Ria held the door open until all three of them had come into the room. Then she glanced out into the hallway to see if there was anyone else. She then closed the door, facing the three janitors standing in the middle of the room.

Ria said, “I’m sure you’ve all had a long day. Sit down, make yourselves comfortable.”

Ria gestured to a couch. The three of them complied. Micky crossed her legs, balled up her hands, and bit her lips. Ding began to pinch his leg. Lusso’s heart pounded, and his eyes narrowed in concentration. He went through different scenarios in his head, replaying them over and over to see if there was a way out of this. He decided to first see what Ria had to say.

Ria said, “Well. I’m Ria Jun. You guys are the janitors with our crew, right? Usually, they start working after everyone clears out, so I never get to see them. That’s my bad, I should try to get all of the staff that work with me. But I only see you guys on tour, and the janitors always seem to change, so…”

Lusso said, “In that case, let me introduce us. I’m Lusso, the leader of this group, this guy here is Ding,” Lusso plucked Ding’s hand off of his leg, and gestured to Micky, ”and she’s Micky. Thanks for inviting us in after that. We are so sorry that we walked in on you. We did knock, but I don’t think you heard it.”

“No, no, don’t worry. It was a honest mistake. But just out of curiosity, how long were you there?”

“You saw us as soon as we opened the door.”

“I was just worried that there you guys could take it the wrong way. I was just chatting with a female friend that I hadn’t seen in a long time, and I was wondering when we could meet next. You know, not date date, as in relationship, but just a friend date.”

“I have a sister at home, she says that all the time with her friends. I mean, Micky, you say that too, right?”

Micky said, “Huh? Yeah. Of course.”

Lusso said, “Please don’t worry about us spreading any fake rumors. We respect your privacy, and we don’t want people to know we walked in on you half naked.”

Ria laughed. Ria said, “I’d guess so.”

Lusso said, “Thank you so much for the talk. But I think we have to get going soon. We haven’t even started our job yet, and we’re not done for the night until we finish it.

Ria said, “Sorry, I didn’t realize that. I’ll let you guys go now.”

Lusso said, “No worries. We’re sorry about this all. Good luck on your concerts!”

Lusso rose from his seat, and the other two soon followed suit. Lusso walked to the door and put his hand on the doorknob to turn it. Lusso’s grinned to himself, breathing an internal sigh of relief. It had been easier than he expected. Of course.

Ria said, “Actually, could you sit down again, please?”

Lusso’s smile vanished, and his pulse quickened again. He took a second to steady himself, then turned back. Ria’s face was frozen, imbued with a pallor that made her look like she was dead. Lusso felt a cold sweat break on his forehead. He swore that the temperature had just gone from one of a warm summer afternoon to one in the dead of a winter night. Lusso sat down again with Ding and Micky. Ding’s hand brushed up against Lusso’s hand on the couch, and Lusso could feel it trembling. Micky sighed and stared at her nails.

Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

Lusso said, “It’s a little chilly in here, isn’t it?”

Ria didn’t say anything, but scrutinized Lusso’s face, as if she was trying to read into his soul.

Lusso said, “What’s up?”

Ria said, “I think we both know what I have to say.”

Lusso said, “I don’t think I understand.”

Ria said, “You all saw my boyfriend.”

Ding looked at Lusso with an aghast expression. He opened his mouth in a silent scream. Lusso pretended not to notice Ding, and tilted his head to one side, as if he didn’t understand what Ria had said. Lusso felt his stomach sink.

“Sorry? Boyfriend?”

“Did you not? I guess that doesn’t matter now. I had to be sure whether you knew or not. Now you know for sure. Yes. I have a boyfriend.”

The light in Lusso’s eyes vanished as his stomach hit rock bottom. He looked down at the table separating him and Ria, his head in his hands.

Ria said, “It’s commonly known that idols aren’t allowed to date. It doesn’t matter if you don’t get caught. But now someone other than me knows.”

Ria said, “What do you want? I’ll do anything. I’ll pay—”

Lusso said, “Wait. Do you mean, not even JGE knows about this?”

The cogs in Lussos’s brain began to turn again. Ria shook her head.

Lusso said, “Then I don’t see how things can go wrong if we all just act like the last five minutes didn’t exist.”

Ria said, “You mean you don’t want anything?”

“No. We’re all just janitors trying to eke out an honest living. We don’t want any part in extortion or blackmail.”

Micky rolled her eyes. She wished she’d actually suplexed Lusso outside of Ria’s room. Lusso wondered what kind of favor he could get Ria Jun to do for him. Maybe get him an office job. But that would be for later.

Ria grabbed Lusso’s hands and said, “Thank you so much. I’d be in your debt.”

Lusso beamed, sensing that the resolution was near. And it had all been thanks to him.

“Are you sure you don’t want anything?”

“We’ll tell you if anything comes up.”

Micky pulled at Lusso’s arm and stuck her phone in his face.

She had written on her screen: “Person at door. Motion-sensing lights going on and off. Act natural.”

Lusso cursed inwardly.

Lusso said, “Actually, you could do one thing for us, though.”

Micky eased herself off of the couch and crept towards the door, like a lioness stalking her prey.

Ria, staring quizzically at Micky, said, “Lusso, what’s your friend doing?”

Micky hovered her hand over the doorknob, then wrapped her hand over the doorknob, all at once.

Micky made a high pitched “HIIIH,” and was thrown backwards, hitting the floor with a solid thud.

Lusso jumped off of the couch, sprinting towards the door. Ria’s jaw dropped as she stared in shock at Micky.

Micky croaked, “Electricity.”

Lusso yelled, “Ding!”

Ding fished through his pockets and threw a pair of rubber gloves at Lusso. Lusso grabbed the door handle with them, and threw open the door. Lusso glanced at the doorknob and saw a wire taped onto it. The wire lead to a portable battery on the ground. Lusso pocketed it.

Lusso said, “Ding, follow me!”

There were three corridors leading up to Ria’s room. The ones to the left and the right were pitch black. But the one in front that the janitors had taken to the room, was lit up as bright as day. Lusso caught a glimpse of a man turning the corner to the left. Lusso sprinted after him.