12. Man in Black

Jasper

This girl is impressive, and she is like a magnet that keeps pushing me to do silly things like this. I love her scent, and I love to hear her breath. There are many things that I can easily control, but I can't control the pounding of my heart that keeps beating fast when I'm with her. My body stiffened with intense desire.

I shouldn't be like this, but I don't care. Although I know this is impossible because we are different types of beings.

***

Jasper closed his eyes, inhaling the scent of violets wafting from Zalina's wavy blonde hair.

"Jasper, are we going to continue like this? This horse has already gone around ten laps."

Jasper opened his eyes. Zalina's voice snapped him out of his wild imagination. He had become a fool by doing useless things like this.

"Okay, I understand. Maybe you're bored."

"I'm hungry. It's time for lunch," said Zalina.

"Yeah, you're right, Zalina. Now it's time for lunch."

After they got off the horses, Jasper led Zalina through the milking place. Zalina looked interested when she saw a man milking milk.

"I want to try it. Jasper, can I try milking? I always want to do it whenever I see a milking place."

"But Zalina, earlier you said you wanted to have lunch," said Jasper. He was worried that Zalina would faint again like that time.

"Ten minutes. How about I ask for ten minutes to do it? My life experience is too limited, so I don't have much opportunity to do much."

Jasper saw a strong desire in Zalina. He didn't mind giving Zalina time, but milking wasn't easy.

"Zalina, you have no idea how hard it is to milk a horse. So forget it, and let's have lunch!" said Jasper. He looked doubtfully at Zalina.

The woman looked disappointed. The sparkle of enthusiasm in her eyes had turned gray. Jasper thought that Zalina might be annoyed with him. He always didn't care what people thought of him. However, for some reason, this time, he felt disturbed and wondered if Zalina was disappointed in him.

Jasper looked at Zalina's face, who was frowning at the milkmaid. Jasper finally couldn't stand the sight.

"Okay, just ten minutes because I'm so hungry," Jasper said.

Zalina's lips slowly curved into a smile, and her eyes flashed again.

"Thank you, Jasper. It will be a great first experience for me."

The milkmaid explains the proper milking technique, and Zalina listens while nodding. Jasper just stood watching them, folding his arms.

When Zalina tried for the first time, the horse seemed to be stamping its hind legs. It was obvious that the animal felt uncomfortable.

"It's not like that, Miss. Not pulling the nipples, or you'll hurt the horse."

The milkmaid tries to explain it back to Zalina, but it always ends the same. Jasper, who saw that began to feel worried. He was afraid that the horse would start to feel uncomfortable and would go berserk.

"Zalina, you can try it another time. I'm afraid you'll get kicked by the horse," Jasper said.

Zalina stood up from the bench. She agreed with Jasper's words. "It's a quite difficult milking and requires special skills. I think I can do it. Jasper, can you blush milk?"

"Me? Are you not wrong to ask me that? Zalina, I'm Jasper Blackmore. I don't have time to do that kind of work. I work with my brain even though my hands are quite skilled." His voice is high.

"Okay, you don't have to be angry. I'm just asking."

"I am not angry." Jasper denied Zalina's words.

Zalina muttered under her breath while looking at Jasper. The man was indeed strange with his easily fickle attitude.

"Okay, I just thought you might be able to do it. However, it turns out that I have too many expectations of you. You are not as great as I thought," said Zalina.

After that, Zalina walked away to wash her hands. She didn't care if Jasper would be annoyed by her words. However, when she turned to go back, she saw Jasper already sitting on the bench by the horse. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows.

"Jasper, what are you doing?" asked Zalina.

"I want to prove that your expectations of me are correct. I will prove that I have a lot of skills, even though my job has nothing to do with milking," Jasper replied.

Zalina just tilted her head, speechless. She waited to see what the man would do.

Previously Jasper patted the horse gently, and then his hand went under the beast's belly. Zalina is stunned. It turns out that Jasper did it right. His hands were so graceful milking.

"You did it right, sir," said the milkmaid.

Zalina was astonished by Jasper's skill. The man's actions were unexpected, and the horse looked comfortable as Jasper showed off his skills.

By late afternoon, the two of them were on their way back to town. After stopping by for lunch, they resumed their journey.

Zalina fell asleep in the seat beside the wheel. Jasper occasionally glanced at Zalina, who seemed to be sleeping peacefully. The golden twilight shone through the window.

When they entered Zalina's house complex, Jasper suddenly stepped on the car brakes. Zalina woke up in surprise.

"Jas, what's wrong?"

Jasper didn't answer. His eyes fixed on the figure standing in front of his car. Zalina followed Jasper's gaze, and she was so surprised when she saw a man dressed in all black staring at them.

"He ...."

Zalina suddenly felt shortness of breath. Oxygen seemed to disappear from her lungs. Also, her head was throbbing in pain until he whimpered and grabbed her head. Her body was in pain at that time.

The black-clothed figure disappeared quickly, out of nowhere. Jasper was about to open the door to look for the man earlier, but he stopped his intention because he saw Zalina in pain.

"Zalina, what happened to you?"

The woman did not answer because it was still difficult to speak. Jasper immediately rubbed Zalina's shoulder. And miraculously, the pain in Zalina's body slowly disappeared, and she could breathe normally again.

"What's wrong with you?" Jasper asked again.

"I've seen the man several times, and every time I see him, my body suddenly hurts. I feel like hands are choking my neck and hitting my head with a big rock. I also saw him in front of your company building, which made me sick when you helped me. "

When he heard Zalina's words, Jasper's expression changed for a moment. He lowered his hand from Zalina's shoulder, and his body slumped. He began to realize that the figure would always appear as a warning to him.

Then who is the man in black?