Some days, you're late for no real reason. You just wake up late. And it's completely not your fault. It's just being human.

Jason sprinted down the corridor of his apartment building, barely awake but already racing against fate. If he missed the shuttle, he'd have to walk a whole kilometer—and his lazy bones vetoed that idea outright.

Across the street he jumped over the ocassional puddles of water and sped faster than any other day when he was late.

The shuttle doors slid open with a soft hiss, and Jason, breathless and disheveled, flopped into a window seat. He glanced at his reflection in the glass—

—and froze.

Someone else was looking back at him.

A swirly, weird mustache. A pirate eye patch. A big, lopsided heart on his cheek. And scrawled across his forehead in glittery marker:

"Best Bro Ever"—with a backward 'B.'

His stomach dropped. Elyse. He could practically hear her mischievous voice:

"The Empire has striked back."

A sudden burst of laughter shattered the quiet. Jason turned to see Sophia, phone in hand, capturing every second of his humiliation.

"Jason, new skin unlocked?" she teased.

From a few rows back, Bobby chimed in, "Bro, is this a security patch or a vulnerability?"

Jason groaned, rubbing his face—no use. The marker held firm. "My sister's latest malware update. Can't uninstall it."

Sophia smirked. "Too late for a patch. You're going viral."

Jason slumped back into his seat, defeated but amused. "Good. Let the whole office know—family's my greatest weakness... and my biggest flex."

---

At the shuttle stop, Jason scrubbed furiously at his face with his sleeve, then his palm, then both together—

Nope. The marks faded but refused to dissappear.

"Just perfect," he muttered, shaking his head as he trudged toward the office.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

---

At the entrance, Jason tapped his ID on the scanner. The usual green flash... didn't come.

The light blinked—hesitant, uncertain. Then—

BEEP.hearing it jason starts walking but.the beep goes on a little longer, shrill tone. Red.

The security guard stepped forward, blocking his path. "Sir, your ID isn't valid."

Jason frowned. "What? I work here, bro. Maybe something's faulty—let's check again."

But the system refused.

A trip to the security office followed—an ordeal of confusion and swearing. The guard insisted Jason didn't exist. Jason, armed only with sarcasm and frustration, had to escalate.

One call to his manager and a whole lot of technical scrambling later, they found the culprit—

His data was gone. Wiped. Erased from the system.

The likely cause? The recent virus. The company had restored from backups... but somehow, Jason's profile hadn't made the cut.

An hour and a half of bureaucratic suffering later, Jason was finally allowed inside.

He glanced upward, exasperated.

"Bring it on. How much worse can this day possibly get?"

---

In his ODC, a stranger sat—

In. His. Chair.

Jason stopped cold.

God. Dear God.

A vein twitched. He was one second away from evolving into Ja-thunder.

Before he could unleash a storm, the team lead spotted him. "Jason! Meet Katherine—our new apprentice. You'll be training her."

Jason's brewing thunder paused.

Katherine stood—a short, round-faced woman with a warm, nervous smile. Her glasses slid slightly down her nose, and she pushed them back with a quick, practiced motion.

Beside her, Arnon lounged with his usual lazy confidence, sipping coffee like it was Sunday brunch.

Jason's gaze flicked between them—Katherine, Arnon... Katherine again. His lips curled into a smirk.

"You two," he said, tone rich with mischief, "look like you'd make a great pair."

Arnon, mid-sip, whipped his head around so fast it was a miracle his neck stayed intact. "What—?"

Jason's grin widened, eyes dancing with amusement.

Oh, I'm shipping this. Forever and ever.

Ahh. Stress buster—yes.

A sudden sound inturrepted them ,a sound that they rarely hear flooded the whole place

Wahhhhnk—Wahhhhnk—

The fire alarm.

The practiced quarterly drills evaporated from collective memory. Chaos erupted. Desks scraped, footsteps thundered, and a river of panicked employees surged toward the exits. Orderly lines dissolved into raw, primal instinct.

The air reeked of smoke—faint but real. Through garbled announcements, one thing was clear:

A fire. Somewhere above their floor.

Jason looked at arnon for confirmation that he wasnt involved in this arson with the recent frequent burning jokes of his.

Arnon nodded for who knows what and

said " possibly the short fuse bursted "

They both slipped into the crowd while keeping an eye out for their dear manager to make sure he is not the cause of all this.

The crowd was moving towards the assembly point then—Jason stopped short. His pulse quickened.

"Hey... where's Katherine?"

Arnon's eyes narrowed. He scanned the dispersing crowd.

No sign of her.

Jason's chest tightened. "Damn... She must be stuck."

Arnon's lips quirked into a reckless grin. "Well…" He cracked his knuckles.

"Sometimes you gotta make decisions purely for the cinematic value."

Jason met his gaze—and without another word, they turned on their heels—

Sprinting back toward the building.