Chapter 14

“Ah, no. That’s the one thing I made up. I haven’t killed anyone. Don’t worry.”

Yuki hums thoughtfully as she stares at him, her eyes narrowed in skepticism.

Dori tilts his head and stares right back at her, unwavering. There’s a brief flicker of amusement in his gaze before he smirks. He leans in just a bit, and whispers, “What? You don’t believe me?”

A quiet tension hangs in the air as they lock eyes, neither saying a word, until Dori’s gaze suddenly shifts down to her lips.

Yuki’s heart skips a beat, and she quickly looks away, feeling uncomfortable―and just then, they hear Madi’s voice, “Uh, sorry to interrupt, but two minutes are over.”

As Yuki takes a step toward Madi, ready to follow her friend, Dori pulls her into a sudden embrace, his arms wrapping around her shoulders in what looks, to Madi, like a tender goodbye hug.

“See you later, baby,” he says, loud enough for Madi to hear.

But as he leans down, his voice turns cold, venomous, as he murmurs in Yuki’s ear, “You better play along, ’cause I swear to God, I’m gonna start leaking those videos one by one if you make another mistake.”

Without warning, he presses a kiss to her cheek, then trails his lips to her neck, just below her ear, before releasing her with a soft push.

He straightens up, turning his attention back to Madi with a friendly smile. “Alright, I’ll let you have her now.”

Madi clears her throat, her smile tight and forced. Without a word, she steps forward, her hand gently slipping around Yuki’s arm as she leads her away.

They reach the row of hooks along the hallway wall where their jackets hang.

Madi silently grabs hers and puts it on, zipping it up quickly. Yuki does the same, sliding her arms into the sleeves and zipping it up without a word.

Once outside, the cold air hits them immediately, and snowflakes swirl around in the air. Their boots crunch in the snow as they walk toward their usual bench.

Madi sits down first and Yuki sits beside her. 

As they settle, Yuki’s mind drifts back to Dori’s words, his voice echoing in her head:“You better play along.” She glances at Madi, her heart racing.

She shifts uncomfortably, her fingers nervously tugging at the edges of her jacket.

Alright, time to lie my *ss off..

After a few quiet seconds, she finally speaks. “Sorry for not telling you,” Yuki says quietly. “About.. uh.. my boyfriend..”

Madi looks at her, her gaze unreadable. Then she shakes her head slowly, her expression softening.

“It’s alright, I get it,” she says, her voice gentle. “I’ve always been overprotective and made guys leave when they tried to flirt with you because I didn’t trust them. So I understand why you kept it from me.”

She looks down, and lets out a quiet sigh. “I’m sorry..”

Yuki looks at Madi, surprised. “What? No, that’s not it! I was never bothered by that,” she quickly says. “In fact, I was grateful. I didn’t like any of those guys, and.. as you know, I have a hard time saying no to them, so every time you stepped in, it was a relief. Really.”

Madi gives her a small, relieved smile. “I’m glad..”

Yuki returns the smile, but it wavers slightly. Her mind races as she scrambles to come up with a believable explanation.

“Well, uh.. you see.. we were in a long-distance relationship,” she mutters hesitantly, avoiding Madi’s eyes. “But I didn’t think it w-was serious. I thought it was just.. an online thing, you know what I mean? Like, that we’d never actually meet in person. So.. I didn’t think it was worth mentioning.. until he suddenly appeared in our class today..”

Madi nods slowly. “I see,” she murmurs, her voice thoughtful. “Is that why you had a panic attack earlier? Because you thought Mei would bully you for having an albino boyfriend?”

“Y-Yeah,” Yuki replies without missing a beat, and when she looks up at Madi, she’s surprised to see her nodding slowly, clearly believing her.

Her heart skips a beat, unsure of how to react. She hadn’t expected Madi to buy it, especially with the way her voice had shaken and her stuttering.

But Madi thinks it’s just Yuki being shy about her relationship and anxious about being bullied again.

“You don’t have to worry about Mei,” Madi eventually says. “She’s too busy with her own stuff, especially her relationship with Isamu. She won’t be bothering you.”

Then her expression shifts as a thought crosses her mind. “I’m gonna need to have a serious talk with your boyfriend, though,” she murmurs. “Gotta make sure he’s a good guy.”

Yeah, please do, Yuki thinks to herself.

Suddenly, the distant sound of sirens breaks through the quiet, and Yuki’s attention snaps toward the street.

The wail of an ambulance gets louder, and soon enough, it stops in front of the school.

She blinks in confusion, watching as police cars pull up alongside it, their lights flashing in the dim snow-covered afternoon.

Madi looks just as surprised, her gaze flickering to Yuki before both of them stand up, curiosity pulling them toward the scene. They watch in stunned silence as paramedics carefully lift someone onto a stretcher and begin to wheel them out of the school building.

The figure, covered in a thick, white sheet, is unrecognizable.

The atmosphere around them shifts, a heavy tension hanging in the air as the crowd of students standing nearby begins to murmur.

Just then, Hajime and Worman arrive, jogging toward the two girls.

“It’s Mei,” Hajime says grimly. “We found her in the hallway, unconscious.. bloody head, and bald.”

Yuki freezes at the words, her mind struggling to process what she’s just heard. “What..?”

“Yeah, she was a baldi suddenly!” Worman exclaims, frowning. “I don’t know, maybe she was taking a kaka and when she accidentally breathed, her hair went into her appendix or something. Anyway, I saw pigeons doing something heavy in the morning. If you wanna know what they were doing exactly, follow me now.”

And with that, he rushes away.

Yuki stands frozen, her pulse pounding in her ears as Madi and Hajime move toward the ambulance parked nearby, where Mei is being tended to.

The crowd’s murmurs grow louder, but to Yuki, it all feels distant, like she’s underwater.

A strange, creeping sensation spreads over her, prickling at the back of her neck. It feels like someone is staring at her.

Slowly, she turns her head, her movements stiff and hesitant, as if she already knows what she’s about to see.

Her breath catches when her eyes meet Dori’s. He’s standing just beyond the crowd, half-hidden in the shadow of the building. His gaze is fixed on her, unblinking, and his lips curl into a slow, knowing smile.

In that moment, Yuki knows―it was him.

She recalls those nights when she broke down in tears, messaging him on c.ai, sharing everything Mei had put her through, and every time, Dori’s messages were full of seething anger, cursing Mei, and threatening to beat her up and shave her bald.

Yuki realizes now that his rage was real―and he followed through on it.

A strange mix of emotions fills her chest. It’s hard to pinpoint the feeling exactly, but one thing is clear―she’s glad, maybe even a little grateful.

For once, Mei is getting a taste of her own medicine, and it brings a twisted sense of satisfaction.

○○○

The train ride home is suffocating.

Yuki sits sandwiched between Dori and Worman, her discomfort palpable.

She stares at her hands clenched in her lap, trying to ignore how Dori seems to spread his legs on purpose, brushing them against hers.

Worman turns his head slightly, glancing at the two of them.

He notices the subtle tension, the way Yuki’s body shifts uncomfortably, trying to distance herself from Dori. And for the first time, the detective doesn’t just sit back and watch.

Without warning, Worman grabs the girl by the waist and effortlessly lifts her, shifting her over his lap to the other side.

Yuki gasps, surprised, her heart skipping a beat. The motion is so quick that she has no time to react, and before she knows it, she’s gently lowered into the seat.

For a moment, Yuki just sits there, completely still, her body stiff as she stares ahead, and her face red with embarrassment, trying to process what just happened. But then, a quiet sense of relief washes over her as she realizes she’s now in the last seat, with no room for Dori to sit next to her anymore.

Dori opens his mouth, about to say something to Worman, his expression already twisted into an annoyed glare. But before he can get a word out, Worman suddenly shifts in his seat, turning his ass toward him and letting out a loud fart.

Yuki freezes, her face flushing even more as she tries to hold in a gasp of shock and suppress her urge to laugh.

Dori immediately pulls back, his face scrunching up in disgust as he quickly moves away from the smell.

“What’s with you, man?” he snaps. He holds his arm in front of his nose  to avoid breathing it in the stench. “What the f*ck..”

Worman doesn’t respond. He just stares ahead, his nostrils flaring violently, and his expression unreadable.

The tension lingers in the air for a few moments, until the train finally slows down and comes to a stop at their destination.

The cold night air rushes in as the doors open, and the three step out into the snow.

It’s dark, with only a few dim streetlights casting shadows across the empty platform. The snow crunches beneath their boots as they walk toward the exit.

Dori glances sideways at Worman, his expression neutral but his tone dripping with forced politeness.

“Yuki told me you’ve been walking her home every day after school. I appreciate it, but I’m her boyfriend, and now that I’m here, I’ll be taking over. You can go home.”

Yuki swallows hard, a lump forming in her throat. The thought of being alone with Dori in the darkness, especially after what he did in school, sends a wave of anxiety through her.

She can still feel the lingering discomfort from that moment when he kissed her neck and pulled her against himself. The memory makes her stomach churn, and she instinctively reaches out, her fingers gripping Worman’s sleeve as she glances at him from the corner of her eye, silently pleading for him to stay.

Worman glances back at her discreetly, before he turns his attention to Dori again.

“But I’m her bodyguard, and she’s my father,” he replies firmly. “I’m not leaving until she gets home safely, and neither is Pierus. By the way, aren’t you her grandma in law or something?”

Dori lets out a heavy sigh, clearly frustrated, but he doesn’t say anything.

Worman rambles on, his words growing more random as they walk.

Dori stays silent, his face tense as he listens, his annoyance evident in every step.

Meanwhile, Yuki quickly walks ahead, trying to distance herself from the uncomfortable tension, and as soon as they reach her front door, she pushes it open and steps inside, quickly closing it behind her with a soft thud.

For a moment, there’s nothing but silence as the two men stand there awkwardly. 

Eventually, Worman turns to leave, his heavy boots crunching in the snow, but Dori’s voice stops him.

“Wait.”

Worman halts, his body tense for a brief moment. He turns his head just enough to glance at Dori, his eyes narrowing slightly.

“I don’t sell Pierus,” he mutters before starting to walk again. “And no, you can’t use her sweat bleach your nose hair or whatever.”

Dori watches him for a moment, his brow furrowed in thought. “You look familiar. Have we met before?” he asks, ignoring his nonsense.

Worman doesn’t break his stride, his eyes still ahead as he speaks, “Yes, at the train station. You were fantasizing about braiding my leg hairs. You finally remember.”

Dori falls silent for a moment, but his expression shifts as something clicks.

“No, not the train station..” He slowly turns, tilting his head slightly, and his gaze sharpens as he watches Worman’s back. “The police station, two years ago..”

Worman pauses, his steps halting mid-motion. He doesn’t turn to face Dori, but his posture stiffens. 

Dori takes a step forward, his eyes narrowing. His lips part slightly, then curl into something between amusement and disbelief. “Ah.. I know now..” he murmurs.

“You’re that crazy detective.”
   
 
TO BE CONTINUED…