In a spotless bathroom lined with mirrors, a boy with a sickly frame leaned against one of the basins.
Noah breathed deliberately, in through his mouth, out again. His eyes didn't settle on anything for long.
"What a dirty bastard," someone muttered in passing, followed by a snicker.
Noah closed his eyes. Slowly, the noise inside his head dulled.
He didn't remember how he had reached the bathroom or how many shoulders he had clipped along the way. He just knew he couldn't keep looking.
"Get a grip," he muttered to his reflection. "You need to live. You have to live."
The memory of the last time he had stood in front of Tina surfaced again, uninvited. Over and over.
Taking one last deep breath, he noticed his hands had become still. He clenched and unclenched them several times before nodding.
He just needed to ask for a deal for him to buy a single crystal. After that, he was going to leave this place forever, settle somewhere else, and make sure he wouldn't make the same mistake again. And definitely keep himself away from that woman's radar.
Turning around, he left the bathroom and frowned at the music and flickering lights. But—
His feet came to a halt. In front of him, a beautiful girl was standing. Her eyes were big and bright with a golden hue, matching her hair. Her shoulders were bare with a red dress that ended over her knees.
"W—we can't talk in here. I have a room upstairs." Her voice was a whisper, but it was shaking with every word. "I'll send someone to pick you up."
Her hand was clenched on the hem of her skirt as she started to move back slowly without waiting for his reply.
Noah stood frozen. His eyes were glued to her small frame as she retreated, glancing at him from time to time as if he would vanish at any second.
There was clearly fear in her eyes. She wasn't anyone who could fear easily, and somehow, Noah knew the cause.
As she left, he retraced his steps back to the stool he was sitting on before. For some reason, that bartender wasn't there.
Suddenly, instead of feeling disoriented, Noah became confused.
Just then his communicator vibrated. It was getting dark already, and Noah started to worry about Eva. But not anymore.
His lips pursed thin, receiving a message from Eva not to worry about dinner. She must have seen him all limp in the morning.
With a sigh, he turned to glass bottles lined up along the wall.
"Fuck it. Hey!"
---
After a while, he slammed the tiny glass down, and his face twisted. That was the worst thing he had tasted in his life. Even the protein slabs were better than this.
He looked at the bartender who had given him that small glass of drink, his eyes full of suspicion.
At that, the bartender shrugged. "That was the cheapest we have."
Cheapest or not, it was not liquid. It burned all the way down, leaving his tongue dry and bitter.
At that moment, the three men descended the stairs. He had been keeping his eyes from them, and they left as they came back. Troubled and unsatisfied.
"Master Noah?" And as if waiting for their departure, a waitress, wearing a different uniform than the bartender's, came to him.
Noah wasn't surprised and just nodded.
"Please, follow me." She said with a bow.
It was the first time he had been treated with this much respect, so any lingering thoughts of not going became just a ruse.
She led him to the stairs and passed a transparent wall.
Noah frowned slightly before stepping inside, and his eyes widened.
'What?' He looked back. 'Am I still inside the club?'
The place didn't change, but the noise, along with the vibration, completely disappeared.
"Please follow me, Sir."
'What magic is this?' He gave one last glance to the wall and soon found himself in front of a door.
Seeing the waitress leaving, he took a deep breath, closing his eyes. When he opened them again, his face became relaxed, his eyes became cold.
And he opened the door.
A big room that stretched long opened up in front of him. A full set of couches was placed first. In the middle, an empty space with a bed and some furniture at the other end.
There was a glass wall at the end where light from the pit of the wild crowd was shimmering. That was where Tina was standing.
Closing the door behind him, which produced a click, he slowly stepped inside. Tina turned, and instantly a smile formed on her lips.
"Noah!"
He just nodded before leaning on the cold metal wall. He kept his expression flat, a mask of indifference, though his mind was racing. He wanted to ask about the young masters he had seen leaving. The way they left suggested they hadn't found the solution they were looking for.
Anyhow, they were just bad news, but probably not the worst for Noah.
What was worse than a death sentence?
"You weren't here before?" As he looked around the room, he realized he had forgotten how to start the conversation, so he asked her what he was curious about.
The sound of her heels echoed in a close room as she answered with a simple "hmm" and continued.
"I have been studying in the human academy." Shrugging as Noah turned to her, she continued. "It's... necessary. It's... necessary. You need knowledge of management to run a place like this."
She looked away almost immediately, her fingers twining together nervously.
Noah almost chuckled. 'What happened to the gorgeous body that could give a pass?' He suppressed the thought, letting an awkward silence stretch between them until Tina finally broke it.
"You said you wanted to talk."
As she came closer, Noah nodded.
"Yes, I, uh... I want to buy a crystal."
Tina stopped dead in her tracks. Her face twisted in disbelief, as if she were processing a foreign language. A moment later, a deep frown took hold.
"Why?"
"That's none of your business." He hadn't meant for it to come out so sharply, but the words were out before he could think on them.
Tina stood frozen. She looked as though he had asked for her life. When she finally spoke, her voice was a brittle quiver. "Alright. What am I supposed to do?"
"You need crystals to run this entire establishment," Noah said, his voice maintaining its firm, cold edge. "I want to buy one from you."
Tina swallowed hard, her eyes searching his. "So you came to me for a crystal because..."
"Because you're one of the few people who has a steady supply," Noah interrupted.
"Not because we're related, or—" Her face began to fall, her features clouding with a sudden, sharp hurt.
"No,"
Tina didn't speak for a long time. She lowered her head, her knuckles turning white as she gripped her own hands. "You know it's illegal for me to sell to you, right?"
"Tell me your price." The more her voice trembled, the more Noah turned his voice cold. "Or tell me if you can't do it."