The young master had seen many things in his life, both back in the Jade Empire and in this Strange New World. From violent criminals, to helpless victims, to shocked survivors, all sorts of witnesses, to even the lightest and darkest of the Martial Arts World.
This was the first time he felt shaken, seeing Keekee break down like that.
To others, that out burst was no different than a spoiled princess lashing out at her servants for not getting her way in life. To Martial Kim, it meant something for Keekee.
She truly had the look of a guilty child kneeling before their parents and pinching their ears in disgrace. And she wished she didn’t have to address it so soon.
The film assistant tried to get the words out, only to distract herself with the tea her friend made. It’s odd, how she used this tea bag a thousand times, straight from the grocery store on sale in big boxes. Why did it felt warmer and sweeter than usual? Not even a drop of honey or sugar.
“Kim. I’m—”
“Why do they call it a ‘smart’ phone?”
“A-ahuh?”
Martial Kim tried to distract her from her thoughts. “How clever is this phone device we own?”
Keekee stammered, trying to get her mind out of a gutter, “B-because, th-these are actually 10 times more advanced than the first generation of communication. L-like back in the old days, you can only use phones to make calls. Over time people can send short digital messages through rudimentary text. Now, our phones can do nearly everything from uh, uh: phone calls, texting, video call, organizing, clock and timer, surf the internet, watch online movies, listen to music, a-and play games.”
The young master stared at his phone, “Astounding. To think society have cultivated a skill far greater than I could ever imagine, in the form of...this. I am most thankful, that Teacher and yourself presented this to me as a gift.”
“H-hey, you’re welcome!” Keekee smiled. “I-I mean. Better than running around hunting you down, right? Now we can call you whenever and easily find you!”
“Hunt for me? What have I done?”
“...God. You’re so cute Kim.”
A modern boyfriend would laugh it off and crack a joke or two back. For someone as reserved as Martial Kim, he gave an obvious reaction.
“K-Kim?” Keekee stammered once more. “You okay? Wh-why is your face red?”
“I-I’m fine. Cough.”
A modern girlfriend would shrug it off that strange reply – and that was exactly what Keekee did. “By the way um...How is your job? W-with Prof. Stone?”
“Excellent!” Martial Kim replied, happy to change the subject. “I still feel like, I am living in a dream. Learning all sorts of new science, techniques, and technology that would benefit exacting justice for victims and fight against villainy.”
“I’m glad, Kim! Really glad for you! I mean, do you know how hard it is to find a job you love?”
“Indeed. No doubt you must thrive in your line of work. Enacting fantasies and putting them on what Teacher calls the big screen. Or little screen...I cannot remember which.”
“...................................................................................................Yeah. Uh...Yep.”
Martial Kim noted that silence once more. Thus, it allowed him to make the connection from the earlier incident. “Would you like to talk about it?”
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
“T-talk? About what? I’m fine. Perfectly fine. Hahahaha! I-I don’t know why my voice is coming out all squeaky, but seriously—I’m good.”
A chill crawled up Martial Kim’s spine. Period.
“.......It’s...it’s just...it’s my boss, the Director.” Keekee made a hissing noise. Not that of a snake ready to lunge, but a balloon slowly losing its air and falling from grace, “I just—Uuugh! I don’t know where to begin with this man! He can be such a slave driver, believes he is the king of his own world, but now he’s...he’s....Kim, the man’s practically—”
Ring-Ring. Ring-Ring. Ring-Ring. Ring-Ring. Ring-Ring.
“Ah.” Martial Kim heard the electronic chirping and gestures go ahead. “I’ll let you answer that Miss Keekee.”
“Wh-what do you mean, Kim. That’s your phone.”
“Hmm?...OH RIGHT!” The young master never fumbled so hard. Even with his peak human reflexes, he nearly dropped his own phone from his pocket. Can’t blame him, he has yet to buy a rubber case for easy handling. “HELLO? TEACHER? HELLO!? OW! HELLO!?”
“K-Kim. Kim! One second!” Keekee reached over to: (1) turn the phone right side up; (2) review how to press the green symbol and slide it to the right—RIGHT, not left!;
(3) rip off the plastic covering from slicing his cheeks.
“HELLO? TEACHER!?” Martial Kim ‘spoke’ into his phone. “WHAT DO YOU MEAN, TONE IT DOWN? HOW COULD YOU HEAR ME FROM SO FAR AWAY!”
Once more Keekee came to the rescue. She put the phone on speaker. “Hey, Professor!”
[KEEKEE!] Prof. Stone yelled back through the speaker, legit [Please tell Kim to stop shouting! My ears are going to explode!]
“BUT TEACHER—”
[KIIIIIM!]
Keekee tried to hide a giggle, she really did. But this was something straight out of a sitcom series. After orientating both parties in a proper phone conversation, she sat as middleman—er woman—to make sure both side don’t go to into a makeshift screaming contest.
[Kim.] Prof. Stone cleared his throat before he went on. [Detective Fraulein called. We got a case to attend to.]
“Yes! Teacher! I! Am! On! My! Way!”
[...Kim. I can hear you perfectly. No need to speak at 1/4 speed. And stay put. I’m driving so I’ll come over to pick you up. Keekee’s cabin right?]
“H-how did you know!?” Martial Kim was legitimately spooked. Was someone spying on him, the whole time!?
[Oh please, Kim. Nine times out of 10, young men in love could always be found hanging out at their girlfriend’s place. Where else would you two lovebirds be? Making out in the park?]
Keekee blushed and failed to to hide a silly grin.
Martial Kim blushed, and failed to not scream, “M-making out? What does that mean!? A-and Teacher, you don’t understand. She is not my—”
[Tunnel, see you in a bit.] Click! Off.
“Teacher! Hear me out! Miss Keekee is—”
The film assistant couldn’t help a smirk as she covered her hand on his phone to stop him, “You should go get ready.”
“B-but. Miss Keekee. You wanted to say something, about your Director.”
“Kim. You job is more important. No ‘ifs’ ‘ands’ or ‘buts’! Now go go!”
“Er. Uh. Thank you, Miss Keekee. And, I promise when I get back, I will hear you out. Properly... M-Miss Keekee? Why that look? D-did I offend you?”
“Kim. Don’t make a girl a promise, if you know you can’t keep it.”
Martial Kim curtly replied, “Have no fear. I always keep my vows.”
Keekee gave him a warm grin, “Then go gettem tiger.”
And there the young master went, off on another adventure. Meanwhile, Keekee kept her eyes on him, through the door, through the tall uncut grass, pass the fence, to the car, down the hill...and even when she could no longer see anything like his silhouette.
The only thing that kept her company, was the tea Martial Kim made for her.
Keekee couldn’t bring herself to finish drinking it. She felt, she would lose his warmth if she did...yet, if she left it alone and untouched, it would turn just as cold.
Ah, what a vexing dilemma.
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