It was late afternoon, almost evening. "Ch-cling!" The cafe door chimed as Dean walked in. The barista, a muscular guy around 35 with a thin beard and long black hair, turned to look at him.
"You're late today," the barista said.
"Sorry, Uncle Liam, I had something to take care of near school," Dean replied.
"Alright, go change quickly and then help me out here," Liam said, wiping a coffee cup.
"Okay, I'll go change first," Dean responded.
Dean headed straight into the employee changing room. He put his bag in his locker, took off his school uniform, and changed into a white, long-sleeved shirt with rolled-up sleeves, a bow tie, a black apron, and black pants. He ruffled his short hair, transforming himself into a barista. "Click!" Dean closed his locker and was about to leave when suddenly, "ding!" a message popped up on his smartphone.
He immediately opened it. Two messages: one was a $12,000 transfer confirmation for two fresh kidneys, and the other said, "Thanks, good stuff. Let me know when the money comes in." Dean smiled as he replied. Then, he quickly opened his mobile banking app and transferred $8,000 to his mom, Laila's, account. After that, he sent the transfer proof. A moment later, "Ring, ring!" Dean immediately answered his phone.
"Dean? Did you send money?" Laila asked.
"Yeah, Mom, for this month," Dean replied.
"Oh, thank you, Dean. How's school? Are you still working with Liam?" Laila asked.
"Yeah, Mom, I'm at the cafe right now. School's good, Mom, I'm still ranked number one in my grade, even if I don't really stand out. (Of course, I'm number one; if you add my age to my previous life, I'm already 50!)" Dean said with a smile.
"Are you healthy? Are you eating properly? Mom misses you," Laila said.
"Me too, Mom. I'll come home for the holidays. How's Angel?" Dean asked.
"That kid... she's into making content in social media or whatever now... Mom doesn't get it," Laila replied, annoyed.
"Hehe... just let her be, Mom. The important thing is she's not getting into trouble," Dean replied.
"Call me often, okay? If anything happens, tell Mom," Laila said.
"Definitely, Mom. Gotta go now, I have to work," Dean replied.
"Okay, say hi to Uncle Liam for me, and thanks again, you always help Mom," Laila said.
"No problem, Mom. Bye, Mom," Dean said.
Dean hung up the phone and then put his smartphone in his apron pocket. But he had barely taken a step when suddenly, "Ring, ring!" He grabbed his smartphone again. Laila was calling him back. He immediately answered.
"Hello, what's up, Mom?" Dean asked.
"Brother... I need $200 for a field trip. Can I take it from the money you just sent to Mom?" Angel asked.
"Oh, it's you. Yeah, you can. Why are you calling me, though?" Dean asked.
"Mom said I had to ask you first, that's why I called using her phone," Angel replied.
"I see. It's really for a field trip, right?" Dean asked.
"Of course it's real! Why would I lie?" Angel replied, a little louder.
Suddenly, "Whoaaaaah!" Dean looked up, his eyes wide, seeing Claire, still in her hospital gown, appear above him. "CRASH!" Claire fell on top of Dean, sending both of them tumbling. "Ouch... ow," Claire got up, lying on top of Dean, who was sprawled on the floor. Dean looked at Claire in front of him, confused.
"Whoa, why are you here, Claire?" Dean asked.
"Hehe... I tried using teleport and thought about your face, and suddenly I was on top of you," Claire replied, rubbing her head and hugging Dean underneath her.
Dean's face immediately turned red because he could actually feel Claire's body on top of him, and she wasn't wearing anything underneath her hospital gown.
"Um... Big Brother? Why is there a girl's voice?" Angel asked on the phone.
Dean looked at his hand, still holding the phone. Then he looked at Claire, who was still on top of him, and used his finger to signal Claire to be quiet. Claire immediately covered her mouth with both hands and nodded. Dean brought his smartphone back to his ear.
"Um... that's a female employee, hahaha," Dean replied.
"Hmm... is she your girlfriend, Big Brother?" Angel asked.
"Oh... no... she's not my girlfriend," Dean replied, glancing at Claire.
[She's your brother's wife.]
"Shut up!" Dean yelled in his head.
"Hmm... really? Then what was that noise? What are you doing right now, Big Brother? I'm switching to a video call," Angel said.
Before Dean could answer, Angel had already switched the call to video. On the screen was Angel's pretty face, with long, wavy black hair, blue eyes, a sharp nose, and a cute mole on her cheek. Angel's eyes immediately widened, seeing a surprised Dean and Claire, who was looking at the smartphone screen and smiling, but covering her mouth with both hands. Angel's face changed slightly when she saw the beautiful and sexy Claire on top of Dean.
"Who is she, Big Brother?!" Angel shrieked, pointing at the screen.
"Um... she's... um... a friend, hahaha," Dean stammered.
"Oh really? How can a friend be piled on top of you like that? I'm 15, Big Brother, don't try to lie to me!" Angel said, annoyed.
Suddenly, Claire turned to look at Dean and crawled closer, putting her face near Dean's ear, which was still turned towards the smartphone screen.
"Your sister doesn't have a brother complex, does she?" Claire asked.
"Grrr... don't mess around," Dean whispered back.
"Hey! Who are you? Why are you so close to my brother?!" Angel yelled.
"Oh... she's a brocon," Claire said.
"Ugh, why is this happening?" Dean groaned.
"Hello... my name's Claire. What's your name, little sister?" Claire asked, smiling at the smartphone screen.
"Angel! What's your relationship with my brother?" Angel demanded loudly.
Suddenly, a woman voice was heard behind Angel, "Angel, what's going on? Why are you screaming on Mom's phone?" Angel looked away, then back at Claire who was still on top of Dean. "This isn't over!" she declared, then hung up. Claire immediately turned to look at Dean.
"Um... she doesn't seem to like me, huh?" Claire asked.
"Get up, and why are you even here?" Dean replied, trying to push Claire off him.
"I told you, right? I was reading my status and saw 'teleport' under 'skill partnership.' I tried to learn it, and the way to use it is to imagine your soul partner. So I imagined your face, and I appeared here!" Claire explained.
"Okay, now you need to go back to the hospital. I have to work," Dean said.
"Hmm, okay, I was just trying it out, actually. Alright, I'll go back. (She closed her eyes... thought... and nothing happened) Huh... why can't I? I was imagining my hospital room," Claire wondered.
[Of course you can't. Teleport is one-way. Its purpose is to instantly move to your soul partner. Dean can move to where Claire is, and vice versa. But you cannot go back to where you were before.]
"Huh?!" Dean and Claire both exclaimed in their heads.
"Why is that?" Dean asked.
[Now that Claire has moved to your location, there's no soul partner at the hospital, right? That's the logic.]
"Grrrr... next time, please explain that from the beginning," Dean muttered in his head.
"BANG!" Suddenly, the door opened. Liam stood in the doorway, his hand still on the knob. He saw Claire still on top of Dean, who was sprawled on the floor. Claire looked at Liam, and her face immediately went pale.
"Um... hello, sorry for dropping by suddenly," Claire said, forcing a smile.
"Well... well... no wonder you weren't coming out, Dean. Turns out you were having fun, huh?" Liam said, smiling widely.
"Grrrr... give me a break," Dean grumbled in his head, his face looking confused because he genuinely had no idea how to explain everything to Liam.