12th Chapter

When we got home, a horrible sight welcomed us. A bunch of paper was pinned on the door of my house with knives.

"My door!" I ran to it and pulled out the annoying pieces of paper off it. "Those jerks! Do they know hoe much it cost to repair a door nowadays?!"

"The fuck? You're more concerned in a door than what's actually on it or who did it?!"

I looked behind my shoulder and sent him a deadly glare. "Easy for you to say! It's not your door!"

Mugen clicked his tongue in irritation behind me, "That should be least your concern Flat board. Read this shit."

While I wept about my precious damaged door he flashed one the papers right in front of my face. My eyes widen when I saw what's written on it, it said; "DIE!". My body shivered when flashbacks of what happened to me in the alley a few days ago started surging in my mind. It must be from the one who order that man to kill me.

I reached for the paper and read it carefully again and thoroughly despite it containing a single word. What makes it more scarier is that, it's written in red ink. I examined the rest of the papers, all are the same. Who would do such a thing and for what purpose? Why do they want me to die that badly?

"Those bastards. If they have a grudge, they should at least come to me in person instead of damaging my personal property!"

"Again with you being more concerned with a dumb door."

I glared at him. "If they were being serious about that death threat, they wouldn't resort to this kind of stupidity. What are they? Vengeful female middle school bullies? Pinning notes and damaging someone else's property?"

Not waiting for Mugen to reply, I went inside my house, my stomps echoing. I had no energy to go to my room and just let my body flopped down on the cold tatami mat, resting my head on a pillow in the living room. What bad luck has possessed me today. I don't think I could handle more of this.

My head was full of negative thoughts on how I can get back to those bastards for nearly destroying my door when I didn't notice that Mugen sat beside me. He looked so cautious, which is strange. This man never took Jin's order so seriously or just he just plainly don't follow. He's not a type of person who follows orders from others.

"You're strange..." I blurted out accidentally.

He glanced at me sideways, his brows knitted. "What the hell do you mean?"

A blush of embarrassment crept up to my cheeks. "Nothing."

Mugen clicked away and took his eyes off me. "I could say the same."

"What?"

He lazily lie down on the mat and turned his back from me. "Nothing."

What does he mean by that? As much as I want to ask him about what he said, I can't because he immediately fell asleep as soon as he said, 'nothing'. I just let out a sigh and went to the kitchen to cook a dinner for us. I'm sure Jin is hungry as soon as he comes home.

"Why is the door damaged like that?" Jin asked as soon as the food was on the table.

"Uh... I don't know either. When we came home, it was already like that." I said, a single tear forming at the corners of my eyes. "They were cruel, they wounded my precious door."

Jin placed down his chopsticks and was in deep thought while Mugen kept munching on his food. "Whoever they are, they'll pay for that fine door."

My eyes shone. Finally someone who shares my sentiment! Jin knows how I feel about my door being desecrated.

Mugen slammed down his own chopstick on the table. "Are you for fucking real? This broad's life is being threatened and you worry about who dun' goofed your stupid door?! What's wrong with you?!"

Jin being himself, he just nonchalantly picked up his chopstick and continued to eat his food. "You wouldn't understand. Everything's expensive nowadays. Those who dared to destroy my property will never go unpunished."

I nodded, agreeing at his sentiment and gave him a thumb's up.

The ruffian just face palmed on both of our reactions about a very serious matter. That was a first since naturally, it was Jin and I who always do that. My guardian chuckled and took a deep breath. "But in all seriousness, what happened?"

Knowing how unreliable and how lazy Mugen at telling important details to people, I told Jin instead. How it just baffled us and told him what was written on the pieces of paper. I even told him about my guess that maybe it has something to do with the man that tried to kill me days prior. Jin sat silently, pondering again.

Mugen glared at me. "'Yah have the feeling that you're being targeted by the same person yet you're more worried 'bout a damn door."

"You wouldn't understand." I hissed at him.

He clicked his tongue and continued to eat in silence while I weep over a door.

Truth to be told, I'm scared, whether those papers are from some sick people who wants me dead or was just playing a sick prank at me. The reason I am still able to kid around was because I don't want to worry the both of them. They are already doing so much for me. The least I could do for them is to play it cool and make it look like that those papers are nothing but a prank.

I don't want to be scared. If I show that I am afraid, what would happen to me? I'm training myself to have balls of steel. After all, I work in a place where people of different genders, age, physique and social status drown themselves with alcohol. Anything could happen because of the influence of alcohol where people can immediately start punching each other from the most serious reasons to the most ridiculous ones. Not only that I work as bartender there, I also work some sort of a mediator too. Feelings and emotions like fear is unnecessary. One slip up and I might be lucky enough to get away with a broken nose.

Mugen just munched on his food furiously while Jin being silent as usual. I looked at them, back and forth. Knowing these two, they probably know why I'm just brushing this serious matter off. Somehow, it made feel at ease that they understand how I feel and that they know that this is how I cope with the fear I'm feeling right now.

I can't exactly picture Mugen comforting a girl by talking and Jin, you don't even know if he's comforting you or not. Their silence between them has always been gloomy for me. But this time, it's their way of comforting me. Maybe all of this was just me making wild speculations.

As soon as we finished dinner, Mugen immediately went out like he always does. I didn't even dare to ask him where he will be going because I already know where. I let out a tired sigh as I flopped down on my bed and think about what everything has happened to me today. Someone out there wants me dead and they really mean business. To prove their point, the even pinned a written death threat on the door. Wait...

If they pinned it on the door, wouldn't someone from the neighborhood, would've they seen the people who did it? I'm sure that Jin will surely look in to it and already thought of asking the residents around here.

Setting that aside. Mr. Umanosuke. He's a real creep. The cold feeling on my wrist never left when he held my hand earlier. It was chilling. That coldness is comparable to a walking corpse. It was devoid of human warmth. The same goes with his eyes. His black pools held no emotion. It was just a pair of black abyss filled with nothing. It was my first time seeing something like that. Thinking about it right now makes my hair stand on one end.

"Uh... I shouldn't have let my mind wander that far off."

Thinking about what happened to me today and all those possibilities that may have led to the reason why they want me dead made me not only emotionally drain but also mentally drained. I need a very long sleep. Nothing like a good sleep can drain my stress and temporarily cure my anxiety.

Exhaustion took over me and I felt my eyelids becoming heavy when I heard a knock on the door. It was Jin, I'm sure of it. That ruffian has no manners what-so-ever that knocking will never cross his mind. He knocked again. I'm already exhausted to answer the door.

Jin knocked again for the third time and few seconds later, I heard his retreating steps. His footsteps were heavy. I actually felt sorry for ignoring Jin when he's genuinely concern about me. I was too tired to talk anymore. Everything that has happened these past few days are too much.


made a major revision to this chapter because the original was so very dramatic it stinks.

Date of Revision: 11/14/2022