A few minutes prior,
The day just started but Franz Schwarz was already in hot water. Beads of sweat ford on his face as if he had just co out of a sauna. He was panicking, no doubt, but he felt sothing worse in him, making him grow impatient by the second— fear.
Yesterday, he assud that gumi didn’t bother calling him so he could drive her ho. Because of that, he just headed ho and clocked out for the day. Well, not really clock out but return to his post since he’s also the butler of the Kikuchi household and he pretty much resides in their house. To his surprise, however, he was told that gumi hasn’t co ho and no one could contact him ever since. In haste, Franz narrated everything that happened to gumi’s father and he imdiately set out to look for gumi. However, Mr. Kikuchi didn’t worry at all, saying that Haji could keep her safe or sothing along those lines. Franz wondered whether gumi’s dad was just trying to calm him down, but he was advised to look for her tomorrow, much to his puzzlent.
He couldn’t put his finger around the decision of his employer but nevertheless, he obeyed, setting out early in the morning to look for gumi himself. His first destination was Haji’s house but based on what he saw, Haji was actually alone. Unbeknownst to him, gumi was actually staying in Haji’s bedroom and he left her there since he had an early shift for construction work.
Because of that, Franz didn’t have any choice but to approach Haji, but he fell asleep in his car while watching him work in construction from afar. By the ti he woke up, Haji was already on his way to school. He drove as fast as he could, actually overtaking Haji since he took a dip by the river.
.....
Back to the present,
Franz Schwarz adjusted his collar and tie once again in a routinely manner before reaching out to his pocket. He pulled out a piece of paper, a paper that Haji instantly recognized as a calling card. "Call if anything happens."
"Sure, but just so you know, I can’t guarantee anything. And also, I don’t have a phone." Haji responded, but he still took the calling card anyway out of courtesy.
A look of confusion was written all over Franz’s face as he stared at Haji. ’I knew he was poor but who would’ve thought he was that poor. That’s quite unexpected.’ He told himself, adjusting his collar for the umpteenth ti since it was getting rather tight around his neck. After hesitating for a few seconds, he rummaged through his suit’s back pocket and pulled out a phone, handing it to Haji. "You at least know how to use a phone, right? You can borrow this."
Well, there was no getting out of this one for Haji and he nodded along, accepting the cellphone. Of course, he knows how to use a cellphone. It would be weirder if he didn’t.
"Update when you see her," Franz said. In a flash, he had already cleared the school grounds and got back in his car, probably to continue his search for the young miss.
As for Haji, he balanced the phone in one hand, he couldn’t believe that soone just handed him a phone without thinking twice. ’Should I sell it? This must’ve cost a fortune, right?’ He asked himself, then shook his head. How could he think of such a thing when Franz was currently desperately looking for gumi. "Where did she go, though. Did she stay at my place? What is she thinking?" Haji scratched his head in slight annoyance before heading back to class.
The rest of the afternoon class went over Haji’s head. There wasn’t a single sliver of focus on his mind since he was, in every sense, worried for gumi. Of course, there’s a good possibility that gumi was just lounging about in his house, but what happened yesterday invaded Haji’s mind and he couldn’t help but overthink. What if the debt collectors found her there and she accidentally opened the door? What if she was kidnapped by them? What if they actually stopped chasing them so they could trail them back ho? All those thoughts made Haji uneasy and there were a couple of monts when he wanted to bolt out of the classroom without explaining anything to their horoom teacher. Of course, even though Haji and gumi weren’t on the best of terms, he still felt concerned for her. It’s not like they genuinely hate each other to the core, after all. It’s just that, their personality clashed, and aren’t really amicable with each other.
Ding!
When the bell rang, Haji didn’t wait for the usual stand-up, thank the teacher, and bow routine. He got out of the classroom without saying another word and sprinted towards his house. Judging from what the class heard, it seed like gumi was off-radar, or maybe it was just so sort of elaborate prank but Akamine-sensei thought otherwise. She had been observing Haji ever since the afternoon classes start and worriedness was written all over his face. He continued to tap his leg in an impatient manner, which is a clear sign that he wanted to get out of class as soon as possible. Akamine-sensei was aware that Haji had never acted like this before. Sothing must’ve really happened.
Well, Akamine-sensei didn’t feel at all offended by Haji’s actions. Nevertheless, she knew she’d have to call him to her office tomorrow, just for formality since she didn’t want to look biased in front of her class.
Haji had never run this fast in his life, so much so that he wondered if gumi really was worth worrying about. ’Of course, she is, stupid. She may hate you, but she did give you dinner last night.’ Haji told himself.
Sigh~ why did she even get involved with my life anyway?
It didn’t take long before Haji found himself in front of his house. He unlocked the door and swung it open. There was gumi, reading a book while munching on a bowl of peanuts.
"Oh, you’re back." She casually greeted, waving one arm towards Haji. "Want so peanuts?"
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