Chapter 3

La-La Point of View

Flashback

"Gah, I'm gonna be late here!" I exclaimed as I ran as fast as I could, following a couple for almost an hour. What the hell is wrong with them? They kept evading each other?! Just kindly make an eye contact I beg you.

Then I stopped running as I saw a familiar figure in front of me. She turned around, and as our eyes met, she smiled at me. I'm going to lose them!

"Lala!" she greeted me with a whole smile on her face. There is a crowd right now; should I run away from her? Then she walked towards me. I guess there is no escape for me. This isn't really the right time. Ya know-

"Hi, senior," I greeted back to her, looking around to see if people were watching me. I removed my ring.

Now she is in front of me, smiling, wearing her extravagant suit. Geez. This woman again.

"You seem to be on work," she said to me. You know it then why did you interrupt it, huh?

"Yes, but eventually, I'm going to lose them, thanks to you" I said to her, forcibly smiling.

"That's a pity," she said innocently. This snake, ugh.

"Well, isn't it normal for our job?" I asked her, replying to her sarcasm.

"You're new; you will grasp it," she said as if knifing me with an insult.

"Yeah, I'm new, senior," I replied to her.

"You know that you didn't need to work so hard for this job, right? I heard from our acquaintances that you kept running there and here. It's quite a blow to your image, working so hard to match people up. You still have a lot of time, you know," she said to me.

"Yet it's still better than living for almost two hundred years, right, senior?" I asked her. Her eyebrows flinched, taking it as an insult.

"You still haven't changed, Lala," she said.

"Same to you, senior. You're still as beautiful as ever," I said to her. Now in her reaction she seems to be done talking to me now.

"Yeah," she said and looked around.

"I might better leave you here now. I have a lot of jobs, you know," she said. "Yeah, senior. Then goodbye," I said to her, and she walked away.

Ugh, I hated her. Now I lost another point. Geez, that old woman.

Really? Interrupted me in the middle of my job? I don't have any idea why they make that woman my senior. Always insulting me every time she has free time. Talking to me as if I am some kind of a child.

"Forget it, Lala. Let's go back to working," I said to myself and looked around. I need to get out of this crowd first. But this crowd is also an opportunity for me, right? Where should I go?

I looked around, finding an area to spot everyone. Then, at my 4 o'clock, there is a building where there is a café on the third floor. "That's a good spot," I said to myself.

As I was about to walk through the building, the crowd is making it hard for me to pass by, as if I'm going to fall any moment. Geez, this is the fault of that old woman. But let's get out of here first; I'm sure this crowd is also a jackpot for me.

Suddenly, as I pushed myself through the crowd, I felt that every time someone bumped into me, the more I took steps back. This is not a good sign for me. Then suddenly, I felt someone bump into my back. I turned around to look at him, and to my shock, "Better be careful," he said with his deep tone. With his looks, is he a reaper?

But for some reason, what is this I am feeling? I want to slap him, but at the same time, I'm mesmerized by him. I step back as the crowd passes by us, and I keep wondering about this uneasy feeling. I want to cry, but at the same time, there's a mix of hatred and agony in me. What the hell, who is this reaper? And what with this emotion I am feeling.

"I know I'm handsome, miss. No need to look at my face that much," he said. Then I was taken aback. What did he just say?

"I beg your pardon? What did you just say?" I asked him, but the noise became so loud. Then suddenly, he grasped my wrist, pulling me out of the crowd. But he is going in a different direction, so I tried to go against his force, but he is just strong as he pulled me out of the crowd. I feel uneasy around him. What is this? Just what in the world is this.

As he continued to guide me through the bustling crowd, a whirlwind of emotions engulfed me—confusion, attraction, and a hint of danger. His strong grip on my wrist conveyed a mysterious authority, and I couldn't help but be entangled in the enigma of this unexpected encounter.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

As we got out of the crowd, I couldn't help but question his actions. "What did you just do?" I asked him, questioning his actions. "I don't know either," he said, looking serious.

"Reaper, right?" I asked him. "How did you know?" he asked, seeming shocked for some reason. "I'm also an MT, a love hunter" I said to him, and he seemed relieved to hear that. "Do you have any particular business with me by pulling me out of the crowd?" I asked him.

"No, it seems that you have the business for me," he said. "Huh? What do you mean by that?" I asked him.

"You looked at my face for almost ten minutes," he said. "Ten minutes, really? Is that long?" I said to him. "I didn't even know."

"You're the first ever to be so mesmerized by my looks that much, ten minutes can you believe that?," he said confidently. What is wrong with this one? Is he a malfunctioning reaper?

"I don't know where you got your confidence, but I apologize for looking at your face. But if I am looking for you that long, shouldn't you have said something instead of also looking back at me?" I said and asked him. Then silence stopped us for a second.

"Well, it seems rude," he answered. "Ah," I said to him. Well, I have no time to spend with him.

"If so, I really apologize to you, but I need to leave. I have work to be done," I said to him as I attempted to leave. He held my wrist. What now?

"Do you have business with me?" I asked him

"Why are you avoiding me so easily? Is it because I am a reaper? Aren't you being racist? You didn't even let me finish talking. You didn't even let me know if I accept your apology," he said. I sighed. Am I really talking to this idiot right now?

"Racist is for discriminating people based on their race. You are a grim reaper, and that is your job, not your race. You—ugh— as I said, I have work. I'm a love hunter, and time is precious to us," I said to him and removed my wrist from his hand.

"I already apologized for looking at your face. Isn't that enough?" I added. "Yes," he answered without hesitation.

"Are you serious?" I asked him in disbelief. "Well, you're not sincere," he said, appearing really serious.

"Sincere? You've got to be kidding me, right?" I asked him.

"No, looking at my face for that long is against the law," he said. "What law do you mean by that?" I asked him.

"The law of art, of God," he answered. This man. He can't be serious about the words coming out of his mouth, right?

"You know, Mr. Reaper," I said. "Axel," he corrected, stating his name.

"Then, Mr. Axel, I know you're handsome, yeah, I praised you for that you should thanks the higher up for that. However I've already apologized for looking at your godly made face, but can you just mind your own business here? I have a job to be done," I said to him.

"Where?" he asked. You've got to be kidding me with this man.

"Here in this crowd," I said to him.

"You mean the crowd where a lot of people are going to die?" he asked me in a cold tone. My eyes widened. Did I hear it right?

"What do you mean by that?" I asked him slowly.

"They are all dying," he said. I looked at the crowd; all of them. You've got to be kidding me.

"You're joking, right?" I asked him.

"Why would a reaper joke about death? They are all emitting a death aura; in any hour or moment, they are going to die," he said.

"Are you sure about that?" I asked him.

"Yes," he answered.

"Then why don't you intervene and save them?" I asked him.

"Well, I can't, I’m just a reaper" he said.

End of Flashback

Our meeting was chaotic. I witnessed a scene where a lot of people died in front of me due to a bomb, but on my side was Axel. I thought I was going to be so frightened, but Axel held my hand, and for some reason, I felt relieved. However, as soon as he let go of his hand when the bomb exploded, I dropped down on my knees, having a hard time breathing. I didn't even get to work for years, but Axel, for some reason, kept showing up and making me move on to that scene I saw, and from that starting point, we became friends. For some reason, I regretted it. This narcissistic reaper. That memory sometimes is a nightmare for me, but for some reason, Axel is just chill with it. He saved me in a moment of despair which I am thankful with.

"You're mesmerizing me again," he said. "Tsk- Get lost, would ya?" I answered to him.

" "You're harsh," he said. The phone rang I immediately answered my phone.

"Yes?" I responded.

"Ms. Lala, I want to inform you that a mission is dropped on your black notebook," the other line said.

"Mission?" I asked again as if I misheard it.

"Yes, please kindly do it and check it," the other line said and ended the call. Are they kidding me?!! Are they serious?

"Mission when you only have one job left to do?" Axel said. "Yeah, they didn't give me a slack until the end, wouldn’t they?" I complained.

"Well, that's how they are," Axel said. "They make things difficult for me, ugh!" I said and stood up.

"Good luck with that last mission of yours," Axel said to me, as if saying farewell. "Yeah, good luck to me," I said to him and walked out. As I walked, I waved my hand to him.

As I arrived in my room, I looked at the notebook and opened it. Three names were listed with information for each name: Kian Bernardor, Lliaan Veduna, Carl Baldazano. Ages 28, 29, 29. Current Location: Elysium General Hospital.

Two strings in the freaking hospital at that?!. I threw the notebook.

"Why didn't you just tell me to get lost, huh?!!" I shouted, then picked up the notebook. This was going to be a hassle. I grabbed my phone and called Axel.

The phone rang, and after 5 seconds, Axel answered. "What?" he immediately said. "Do you have any names Kian, Llian, and Carl on your list?" I asked him.

"Wait, let me look at it," he said. I could hear on the other end that he was checking things, then I heard him put down his phone. "There is no name in here that you mentioned," he said. "Oh, is that so? Then thanks," I replied.

As I was about to end the call, he asked, "Is it located at the hospital?"

"Yes," I answered tiredly. Then he laughed. I looked at my wall blankly at this man.

"They are really making things hard for you, aren't they?" he said, insulting me.

"Would you mind stop laughing at me?" I said to him, and on the other line, he seemed to stop.

"This is going to be hard for me. I just wish that they didn't enter that room," I said to him.

"Oh, they won't. They are not on any list for reaper," he said. They are not dying maybe they are there to the hospital for check up- That’s A GOOD THING.

"Yeah, that's a good thing," I answered.

"Do you need company there?" he asked me.

"No thanks," I answered. "Thanks again. This will be the last time," I said to him.

"Obviously," he said in a sad tone, and then I ended the call. It's going to be awkward if we keep it long. Let's start the work.