Chapter 1

"No! Youv'e been delaying the rent payment of for three months! The first month you told me that you'll pay it next month, but what happen? You said the same thing in the second month and now it's the third month and I aint going to accept the same reason, you either pay now or I'll kick you out of my building!" The middle aged woman snorted annoyingly, attracting a middle aged passing tenant who look at young man in pity, but nonethless did nothing and went on his own business.

"B-but, Miss Perez, the money I have is only enough to survive this month, I'll starve to death if I pay you-" the young man begged at the middle aged woman Miss Perez, but before he could finished he was enterrupted by the latter with a fierce gazed.

"I don't care if you starve to death, I don't care about what would happen to you! I don't care about you! If you don't want to pay then I'm going to call the guards to throw you're belongings and then I'm going to sue you Mr. Dela Cruz!" Miss Perez threatened and at this, the young's expression paled.

"T-this... F-fine, I'm going to pay, please don't sue me, Miss Perez." The young man gritted his teeth but nonthless let out a helpless sighed and finally relented.

"Then pay it, don't talked anymore nonesense!"

"O-okay, but I only have enough money to pay for a month worth rent." The young man wrylys said.

"Tsk, Fine! But you have to pay the rest next month or else!" Seeing that he was wiling to pay, Miss Perez finally nodded in satisfaction.

The young man nodded numbly, took out his phone and then sent the money through the other party's E-cash account (mobile wallet platform like Paypal).

After confirming the cellphone number, he clicked 'sent' and then soon the transfer was completed.

"Tsk, isnt that simple? why do you have to make things difficult?" Miss Perez snorted as before leaving with an extra sway on her hips showcasing her voluptous body under the seemingly casual clothes.

"Damn bitch!" The young man cursed inwardly, feeling both shame and helplessness in his heart, but in the end, he could only force himself to calm down, and at the same time, he had to admit that despite being a mother of three children, Miss Perez was still a beautiful woman.

"Tsk, pity, she was married.." The young man whistled narcistically, ignoring the fact that even if she wasn't married, she wouldnt have an affair with someone with average apperance like him.

Shaking his head, the young man took a last glance at the back of the woman before closing the door of his apartment door.

Lying on the couch, the young man' ls expression blanked as usual, unconsiousely his gazed setteled at the ceiling of the apartment as he recall the past.

"You're getting older Peter, you should take you're life more seriously, continue you're study, don't become like us."

"But mom, I don't want to study anymore, I wanted to work, Dad is getting older, the money he make wasnt enough to sustained us, if this continues we will starve to death, also, isnt there Kylie? Unlike me she's smart, as long as she finished his study, it doesnt matter if was left behind.."

"Big brother.. y-you don't have to-"

"No, kylie, listen to me, I'm not sacrificing for you, I'm doing this for my own sake, as long as you finished you're study and get a good job, won't I also rely on you?"

...

*Ringggggggg*

Ringing sound of the alarm clocked echoed throughout the living room, waking Peter from his sleep.

Finding himself in couch, he notice that the sky outside from the widow have already been bright. Looking at the time on wall-clocked, he found that it was already 6:10 in the morning.

It turns out he had fallen asleep without noticing it...

"Ahh.." he grunted tiredly, getting up from the bed, he neatly fixed it then went to bathroom and began his usual routine - toothbrush and taking a shower.

Wiping his wet hair with a towel, his eyes never leave the mirror, his blank expression never left hus face and no matter how average looking he was, he still shamelessly muttered 'Good morning Handsome' towards the man on the other side of the mirror.

A while later, he went to the kitchen and began preparing simple breakfast for himself.

Around 6:40, he went to changed into his usual work uniform and not long after, he went out of his apartment unit, headed towards the the building's parking lot, where his bycicle was park, and there, he began his short journey towards his work place.

The place he worked was in a local convenience store not far away from his apartment... The establishment wasn't big nor small, and the location wasn't very populous either. Including the store manager, there were only three store clerks appointed for daily operations.

Arriving at the place, he found that the store manager had just arrived and was unlocking the store's gate. The middle-aged man gave him the usual "Good morning" with a passive expression on his face, and likewise, he greeted back with his usual poker-faced expression.

The middle-aged store manager, surnamed Sanchez, or Mr. Sanchez as he preferred during work, didn't mind his casual attitude. As a matter of fact, he even preferred it, as his smile looked creepy—or so he said when he had first applied as a clerk in the store two months ago.

Either way, after two months of getting along, the two of them had gotten to know each other to the point that they didn't have to be so formal with each other... Although they couldn't be called friends as they never talked about anything outside of work, at least they were working harmoniously.

...

07:20 AM

Ten minutes before the convenience store officially opened, the second employee had also arrived — Susan.

Peter didn't really know much about her. Her age, he estimated, was around 18 to 19. Whether she is a part-time worker or a regular one is also something he always wanted to know. Her schedule is random; sometimes she came, sometimes she didn't.

Looking at the girl who had just arrived, he secretly admired her in his heart.

Susan was an odd one..

Is she pretty? Absolutely! However, she wasn't the type of beauty that stood out in the crowd, so she didn't seem that special at a glance. As a matter of fact, you could even find women as beautiful as her passing by from time to time.

However, she has this kind of unique charm that can fascinate people. Hmm, honestly, even Peter himself cannot explain it: the cheerful positivity and youthful way she carried herself were very refreshing. It reminds him of his youth—so naive, so fragile, making his brotherly instinct want to spoil her.

'Sigh, my thoughts have become weirder and weirder lately...' he mocked inwardly and greeted Susan upon his arrival at the store, "Good morning, Susan."

"Hehe~ isn't it? Morning is always good for me," Susan jokingly said. However, overwhelming confidence could be felt through her eyes, and for a moment, even Peter believed it.

"Honestly, where does her confidence come from?" Peter smiled wryly, feeling incredulous at her. At the same time, he felt envious of her. He hoped that he could have such a mentality like hers.

As for the third clerk of the store, she didn't attend her duty today. Her name is Yassi, another odd one... What's even more odd is that she was close to Susan, and from their interaction, she was the older one among the two, which kind of surprised him.

Susan was noticeably taller, with bigger breasts and a more mature appearance, no matter from what angle you looked at it... As for Yassi...

...

2:17 PM

At the back of the convenience store, Peter could be seen smoking with a smartphone behind his ear. Hearing complaints and cheerful voices from the other side, a smile unconsciously curved on his lips.

It was currently a lunch break, and he had just finished filling up his stomach, and was resting in order to digest the food he had just eaten, when suddenly, his smart phone rang, making him rejoice upon seeing the caller's name.

"Yep, fortunately, I managed to finish the presentation on time. The model I created was one of the best in our class, and the Professor praised me a lot..." An endless chatter could be heard from the other side of the phone, making Peter's smile widen.

"That's great, I'm glad you made it Kylie.."

"Big Brother (Ophha~ 'tone')..." Kylie, Peter's sister called, but this time, unlike the usual lively tone, worries could be heard in her voice.

"Yes?"

"How much is your budget there? You've sent too much money to me in the past three months—covering my tuition fees, projects, reporting, my allowance and various miscellaneous fees... Do you still have enough for yourself?" Kylie asked, her hoarse voice audible from the other side, almost breaking his heart.

Honestly, he has been having a hard time living these past three months. Originally, it was already challenging for him to cover various bills and necessities such as apartment rent, electricity, water, and groceries. Now, with the addition of his sister's school expenditures, it has become even more difficult.

However, he did not regret it. Thinking of the smile on his younger sister's face, he felt that it was worth it.

"Of course, there is." Not wanting to make his sister worried, Peter laughed heartily and answered her confidently. "You may not know, but I've just started a new sideline, and the money I earned is not bad."

"Really?" The doubtful voice asked hesitantly from the other side.

"Of course."

"I see... then I'm glad that you have enough, big brother."

...

8:00 PM

Peter headed back home as soon as he finished his shift.

On the way back, he also bought a few instant noodles and various goods on the marketplace, thinking that his stocks had almost been consumed.

"Huh?" At this moment, just as he was about to leave after paying for the last item through E-cash, he suddenly noticed that the number of E-credits remained unchanged.

Also.. didn't he just spend ₱400 in total? Why is there still ₱1,807? Shouldn't it be ₱1,400? Or perhaps his math is wrong?