It was raining.
Lanceil looked out the window and wondered if Agatha brought an umbrella with her. He was worried she might get sick again.
“She says a nonsense thing when she’s sick,” Lanceil said before he grabbed an umbrella.
There were two umbrellas in the living room. But Lanceil purposely grabbed one.
‘But what will I say to Agatha if she sees me waiting for her near the bus stop?’
Lanceil thought of any excuse he could use while he was on his way out of the condo.
“Good evening.”
He only stopped when his neighbor greeted him. Lanceil looked at the quiet girl living next door. She was the person who brought Agatha when she was sick.
Wanting to show his gratitude, Lanceil greeted her back.
“Good evening.”
He doesn’t sit well with that weird neighbor, so he decided to simply pass by after greeting. But surprisingly, the quiet girl spoke more than usual.
“About your maid.”
Lanceil turned around and met Maxine’s gaze.
“How is she?”
Lanceil’s guts instinctively activated.
“She's doing fine,” he answered.
“Really? Then, can she remember anything between us?”
Narrowing his eyes, he responded, “No. She couldn’t remember that you helped her when she lost consciousness. Actually, she was surprised to know that our neighbor brought her back to my condo.”
“I see.”
Maxine nodded her head.
“I wanted to thank you again for the last time,” Lanceil said. “You don’t need to worry.”
“I am not worried,” Maxine answered and she entered her condo.
As soon as she entered her dark condominium, she received a text from her employer.
Ting!
Maxine looked into her phone.
[“I have a new job for you. Kill someone for me, Max.”]
Lanceil felt so creeped out by Maxine. He could tell in one glance that she was not trustworthy. Either way, he couldn’t deny that she helped Agatha once.
Shaking his head, Lanceil decided to ignore her and walked down the building.
He was only wearing plain jogging pants and a hoodie when he walked out of the building with an umbrella.
Lanceil was so excited to fetch his maid at the bus stop. But he didn’t need to do that anymore. Because when he looked North, he saw Agatha together with a man.
They were sharing one umbrella.
‘Who is he?’
Lanceil turned his fists into fury of cannonballs. He recalled the time when the children from the orphanage said that Agatha had a boyfriend.
He knew he should not butt into her business. But Lanceil could not do it. He felt so jealous, his eyes burned hot even when the wind was blowing cold.
Hence, Lanceil walked closer.
“Agatha? What are you doing there?”
Lanceil should ask that question himself. What is he doing there?
He looked at Sebastian and asked, “Who is he?”
Agatha looked alternately at Sebastian and Lanceil. She didn’t expect that her boss would go down alone wearing a hoodie and jogging pants. He never did that before!
She had to say something.
But her mind was too occupied by the last thing she talked about with Sebastian.
“Hi. I am Sebastian. I am Agatha’s best friend,” Sebastian introduced.
Lanceil sighed in relief. ‘So, he’s JUST A BEST FRIEND.’
He smiled at Sebastian and replied, “I am Lan…”
“Are you Britney? Agatha’s cousin?” Sebastian asked.
“Huh?” Lanceil uttered with unblinking eyes.
“Agatha said that she was living with her relatives. She said she has a cousin named Britney. I thought Britney was a girl. But… you are a man.”
Before things blew up, Agatha ran towards Lanceil. She shed under his umbrella, clung around his arm, and smiled excessively at Sebastian.
“T-That’s right! He is my cousin!”
Agatha leaned her head on Lanceil’s shoulder.
Reeled, Lanceil couldn’t say anything. He couldn’t understand what was happening, but he loved it when Agatha leaned her head on his shoulder. He fucking loves it.
Lanceil looked back at Sebastian while gulping.
‘Maybe, she has reasons for lying,’ Lanceil thought.
He cleared his throat and spoke to Sebastian.
“Thank you for sending my COUSIN back home. Now you can go.”
Nervous, Agatha glanced at her boss before she beamed at Sebastian.
“R-Right. Go now. Let’s talk again tomorrow! Bye!”
Agatha pulled Lanceil inside the condo building.
The two men looked at each other with cold gaze before separating.
‘Is he really JUST A FRIEND? His eyes don’t say so,’ Lanceil thought.
‘Is he really a cousin? He looked at Agatha with a man’s gaze though,’ Sebastian doubted inwardly.
Nonetheless, both the fake cousin and the secretive best friend wanted to protect Agatha from other men.