CHAPTER 3 - THE CUSTOMER

"That shithead- 7 AM?!? That early? On a Sunday???" I was annoyed.

"Hahaha", Himiko mocked me.

"It's your fate, you chose it..... Good luck" she said.

"WOW, you are being an encouraging friend!"

* * *

"Chizuru restaurant.... it's over here right... Ah yes"

I finally found the dark old restaurant hiding in the corner not visible to the naked eye.

'Ah so is it that guy over there?" I cross-checked the image he had sent me.

I walked up over to him. He was a blonde-haired guy wearing a suit. WAS THAT EVEN A SUIT?

"Are you uh- Ken Lucas?"

"Yes, please sit down"

I took a seat opposite his. There was a brief silence.

"So..... your Sakura Hakashi?" he asked suddenly breaking the silence.

"Yes sir"

"I see- uh" he replied nervously.

"So sir, I am your part-time girlfriend but there are a set of rules you need to follow."

"Fake girlfriend for now", I thought to myself. He was indeed a very handsome young lad. He looked sort of rich and was wearing a blue suit with a tie.

"Ok go ahead, want me to order something?"

"No."

"Ok then let me know all the rules."

"So..... Rule #1...."

* * *

"Rule #195... DONT BE CLOSER THAN 5 CM DISTANCE-"

"Hey please stop, that's quite a long list of rules and I don't fucking want to waste my whole date listening to those shitty rules."

"Not that decent of a guy", I thought to myself.

There was another long silence.

"So..... your name Ken Lucas? It sounds foreign.."

"It is foreign. I was brought up in France."

"F-FRANCE?!?"

"Anything wrong?"

"Uh- not at all...." I said smiling uneasily.

"Yup, he is definitely on my suspect list", I thought.

"So tell me about yourself... Your parents?" Lucas asked me suddenly.

"Dead."

"Oh-sorry, I am an orphan too."

"Hm... It's a sensitive topic for me let's not talk about it please."

"Oh ok, sure"

"Anyways I change my mind, WAITER!!! One Americano please!" I asked quickly.

"Only one? What about mine??"

"If you want one, order it yourself."

"Shit- you are an inexperienced client aren't you?"

"In fact, you are my first customer and I'm thinking of quitting already."

"I suspect this guy- I must do everything to stay away from him. I should inform the chief about this already, I guess", I thought recklessly.

"OH- Am I really that bad? I am one of the finest gentlemen you can ever find."

"Boasting about himself... Pathetic little guy." I told myself.

"I seriously doubt that statement," I replied boldly.

"This Americano tastes like shit", he told off-topic after having to order one himself.

"HEY, MR. RICH GUY!! I don't know how Americano tastes in your France, but this is the taste you get in Japan."

" 'Mr. Rich guy'..... Was that supposed to be an insult? More like a compliment HA! Also it's facts, Americano tastes like shit here."

"THEN JUST GET UP, LEAVE, AND GO DIE!!!" I roared.

I quickly noticed everyone at the restaurant was staring at me.

"That's literally what your mother did didn't she?" he replied.

"HEY- YOU FUCKING BASTARD!! ONE MORE WORD ABOUT MY MOTHER-"

"Or what? You will fuck me?"

"Yes... WAIT NO-THAT'S NOT WHAT I-"

"Go ahead then"

"Get a life pervert, I am done for today..."

"OK fine, then go"

I stood there for some seconds trying to get him what I need.

"Why are you still here? GO!"

"PAY ME IDIOT!"

"Ha- after all those shows you put there, you really have the audacity to ask me this."

"I did my job, now just give me my share!"

"Fine here." Saying that he handed me 6000 yen.

"Huh, 6000 yen only..... Such a stingy bastard" I thought.

With anger pouring through all over my body, I suddenly left the restaurant without another word.

* * *

"So how did it go?" Himiko asked me excited.

" He is a total shithead and I tried my best to annoy him- he won't be after me anymore."

"Oh... Was it his fault or yours-"

"OF COURSE HIS!!!" I yelled.

"Calm down! So do you think he is suspicious?"

"A little... I mean he is a Japanese-French guy."

"WHAT THEN WHY DID YOU ANNOY HIM?"

"He is a pervert."

"You have to follow him to get information IDIOT!"

"No.. He is definitely not the one we are looking for.... Anyways did you find anything related to the case?"

"No. But I think we should pay a visit to the victim's families" Himiko suggested.

"Yeah- I mean sure... I am ready"

"Great!"

* * *

"So the first victim is Jun Hyunsuk, a Korean who fled from Korea knowing the consequences but you know he was found dead-"

"Yeah, let's just go. Himiko you go to the next victim's house and we will see whatever information we get."

"Ok, Sakura"

I went to the doorstep. Slowly, I knocked on the door. An old woman suddenly opened the door.

"Mam, Sakura Hakashi from the investigation department and I am here to collect some information regarding the death of Mr. Hyunsuk", I said showing her my ID.

"Ok dear come in"

"Would like some tea dear?" The old woman kindly asked.

"No thanks, Mam"

She sat down.

"So Mam, Hyunsuk was working for GREGOR Pharmaceuticals right?"

"Yes.. dear", she replied her eyes full of tears.

"So he died around one week ago... was there any other death in the family?"

"Yes, my husband died 3 years ago and my mother 6 years ago but those were normal deaths."

"I see, Mam"

I asked her some more questions but it didn't give me any extra information, so I decided to leave.

"Thank you, Mam. I will get going now."

"Ok dear"

* * *

I waited a few more minutes outside and finally, Himiko turned up.

"Hey, so you got any information?"

"YES, there is a pattern... all were killed between three years gap", she said panting.

"OH-I noticed that too! Wait Nishiko died three years ago and my mom this year... So-"

"Who's Nishiko?"

"Not important... The point the next victim is going to be ME-"

* * *