Chapter 3

The flickering lights accompanied the music from the DJ who was booming. A man with big muscle and tan skin is cool to shake his body energetically. He is Hugo Stein.

It seemed that the alcohol had begun to take hold of him. With slightly unsteady steps he got off the dance floor and returned to the bar. He asked the bartender to refill the champagne for the umpteenth time.

The bartender looked at Hugo irritating.

"What?! Just do your job," Hugo snapped.

The bartender didn't care if Hugo was drunk. But he just didn't want his bar to have an unnecessary noise over someone drunk.

Because Hugo had been cursing everyone who bumped with him from the start until a small noise broke out.

"Aahh! Where are they? Why don't they come here?" Hugo took a sip of the champagne.

Then Hugo took his cell phone from his trouser pocket and made calls to all of his friends.

“The number you are calling is busy. Try again in a moment,” said the operator from across the phone.

He didn't give up, the next 3 calls he made. Yet the same voice answered all his calls. 

"Damn it! Just say you don't want to come here," Hugo cursed. He hit the bar.

The bartender beckoned the two security guards to shoo Hugo in front of him now. He was fed up with Hugo's behavior. Two burly security guards approached Hugo who was sitting.

Without hesitation, they pulled Hugo's arms roughly from his seat. "What the hell are you guys doing! Get your hands off me!" cursed Hugo.

"We don't want a drunk boy like you making a noise in this bar," said the security guard who was the first to grab Hugo's hand.

"You'd better obey and get out of this bar," added the other security guard. The two security were just doing their job professionally.

Braak.

After being thrown from the bar door, Hugo cursed at the two security guards who were still looking at him before re-entering.

"I'm closing this bar down. Just watch! You guys don't know who I am!" Hugo shouted angrily.

But the two security guards just laughed at Hugo's behavior in the same manner as any other diner-like him, then they both disappeared behind the bar door.

As he turned to leave, Hugo fell silent in his position. He was shocked to look at Aldrich. Right at this moment, Aldrich stood confidently in front of Hugo with a bucket in his hand.

The bucket looks very dirty with black liquid. He doesn't know what the liquid was that must have made him feel sick.

"Huh! Disgusting!" Hugo frowned in disgust. His gaze fell on the bucket in Aldrich's hand.

"You are alone now," said Aldrich.

"I alone am enough to beat you up."

Aldrich just silently played with the bucket in his hand. Some of the contents of the bucket spilled onto the courtyard they were standing on. Hugo noticed something strange. The liquid was not black but deep red.

1…

2…

3…

Byurr

Aldrich poured the contents of the bucket at Hugo who was in front of him. Instantly a thick red liquid washed down Hugo's body. The smell of rancid blood immediately filled his nose.

"Surprise!" shouted Aldrich.

"What the fuck?" Hugo's hands were busy wiping his face which was covered in red liquid.

"Hugo, this is a warning to you," said Aldrich.

Hugo frowned in disgust as his body was filled with a red liquid with a rancid smell. "You doused me in animal blood, huh?" Hugo asked.

"If you think of your friends as animals. Hmm, I don't mind," said Aldrich.

Hugo was suddenly surprised at Aldrich's words.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"This bucket contains the blood of your 4 friends. I just drained their blood while they were alive."

Once again Aldrich explained casually. But that sounds scary to hear.

"W—what did you do to them?" asked Hugo in a hoarse voice.

Hearing the terrible thing from Aldrich's mouth instantly made Hugo's guts shrink. His body was suddenly cold and trembling.

"I just stabbed them in the neck and let the blood run into this bucket," said Aldrich. He was carrying an empty bucket in his hand.

“Hahaha… this is just your joke, right?” Hugo denied.

Hugo didn't believe Aldrich's words. But his body couldn't lie if he was scared. His legs were so stiff he couldn't move.

Hearing Hugo's disbelieving words, Aldrich's expression immediately turned cold again. His hands threw the bucket in any direction.

He slowly approached Hugo. Getting closer and closer. Hugo couldn't move, his feet felt glued to where they were now.

Hugo wants to run!

Hugo wanted to stay away from Aldrich.

But Hugo couldn't move, let alone take a step to getaway.

"Hugo. Do you want to try it? I will use the same knife, the knife that I used to stab your friends' necks," Aldrich offered.

He was very relaxed as if offering something out of the ordinary. "You match the color red. Hahaha," said Aldrich.

Hugo looked at the knife in Aldrich's hand. The knife is small but looks sharp. The knife was red from the sticking blood.

"Calm down. I'm just giving you a warning. You won't die. Unless you burn my anger again," he explained.

Aldrich said it with a knife pointed at Hugo's face. Hugo stared at the knife and swallowed his saliva. His tongue felt numb.

"Don't ever bother me again. Don't ever show your face in front of me again. Lastly..."

"Don't reveal this secret to anyone."

"Haah. Too bad you're here to celebrate your pleasure in destroying my motorcycle. But don't worry I'll ruin your car too. It's fair, right?"

After Aldrich finished his sentence, suddenly Hugo's car which was parked not far from where they were now exploded. The sound of the explosion broke the silence of the night. Hugo looked at the scene before him with his mouth agape.

"How do I get home now? No, No! What if someone saw how I look now. Am I going to jail?" Hugo thought.

Unknowingly, Aldrich had disappeared before him making Hugo completely panicked.

People from inside the bar rushed out of the bar to look for the source of the explosion. They saw Hugo who was seeing the burning car.

They saw the appearance of Hugo who looked like a murderer bathed in the blood of his victims. Security guards called the police to come to investigate this shocking case.

• • •

This morning Aldrich came driving a  Ferrari. No longer riding a motorcycle as usual.

Vincent who was parking his Audy saw Aldrich who just got out of the car. Vincent immediately ran after Aldrich into the school building.

"Damn, Carring—"

Before Vincent could continue his word, Aldrich cut him with a sharp gaze. Vincent held up his hands in surrender. Aldrich looked unconcerned and continued on his way.

"Look. Those women are getting crazy about you." Vincent managed to match Aldrich's steps.

"Did you see today's news? Hugo was arrested by the police. He became a suspect in the murder of his friends. Then his car exploded in the parking lot of the bar,"

He was still chattering happily trying to get Aldrich to talk.

"But I don't think he could have killed his friends. Even though he was covered in blood when he was arrested, it was known that it was the blood of his friends. But this still feels odd," sighed Vincent.

Aldrich didn't answer and just smiled faintly.

Vincent, who caught Aldrich's smiled, asked. "Are you smiling?"

"Don't spoil my mood, Vincent," Aldrich answered with a faint smile still on his face.

"I won't … wait! You just say my name?" asked Vincent.

"No," said Aldrich.

"Yes."

"No."

"Yeah. You call it. Are we friends now?" he asked. Vincent felt happy.

Aldrich was snorting. "I don't believe in friendship. So leave me alone."

"Making friends is a good thing. We can rely on each other."

"I don't need anyone."

Aldrich had arrived at his seat in class.

"You don't know what's next happened, do you? Who knows we can help each other someday."

"I am not interested."

Vincent looked at Aldrich with pleading eyes, but Aldrich ignored him. Aldrich sat on a chair with earphones plugged into his ears. The music began to fill his senses. Aldrich closed his eyes for a moment while waiting for the teacher to come to class.