Interesting.
That man can know what's in his heart, right?
"Of course, i'm. I know whatever is in your heart." The man answered what Hillyne was thinking.
He was about to speak, but he closed his mouth again after seeing Victor come out of the toilet cubicle. Victor approached the sink and washed his hands then asked Hillyne to come out of the restroom.
"You go ahead. I still have things to do."
Victor looked at Hillyne and the suspicious man beside him. He shrugged, "Then, I'll go first. Don't take too long, okay? They're waiting for us."
Victor left the restroom. Hillyne returned his attention to the suspicious man nearby. He smiled slightly. Thinking of something silly to do. A little prank on the suspicious man.
You bastard. Who the hell are you??? You can know whatever is in my heart? Then i'll curse you. A stranger man. An old man. Ckckck. An impotent.
The man held his chest and stood limply as if his legs were not strong enough to stand."Oh, come on ... don't be so rude. My heart is weak and fragile, you know."
This guy really isn't easy to piss off. In fact, he's the one feeling both annoyed and disgusted right now. It's best to just leave this weirdo alone. It was better for his inner peace. So, he stepped out of the restroom. But when he heard the man mutter, he stopped and turned around.
"Xeanee's friend is really impatient," the man muttered.
"What did you just say?" Hillyne looked at the man, in complete confusion.
The man grinned, "It's nothing, Hillyne."
"Huh?!"
How did the man know his name?
"It was Xeanee who told me your name." That man answered.
"You know Xeanee?"
Gotcha. The man smiled suspiciously.
"She's my girlfriend."
The answer sounds unconvincing. But let's just admit it.
"Take this. You can meet her in person and go to the world that you desire." The man took Hillyne's hand and placed the small bottle he offered there.
"I haven't said-"
"Hillyne! Are you still there long?"
Victor's voice came from outside. As soon as he turned around, the man was gone. Damn. What was in the bottle he gave me?!
Hillyne finally emerged from the bathroom and immediately approached Victor and the others. He apologized for taking so long. He thought everyone would be upset, but They were worried and asked if he was okay. After confirming he was fine and everything was ready to go home, then ... they went home.
###
These past few days Hillyne has not met Xeanee in his dreams. He opened a desk drawer and took out a small glass bottle filled with a red liquid. It looked like blood, but there was something glistening in it. Like a glitter.
So... How do you use this liquid? Drink it? Rub it on? Break it? Or just throw it away?
If he drinks it, will he really go to the place the man mentioned? If so, what will happen? Will he disappear after drinking it and then reappear in that world? Or would he pass out and wake up there? Or... What if after he drank it, he died immediately and could only go to the other world after reincarnation? Ugh!
Just thinking about it made Hillyne want to throw the bottle away. It would be better for him to ask Xeanee's opinion to know whether this is consumable or not to avoid any mistakes.
But how is this? How many times had he slept but he still hadn't met Xeanee. What was wrong with the angel? Was she okay?
Even though they hadn't been friends for long, Xeanee seemed to have disappeared, becoming a passing person.
Well, instead of worrying about the unknown, Hillyne decided to go back to reading the books he hadn't had a chance to read. There were so many books he had recently bought. It was taking up his pocket money. That is okay because it is worth. At most, he would just endure his hunger or bring provisions to eat during break time.
Then, Hillyne read a book for several hours. His reading ability improved day by day. Now he can read 2 books in 7 hours. It's much faster than before. That means he will be able to read more books in a day. That is a great news.
The sun was setting in the western horizon today, as usual. Indicating that it was already evening. Soon the sky would darken into night. That night, he could finally sleep, and with any luck, He can meet Xeanee. Hopefully so.
"Ma lil' brother~"
Tyra called out to Hillyne from outside in a loud voice. It could be heard all the way to his room.
Click
Hillyne's bedroom door opened. Tyra stood in the doorway. "Come on, let's eat!"
"Okay."
Hillyne put away the books she was reading and tidied up her desk and bed a bit. Then she walked over to Tyra. "I'm done. Let's eat."
Tyra smiled then she a bit raised her hand and waved it, asking Hillyne to follow her, went to the dining room.
Seeing their mother preparing food on the table, Hillyne and Tyra helped their mother move the plates filled with rice and side dishes onto the table and help with what needs to be done. After that, the two of them sat at the dining table. Their mother, father, and another older brother were also sitting there.
When the father started eating, they all started eating what was on their plates. The atmosphere in the dining room this time was quite warm. Every now and then they all ask each other about their days, like what they did today and so on. They paid attention to each other as they ate their food. It was a different atmosphere than before. It actually felt like something was amiss. But Hillyne chose to ignore it.
After they finished eating, they cleaned up their respective plates.
"Hillyne." The older brother—Joseph, called him.
"Hmm. Yes?"
"There's a new horror movie I downloaded. Do you want to watch it with me?"
Hillyne was silent for a moment. It was tempting. But right now, it looked like she would rather go to bed early. "Not this time. I'm going to bed early. Can I borrow your laptop to watch later?"
Joseph nodded, "okay."
Tyra, who had been watching, raised her hand, "Me me me, I want to come watch."
"It's horror, Sis."
"It's okay, Big bro. I want to watch it even though I'm scared."
Joseph nodded, "Then let's go."
Joseph went into the living room, followed by Tyra, who was excited to see a movie together. Not that she'd never seen one before or anything. But Tyra prefers watching movies together because it's more fun. That's what Hillyne heard from Tyra herself.
Hillyne smiled at his two older siblings then went back to his room.
They often invited him to watch movies together. More precisely, they—including him, invited each other to watch movies or whatever.
Upon returning to his room, Hillyne immediately picked up the suspicious bottle and sat leaning against the headboard, put it in his trouser pocket. It might carry over into his dreams.
Lying down straight after eating isn't good, so Hillyne decided to sleep sitting up. Although he couldn't fall asleep right away, he closed his eyes. Counted the numbers nonstop, until he finally fell asleep.
###
"Hiiiiiiiiiiii." This time Xeanee greeted Hillyne first.
Hillyne, who had been waiting for Xeanee's presence, felt happy and immediately approached the angel. "Hiiiiii."
"How are you, bro? Where are you going all this time?" Hillyne asked curiously and a little worriedly.
Xeanee smiled awkwardly.
"I haven't gone anywhere. But there is something," she paused for a moment, "I'm fine. How about you?"
"Yeah... Everything is going as it should. You must be busy too. But it's okay."
"Oh!"
"Wait!"
Hillyne He reached into his pants pocket. His smile widened. Sure enough, the suspicious bottle had been brought here. He showed the bottle to Xeanee. "Do you know what this is?"
Xeanee seemed to want to see it better, so Hillyne handed the bottle to Xeanee so she could see it clearly and identify it. She looked like she knew, but the next second his eyebrows furrowed, Confusion. She repeated the expression several times before finally snapping her fingers and saying, "Oh! I know this!"
Seeing Xeanee already know what it was, Hillyne felt both excited and curious. "Sooo, what is it?"
"This is something forbidden. Who gave you this?"
"A suspicious and strange man. He said you were his girlfriend. He offered this so I could meet you in person and go to the other world I desire."
Xeanee's face was distorted. It seemed like an expression so horrified that it was indistinct. It indicated her utter disgust at what Hillyne had said about the man.
"So, he's your boyfriend?"
Hearing Hillyne's question, Xeanee looked disgusted and nauseous as if she was about to vomit.
"Bleah!"
She actually threw up. A rainbow vomit due to sensors.
Hillyne remained silent and showed an awkward expression.
"Are you okay?"
Xeanee gave a thumbs up and then snapped her fingers, performing magic that cleaned up or removed the mess she had made. "I'm okay. I'm fine. Gwaenchana."
"Okay. Then, lemme explain." Suddenly Xeanee put on glasses and held a stick and then showed a whiteboard that had writing on it and who knows where it came from.
"That strange, suspicious man is someone I know. Not a friend, let alone a boyfriend."
Hillyne listened intently to Xeanee's explanation. He nodded her head, understanding what Xeanee was saying. "Okay... Cool. I like that fact."
Xeanee looked a little startled. Her eyes widened for a moment, then returned to normal. Her face was expressionless, but for some reason, her face and ears were slightly red.
Suddenly, Xeanee reverted to her default settings. The whiteboard had also disappeared. Then Xeanee continued to explain, "What's inside this bottle is the devil's essence. You can go to the world he told you about, but you will be a human with the devil's essence and get bad karma or let's say, you multiply your sins. I advise you not to drink it."
A pretty clear explanation. Hillyne had made a wise decision by asking Xeanee about this first. Luckily, he didn't drink it immediately after being given it. So he can avoid unnecessary things.
"Thank you for the explanation. It was very helpful." Hillyne breathed a sigh of relief, "Then what should we do with that thing?"
Xeanee smiled. It was a casual smile, but there was a coldness radiating from it.
"You're welcome."
Hillyne Giving Xeanee his full attention. Waiting for Xeanee, perhaps wanting to talk again.
"Yeah, of course. This thing must be destroyed." The veins on Xeanee's hands are a little more prominent, she reduced the bottle to dust with her magic.
Hillyne laughed awkwardly seeing that.
Then... Silence fell over them both. A little awkward, but more comfortable in that silence. Until finally, Hillyne decided to start a conversation. He talked about the stories in the novels she was reading. Xeanee seemed to enjoy the topic, occasionally offering commentary.
Xeanee's actions and everything she said to Hillyne really warmed Hillyne's heart at that moment. It was so lovely.
###
With a warm feeling in her heart, Hillyne woke from his dream. The corners of his lips lifted as he remembered what had just happened. Although confused and a little awkward, he was actually...he thought Xeanee was a little cute.
"I know, right? Xeanee is really cute."
Hillyne was shocked to the point that his heart was beating very fast. Beside him, the suspicious man smiled mockingly at him. He even waved and greeted him. Like, "Hiii."
Hillyne clutched his chest, snorting in disbelief. "How come you're here?!"
"Cuz I can." The man smirk, enjoyed seeing Hillyne upset.
Hillyne rolled his eyes. He now realized how understandable it was for Xeanee to dislike this man so much.
"Go away! You're ruining my mood." Hillyne took his cellphone and opened social media.
"Why did you give the bottle to Xeanee and let her destroy it?"
Hillyne ignored him. He replied to the incoming messages, while the man sat at his desk, flipping through his book. It was annoying. But interacting with that guy was even more annoying. So he just sighed heavily and massaged his temples.To calm anger, even though it has no effect at all.
"By the way, I have another method. It certainly doesn't use devil's essence and it's 99% safe and reliable."
The man's statement was so intriguing that Hillyne put down his phone and looked at him, demanding further explanation just by looking at him.
""Here." The man took out a piece of paper that looked very normal. "This is a contract to take you to that world. You can change the contents. You may read it first."
The man handed the paper to Hillyne. Hillyne took it and read it. It contained everything he could give him. There were no prohibitions or specific requests for him to do anything. There were no risks listed there. The contract was too sweet to be a trap. The man even honestly stated that this contract was 99% safe and reliable. So where did the remaining 1% go?
The man snorted, "you're quite sharp."
"There's no risk involved in agreeing to this. However, once this contract is ratified, a mark will appear on your body. The location will be random."
Hillyne just kept quiet, not saying a word. He decided to double-check the contract. Still, there were no other irregularities.
"I told you. There's no risk other than signs that appear after signing the contract."
Hillyne narrowed his eyes. He eyed the man suspiciously. The problem was, he was truly suspicious. What if he ended up losing out?
The man raised his eyebrows with a cheerful expression. " How about it? Interested?" The man patted his own head gently and raised his index finger. He seemed to be remembering something.
"The good news is, you can request the shape too, you know." The man said this very cheerfully while demonstrating various forms of contract validation on the back of his hand, like someone promoting goods in a window display.
Hillyne chuckled sadly. Should he be happy about that?
While Hillyne was weighing his decision, the man quietly took out his phone and took a selfie. After he was satisfied with the selfie, he walked around Hillyne's room. Opening the desk drawer. Opening the wardrobe and looking through his clothes. And much more.
Hillyne had completely surrendered to this man.
There's no other way. Every decision we make inevitably carries its own risks. Perhaps, this time, Hillyne will take a risk.He decided to sign the contract, deciding to go to the world the man had mentioned.
"I have decided."
"Really? So what do you want your sign to be? A duck? Ducks are cute. Or a worm? A spider? A car? A plane?" The man looked at Hillyne with sparkling eyes.
Hillyne objected to the man's gaze. Her face also showed an expression of annoyance at the man. What was that anyway? A duck? A car? Was he a child?Huh?
Hillyne pushed him on the shoulder so the man would back off a bit. That man was too close.
"First of all, I want to add one thing. Give me a lot of money. Almost endless."
The man clucked his tongue and then snorted, "Okay. Agreed." For the sake of His Majesty.
Hillyne looked back at the contract letter. The conditions he mentioned have been added. He nodded his head. Then looked at the man, "I want a feather-shaped endorsement. Like a quill. Something like that."
"Okay."
The man snapped his fingers. The contract paper turned into glowing particles and flew towards Hillyne's neck. A feather-shaped pattern appeared there.
"it looks cool." The man said in a disapproving tone.
Hillyne looked at his neck in the mirror. The man was right. This was cool.
"So, when do you want to go?"
"Now? I guess."
"Then, close your eyes."
Hillyne wanted to close his eyes. But then she thought of something. What was this man's name?
"I just thought about it. I don't know your name yet. So, what's your name?"
"Close your eyes first."
Hillyne followed the man's directions. He closed his eyes as usual without any intention of peeking.
"My name is the same as the name of nemo fish's father in the film that the fish searches for Its son."
"Huh?"
Suddenly, the air around him felt different. A gentle breeze caressed his skin, feeling incredibly refreshing. He opened his eyes, seeing a vast expanse of meadow filled with flowers. And there's a large tree not far from it. The sky here is so blue. Bright and clear. It feels so beautiful. Hillyne was fascinated by what he saw.
Remembering the man's hint about his name, Hillyne muttered, "His name is ... Marlin?"