"Oh, yes," Lei lied, a thin, fake smile plastered on his face. The words felt hollow, a fragile defense.
"I saw your magic just now! How'd you do that?" The teenager's eyes were wide, full of wonder.
"It's a secret," Lei said, his voice as light and casual as he could make it. His heart hammered in his chest. A sudden chill. He had to get out of there. He felt the weight of all those staring eyes, a hundred tiny daggers pressing into his back.
He vanished. Not with a puff of smoke, but with a sudden, silent lurch, a shift in the fabric of reality itself. He reappeared inside the same mart. The sudden switch from the hot, tense street to the cool, antiseptic air of the store felt jarring. The cashier, the same girl, Yuri, was at her station. A bag of documents was already in his hand.
"Here are the documents," he said, his voice a little breathless. He handed them over. He felt a sudden, cold dread as she began to read. He watched her eyes scan the pages, her expression unreadable.
"Alright, you can start." A warm smile broke across her face. "Your wage will be 16€ per hour, since you are a local and German." The words were like a soft blanket, a sudden, surprising warmth. He felt a wave of relief so intense it almost buckled his knees.
*Nigga*
"My name is Yuri," she said, offering a hand. "Nice to meet you. I'm an international student, studying here. The boss told me to check these documents and leave these responsibilities to me." She leaned in, a quiet chuckle escaping her lips. "He's an idiot." The conspiratorial whisper felt good, a tiny moment of shared humanity.
"Alright, so can I start from now? Give me the cloth," he said immediately, a genuine smile finally reaching his eyes.
The day passed in a blur of motion. Wiping down shelves, arranging products, carrying crates. The physical labor was a welcome distraction from the chaotic torrent of his thoughts. He worked from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. When Yuri handed him his pay—192€ in cash—he felt the crisp edges of the paper, the satisfying weight of the money. It was real. Tangible. He thanked Yuri, and they exchanged numbers.
He left the mart, clutching the papers from Amenitie. He hadn't even looked at them. A sudden, light chuckle escaped him as he walked down the quiet street. He had magic, untold wealth, and the secret to a perfect car, but his first thought was to get a job wiping down shelves. He was a god in disguise, and for now, he was happy just to be a man with a day's wages in his pocket.