Chapter 5

Seriously?

Raymond looked at the boy with glasses who was staring at him sharply on his first day of work and currently standing in front of him after leaving the shop. He had to refuse Martha's offers to drink tea while talking about the past several times before he left the shop and now he regretted his decision. Maybe he should have stayed with his sister if he did not forget the risk he was facing right now. He did not want to involve Martha in his problems. He watched that boy quietly. He did not expect that the friend Amanda was calling was Gerald, although he had to admit that the boy was a reliable type. Why, among all of her friends, Amanda chose Gerald Tan? He thought Amanda would contact Priskaーan athletic girl who was good at sports. Not that he meant to doubt Gerald's abilities, but Raymond felt that Gerald was not the right person to protect Amanda.

Shit…

If he knew this, he should have asked Amanda from the start to just contact Priska.

Like now. As soon as they walked out of the shop, that boy pulled Amanda away from Raymond, staring at him with a super fierce gaze. Seeing this over-protective attitude reminds Raymond of a mother who wanted to keep her child away from strangers who tried to get close to her child. Gerald was like a mother figure for Amanda. Deserved applause from him and 'The Best Mother of the Year' award.

Raymond glanced down the highway, to find that two cars were moving toward their place. Strange. How could these people know their whereabouts in this place? He took his smartphone, found that it had been fifteen minutes since they had left the cafe earlier. No wonder. Of course, they had also predicted the routes that Amanda would have taken, just like he did. It means, they were professional.

‘Okay. I’m sorry I can’t walk you home today, okay. I was busy with my club’s activities, and I know I was wrong. But I told you several times, right? If you encountered anything, contact me. Not following a stranger! What if he attacked you? Why do you believe his words easily!?’ Once again he listened to Gerald's nagging for the third time, pointing his finger at Raymond with a look in his eyes that clearly showed his dislike for the fact that Amanda depended on a stranger she met than her childhood friend. Gerald pinched Amanda's cheek until Amanda cried. Even the way of his nagging was like a mother. He caught a glimpse of Gerald's image wearing an apron while holding the spatula. He shook his head quickly, dispelling the image in an instant. But he could not help it himself. What Gerald said was not completely wrong, but the way he spoke was really rude. Did all teenagers nowadays behave like him?

‘Have you finished your nagging?’ Raymond immediately interrupted when Gerald was about to resume his scolding for the fourth time. His eardrums could break if he kept hearing that boy's never-ending scolding. ‘I don't have much timeー’

‘Silent, you outsider!'

Gerald's words managed to anger him. Mercilessly, Raymond threw a kick right at Gerald's leg until the boy fell onto the pavement. He shook his head in frustration. As he expected. Calling Gerald here was not the right choice. Even though he only used twenty percent of his strength when he kicked Gerald, that boy was already screaming in pain. Lousy.

‘That is for your harsh words, Jerk! Have you ever been taught by your mother how to speak with older people politely?’

‘It's not your business if my mother taught me or not!’

‘Repeat that words again, and the second kick will land smoothly on your other leg!’ 

Raymond ruffled his hair, frustrated with Gerald. His nose sniffed the scent of those who were stalking Amanda. 

‘Oh, come on! I’m not afraid!’ This boy stood up and now even challenged him back. 

That crazy kid. He better ignore it. He did not have time for Gerald's arguments.

‘There’s no time to explain it. Shut your fucking mouth, Gerald, and get out of here with Amanda. Now!’ Raymond emphasized his last words while staring at Gerald who was silent seeing him.

‘Oi, how did you know my name!?’

‘It’s not important, They already came,’ Raymond was stretching his neck muscles, he stood in front of them to block the view of the people while handing Gerald the shopping bag containing the set of cups he had bought earlier. ‘I will leave my stuff with you. Amanda?’

‘Yes?’ A little scared, Amanda looked behind Gerald, wiping her tears. Her cheeks were still red from Gerald's pinch, making her cheeks look like peaches.

Seeing her body shivering, he took off his jacket he wore and put it on Amanda. ‘Use this. Well, get going. I'll follow you later.’

Gerald was about to protest again but gave up his mind as soon as he looked back and saw the men had gotten out of their car and headed toward them. 

‘I understand.’

‘Good. And let me tell you one thing: I'm your brother's friend, Amanda.’

The look on Amanda's confused face at her words convinced her that Arnold had never appeared in front of this girl. This girl's parents must never have told about Arnold's whereabouts. He did not understand Arnold's old family situation as his friend rarely brought up personal matters. But he should be worrying about that later. Now he had to fix this problem. After confirming that those two had disappeared from before him, he turned around, facing the people.

‘Hurry after that girl!’ A man he had met at the teahouse earlier gave the signal to chase after Amanda. He shook his head, blocking them.

‘Not that fast, gentlemen,’ he peeked at the two women in the group. ‘And the beautiful sisters over there, of course.’

‘Get off, Young Man. If you want to be safe,’ The man touched his shoulder, about to push him away from them. His hand deftly turned to push the man until the man fell backwards in front of those people standing behind him.

‘But I have business with you. Who is the person who told you to follow that girl?’

‘I have no obligation to answer your questions, Young Man.’

He rolled his eyes as he readied a stance, giving the people the code to attack him. ‘I'll give you one more chance to answer my question.’

‘It’s none of your concern. Just leave us. Or maybe you wanna die?’

Raymond walked briskly toward the man until he was startled by it, kicking him in the stomach until he heard the sound of bones breaking from the kick. ‘So annoying.'

‘Y-you! How dareー’

‘What? Are you scared?’ His cold, flat voice as he said seemed to have succeeded in scaring off those people. His eyes glared at them as he clenched his fists, walked calmly toward those who were walking backwards to avoid him. Then, some of them decided to start attacking him from various sides which he could nimbly block. Using his legs as his asset every time he fought and gauging the level of fighting ability of those people below him, it felt like winning was not that difficult. It remains only to break each of their bones, for sure.

His eyes grew bigger as soon as he saw what was under their clothes. This was bad. He did not think about the possibility of guns. He just carried himself, a decision he regretted afterwards. If they brought the guns with them, it meant that the people he was dealing with were underground people.

Well, there was only one way. Finish this quickly and do not let them touch their guns. As if he did not feel threatened, he returned to launching kicks at the vital parts of those people until they heard the sound of bones breaking. It did not matter for him whether the opponents were men or women. He was not a cliché person with a principle of not fighting against women. That was ridiculous. Too dramatic. His hand moved quickly to take one of the weapons from a woman he managed to break her hand, shooting bullets at the people right in their hearts. As soon as the men were unable to move, he smiled with satisfaction, stepping on the gun he was carrying to pieces. 

All done. Now—

Raymond turned his head, found one of the people—a woman with dark brown hair tied in a ponytail—moving with all her might, pointing the gun tucked in her belt straight towards Raymond’s heart. At the same time, his eyes caught the image of Martha coming out of her shop. Her eyes were shocked, and froze at her place. He immediately dodged the bullets that the woman fired quickly, following the direction of the gun. He managed to avoid the first three shots. But the fourth shot hit him directly in the stomach.

‘That's great,’ Raymond smirked as he managed to get close to the woman who now saw her full of fear that she shivered. Raymond choked the woman by the neck, knocking her down until her body hit the ground. ‘Now spill out the bean. Who told you to do it? '

‘Th... that ... ... Si ... mon … Cli...ve...’

‘Simon Clive? I will remember,’ Raymond took his hand away from the woman. 

‘Lemme take care of this,’ said Martha who was now standing beside him. ‘Can you stand up?’

‘I guess…’

His gaze suddenly became blurred. The pain he felt from the shot that hit his left abdomen spread throughout his body. He did not know what happened next. Only Martha's voice seemed to be calling someone, and his eyes darkened at once.

***