This story has NO Pokemon. It is inspired by the Netflix korean drama Itaewon Class. The romance in here will be better, but I doubt the revenge will be. Also, I'm from the hood, so I like stories with street fights and crime. Enjoy~
Chapter 1
"Let's go, Inmate 4739." an officer bangs the cell bars with his baton. The inmate groans from the loud noise as he sits up in his bed. He was really enjoying reading his book since he usually wakes up before roll call in the mornings.
"Have fun on the other side, Paul!" says his cellmate, Leo. Leo is an older man who is currently serving 2 life sentences for 2 counts of murder, with no possibility of parole. Paul nods as he stands up and puts on his slippers. He has buzzed dark purple hair and coal gray eyes. He places his hands out so that the guards can handcuff him and then they walk down the hall. Once out of the prison ward, Paul is given some clothes to change into and then he gets back his items from when he first arrived 6 years ago.
When Paul gets outside, there is obviously no one there to pick him up. He starts the walk towards the bus stop debating about if he should've just gotten into a fight this morning to stay in jail. There is nothing out here for him anymore. He was serving a second-degree attempted murder charge since he beat the man who killed his brother, Reggie.
"Fucking Cyrus." Paul thinks to himself as he walks. That rich bastard got off scott free from the drunk driving and murder charge. He didn't even call the cops after hitting Reggie! Reggie might've been saved if he had called right away, but Reggie bled out before someone actually found him.
Paul kicks a nearby pebble hard. He's an ex-con, he's a college-dropout, and he's alone. He really should've just started a fight this morning. The man sighs. Reggie wouldn't want that. Reggie was always the kind and righteous one while Paul used his own questionable methods to get what he wanted. Paul is a moral person, it's just some people don't approve of his methods, like beating the shit out of the fuckward who killed his brother.
He boards the bus once it arrives and sits down by a window seat alone. Paul had managed to find a job through the many prison programs he was forced to participate in. It's too painful to go back to Veilstone City, so he will be working at a small construction agency in Twinleaf Town starting next week.
Once the bus stops at the train station, he gets off and purchases a ticket for Twinleaf Town. Apparently, it's a small expanding town and the mayor wants to build more houses there. Paul had been working at the prison the past 6 years and earned enough to sit comfortably for a while since he never spent his money. Inmates don't make much working in prison, but it gave Paul something to do. The government also gives them $200 once they leave to "help get them started," but that's not enough for rent anywhere. He also still has money from Reggie's life insurance policy.
As Paul now sits on the train, he reads his book that he brought from prison. It's about investing in stocks and he has read it numerous times. He doesn't use money unless he needs to, so he plans to just invest it and earn enough to buy out Cyrus's company Galactic Co. Galactic Co. is one of the largest technology companies in Sinnoh and it is based in Veilstone City.
Cyrus had escaped from his sentence because the jury found him unfit. They said he wasn't in the right mind so he couldn't be blamed for not calling the police, but that was because he was drunk! Paul believes he may have paid off some jury members. Cyrus also paid for a very expensive lawyer, so he got off with doing community service, taking classes about alcohol, retaking his license, 2000 hours of community service, 5 years probation, 6 months of house arrest, and paying Paul 2 million dollars. Paul obviously didn't take the money, and instead, beat up Cyrus, which landed the purple haired man in prison.
The ride to Twinleaf Town takes all day and through the night. By the next evening, they arrive and Paul gets off the train. It is autumn, so he has on a black bomber jacket, black t-shirt, and black jeans while carrying his dull brown backpack. He needs to buy a phone first so the construction company can have a way to reach him. He'll also need to find an apartment or something soon since motel nights add up quickly.
Fortunately, the train station seems to be in the center of the town, so Paul walks around looking for a cellphone company. He manages to find one after asking a local coffee shop about it and grabbing a coffee. As he walks, lots of people steer clear of him. It's probably because he's scowling and looks very mean. Paul doesn't mind though. He thinks people are annoying.
He walks out of the cell phone store with just an older modeled smartphone. The sales person tried to convince him to get the newest model, but Paul just needs something that can call, text, and allow him to trade stocks. Now, his next task is to find a place for the night since it is already getting late. His stomach growls, and he takes it as a sign to get some food.
As he walks, he spots a small cafe and decides to enter it because it is the only thing with food nearby. He cringes as he walks inside. The place has a lot of pink and it looks very corny, but his grumbling stomach keeps him there as he walks up to the counter. Since it is really late after normal dinner hours, the cafe doesn't seem too busy with food orders. It looks to be full of people doing work on their laptops or meeting over coffee, so it is pretty packed with people.
"Hello! Welcome to Piplup Cafe! How can I help you today?" greets the bubbly bluenette at the counter. Her long blue hair is the same color as her eyes. She's wearing a white beanie with a white crewneck sweater and light blue ripped skinny jeans that show her ankle with her white canvas sneakers. Her frilly pink apron has straws in its pockets and a name stitched on it reading: Dawn.
"Yes. Just a BLT with the salad." Paul answers in a deep monotone voice.
Despite him looking scary, the woman smiles at him. "Anything to drink?"
"Just a cup for water."
"Okay! Your total is $9.64!" She smiles while taking his cash. Gosh, he hates these bubbly people. Life isn't good enough to be this happy. We're born, go to school, work, and then die. There's nothing to be happy about. He gets his change and waits for the bluenette to fill up a cup with water before grabbing it and sitting down at the last empty table in the small cafe.
Soon, the bluenette brings him his food and he's on his phone searching up nearby places to sleep as he eats. A few minutes later, he notices a shadow by him and looks up to see the same bluenette waitress, but this time, she is without her apron. "Mind if I sit here?" She asks while smiling sweetly at him. He looks around and notices that all of the chairs in the cafe are taken.
"Yes, I mind." He says coldly.
She puts her hands on her waist. "I own this place. I can kick you out for being rude."
"Fine. I'll just leave." Paul gets up, but she puts her hand on his arm to stop him, which also makes him drop his phone on the table.
"I'm sorry. It's been a busy day at work and I just want to sit down. I'll just take the chair and sit somewhere else if you don't mind." she apologizes. "Just please finish your meal before you leave. You paid for it."
He hates the look she's giving him. Like she feels bad for him, but there's nothing about his appearance she should feel bad for. No one can tell he just walked out of prison yesterday, and he worked out often while there, so his body isn't bad either. Why is she giving him this sorrowful look?
His train of thought is broken as she says, "Oh. Are you new here?" He raises an eyebrow at her. "Well, you're looking at motels on your phone." She points to the phone he had dropped on the table as its screen is still on and facing up towards them.
He grabs it and switches it off before slipping it in his pocket. Paul then continues eating his sandwich while ignoring her question. Usually, people would get the hint by now and leave him alone, but this girl must have something wrong with her.
"Fine. I was going to tell you that I'm renting out the top floor of this building. Utilities are included since it's a part of the cafe. One of my waitresses moved last week, but no one has responded to the ads since this is a small town. Rent is $650/month though plus a security deposit equal to the first month's rent; unless you're just here for vacation, then forget what I said." the bluenette shrugs and turns around.
Paul closes his eyes in annoyance. This is a really good deal, but convenient too since he doesn't want to stay in a hotel. He kicks the chair across from him, which gets the bluenette's attention again. "When do I sign the papers?" he asks in a gruff voice.
To his annoyance, her eyes light up with delight and she sits on the chair. "The cafe will be closing in a little over an hour. If you can wait 'til then, we can go over the paperwork."
He nods. Paul doesn't understand why she is offering him a place since he looks scary. He expected many landlords to turn him down based on his appearance and criminal history. Well, she doesn't know about his history, and he doesn't need to tell her, but he has been rather mean to her. He finishes his meal and leans back in the chair. The bluenette is just scrolling on her phone. Soon, her break is over, so she grabs his empty plate and heads back behind the counter.
Paul leaves to withdraw money from a nearby ATM. He then returns to the cafe and uses the extra time to check his bank account and transfer funds to the stock app. He has done a lot of research while in prison, and already knows which stocks he wants to invest in. Also, because Galactic Co. is currently suffering from one of Cyrus's recent sex scandals, the stock has plummeted, but Galactic Co.'s public relations team is very good, so it will go up within a year.
Once the cafe closes, the bluenette bids her only staff goodnight. The male staff, Barry, smiles and bids her farewell. He finds the purple haired man very cool and isn't scared of him, like other people may be. Dawn isn't scared of him either. She just thinks he's mean.
After Barry leaves, Dawn makes her way around the counter and sits across from the gruff man. She smiles at him while placing papers on the table. He puts his phone away and grabs the papers to read. He wants to make sure nothing is sketchy, especially since this girl has been way too friendly with him and then sprung this place onto him. The contract looks good, so he asks, "Can I see the place first?"
She nods and gets up to show him the way. They make their way behind the counter and out the back door where there is another door that leads outside and there is a stairwell leading upstairs and downstairs. The bluenette tells him that downstairs is storage for the cafe, but there is a washer and dryer if he wants to use them. She then leads him upstairs and unlocks the door.
The two walk in and Paul sees it is a small empty cozy place. There is a small kitchen that has a sink, stove, refrigerator, and a little bit of counter space. The kitchen is open so he can see the decent-sized studio next to it. To the left of the door, the girl shows him the small bathroom. It has a tub with a showerhead. There isn't much space to stand in it, but it's big enough for one person. There are also a few doors for storage closets throughout the studio apartment.
Paul walks through and tests all the light switches and faucets. "I'd be paying for those if they were broken anyway." The bluenette tells him.
He shrugs. "But then I'd have to wait for you to fix them." She huffs out an annoyed breath but chooses to remain calm as she has a potential tenant.
Once Paul is done inspecting the place, they head back down to the cafe and sit down again with the papers. The bluenette hands him a pen. "You can move in whenever. I won't bother you if you don't bother me. You shouldn't hear too much of the cafe noise up there. Rent is due on the first of the month, and my name is Dawn." She smiles.
Paul signs the papers and hands her back the pen. He then pulls out $1300 from his wallet and places it on the table. "I'd like a receipt."
She narrows her eyes at him. "You know, you're supposed to tell people your name when they tell you theirs."
He points to his name on the contract. "I didn't know you can't read."
"Okay. Screw this tenant thing. He crossed the line," she thinks as she glares at the man. "You're very rude." she glances at the name on the paper. "Paul Shinji!"
He leans back in his chair. "Can I get the key? Or are you gonna end the contract now because that means you'll owe me 3 months rent for early termination." he points to the clause in the contract and she grits her teeth.
"Damn this man." She thinks as she tosses him the key. "I'll stay out of your way if you stay out of mine! This better be an easy year!" She exclaims as she gets up to leave. Paul gets up and the two unfortunately make the awkward walk to the backdoor since she parked out back. Paul walks up the stairs into the empty studio while Dawn walks out the backdoor to her car.
Unbeknownst to her, Paul watches from his window to make sure she leaves safely. He finds her utterly annoying, but it's very late at night and she is a young woman all alone in a dark and empty parking lot. Plus, Reggie would haunt him if he knew Paul didn't look out for a girl in a potentially dangerous situation. Fortunately, Dawn enters her car and safely drives off, so Paul lays on the hardwood floor using his backpack as a pillow before falling asleep.
Paul is 25, and Dawn is 22.