"Hah... Hah... Luckily I managed to escape... I don't want to feel Vittoria's painful punches again..."
Many people walked back and forth on the city sidewalk. Various types of people, but no one cared about a young man who was drenched, running until he was tired, and bent over in the middle of the pedestrian sidewalk. They were too busy to pay attention to anyone but themselves.
Cars and motorcycles always crossed the main road. In that city, traffic jams were rare, except due to accidents or events that disrupted the asphalt road.
Vincent was currently near a cafe. More precisely, the Snow White cafe.
He had just gotten a chance to escape from Vittoria and Aria while running. And just as he found an opening to escape, he ran as fast as he could without direction and ended up at that cafe.
"Buying a drink seems like it could quench my thirst."
Vincent then remembered that almost all his clothes were drenched and he didn't bring his wallet.
As he was thinking of turning back home, through the cafe window, Vincent saw Iris sitting with someone.
Vincent immediately hid behind a pillar to see a girl sitting opposite Iris, who was none other than... Perseus Reiss.
"Next week. I will have Vincent all to myself. You should just give up, Iris."
"No." Iris said firmly. "Next week I will have him. This is a competition, Perseus. And I won't let you hurt Vincent one bit!"
Perseus smiled without saying anything. She sipped the cold chocolate in her glass.
"We'll see. When Vincent is mine. You will no longer be useful, Iris. And you will be nobody."
Iris glared at Perseus, but she held back and immediately stood up from the cafe chair. Iris walked out of the cafe with quick steps and anger in her eyes. After that, Iris called a taxi and disappeared.
"What were they talking about?" Vincent asked himself. He couldn't hear the conversation inside the cafe, but he could see that Iris was very upset and sad after talking to Perseus. It made him wonder what had really happened between them.
As he was thinking while spying on Perseus, who was still sitting in the cafe finishing the cold chocolate in her glass, someone tapped Vincent's shoulder. Startling Vincent, he immediately turned his body.
"Hey, rival! What are you doing here?"
She was Marian Rivera. The basketball girl. She was wearing a basketball tank top and loose, thigh-length shorts. In her hand, she carried a brown paper bag. It seemed she had just finished shopping after playing basketball.
Seeing Vincent's half-wet clothes, Marian continued to ask.
"And why are your clothes drenched?"
Vincent scratched the back of his head, which wasn't itchy. He smiled awkwardly.
"Rival?" Vincent spontaneously asked, hearing himself called a rival by Marian. "Um... I fell into the pond near the park. I came here to buy a drink at the cafe because I was annoyed, but I forgot to bring money."
Marian made a small "oh" sound and nodded once. She took something out of her paper shopping bag. Its money. Marian then offered the money to Vincent. Making Vincent tilt his head in confusion.
"Take this. You want to buy something at the cafe, right? Coincidentally, I got some extra change after shopping just now." Marian offered the money to Vincent with a wide, cheerful smile. Vincent knew Marian was a cheerful, friendly, and kind girl. But he didn't know she could be this kind.
Vincent refused the money Marian offered. Shaking his head.
"That's your money. I can't accept it."
Marian grinned. "I'm lending it to you. You can return it at school later. Besides, you're my rival. I'm happy to help my rival so that I won't be annoyed when I beat you in the next dodgeball tournament!" Vincent reluctantly accepted the money Marian offered. After giving Vincent the money, Marian quickly said goodbye and walked past Vincent.
"Well then, see you later, rival!" Waving her hand while walking backward quickly without looking back. Marian smiled broadly and cheerfully, showing her row of white front teeth.
Vincent waved a small hand and smiled awkwardly.
Then the next second Marian disappeared from Vincent's sight. He let out a small sigh.
"Looks like I'm lucky?" Then Vincent turned to the cafe window to see Perseus, who had already disappeared from there. Leaving an empty glass of cold chocolate on the table. "Or not?"
Vincent walked into the cafe to check if Perseus was still there, but the result was nil. He left the cafe with a milkshake in his hand, which he bought with the money Marian lent him. Vincent looked left and right, hoping he would meet Perseus and ask her directly what was really going on between Iris and her. He remembered the vague conversation that happened on the party night at the hotel.
"Whatever it is, it seems to be related to my past. Somehow I have to make those two people tell me about my fragmented childhood memories. I need to know what Aria and Iris meant by saying they knew me since I was little."
Vincent then walked home.
Meanwhile, not far from the cafe. Aria kept walking around the city looking for the missing Vincent. But she met Vittoria in the middle of the road and the two argued for a while before continuing to look for Vincent together until evening came and they became annoyed and disappointed and happy to see Vincent already at home.
***
That day. Sunday. The last day of September. The day Vincent would be absent from school for days. The day Vincent disappeared without a trace.
The day Vincent was kidnapped by someone.
***