Sunny was halfway to insanity. Sometimes the occasional disbelief of how he had accepted to take on such a daunting task for Merlin without even requesting for a pay would rush into his mind and his heart would ache. Like now. His heart was aching at this very moment.

  He was seated in a fast-food restaurant just on the opposite side of Club Spiral, a cap over his head, and a cup of orange juice he had been sipping on in intervals before him, as well as a half eaten hamburger.

  His plan for the afternoon was simple. He was just to keep his eyes on the building, watch who went in and went out, and take note of anyone who was suspicious enough to be wandering into a club by this time of the day. Basically, anyone who was affiliated with places of high authority that involved Mages. More specifically, the Consortium Guild and Prestige Academy.

  He glanced at his watch. Two hours had passed, and there was nothing of substance he had gained from his lookout.

  Anyone barely came out of the club, and anyone barely entered. Those who did were either dressed in suits and black glasses, or they wore wine aprons upon white shirts and black trousers or skirts.

  Another staff member walked out of the club at that moment, a trash bag in hand, swerved into an alley and deposited it in the bin there.

  Sunny sighed and reached for another bite of hamburger and a sip of his juice.

  He was bored. Even shamanism hadn’t been this boring, and that had almost sucked the life out of him. It was quite tiring having to set up props and pretend like he was casting out evil spirits when such things didn’t exist. But humans were quite gullible in the right instances, and it had been a quick way to earn some money, so he didn’t regret it. At least not totally. And he couldn’t regret his current job too, even if no pay would come of it. He decided to see it as a good deed being done. He was not interested in entangling himself in the world of Mages, but this was Merlin’s world now. A kid’s world. If the boy had asked him for help, there was no way he could just ignore and go on with his life. It would feel like a fish bone was stuck in his throat.

  And, technically, it was also Janeth’s world.

  He had not mentioned it all this while, because he was unsure what Merlin thought about it, or if he wanted to speak about it, but after he had seen the video of the boy squaring off against the monsters that appeared at Heouido park a few months back alongside Janeth, he had asked her about the whole situation. So he had found out about Merlin’s feelings, and, well, Janeth’s as well.

  They were both complicated, from what Sunny could see, and were not exactly in the right states of mind to be compatible with each other. Merlin was a Mage with a lot of things going on, and Janeth a Warrior, who also had her fair share of personal problems.

  To Sunny, it didn’t matter to him if they ended up being perfect for each other after they had settled their personal lives, but at the moment, if they went ahead with getting together, he could see nothing but an eventual breakup.

  He could also be wrong. There were times where one’s partner could be the only person to offer them peace of mind in whatever situation they had found themselves in, and this could be one of those times.

  Janeth had a lot going on, and there was the possibility that her being in a relationship with Merlin would help her confront her demons far better than she already was.

  Sunny always tried to help her, but she was always so reserved, and he wasn’t quite as pushy.

  However, it was not his place to speak about others' love life. Merlin liked her, that was as clear as the sun in the sky, and Janeth did share a bit of fondness for him, even if she hadn’t explicitly said it. But how they proceeded was not Sunny’s place to decide. If the day came where they needed his advice, he would offer it. As for now, they had to get their shit together.

  At least, he was helping Merlin with one aspect of that.

  Sunny’s phone vibrated at that moment, drawing his attention to its screen.

  Speak of the devil. Merlin had sent him a message.

  He picked up his phone and while keeping a good chunk of his attention on Club Spiral, opened the text.

  If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  [Merlin Tyrrell: Hi, Sunny. Sorry to bother, but can you let me know when you’re free? I would like to tell you something.]

  Sunny cocked his head slightly and caressed his chin. He had been expecting the message to be somewhat similar to the one he had received from the boy as soon as he had returned from the Tower raid he had gone on at the academy, just slightly different in that it would be pressuring him to tell him about how things were going, considering he had disagreed last time, saying that he was still working on it. But the current message felt even more urgent than any concerning his progress with Club Spiral. It was like something, again, was troubling the boy.

  Sunny sighed. If that was the case, then at this point he might just take up the therapist gimmick. It seemed he was leaning towards that these days.

  [I’ll call later tonight. Then you can tell me all about what is bothering you.]

  He sent the message. And, before he could even put down the phone, a reply came in.

  [Merlin Tyrrell: All right. Thank you.]

  Sunny raised a brow. For some reason he was now extremely bothered.

  ###

  Janeth muffled out the noise as she sat silently on the opposite side of Matron Nari, choosing to let her eyes peruse the woman’s features, her black wig that she was using to cover her balding hair, the wrinkles underneath her eyes, her moving lips, red with lipstick, and the black suit she wore, instead of listening to the words of the woman.

  And, just like always, the matron didn’t suspect a thing. At least, until she was done.

  Janeth read the woman’s lips, and noticed that her name had been called. She snapped back to life as though she had been all ears.

  “Yes,” said Janeth with a smile. “I’ll talk to her. She won’t do it again.”

  Matron Nari sighed. “This is the fifth time we’re having this discussion. Your talks aren’t working. You have to be more strict.”

  Janeth pursed her lips. “Don’t worry, matron,” she said with feigned cheerfulness. “I know just the way to get her to calm down. Trust me.”

  Matron Nari clicked her tongue. “If you say so.”

  Janeth nodded and stood up. “If that is all…” She turned and headed towards the door of the matron’s office, but was halted by the matron continuing on.

  “Whatever you’re doing, Janeth,” began Matron Nari, “I don't think I can hold on for much longer. You have to set yourself straight and come and pick them up, or I’ll have to put them up for adoption. It’s been five years. Most children their age have been adopted; you know what that means, don’t you?”

  Janeth’s grip tightened upon the handle of the door, but she held back her frustration as best as she could, turned to the matron, and smiled even harder.

  “Please, hold on for a little longer, matron,” she said. “I’m almost there.”

  Matron Nari nodded. “I hope for your sake that you are. I hope, truly.”

  Janeth said nothing more and hurried out of the office. She felt her throat closing up and a tightness in her chest as she walked through the hallway of the orphanage, trying her best through her blurry vision to avoid hitting the children running about as the staff called for them to stop, and thankfully she succeeded. But that didn’t change the fact that her mind was a mess. She had a lot of things to do, and so little time to do them. And so few opportunities as well.

  Taking custody of her siblings wasn’t a tall mountain to climb because of her age. She was twenty years old, it didn’t matter that it had just been a few months since she’d turned one, because the age requirement for an older sibling to take custody of the younger one was eighteen years old. The problem came from her financial status. She was not in the best possible of places now, and she was trying her best really to pull herself out of it. It was one of the reasons why she had taken on her mother’s mantle and went on the path of a Warrior. It was the only way she could think of to earn enough to sustain the livelihood of her siblings. But she still had a year to go at camp. And that was now seeming to be farther away than she might have thought.

  She arrived at the garden of the orphanage then, and on a bench was seated her younger sisters. Four of them, suckling on the packs of ice cream she had bought for them, in the same way they had once done with their thumbs when they were still little quadruple runts.

  Her heart ached again. She couldn’t afford to lose them. Not even a single one.

  No-Eul was the first to notice her presence, like always. She turned around on the bench and her eyes brightened. She had a band-aid across her left cheek, the place where she had cut herself while fighting with one of the other girls in the orphanage, but the pain didn’t seem to be bothering her one bit.

  Janeth wasn't bothered that No-Eul had been in a fight. She knew her sisters. They were just like her, and couldn’t take insults or injustice. However, this time, she would have to talk to them. They had to hold back—for her sake and theirs. Any more violence and they would all be put up for adoption before she could take over custody of them.

  Soyoon, Dan-Bi, and Yujin, the rest of the quadruplets, turned around then, noticing her too.

  They all waved, motioning her over, and she smiled at them.

  When she was just about to walk up to them, though, her phone vibrated. And as she pulled it up to see who the text was from, her heart sank even further.

  Janeth’s thumb hovered over her screen, hesitating to click on the notification.

  Ever since their date, things had gotten awkward between her and Merlin. She couldn’t speak to him the same way she usually had, and it was the same for him. Now that she knew he liked her more than just a friend, she couldn’t see him as just one.

  But, still, she couldn’t picture anyone being dragged into her mess of a life and staying. She knew no one would want to drag them into theirs if they were in her position. That she was sure about.

  She sighed and put away her phone. Putting some distance between both of them was the best thing to do. It would never work between them, and she couldn’t lead him on. That would be iniquitous of her.