on the tiled floor and went over to us.
"Bitch, meet this muffinhead right here. His name is Hayden." Esperanza introduced me to her.
Esperanza calls both her daughters bitch. What an arrogant father. They must have had daddy issues.
"You must be our new bodyguard." She treaded towards me, beaming. "I'm Grace. Nice meeting you, Hayden." She outstretched her arms.
"Likewise,"
I shook her hand, then she shuffled back and stood next to Esperanza.
"Where's the rebellious bitch?" Esperanza asked.
"Lady Aubrey refused to leave her room," Jace answered. "She locked herself in."
"The bitch's probably moping to no avail," Esperanza said. "She's so upset about getting a new bodyguard and I doubt she'd even come out of her room."
Esperanza directed his eyes at me and said, "Anyways, you don't have to worry about that bitch muffinhead. Jace will take care of her from here on out. Each bitches will get their own bodyguard—the muffinhead will be stationed to Grace and Jace will be stationed to Aubrey. Does that sound clear?"
"Yes, sir." "Copy." Jace and I answered at the same time.
Unexpectedly, we heard thumping noises towards the staircase.
Then, a girl in an oversized tee-shirt that covers her shorts, cotton safety pants. Her wavy blonde hair was a mess as if she had just woken up.
'And she must be the not-nice twin.' I thought to myself.
She went over to us with a delusionally confident smirk on her face.
"Whoa… you actually came out," Esperanza said, confused about Aubrey's unpredictable actions.
"I changed my mind," Aubrey said. "I actually want a bodyguard."
We're all baffled.
"Wait. Really?!" Esperanza mumbled.
"Yes," Aubrey said as she went over to my side and sat next to me.
She crossed her legs and lay her arms over my shoulder.
"But I want it to be him, specifically."