I could hear Aria giggling like a little girl.
"Mark… help me here," she whispered, voice trembling but playful. Does she think I'm her boyfriend? I shot her a sidelong glance, amused.
"Such a nice couple you are," the shop owner said, her smirk sharp.
Aria opened her mouth to protest, but I didn't give her the chance. I pulled her close, pressing my lips to hers. "Lucky guy, isn't it?" I murmured, glancing at the owner. She just smiled back.
We wandered through the rest of the "date." I bought her sweets, watching her light up with each small delight. Just before parting ways, I gave her my number.
She gave me hers too, then said, "I really needed that," lowered her head, and suddenly gave me a peck on my cheek.
Then she bolted before I could say anything. "She's really cute, isn't she?" I said, shaking my head, then checked my phone—7 P.M. Time to go home.
Bella greeted me with her usual warm smile. I lost patience. Pulling her close, I kissed her. She stiffened for a second, then melted against me, wrapping her arms around me. Eventually, she broke away.
"Dinner's ready," she said.
"Oh, I hope it's delicious like you" I teased. Her blush made her quickly hide behind a smile.
After dinner, I headed upstairs to the wreckage that was my room.
"Damn, I should fix this," I muttered, flopping onto the bed. Laptop in hand, I signed into the government Hunter registration site. No job, no problem—I entered "none" for work. I'd learned to trust no one, especially the government.
Registration complete. I got a date for the Hunter Center. To get my rank, salary—and finally, some stability. Even the lowest E-rank got 200k a year. I smiled.
A message from Aria blinked on my screen. She couldn't sleep, partly from our morning, partly to discuss the plan.
I typed:
"So, I registered today. I just need to complete the evaluation at their center to get my rank."
She replied:
"Wait, you were an awakener?"
"Yes," I answered. "I forgot to tell you with all your emotional outbursts."
She stayed "seen" for five minutes before replying with visible shock:
"What, Mark?! That's insane! Fuck making a plan, you can just come here and pop John's head?"
I leaned back, grinning. "That's actually a great idea!"
---
Meanwhile, at the shark loan company.
John was sitting on a table, counting the money, the same four guards from before outside guarding him.
"Sigh. This week's revenue isn't enough; I still have to pay for that C-rank Hunter protection".
"Can't be helped. I should exploit more fresh targets".
"But I should check their family history; if I poked someone connected to a Hunter, I'd be in trouble".
"With this, it was 1 million dollars. With that C-rank 70% cut… ouch—we'd be left with only 300k".
Pushing the share of the C-rank into a suit, he locked it with four numbers lock, and whistled to the guards outside.
"Guards, this is your life. That fat fuck would get mad if he didn't get his money on time."
John slumped back in his chair. "How should I divide the 300k between us now?"
"Hahaha. Of course I'd get the most—I'm the one doing everything".
With a sinister smile, he grabbed the rest of the money, enjoy counting it this time.
"Hmm, weird—a phone call? From…?"