John checked his phone for today's time.

Friday. 6:12 AM.

Finally! It's Friday! The day of my plan! My plan to enjoy the day alone! Well, only IF no one i know sees or catches me, that is...

While deep in thought and with a face devoid of any emotion, John stood still in front of his house.

My two sisters already left... But what if they were just hiding themselves around the corner and are actually trying to follow me around right this very moment? I'll wait a bit more just to be sure

He decided to spend some more time idling in front of his house just to ensure that his sisters really were not following him.

A few minutes passed...

"Alright, it's safe. Also, it's about time," said John while shedding a bead of sweat from his forehead.

Not long after he said that, he started walking.

His walk went on like usual.

He shed two more beads of sweat.

John took the same path he always used when going to his school.

Again, he shed even more beads of sweat.

He knew that walking alone will make him stand out, so he blended in with a crowd of fellow students wearing the same school uniform as him.

By now, with just one look, anyone could tell that John's clothes got soaked with an unbelievable amount of sweat.

For the sake of avoiding suspicion, he made sure the actions he took today would never look unusual to others.

"M-mommy! That guy looks really scary!" said a child towards her mother, all while pointing at John.

To John, if anyone takes a hint of his intentions, everything would be over.

"Hey, check that guy out. Looks like he wanna skip today's class, doesn't he? He should at least bring his school bag to not look so obvious," said a bystander to another, both of them looking at John.

Whether John heard it or not, no one knew since he did not react despite being so close to them.

All of a sudden, he stopped walking and looked around him.

"Alright. No friends or acquaintances in sight," said John as he looked around while having his hand doing a salute.

Then, he started to walk again. Shortly afterwards, he took a sudden turn. Obviously, his destination not the school.

Whew... Success! Today, I officially skipped school for the first time! And I have also avoided contact with anyone who knows me.

John stopped walking and then he went to rest on a nearby public bench.

While lazing around, he spotted some people drinking something and it made him feel thirsty. He then proceeded to buy a drink from a nearby vending machine and returned to the public bench to enjoy it while taking a rest.

"Sip... Ahh... Those annoying girls would usually show up and bother me by now. Sip," said John to himself as he laid back on the bench while enjoying his drink.

"Good thing I've been extra cautious today! Some random girl would have sneaked up behind me and ruined my plans otherwise. What an achievement for me. Sip, sip," continued John while savoring the flavor of his drink.

A father and child passed by John, looking at him with eyes of caution.

"Don't get close to him, son. That guy is crazy. Talking loudly even though no one's around."

"Sip, sip... Huh? Did I just hear someone? Nah, probably my imagination... Sip, sip."

John continued to laze around on the bench while slowly drinking his beverage. However,

"--John? Are you here? Was it your voice just n-- Oh? Ohohoho~ John, there you are!"

Oh no. I think I've heard that voice from somewhere before... Ah!

As John thought that, he looked around, only to see a blonde girl with hair that looked like drills, wearing an expensive looking dress and smiling while standing just behind him.

The girl gave a confused look upon having direct eye contact with John.

"...? John? What's with that shocked fac-- Ah! You dropped your drink! Ah! Don't run!"

Before she could even finished her sentence, John sprinted away from the girl. This did not make the girl happy. The blonde girl, despite the hindrance in her movement due to wearing a dress, began chasing after John.

Surprisingly, her speed exceeded John's, even while wearing a dress. If both of them ran at the same time, she would surpass John in just a few seconds even in her current get-up.

Not expecting the girl to chase after him with such incredible speed, John panicked and could no longer concentrate while running, causing him to crash against an old lady and be caught by the girl in the process.

<><><><><><><><>

Hours later, John found himself carrying a mountain of shopping bags in his arms.

John and the blonde girl walked together within the crowded but energetic streets of the shopping district.

They went to there to buy lots of things. Or to be more accurate, only the girl purchased whatever she liked while forcing John to carry them for her.

Right now, they both walked in a slow pace while John alone suffered the heavy weight of the purchased goods.

"Ugh... This is too heavy. Can I go home already? Aren't you rich? Why can't you just hire someone to carry these for you?" said John, struggling to keep the mountain of goods from falling off of his arms.

"Ohohoho~ You're not going anywhere unlessyouputyoursignatureinthismarriagecontractthatwemadetogetherwhenwewerekids!" replied the blonde girl in a hasty manner, gasping for breath afterwards.

...Is she alright in the head? Didn't we just meet each other for the very first time yesterday? I didn't even know her the day before! And she should at least pay me for this hard work I'm doing right now!

John thought that as they both walked through the path full of people passing by.

"Besides, this is your punishment for groping that poor old lady earlier, so I'm not paying you for this. We even had a hard time losing her when she started following you with lovey dovey eyes for some reason," continued the blonde girl as she played with her hair which looked like drills.

"I said that was just an accident! It wouldn't have happened if you didn't start chasing me all of a sudden!"

"Shut up! I wouldn't be chasing you in the first place if you didn't run! Here, add this to your punishment!" angrily replied the blonde girl as she threw another freshly purchased item right at John's arms.

She's taking advantage of me! Oh well. It's not like my situation could get any worse than this... Maybe.

They kept walking while John continued to carry around the mountain of goods.

With some difficulties, John followed the girl as she kept increasing the amount of things he carried with his arms.

Of course, not without consequences.

"W-wait, wait! You're walking a little too fast!" said John, struggling to catch up to the blonde girl.

"Over here! Can't you go any faster? Ohohoho~ Come on, surely just carrying some of my things isn't such a hard task," replied the blonde girl as she walked faster, not even stopping to wait for John.

"Ugh! Damn you, you piece of-- Wah! Sorry!"

All of a sudden, the struggling John bumped into someone after increasing his walking pace even while already having difficulties with seeing in front of him. This also caused a loud crashing sound which attracted the nearby people's attention.

"Oww... Hey! Watch where you're going!" said a new voice that belonged to an angry girl. Her position suggested that she fell on her butt upon colliding with John. The impact turned out to be too strong for the angry girl due to the difference in weight between her and John who carried heavy things. Luckily, the girl did not get hit by any of the fallen goods.

Meanwhile, John, still standing while carrying the remaining goods which survived the crash, showed a devastated look upon seeing the face of the person who bumped with him.

Upon noticing the sound of her goods coming into contact with the ground, the rich blonde girl walked toward John's position.

"What happened, John? Why are all my things on the flo-- Aaah! The rare bottle of this perfume broke!" said the blonde girl as she picked something up from the floor.

"...Did you say John? Hey, wait a minute... I remember you!" claimed the angry girl as she stood up from the floor while pointing at John.

"N-no. You don't know me. Who are you anyways? Haha! I certainly don't know! We're not even from the same school! H-hah!" denied John, as the angry girl approached him with her curled up fists.

"My rare perfume..." said the indifferent blonde girl with tears in her eyes, not caring about the commotion near her.

"John! You'll pay for what you did last time, and, and, and I won't forgive a rivaaaal!"

"Now, let's all calm down. Even though I don't remember what I did last time, still, let's settle this matter peacefully. No. No. Wait! Ow! It hurts! Stop hitting me while I'm carrying something!"

Even though John desperately pleaded the angry girl to stop, her ears were not open for John to say anything to her. Although, the angry girl's cheeks turned redder and redder each time she hits John.

And just like that, John met the second girl who stuck around with him for today.

<><><><><><><><>

Starting with the second girl, almost every other girl John met afterwards involved the same pattern as they bumped into him by accident.

Crash -> Argue -> Assault -> Join the group

And it continued happening for another two hours until John could no longer count the girls surrounding him.

"And then we.... and John was... after that we..."

"Oh really? But we... and after that, John..."

"What about John? For me he... Then we..."

While walking, the variation of girls kept chatting with each other about John and his greatness all while ignoring John himself. However, they shared the same trait wherein they would blush a little every time John's name gets mentioned.

John this, John that, yeah! Me! Me! The god damned ME! This ME would gladly throw these heavy things on my arms right at your thick heads if... Sigh. Forget it. This is partly my fault anyways.

John could not help but get angry at himself for letting his plans end up in failure. He felt the weight of the cargo on his arms slowly increasing as he realized just how much he screwed up.

"I have to get away somehow..." John muttered to himself while trying to assess his current situation.

Luckily, none of the girls reacted. This obviously meant that they did not hear him muttering something under his breath.

As the girls kept chatting happily while ignoring John, John himself did not waste time and tried to come up with a plan to escape as fast as he could before it's too late.

While they walked around, he observed the surroundings, trying to find an escape route.

...There! That should be a good place to go. After that is... but where? ...If the girls notice, then...

John tried his best not to look suspicious while making up an elaborate escape plan inside his mind.

After some careful consideration, John finally decided to execute his escape plan.

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"Umm... excuse me, everyone!" said John in an attempt to call the attention of the girls.

"Yes?", "What is it?", "John?", "What now?", "Hmm?" and some more girls replied in a similar fashion.

I know this may seem like a bad move, but I know better than to arouse their suspicions.

He kept praying in his heart for success.

"I hate to say this, but could you all please go on ahead? I need to use the toilet," said John, not caring about how uncool it is to say such a thing in front of the girls.

This set his plan in motion. He could no longer turn back now. But,

"I'll go with you, John!", "No! Me!", "Let me join you!", "How about we all go together?"

Things refuse to go smoothly for John. This is especially true for his current plan.

"N-no! It's wrong for girls to go with guys when they take a shit!" quickly replied the flustered John, desperate for an answer against the advancements of the girls towards him.

And then, without waiting for the replies of the girls,

"Okay, bye! I'm out! Go on ahead without me!" said John, running as fast as he can towards a random direction. And since he could not run while carrying heavy things, he also threw all the shopping goods on his arms straight onto the ground, not even caring whether he broke something or not.

"John! The public toilet isn't that waaay!" yelled one of the girls to the already far away John after she finally noticed his strange behavior.

Alright! Phase one of the plan is a success! Still, I feel a little guilty about dumping those heavy things onto the ground just like that. Just a little.

John thought that as he ran as fast as he coult. His face, visibly displaying his worries about the uncertain future that await him.

"John! Where are you going!?", "Wait for us!", "You're not getting away!", "I won't let you go if I catch you!"

"Huh!? Aaah!! They noticed it so quickly!" yelled John while trying to increase his speed.

He did his best in attempting to increase the distance between him and the girls.

<><><><><><><><>

Now, where's that escape route that I saw earlier...? Should be around... Here!

Thinking that, John slipped through a narrow passage between the buildings and continued dashing alongside its walls while hoping that he would not run into a dead end.

Run! I have to get away! ...Wait, huh? Shit! There's too many of them and they're all following me!

John looked behind him for a moment and then panicked upon seeing some girls chasing him from behind.

No matter how hard John tried to run, he could not beat the odds of one against many.

Luckily, John noticed an alley so he went to it. However, some girls saw John and reported his actions to the other girls.

"Over here! I saw John going inside this alley!"

Damn her! I've got to keep running! Can't let them catch me now or it will be my end!

He turned to random directions whenever he could in order to lose his pursuers but John focused too much on running away while looking behind him that he did not even notice the giant wall in front of his direction right after he turned.

He almost crashed into the wall, but he managed to stop before that could happen. He then looked around.

There are walls on all three sides. If he turns back now, the girls will still find him.

A dead end. No other words can describe it.

"No... Nooooooo!"

John screamed as hard as he could, never minding if the girls would be able to hear him or not since he no longer cared.

"Did you hear that? It came from over there!", "This way!", "Follow us!"

Some of the girls reacted to John's scream and he could hear them fast approaching towards his location.

How could this happen? First, my attempt to be alone failed, and now this? I can't do anything right!

He blamed himself for all the misfortunes he recently experience.

All of a sudden, John muttered, "Wait, are those doors?"

A very large wall blocked the path in front of him, the symbol of his dead end. However, he no longer payed any attention to that.

Instead, John finally noticed the two seemingly invisible doors each located on the walls on both sides. The doors have the same color as the walls, making them hard to notice.

"One of these two doors could be my exit, or even both... or none," John muttered to himself while forcing a smile.

The footsteps of the girls behind him also started to sound closer.

<><><><><><><><>

"He should be right around here somewhere..." said a girl.

"Are you sure you didn't just imagine hearing things?" asked another girl, skeptic towards the claim of the first speaker.

"No! I heard it too!" defended the third girl.

"Me too!" said the fourth.

John, with eyes closed and ears pressed against the door while in a crouching position, listened to every single word the girls said.

Finally, I'm safe. But... So much dust got inside my eyes when I opened the door... It really hurts.

After he finished listening from behind one of the two doors, John finally moved his head away from the door.

The number of girls outside amounted to four, according to what John could hear. None of them seemed to notice the two camouflaged doors just a few meters away from where they stood.

"...I barely made it. I can finally escape from those girls," muttered John under his breath.

He kept smiling all by himself while still keeping his eyes closed as he rubbed it due to the pain and itchiness from eye irritation.

Phew. I'm glad I opened the correct door. If I chose wrong, I would've been toast... Wait, was the other door even locked or not?

John kept his back against the door, eyes still closed and smile still on.

Thinking back, his action earlier turned out to be a huge gamble. If the door he picked did not open up, he would not have enough time to move to the other door and he would not be smiling right now. It could have also been possible that both of the doors were locked to begin with.

A moment later, the girls started talking again.

"It might have been just your imagination. Come on, let's go look elsewhere."

"Sorry. He must be really far now..."

John felt happiness in his heart after he heard that the girls were about to leave.

Yes! Go home, girls. I'm not here.

He smiled even more as a small form of celebration, all while still trying to rub his irritated eyes.

But...

"Hey buddy! I think you got the wrong door!" said a loud male voice from somewhere deep inside the room.

John yelped and jolted in shock but he managed to prevent himself from making some more noise by covering his mouth.

Nooooo! There's actually someone else here!? If only I saw him earlier and warned him to shut up! Why did so much dust have to get inside my eyes at such a bad timing!?

He blamed himself and the dust for being unable to open his eyes earlier.

The footsteps of the girls stopped just outside the door.

"Listen... Did you hear that?" said the first girl.

"What? I didn't hear any--" replied the following girl.

"No, I heard it too!" defended the third again.

"Could John be behind one of those doors?" correctly guessed by the fourth girl.

"Oh? You're right! There are doors here!" replied the second girl.

No! They will find out! The girls will find me! ...Wait, Maybe I can hide deeper inside? Let's see...

John slowly, but painfully, forced his irritated eyes to open just to see what inside the room looks like.

The inside turned out to be a spacious room. Just about the same size as a certain fitness gym that John saw on a TV ad before.

He recognized the place. It looked like an old and abandoned martial arts dojo, complete with rusty lockers, training dummies, sparring ring and an old wide bench.

It may be abandoned, but it showed traces of the place being used recently.

However, for the current and most important matter, wherever John looked, he could not find a place that he could use to hide away from the girls.

Finally, John noticed one last crucial detail inside the room.

A man wearing nothing white shirt and white pants, sitting alone on the wide bench.

John, despite being unable to see the man's face clearly due to the place being slightly dark, still noticed the quite large build of the man.

Earlier, the man exposed John's location to the girls by saying "Hey buddy! I think you got the wrong door!" which attracted the attention of the girls towards this room.

The said man calmly waited for John's reply, perhaps expecting some words of gratitude for pointing out his error. Or at least it looked like that to John.

John, with eyes full of despair, slowly stood up from his sitting position, faced the man taller than him, and said,

"Fuck you."

John said it in a smooth voice which expresses what he truly felt towards the man without making himself sound like a naturally violent person.

<><><><><><><><>

"Listen. Did you hear that? That was definitely John's voice just now!"

"I think it came from that door over there!"

"Let's check it out!"

"Alright, I'm opening it."

The door slowly opened.

Expecting John on the other side of the door, their eyes opened wide after they saw who greeted them instead.

"Hello, girls. May I ask what is your business here?" asked a male voice from inside.

Sitting on a bench and looking surprised by the arrival of the girls, the muscular man wearing nothing but white pants could only ask them this.

"Ahh- Err... We're looking for a rumored shop called 'The Leather Club'," said one of the girls with panicked expression. Obviously, she just made that up on the spot. Then, while pretending to look around, she continued with, "It should be around here..."

The other girls did the same. They all pretended to look around, all while focusing on the room behind the man.

The girls could not find the courage to enter so they did not find John no matter what, since they can only peek inside the room from where they stand.

After staying silent for a while, the man finally spoke as if he just remembered something,

"Oh, you must've gotten the wrong address. 'The Leather Club' is two blocks down. Just follow this direction," said the man while pointing at a direction.

The girls quickly apologized and turned away from the location.

One of the girls swore that she saw one of the lockers behind the man shake on its own. Meanwhile, another one whispered to herself with, "What the hell? 'The Leather Club' actually exists?"