Chapter 09

ELENA's POV

The clinking sound of the ring against the metal bar, followed by the rustling sound of the fabric, echoed near the end corner of a second-clothes shop as the beige curtain was drawn closed. Not long after, the same sound reverberated again as someone stepped out of the fitting room, dressed in loose black pants that barely reached his ankles and a stoic cactus print woven button-down shirt.

"The pants are too short. The shirt doesn't suit you. Next," I said, watching the curtain continually drawn open and closed by the same person. In front of the small fitting room, I sat with my ankle propped on one knee and leaned back on the chair, clearly finding amusement in the busy curtain.

"Too tight. Another," I commanded when Oswin came out with another set of clothes.

Five minutes after stepping in again, he emerged behind the curtain of a fitting room. Beads of sweat were all over his forehead and eyebrows, waiting for just another slight movement to trickle down the white-skinned face.

"This is the last one. Don't bother saying another," his guttural voice embedded annoyance even though he tried not to let it show.

I uncrossed my leg with a sigh and rose to my feet, encircling and eyeing him up and down as if I were purchasing a mannequin that needed a thorough inspection. "Not bad, Oswin."

I couldn't help but be impressed by the handsome figure before me. Despite the clothes on his body being hand-me-down and not the designer's clothes, Oswin still looked stunning in the pair of charcoal grey flat front straight-cut trousers and a loose button-down Oxford white shirt. If he were to tug the shirt in, he would kill it with this look.

"These clothes seem weird." he scrunched his nose as he looked down at himself.

"Please, I can assure you that they aren't as weird as your silver robe." I rolled my eyes, remembering how I almost crawled down the sewer when the two of us walked here.

My memory recalled our recent trip where all pairs of eyes were fixated on the pointed-ear guy with hair longer than all the females in the neighborhood and a silver robe that totally showed a time-traveler from the who-know-when era. Though the distance from my apartment to this second-hand shop wasn't that far, I felt like it was the furthest walk I had ever taken in my life. I kept begging in my head to arrive at the destination faster. If I could, I would have used magic to shorten the length already. When we finally arrived, I couldn't be happier to see the shop wasn't as crowded as it had always been. Or else, I would have to crawl under the racks of clothes to save myself from another embarrassment.

"Now, stand right here and don't do anything, okay? I'm going to pick a few more clothes this size and style." Walking to the hanging clothes racks, I couldn't help but snicker to myself at how tamed the elf king was today. As per our agreement, he promised to listen to every guidance I gave him.

And by every, it meant everything.

I tried my best to suppress a beast that was about to release its claw from inside me, a monster with the name 'Vengeance.' Although I planned to execute my revenge 101, I couldn't bear to do it after seeing how sincere and committed Oswin was. For a king to swallow his pride and decide to work to support both of us was utterly unprecedented.

Instead of a pay-back time, I chose to put my heart and soul into teaching Oswin, using my own experience as a waitress. I committed to training him until he mastered the art of waitressing before exposing him to the actual job.

And training lesson one began with blending in with the human race.

The early Sunday morning started with us going to several second-hand stores to find clothes for him. However, it wasn't an easy task, given his towering and built size. The shop we were in right now was the fifth one already, and we could only find two sets of clothes.

"Wow! Look, who's that? He's so handsome," shrilled a girl's voice next to me, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"I wonder if he has a girlfriend," joined another voice.

I stopped rummaging through the rows of clothes and looked to the destination that everyone, mostly females, was looking at. The once quiet shop was filled with women from who-knows-where or when. The only thing I knew was that I couldn't find what, or rather who, I was looking for.

If it weren't for the towering height, I might have forgotten where I had left Oswin.

Now that my eyes landed on where he stood, I saw females of all ages crowded the area that was emptied a few minutes ago. Some of them were taking photos, whereas some were giggling shyly. As for the person who caused all this commotion, he was seen frowning and muttering something that I couldn't hear.

The moment my eyes registered this situation, a heavy wave of irritation hit me. Perhaps it might be my boiling blood that seemed to overheat. Dropping whatever I was holding, I strode to where I left the elf king and parted the crowd, having difficulty grabbing hold of the king's wrist. I could hear the voice of complaints muttering behind us when I dragged Oswin out of the store, which I ignored.

During our walk back to the apartment, I kept quiet the whole time. I neither looked nor talked to Oswin, and I refused to let go of the hand I was holding.

"Training is done for today?" he asked once we were close to the apartment.

"What? You enjoy being surrounded and admired by those women?" I laced into his question without slowing down the pace or turning to look behind.

"What are you talking about?"

"Stop talking. Just keep walking. We have to hurry and get you trained."

Thankfully, the rest of the walk went back to silence.

Once we arrived, I fished out the key from my pocket and unlocked the door before pushing Oswin inside and slamming the door shut with a loud bang.

"What's wrong with you?" he asked once he found his balance, turning to look at me with his brows furrowed in confusion.

"What?" I glared at him. 

"You're grumpy today," he said, the furrow in his brows grew deeper.

"I'm not!" I let out a huff and crossed my arms over my chest.

"You are."

"When?" I challenged him.

"Right after we exited that store. And even now. What happened to you?" he asked, wearing the same perplexed expression.

What's happening to me? His question made me ask myself, but no answer was given back. I stood still and stared at the ground, speechless for almost the whole five minutes if it weren't for his voice snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Hey, you're still in there?" he asked.

With a sudden, loud clap, I exclaimed, "Let's begin!"

"Begin what?" He blinked, still standing where he stood.

"What do you expect? Training, of course. Don't ever think of slacking off. With me as a trainer, you must be the perfect waiter this world has ever seen." Flumping on the sofa, I began with no pre-warning. "Get me a glass of water from the fridge in one minute."

Oswin remained rooted to the spot, his posture rigid and unmoving, with not a single muscle showing even the slightest hint of motion. It made me wonder if he was defying me or if he just didn’t hear. So, I tried again with a louder voice.  

"Why are you still standing there in a daze? Now get going!" I said, pointing a finger toward the kitchen.

Narrowing his eyes in disbelief, he walked off to the kitchen while muttering under his breath, "it seems another weakness of mortals is emotional instability. How pitiful."

I suppressed the urge to talk back, knowing I had a professionalism to maintain.

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<TO BE CONTINUED>