TAILING

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In the abandoned building and rusty walls, the continuous drip of water is the only sound you can hear as a smug guy wearing an unbottoned polo and black trousers with a scar on his cheeks blows a cigar from his mouth while looking at the broken window. 

He is around his mid 30's and Lio and Lovo are around 20's.

The two goons who are standing behind him with their heads down are scared of the man who is sitting in the swivel chair. 

The silence arises when the tension also increases. 

"Master--" The goon guy with blue hair came to speak, but he suddenly kept his mouth shut when his master turned to him as a creaking of the swivel chair echoed between the four rusty walls. 

"You have something to say? Lovo?" a deep tone of the master. 

The blue-haired guy bowed his head down and shook his head, "No, Master." 

He turned to the guy beside Lovo, who had brown hair with a nervous look on his face. 

"Lio, do you have any updates from what I asked of you?" 

"Yes, Master. He was brought back to life. He managed to survive, but he can't remember anything of what happened." 

"Continue." 

"And the other one.. he died." 

Master M nodded his head. 

"Should we--" Lio had been cut off when the door banged loudly. That made Lio and Lovo take their guns and step back as they aimed their guns at the door. 

Meanwhile, M sits comfortably enough that he can even lean into his swivel chair while puffing the cigar in his index finger and thumb like he's watching an action movie. 

The rustling sound behind the door and the silence after that made Lio and Lovo tighten their grip on their semi-automatic pistol. 

Lio and Lovo moved back when the door slowly opened, and the only sounds they could hear were the creaking of the door and the droplets of water. 

Lovo halted when he saw a familiar face. It was one of the master M's members. But the guy only stood there with a head full of blood in his head and stomach. Lovo immediately aimed his gun when the guy stumbled to the ground and a guy appeared behind him wearing a medieval cloth with a mask to secure his identity. 

"Well well, pardon me for intruding." A deep voice from a guy as he cleans the blood from his small karambit knife. He is so certain to hide his identity that he speaks through a voice changer.

"You should have told me you were coming." Master M, said as he smoked his cigar. Lovo and Lio looked confused, but they walked towards Master M. 

"I believe I haven't introduced myself properly." The guy said as he looked at his karambit and swung it around to put it on his back. 

"I know you. You've done dirty work from higher ups. " M said, without filtering his mouth. Another one appeared with an average height and a veil covering its face with a black leather fitted cloth. 

It is a girl. 

"I guess you are right. They call me Shadow, and this is my companion, Veilevil." Shadow said as he opened his right hand and Veilevil took the envelope and put it in Shadow's hand. 

Shadow put it on Master M's table. 

"We have a deal to propose." Master M puffs his cigar and smirks. 

"I guess I can spare a little time. We have someone to visit today. We can't delay that." Master M said and smoked his cigar.

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The temperature of the weather coped with the frustration of Leansei as he was irritatedly looking at Del and Vio as they rehearsed their dance for the event next week. 

Del Ronia and Vio Leso are a close duo that will perform a dance for the upcoming event. 

But Leansei isn't frustrated with that, but instead with the person who is sitting behind him in the bleachers. He doesn't seem to get the point of being excused from today, but someone slacks off, specifically someone sitting in the bleachers.

But he suddenly became dazed as the troubling thoughts and uneasy feelings started wandering in his mind again. When Leansei woke up earlier, he could feel something bad would happen today, but he couldn't skip the class since it was a very crucial time for the student councils. 

He came back to reality when he heard a groan in pain from a familiar voice. It was Del. She fell down as she was holding her foot. Vio immediately assited her and asked if she was okay. 

Leansei hurriedly ran towards them and kneeled to look at Del's foot. It wasn't swollen or sprained. It looks like a pinched root nerve. 

Leansei was about to massage Del's foot when Xerchin appeared behind him with a dark look in his face. 

"Let Vio do it since he is Del's boyfriend." Xerchin said while Beidhen smirked as if he knew and an annoying thought came into his mind. 

Leansei is startled and looks at Del, who is blushing, while Vio is also blushing while looking down. 

' It looks like they are shy about announcing their relationship. No wonder they have a good chemistry when dancing. They are in love; they dance with feelings. ' Leansei said in his mind. 

"Okay." Leansei said, and stepped back. "Let her rest for a while and take her to the clinic. If she can't do it today, tell me, Vio." Leansei said and took his phone when it started ringing. Vio nodded his head and carefully lifted Del and carried her to the clinic. 

"Whats goin on her?" Xeilin said while walking towards them. Leansei looks at his phone and disregards the phone call. 

"She just has a pinched root nerve. But I'm worried if she needs to go to the hospital." Xeilin scratched his neck. 

"Do you have any alternatives for Del?" Xeilin asked. 

Leansei shook his head, " I think Delia has a list." 

Xeilin nodded his head as he typed into his phone. Leansei halted when his phone rang again for the second time; he took it, and it was Tyvan's call. 

"Did you memorize their dance?" Xeilin asked. 

Leansei thought that the dance was good and easy to remember. It was mixed with rythim, glazing, and harmonizing dance, and Leansei was a fast learner, so he can memorized all the dance moves they had. 

"Yeah, I do. Do you have an alternative in mind?" 

"I have---wait, I'll just call them." Xeilin said as he walked away while talking on his phone. 

Leansei irritatedly took his phone when it started ringing for the third time. But it immediately faded away when he saw Kean's mother was calling. 

Leansei hesitated to answer the call. 

"Hello?" Leansei said, in line. 

[ Kean! I have good news! Next month, or probably next next month, we will go to Levous City! I know you are excited, but don't forget the date, okay? ] Leansei was fazed as he remembered everything that he should do, but now he is going the wrong direction, or most likely he chose the wrong direction. 

[ Honey? Are you still there? ] 

"Ahh.. yes. I will. " Leansei says as he tightens the grip on the phone. 

[ Okay, then! Goodluck on your studies, bye] and she hung up the phone. 

"Yeah.. bye.." Leansei said even the call had already ended. 

Leansei looked down when he began to feel a familiar emotion that he had felt years ago. It was a feeling of depressing and loneliness. He thought that maybe he already loved being Kean, or most likely, pretending to be Kean. 

' How selfish I am.. ' 

That was the thought that wandered in Leansei's mind the whole day.

.

The rehearsal finished exactly at 5:30 pm. It was exhausting for Leansei. He could feel his mind was much more exhausted than his body. 

"Good work guys! See you tomorrow!" Xeilin said as Del and Vio bid their goodbyes. Meanwhile, Rell is looking at Xeilin, and he never knew that Rell and Xeilin knew each other. 

Leansei stopped when he felt someone was behind him and about to touch him. He immediately grabbed the hand tightly. 

"Aw aw aw! It's me, it's me!! Revin!" Revin groans in pain. Leansei immediately let go of Revin's hand while Corshe looked confusedly at Gavin. 

"Are you trying to crush my bones?" Revin asked while holding his wrist with a reddening mark on it. 

"Are you okay? You're not yourself today. " Corshe asked worriedly. 

"Sorry." Leansei said and turned around. 

Xeilin walked towards Leansei with a tired look on his face. 

"Do you guys want to eat ice cream?" Revin asked. Corshe and Xeilin twinkled their eyes. 

"Lets gooo!!" Corshe said hyperly. 

Leansei gave a big sign when he was at ease that Del's feet were okay and they could rehearse until the end of the rehearsal. But Leansei looked around in peripheral vision and he could feel someone was tailing them. 

.

Leansei looked at the popsticle in his hand after eating a stick of ice cream. He took the handkerchief and rolled it around the popsticle, putting it in his pocket. 

"Let's go home now. It's getting dark." Leansei said as he carried his bag. 

"Oh, my driver is also near. Thank you for the ice cream, Revin." Corshe said with a bright smile on his face. 

"Hey, Corshe. What's with you these days? you look.." Revin stopped at the midway when Xeilin laughed. 

"You must be messing around with the new chef." Xeilin said as he shoved Corshe into his own trap.

Corshe turned his head when his cheeks reddened. 

"W-who said that?? I'll kick his genitals! " Corshe said, while stuttering. 

"Me? You must be seriously in lo--" Corshe ran towards Xeilin and Leansei shook his head and began to wonder if he had gotten very close to these guys. He wondered if he could leave them. 

"Hey, you okay?" Revin asked. Leansei nodded his head. 

"Sorry for earlier. Don't sneak behind me." Leansei said. 

"Yeah, sorry, I was planning to prank you but I got pranked instead—hurt rather." Revin said. "But I'm fine now. Don't worry."

"What's between you and Beidhen?" Leansei didn't know that he had asked that loudly; he thought that he had asked that in his mind only. 

Revin turned around and looked at the view instead. 

"You don't have to answer it if you don't want to." Leansei scratched his temple in regret. 

"I'll tell you--all of you someday. Just not for now. " Revin said and finished his ice cream. 

' Everyone must have been in conflict with their life. I just hope that they are okay. ' 

.

"Come with me, my driver will drive you home." Corshe said

"Or me! I mean---" Leansei cut Xeilin off.

"Your house is much farther than these two." 

Xeilin's pout made Revin, who was looking out the window, smile from ear to ear. "Then that settles it. He is going with me." Corshe glared at Revin. 

All of their cars were lining up on the side of the road like a parade of cars. 

"I'm not going to any one of you. I have a place to go. You three should go home now." Leansei said. 

Leansei might be worrying that someone who's tailing them would figure out each of these three houses and there might be a storm coming and Leansei don't want to involve these three, or rather, don't want to endanger their lives. 

"Are you sure?" Corshe asked worriedly. 

"Yeah and.." Leansei looked at them and the only excuse he could say was, "My mo-mother is going to fetch me." Leansei said with an assuring face. 

They couldn't argue anymore and bid their goodbyes. Leansei felt at ease when they were gone. Leansei walked as his mind was preoccupied with the uneasy feeling and being tailed until now. 

Leansei stopped when a group of deliquent guys were standing a few meters away from him; it looked like they were waiting for him. Leansei stepped back, and he felt he was surrounded by the thugs. 

Leansei turned around and looked at them blankly. 

' What is these guys' problem? What do they want from me? ' 

"Kean, what a pleasant surprise." Leansei clenched his fist. He could sense danger and the bad feeling of what was going to happen. 

"Who the hell are you? What do you want from me? " Leansei said, with a full, firm voice. He doesn't feel nervous or scared at all. 

Lio laughed as Levo smirked at him. "He must have forgotten us." Lio said. 

"Well, he might remember us if we played him like before." Levo said, and started to walk towards him. Leansei immediately guarded himself and was ready for anything that was coming. 

'If Kean were to be like this, with his fragile body, he probably won't live--wait, these guys must be involved in Kean's accident! ' 

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