"System, open curtains."

Curtains greeted the sunlight as it penetrated Yi's eyelid.

"Ough!" Yi shielded with his arm.

Arnold crossed his arm and grinned. "Get out of your sleep mode, bro. It's time for breakfast."

Yi stretched his body and said, "Right, I'll join you soon."

"Cool, now catch!" Arnold tossed a toothbrush.

Yi caught it and said, "Thanks."

"Don't thank me… I got scolded by gran cause I forgot to give you one last night… She was like, "why do my teeth taste funny?" ya don't wanna know what happened next…"

"Oof… Sorry… I think I used her toothbrush."

"No hard feelings mate. I got everything covered." Arnold slapped his chest.

"Now hurry up and get yourself cleaned."

"Okay."

…..

Refreshed, Yi stepped into the kitchen with Arnold munching on his meal.

Mrs. Carol shifted her head toward Yi and said, "Good morning! I made toast bread for breakfast and prepared some fillings on the table."

"Thanks." As he sat at the table he was greeted with a plate of fried eggs, salads, and a box of butter spread.

"Man… I used to eat bread in the alley with my mom…"

"Oh! Sorry! I didn't mean to make you upset. Do you want to change-"

A chunk of lettuce was shoved into Yi's mouth.

"Arnold!" said Mrs. Carol.

"Mhmf! What was that for!"

"That is for making my food hard to swallow."

"Well, that's not my fault!"

"It's not, but ya ain't allowed to bring sorrow during a meal, that's my rule."

"...It's my mom's rule, actually…" Arnold hesitated before he took another bite.

Yi released a long breath and grabbed a piece of toast, spreading butter on it and placing vegetables. "Sorry about that… But is it necessary for you to shove lettuce in my mouth though?"

Arnold scratched his head and said, "Haha… My bad, I got a bit carried away-"

A slice of onion was shoved into his mouth.

"Heh, now we're even."

"Ahak! You are indeed a skeleton."

Yi pretended he didn't listen and crunched a sandwich.

"Hey, don't ignore me!"

Ms. Carol shook her head and sat on her chair.

…..

"You ready?" Arnold stood at the door.

Yi nodded.

"Okay! Goodbye, gran! We're heading out!"

"Good luck, you two." She waved.

"Let's go!"

With flames in their hearts and shining eyes, they stepped out, heading for their target.

…..

"This is it. Wait for me outside while I talk with the boss."

"Okay," Yi said.

Arnold inhaled large gulps of air and marched through as his eyes aimed at a counter. "Ohayo, boss! Looking good today!"

"I don't know what that means but I'll take that compliment."

"Boss, can I ask you something?"

"Go ahead."

"Could I borrow some money?"

The boss raised an eyebrow. "How much?"

Arnold scratched his head. "One 'o five?"

"No problem." The boss's clicking on his cash register.

"Thousand."

"WHAT?"

"I'll pay you back, double!" He showed two fingers.

"You're not convincing me, Arnold."

"You don't want more money?"

"Not buying it." The boss crossed his arms.

Arnold tapped hands at the counter as they locked eyes. "Tomorrow! I'll pay you back tomorrow. Think about it, boss. If I could pay you back, you'd lose an extra hundred thousand in your bank."

"Okay, tell me. How are you going to pay me back?" His boss leaned closer, arms on the counter.

"Heh." Arnold pulled out his phone to his boss's face.

"What?" The boss snatched it, eyes widened at the sight of 1,003,089$

"Where did you get this money?"

Arnold raised his shoulders. "I dunno. A rich guy came and challenged me to find someone to lend me 105K or he'll force me to give back this money."

He snatched back his phone and rested an arm against his boss.

"So… Can you lend me that money now?" he grinned.

The boss slumped back and said, "Alright! You beat me…"

"Yes!" Arnold raised his fist.

"But I don't have that much money to lend you."

"...What?"

"Yeah… I spent most of my money on renovation. What a waste… Well, better luck next time."

Arnold's eyes twitched as he said, "Can I have a week off at least?"

"One month. Our restaurant will be closed during the renovation. Do whatever you want in the meantime."

"Kay… See ya…"

"Sorry about your money, Arnold."

"It's not even real…" He murmured.

Stepping out with his heart sunk, Yi stood up from the ground and said, "How was it?"

"He used it all up…!"

"I paid 1K to hire someone to make me a fake bank account and used all my RPG dialogue along with my detective anime experience for this just to hear he used it all up for a stupid renovation!"

"What? Why would you do that? I don't you want to go that far to help me."

Arnold "Your mother's life is in danger, bro. We can't make any mistakes."

"I know, but…"

A hand rested on Yi's shoulder as his friend said, "Don't worry about me, bro. Money comes and goes. What matters is saving your mother first."

"...You're right. What is the next plan?"

"Time for Plan B. Let's go shopping for some clothes while waiting for the bank to accept my request."

"L-let's go what?"

"Get some clothes?" Arnold raised an eyebrow.

"Let's not, it's best we save money in case something bad happens."

"Don't worry about that, I'll take care of it. So let's go!"

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"Okay…"

…..

The two stood ahead of a snow white building with a glass door, greeted by mannequins behind thin glass walls.

"Halright! We're here. Now get it in there and don't come out until you bought at least ten pairs of clothes." Arnold said as he pulled out his phone.

"Ten pairs? I would rather buy ten meals!"

Arnold is tapping his thumbs on the phone with his eyes locked into it. "That is gran's job, bro. C'mon, pick your clothes already. We don't have all day."

Yi opened his lips. Rather than a voice, a breath escaped instead. "Fine…"

He pushed through. A lady stepped toward him and said, "Welcome to our store, what can I help you with?"

"Anything cheap will be fine…"

The retail staff forced a smile and said, "I see… Everything here is at an affordable price so you can pick whatever you want."

"Really? So what are the cheapest clothes here?"

Veins popped out of her temple as she thought, 'Didn't he get what I said the first time… He must be a troublemaker… Don't let him get on your nerves, Ting. Fight through!'

She inhaled long breaths into her nostrils and said, "Well, lucky you, our indoor casual outfits are the cheapest here. Would you like to check it out?"

"Alright."

"This way, please."

…..

"Woah…"

T-shirts, pants, shorts, singlets. All cotton, lined in one section. He dashed to a red shirt, pulled it out, and raised its tag. "Three dollars! This can't be real."

"What about the singlet?" He snatched another tag.

"Two? Oh, man! Why do we never visit this place! Mom is gonna be thrilled if she sees this…"

"Price…" Yi tightened his grip on the red shirt with a lump in his throat.

"Sir? Are you okay? Why are you crying?"

"Oh… Don't mind me... I'll be choosing my clothes now." He wiped the tears with his thumb.

She raised an eyebrow. 'I wonder why he's sad. What a mysterious guy.'

…..

"Okay, I'm done here. Can you show me the outdoor casual section?" He said with a handful of clothes.

"This way."

"Hmm?" Yi and the girl halted when a man with black sunglasses stood in their path.

"Kid?"

"You… What are you doing here?" Yi said.

"Heh. What else am I doing here?" The guy shook a piece of dark trousers.

"Oh…"

"How's your mother?"

Yi averted his eyes. "...She's dying."

Ting's eyes were wide.

"Oh. Sorry for the bad news. Is there anything I can do to help?"

Yi hesitated and thought, 'Should I tell him…? He probably can't help… No! I must use all means to save her!'

"...I need money for her operation. Could you… At least lend me some?" He looked at the man, waiting for a reaction.

"I see… I could lend you some."

"You do?" Yi beamed

Ting silently smiled.

"But I'm pretty broke right now, you know."

Both he and the girl dropped their smiles as well as their hearts.

"But… I can help you." The man glanced at Ting through his lens.

"Excuse me, gorgeous. Can you leave us for a while, please?"

"Oh, sure." She walked away and turned next to a wall, leaning her back against it. Ear aimed at them.

The man glanced at where she left before he turned back to Yi. "Have you played W.A.R.P, kid?"

"Only past the tutorial. Why?"

"Well, that's something. Now, what if I tell you…"

He leaned closer to Yi and lowered his voice. "If you can earn money by fighting people using your W.A.R.P character?"

"What!"

'What are they talking about?' Ting thought.

"But it comes with a risk. You can get caught by the police, Injured, or worse…"

"Die."

"How…" Yi said, shaking.

"By fighting underground. Illegally."

The man pulled out a card from his jacket. "I'm a recruiter there. Call me if you're interested. You get your money through a contract and get rewarded after your win."

The man walked away with his trousers.

"Eek!" Ting crouched to a line of shirts.

Her heart jumped whenever his shoes tapped the floor to the counter.

"Hello, beautiful, how much will this be?"

Clicking answered his question for him as the cashier smiled and said, "That would be 9$"

"I'll pay with my card if you don't mind."

"Sure." She dragged a hand sized machine with a glass surface toward him.

He slid out a metal card and rested it on top, blue light flashed under it and switched to green. The man slipped it back into his pocket as the cashier packed his trousers into a recycled plastic bag.

"Thank you, beautiful. I'll be seeing you soon." He winked.

"Glad to hear! Come again!" She waved until he stepped out.

"Pervert…" The cashier mumbled.

Ting peeked at Yi, gazing at the dark card with a number and name inscribed in crimson on it. "...Finch Wondress."

Ting walked in and said, "Excuse me, sir? Are you still looking for clothes?"

Yi slid the card into his leg pocket and said, "Yeah, lead the way."

…..

Cheerful chatters couldn't get through the silent air around Yi. His eyes were lifeless, picking random clothes he encountered.

Ting stared at him from afar and thought, 'Poor guy. He must be worried sick about his mother… I felt bad for misunderstanding him.'

'I should comfort him!' She nodded.

"I got all I need thanks for the help."

"Um… Sorry to pry… But I hope your mother gets well soon."

"What?" Yi said.

Eyes shut, she bowed with hands clapped together. "I'm really really sorry! I should mind my own business. But I just felt a strong urge to encourage you. That's all…"

Yi was shocked until he raised the corner of his lips. "Heh, you're weird."

"Huh?" She opened her eyes.

"If you show that much concern to every stranger you meet, I'm sure everyone wants to be your friend."

Ting stood, rubbed the back of her neck underneath her ponytail, and laughed nervously. "That might not be true… I usually hurt people's feelings."

"Thanks anyway. I feel much better now. And don't worry."

Yi took a step toward the counter. "I'll make sure my mother gets better."

"Mhm! Good luck!" Ting raised her fist.

"Um… can you help me…"

"Sure! What is it?"

"These clothes are too heavy for me… Can you carry some?" Yi's shaking, clothes towering over his arms and shoulders.

"Oh! Let me take that."

…..

"Come again! See you!" Ting waved at Yi.

He nodded, dragging six bags in his hand, and pushed the glass door with his shoulder.

The cashier swung her elbow at Ting and said, "Not bad, girl. It's your first week at work and you already found a boyfriend. Didn't know you like skinny men."

"What! No! I was just…"

"Hmm…? Just what? Tell me." The cashier raised her eyebrow.

"Mmgh! I'm going to help the customers!" Ting stormed off.

"Haha! Aw, c'mon, Ting… Tell me!"

…..

"Fuck!" Arnold swung his hands, frowning.

"What's wrong? Yi said.

"Oh, you're done. Nothing… The stupid bank rejected my request."

Yi furrowed his brows. "...What now."

"I don't know… Sell my kidney or something."

"Let's not do that."

"What choice do we have, bro? Time is ticking!"

Yi's eyes dropped and he stood still until he released the bags and dug out a card from his pocket. "Let's call this guy."

"Who's this?" Arnold picked the card.

"He's a recruiter for fighting underground. We can win money with our W.A.R.P characters."

"Underground? W.A.R.P characters? What is this? It sounds sketchy."

"Just call him. You'll find out soon."

"Hmm, okay." Arnold tapped the number on his phone and dialed it with the speaker on.

Doot Doot

Doot Doot

Do-

"Hello? Who's this?"

Arnold passed the phone to Yi.

"Hello, it's me. You just gave me your card."

"Ah, kid. So, you've decided to participate?"

"Not really. There is something I need to confirm first."

"Oh? What is it?"

"I would like to discuss this with you face to face. Are you fine with that?"

"Sure, I got time."

"And, I want to take my friend with me. Are you also fine with that?"

"...As long as he can keep this a secret. This stuff is… Classified, ya'know."

Yi averted his eyes toward Arnold and he nodded.

"My friend agreed to keep it a secret. Now, where should we meet?"

"Meet me in this place at noon. And don't be late. I don't like people wasting my time."

Arnold's phone vibrated with a notification appearing on top of the screen.

"We'll be there," Yi said.

"Good, see you, kid," He hung up.

"Aight, let's take these clothes home first." Arnold took his phone back, lifted four bags, and walked away.

"Hey! Aren't you carrying too much?"

"Hmm? Wut? Ya want us to carry three each?"

"Uh…"

"Man… Stop complaining. We need to meet that sketchy dude soon."

"Yeah, you're right."

…..

"We're here," Arnold said with his phone in hand.

"Woah…"

A large hill stood tall in their view. Trails on the right side guide pedestrians higher from the ground.

"Based on the location this dude sent to us, we're supposed to wait for him at this entrance."

"He should be here soon. Let's sit there while waiting." Arnold pointed at a green bench.

"Oh."

…..

A black vehicle with no wheels but thrusters sped in an empty spot as it dropped on it. The man with dark sunglasses stepped out and straightened his black leather jacket and his wood colored undercut hair, walking with eyes locked on ladies passing by.

"Hello, ladies." He said, clicking his tongue.

They chuckled and kept walking.

"Ah… Paradise…"

His eyes then meet Yi crossing his arms while Arnold stares at his phone.

"And two boys from hell."

He headed toward them and said, "Hey hey, glad to see you again, kid. I'm guessing this blondie is your friend?"

"Yeh cut the chat. Tell us what we need to know," Arnold said.

"Wow, a go-getter. I like you already."

"So…" Finch pulled the glasses. Staring at them with his silver eyes.

"What do you want to know?"