2. Familiar Smile

"Come on, Forth, this is the fifth time you've changed assistants, in two months," Shone said as he plopped down on the sofa. "No one will ever be able to follow your pattern of work, Forth. Your biological clock is different from that of a normal human."

"Damn it, Shone, there's no need to keep repeating that," Forth snorted in annoyance. He threw the blue map that Shone gave him. "Give me another one, I'll take care of it soon."

"Have you eaten? Take your medicine?" Shone asked with his right eyebrow raised.

"Come on, stop being like my adoptive dad, Shone. My real dad is still in good shape and he's not as fussy as you."

"Because he never bothered you with that syndrome either, Forth!"

Forth glanced at Shone indignantly. He took a bottle from his desk drawer and took a pill from the blue bottle. Shone nodded in satisfaction seeing Forth swallow the pill in one gulp.

"I'll have Miss Diana bring all the most important and urgent files for you to sign. I'll go through the rest myself, until we can find a new assistant for you. Now try to get at least two or three hours of sleep, Forth!"

Shone came out of the penthouse and Forth lay down on the table with a long sigh.

It wasn't that Forth didn't understand what Shone was mad at him for. The five assistants Shone had been looking for had resigned in just the last two months and all for the same reason, that they couldn't keep up with Forth's odd work pattern.

Forth got up and walked to the kitchen to throw the pills he had been drinking into the sink. He didn't take the pill, just put it behind his tongue to trick Shone.

His friend insisted that Forth should take sleeping pills prescribed by one of his cousins, a psychiatrist who specializes in treating people with sleep difficulties.

Forth didn't know there was such a science, but Shone forced him to meet his cousin--a sweet and kind woman in her mid-30s, who then gave Forth a special recipe.

Barefoot, Forth walked towards the veranda. He opened the glass door that separated the living room from the veranda and placed his coffee cup on the coffee table in the open room.

The ten o'clock sky looked darker than usual tonight, but the wind was warm. Forth picked up the two remaining documents Shone had left for him to examine and carried them to the veranda.

Forth sat on the big soft sofa in the corner of the veranda and began to go through the documents and then signed his autograph after making sure all the articles he wanted were listed.

Forth finished his coffee and picked up the cigarette case on the coffee table.

"Aishh," Forth snorted as he threw the empty cigarette box to the trash can in the corner of the veranda. The box landed right in the trash.

Forth got off the couch and walked over to his desk to make a call.

"Phi York, can you help me get the bike ready? I'll be out in a minute," Forth said after the call was answered by the person he was calling.

York is the head of security for the Blue Diamond building, the apartment Forth lives in.

"You can't go out alone, sir," York said quickly. "Mr Shone said that I shouldn't let you out after eleven because you've taken your medicine and should be sleeping."

"Phi York, I'm just going to buy cigarettes at the nearest supermarket."

"I'll buy it for you."

"Come on, Phi, you know I don't like arguing."

"But, sir--"

"I won't be long and I'll sleep when I get back. You don't have to tell Shone everything, he just wants to annoy me."

"O-okay, sir, I'll get the bike ready."

Forth chuckled and took his leather jacket, hat and mask, then descended into the parking lot via a special elevator.

This 27-storey apartment building is his and he occupies the 27th floor, a floor specially designed just for him.

York watched Forth get on his motorbike with a worried face. "Come back soon, sir, don't let you get sleepy on the way and something untoward happens. Mr. Shone said the medicine you were taking contained a higher dose than usual," York said in a cautious tone.

Forth didn't answer, just gave a thumbs up and drove his motorbike out of the parking lot.

He knew why York was so obedient to Shone and what he ordered, because even though Forth was the owner of the Blue Diamond Corp., Shone was a well-known financial director. He doesn't hesitate to cut the salaries of employees who make mistakes or eliminate bonuses for employees who don't do their jobs properly.

However, Shone is also known to be generous with employees who excel and have good performance. It seems the Blue Diamond employees are more averse to Shone than the company's owners.

Forth chose to run his motorbike slowly on the busy city streets towards midnight, enjoying the cool breeze that tends to be warm.

After while, Forth turned the motorbike onto a less crowded street and saw a mini market at the fork in the road. It's rare that a mini market is still open at times like this, on a less crowded street.

Forth stopped his motorbike next to the mini market, on an empty lot marked 'parking lot'. He took off his helmet and replaced it with a hat, then opened the door to the mini market.

Forth stood in the doorway of the brightly lit mini market and saw a young man standing stiffly in front of the counter. Forth walked towards the young man and stopped right in front of him.

He looked at the young man's face, which was very charming with pearly white skin, and all the subtle elements.

The young man's eyes, shaped like almonds with caramel eyeballs under thick eyebrows and curly eyelashes, stared at him intently, but Forth caught a flash of fear in his eyes.

Forth laughed inwardly, then took off his hat and pulled his mask under his chin.

The young man must have been scared, working at the convenience store in the middle of the night and being approached by someone with the appearance of someone imposing as a criminal about to rob him.

"Can I have those three boxes of cigarettes?" asked Forth, pointing behind the young man, who seemed to relax a little more as he removed his hat and mask.

"Sure, Phi, I'll get it for a moment," said the young man quickly.

He walked behind the counter and got the cigarette Forth pointed to. At a glance, Forth saw a book near the cash register. Advanced anatomy.

"Just this, Phi?" asked the young man.

Forth looked around and saw the corner of the mini market. "That are an instant ramen?"

The young man nodded. "I happen to be making one for myself. If you want, I'll add cheese and eggs for you, at no extra cost."

Forth smiled thinly. "Add some sausage too and I'll pay you double, including the one you made for yourself."

The young man smiled widely and Forth was stunned. That smile, why does it look familiar?

***