Balancing the reflective sunglasses on her nose bridge, gumi cautiously slinked through the rows of seats that filled the cinema. She managed to snag a VIP ticket for the showing of the film they were watching, all thanks to Franz’s hard work. The ticket was just like any other ticket, except gumi could take a seat anywhere and the managent wouldn’t mind it at all. gumi had no idea how Franz got such a perk by buying a single VIP ticket but she wasn’t about to question his ways. Right now, she’s got all the power she needed to stalk, er, to follow Haji and watch over him like a hawk.
Since gumi was too preoccupied with the mission at hand, she didn’t even notice what the film was about. She didn’t even bother to read the title on the movie poster by the front of the cinema.
The cool frigid air blew against her whole body as she entered the cinema right behind Haji and Natsumi. She quickly found their seat, and she sat one row behind them. By now, she had enough experience of following Haji that she was confident she wouldn’t be caught. in hindsight, she had never been caught so there was nothing for her to worry about. With utmost self-assurance, she domineeringly sat right behind Haji, eyeing him with her flaming eyes without reprieve.
"Isn’t that the old lady? She’s sitting right behind us." Natsumi whispered to Haji, seductively leaning in towards his ear, causing gumi to almost jump on her and exact fury upon her.
She was able to hold back though after digging her fingernails on the armrest of the seat. An urge to grit her teeth almost overca her, but she suppressed it. Right now, she couldn’t show even a modicum of her animosity towards Haji, Natsumi, or both. If she did so, then her location would be compromised and she would have a hard ti explaining why she was seated exactly one row behind them. It would be a simple feat to explain what she did to Haji since she considered him her friend. She knew Haji would understand her curiosity. However, it’s another thing when it cos to Natsumi— she may as well justify her actions in front of a rock.
A few minutes later, the movie started, and Haji comfortably leaned in on his seat. It had been a few years since he last went to the cinema that he forgot how cold it could get. He regretted not wearing his signature hoodie as he curled up on his seat, desperately fighting the impulse to shiver in the cold. He sideglanced towards Natsumi, who didn’t seem to mind the cold at all as she continuously popped popcorn in her mouth. "Want so?" She offered, putting popcorn in Haji’s opened mouth before he could complain.
Haji almost choked on the popcorn in surprise. For so odd reason, he felt goosebumps all over his body as if soone was directing bloodthirst toward him.
Well, he had a vague idea as to where the bloodthirst was coming from.
.....
An hour or so ago, back at the park.
Sunset. One of the most anticipated tis of the day, or at least that’s how it is for Haji. The transition between the warmth of the afternoon and the chilly breeze into the night was what made sunset more special. That was one of the two reasons why Haji frequented the park near their place. Under the trellis, his favorite spot, he would always lie on his back with his arms at the back of his head, taking in the cold air in a deep inhale before comfortably dwelling with nature and falling fast asleep.
"Why is she following ?" Haji asked himself, partially opening her eyes to take a glance at gumi who was crouching a few ters away from him. As usual, she was following him, much to his displeasure, but he didn’t find it particularly disturbing. At most, Haji would feel annoyed, but that’s about it.
gumi had once been successful in following Haji but in the end, she was still caught red-handed. This ti, Haji already caught her in the act as soon as she started. The only difference between what happened back then and now was that Haji had a full stomach. That’s why his senses weren’t dulled at all. Since he wasn’t all that hungry, he could focus more of his attention on his surroundings. These skills he honed over the past year were all because of the constant harassnt he received from the debt collectors. That’s why he could spot a stalker even from a mile away. Furthermore, gumi wasn’t the least bit careful nor cautious while she acted like a spy. Haji didn’t kill her joy, however, and decided to just let her be so she could have a little bit of fun.
Right then and there, Haji could’ve stood up, walked towards gumi, and cut her off. Nevertheless, he opted not to, notwithstanding the fact that he was a bit annoyed by gumi. He completely understood that gumi was going through a lot, and her act of following him must have been her chosen pasti as she took her mind off of things.
Fortunately, Natsumi didn’t even notice gumi, probably because both their attention didn’t overlap with each other. For Haji, gumi was as conspicuous as a huge billboard by the highway, but for Natsumi, she was as invisible as a ghost. Haji couldn’t believe that gumi was actually pretty good at her ga since Natsumi didn’t even get a whiff of her scent.
When they got to the cinema, Haji imdiately recognized whom the old lady Natsumi was referring to and he couldn’t help but sneak in a snicker, covering his mouth as he did so. Right behind the reflective glasses and the white hair was gumi, and she was really into character. A few ters from the corner of his eye, Haji also noticed Franz, who was following the young miss, monitoring her so she won’t get in trouble. With this crazy company, Haji entered the cinema, hoping that all the excitent of the day won’t catch him off guard.
He was dead wrong however since Natsumi imdiately crushed his guard to pieces by feeding him popcorn out of nowhere.
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