On the 11th of November, in a small apartment in Tokyo, a team of three was bustling about.
"Come on, come on, get to it, people," Averie yelled while playing poker online. "I am making money even on my day off, and you can’t set up snacks yet? Is this the life you envisioned?"
Hyerin and Min-Ha glared at him while pouring chips into large bowls and sodas into cups.
As Averie was on a diet, they had to wait for the food they had ordered from a rather costly restaurant.
"He has become obnoxious," Min-Ha complained.
"I told you we shouldn’t have signed those contracts."
"But," she grumbled, "it promised a raise."
The two had just signed notarized contracts with Averie, which legally made them his employees.
"I thought he couldn’t abuse us anymore."
"We could sue him as employees if something major happens, but this isn’t that."
"Hey, let’s chit-chat and more working! What do you think I pay you for?" He clicked his tongue as if he were looking at a disgusting pile of trash. "If you have a complaint, take it up with HR."
"We have HR?" Min-Ha’s ears perked like those of a foolish dog. "Who’s it?"
And Averie grinned grotesquely. "Me."
He spent the next five minutes laughing at the misery of the pair.
"What idiots," he kept repeating, while holding his stomach. "Look at those dumb faces!"
Watching it unfold, Celli couldn’t help but wonder if this is how the rest of the world behaved.
She couldn’t have guessed this turn of events when she invited the good actor.
She had planned on showing him around Tokyo while discussing what happened that day before spending some time playing the game she had composed songs for.
But Averie’s popularity turned out to be a lethal dose of reality; they could not go two steps without someone recognizing him despite his sunglasses.
"Do you truly not mind spending time in my small apartment?" Celli asked. "I don’t know how the game will turn out even if I am the one who composed some of the music for it."
"We will have fun, and I still need to apologize for what happened that day. You shouldn’t have had to see that."
"Oh, it’s fine." She fidgeted with her fingers. "I read about your... conflicts. I understand how you could have ended up on the bad side of... them."
"Well, what can I say? I am a distinguished gentleman when it comes to bringing dishonor to my family."
Swerving in her gaming chair, she studied him.
"I was surprised when you—"
Averie shushed the girl.
"She doesn’t know," he whispered, pointing at Hyerin. "She doesn’t need to know. The poor girl has had enough to worry about already."
It was more accurate that he did not want to hear another lecture on how ’violence is bad.’
So, like thieves conspiring at night, the two began whispering while eyeing Hyerin.
And watching them, Hyerin’s suspicions only deepened.
"They are keeping secrets," she whispered to Min-Ha. "They look close, don’t they?"
"He is close with practically everyone."
"No, but like, there is a spark between them."
"Do you think I should start looking into wedding venues?"
"I’ll look into maternity centers."
"Do you even know what those are?"
Unfortunately, Hyerin was lost in her own little fantasy.
"Do you think the child will call me auntie?"
"You are all sick in the head."
Thankfully, Averie knew nothing about the little interaction between his employees.
"I was surprised when you fought them," Celli said. "It was inspiring."
Averie looked at her suspiciously.
’No girl has ever said that my violence is inspiring. What’s going on here? Did I find a potential psycho girlfriend?’
Unfortunately for Averie, and fortunately for everyone else, that was not the case.
"I was stuck on a song I was supposed to write for this game."
She pointed at the monitor of her gaming PC, which displayed a webpage with the words Heresy of the Fallen World blazoned across.
Underneath the title, a countdown timer showed five minutes remaining.
"That fight gave me inspiration."
"Did it now?" Averie crossed his legs. "What sort of song is it?"
"It’s a boss theme they suddenly asked for. They wanted the most grand and intimidating piece possible."
"Was it for that black armored knight the trailer showed?"
"I think so." Her eyes became livelier. "Are you into gaming?"
The thought of having found a fellow celebrity gamer seemed to have perked her up.
"Not really. But I watched the trailer."
The greater the expectation, the bigger the fall. She could not hide the disappointment on her face.
But Averie was quick to catch on. "You have a nice setup. You play a lot?"
"Yes," she replied, placing her hands in her lap.
"After my... accident," — She looked down at her fake leg — "I began playing video games. I wasn’t interested before that. But when it became harder to move, even the mobility of virtual characters seemed like a ray of hope."
’You haven’t had an easy life either, huh?’ Averie thought.
"Oh," Celli exclaimed, "it’s out."
The game was officially released, and the girl hastily entered the digital key gifted to her by Xinema.
"You don’t have to pay, huh?" He bitterly chewed on his lower lip. "How nice."
"Well, they insisted on it, so I couldn’t help but receive with gratitude."
Her internet connection was strong and fast enough that within fifteen minutes, the gigantic game was successfully installed.
’How many people even have that sort of space on their PCs?’
"Should we start right away?" Celli asked. "Let’s start right away."
’Why ask if you are going to answer yourself?’ Averie thought. ’It will be so funny when we get to the superbosses.’
After starting the game, the excited girl sat there as the black screen persisted.
"Oh, please no..." she whispered.
It was a plea to God. But would He answer when she was harboring a Hellion beside her?
Indeed, God worked in mysterious ways.