The return trip turned out to be much longer and more exhausting than Sohen had expected.
(Damn...)
The train stopped several tis at unscheduled stations.
First, an elderly passenger fell ill... suffering from a severe headache and dizziness.
Then, a few hours later, another elderly woman felt ill from the heat.
The car was stuffy, the air conditioning wasn’t working properly, and it was scorching hot outside.
dical personnel didn’t arrive right away; they had to wait for local doctors at every major station.
Sohen sat back in his seat and sighed quietly.
(Why is it taking so long...)
He was already dreaming of just getting ho, taking a shower, and lying down in his own bed.
On top of that, the train itself started acting up... sowhere halfway through the journey, there was a technical stop due to a problem with one of the cars.
The passengers were getting nervous; so complained out loud, while others simply suffered in silence from the heat.
Sohen simply closed his eyes and tried to relax.
(Maybe I should put on my headphones with so relaxing music and get so sleep?...)
...
He arrived closer to evening, when the sun was beginning to set.
As soon as Sohen crossed the threshold of the house, he was imdiately surrounded by three excited female relatives.
Runo was the first to run up and hug him tightly, pressing her whole body against him.
- (Runo). "Finally... We were getting worried!"
She said to him, pressing her ample breasts against his chest.
Karin ca up from behind and wrapped her arms around his waist, gently kissing the back of his neck.
- (Karin). "You look tired... Let’s take care of you, hehe."
Phoebe stood a little to the side, but with a smile that combined both kindness and lust, she looked him over from head to toe.
- (Phoebe). "I’m glad you made it back safe and sound. We were already thinking about organizing a search party, hehe."
The evening was warm and cozy.
They fed him delicious ho-cooked food, made him tell them about his trip, and then just sat together in the living room.
Sohen felt the tension of the past week slowly easing.
...
A week had passed.
The week turned out to be calm and uneventful... Sohen could have said that, but it wasn’t true, because a lot of unusual things had happened.
First off — he’ll say a "few" words about the processor.
It was a perfect fit.
Sohen spent a few hours installing it, updating the BIOS, and testing it, but the result exceeded all expectations.
The laptop ran like new — fast, stable, and without overheating.
Sohen imdiately dove into his work.
Fortunately, while he didn’t have proper equipnt, the crypto market had been relatively quiet.
He even managed to lock in a few profitable positions and earn so small bonuses.
The processor really was brand new, just as Akina had said.
Speaking of Akina.
She ssaged him the very next day after his return.
- (Akina). "Hi, Sohen. How’s the processor? Did everything work out?"
Sohen replied quickly and thanked her sincerely.
Since then, they’ve exchanged ssages several tis.
Akina was polite, a little playful, and clearly interested in continuing their acquaintance.
She said that the drunk man didn’t bother her again, and she praised him for his decisive action, even saying she was impressed.
- (Akina). "Not every man would step in so quickly and confidently to defend a stranger. You really impressed ."
She wrote those words once.
- (). "..."
Sohen replied a bit shyly that he had simply done what he had to do.
Akina responded with a smile and asked him to add her on ssenger, "just in case I need that rare tech again."
He did just that.
When Sohen asked where she got a processor from a company that hadn’t existed for over five years, Akina replied simply:
- (Akina). "I used to be one of the sponsors of their project. There was so equipnt left in the warehouses. I’m glad it ca in handy for soone."
Sohen realized that Akina was a very wealthy woman.
Her manner of speaking, her profile photo, the ease with which she gave away such a valuable item... everything indicated that to her it was truly a trifle... and yet he couldn’t shake a sense of mild surprise.
(Why would a woman like that et with personally — a simple guy in ordinary clothes and even give a processor just like that?... It’s kind of strange.)
Sohen didn’t understand her, but he wasn’t complaining about how things turned out.
(It was nice to have a connection that could co in handy with rare spare parts if needed... Akina... who are you? Should I Google you?... No, why bother. Everything’s fine as it is.)
...
Next up is Minju.
Sohen stayed in touch with his biological mother, but he did so cautiously and with restraint.
He still had many unanswered questions for her and believed that it would take both of them a long ti to build genuine trust.
Minju seed to understand this and didn’t pressure him.
In a short ti, she managed to get quite a lot done.
The red-haired beauty had already officially finalized all the paperwork and purchased a fairly large plot of land with a house on it.
The old house was demolished in a matter of days, and active construction of a new and complex one began in its place.
The construction was handled by the well-known company MFB30, which was renowned for the highest quality, speed, and, accordingly, very high prices.
They worked almost nonstop, even on weekends, and the results were already visible: the foundation was ready, and the walls were rising at an insanely fast pace.
How did Sohen find out about this?
It’s very simple... he could see everything from his window.
Minju... had beco their new neighbor.
(Seriously?! She’s my... new neighbor?!)
On the left — Nanako and Maria, on the right — now Minju, and Sohen with his family — right in the middle.
Sohen found out about this about a week ago.
Back then, Minju sent him a ssage:
- (Minju). "Hi, my dear. I... prepared a little surprise for you, hehe. Please co outside for a couple of minutes."
- (). "???"
Sohen went outside and froze.
- (). "..."
(Shit...)
On the neighboring lot stood the foreman with his crew, and next to them Minju in an elegant light-colored suit.
She gave instructions confidently, pointing to various sections of the future house.
When she noticed Sohen, a warm, slightly mischievous smile appeared on her face.
He stepped closer.
- (). "What’s going on here?"
Minju turned to him and smiled sweetly.
- (Minju). "From this day forward, we’re neighbors. Nice to et you... dear neighbor, hehe."
She said, jokingly extending her hand.
- (). "..."
Sohen stood there in silence for a few seconds, processing the information.
He was surprised not only that Minju had bought the lot next door, but also by the scale of it all.
The MFB30 team worked efficiently and professionally.
Services like that cost a fortune.
This confird once again that Minju was much richer and more influential than he had initially thought.
He knew she wasn’t poor — expensive accessories, clothes, her deanor.
Plus, her partner ran one of the country’s largest banks, but it was still hard to grasp just how quickly and easily she could change her life... and the lives of those around her, too.
- (). "And where did the forr owner go?"
Minju shrugged.
- (Minju). "I offered him a good sum for the entire lot, including the house. He agreed almost imdiately. What happened to him after that — I wasn’t interested anymore."
- (). "..."
Sohen nodded.
The forr neighbor was quite a peculiar person — a middle-aged man who lived alone, and also... an openly gay man, and a very feminine one at that.
So much so that if you didn’t know better, you could easily mistake him for a woman.
Sohen didn’t really care about people’s sexual orientation, but that neighbor had tried to flirt with him a few tis, and it had created so pretty awkward monts.
He always tried to make it clear, politely but firmly, that he wasn’t in the neighbor’s "league."
(Oh no, buddy! I’m not going to fuck you.)
Now Minju had taken his place... and his relatives really didn’t like it.
Especially Karin.
She acted like a total bitch every ti she saw Minju.
Every encounter on the street was accompanied by barbed remarks and veiled jabs.
Minju didn’t hold back and responded just as sharply and confidently.
Runo and Phoebe were on edge too, though they tried to remain neutral.
At the mont, Minju was still living in a hotel, waiting for the house to be ready.
There was almost no contact with Sohen’s family... just polite nods over the fence, but Sohen could already feel the tension in the air mounting.
He understood that as soon as Minju moved here permanently and beca their full-fledged neighbor... their peaceful life might co to an end.
(Mom and Mom might kill each other... I need to find a way to make them at least behave neutrally toward each other.)
...
Third — Valkyrie.
After that night, when she removed the bandage from his face and revealed her true appearance, a strange and tense silence settled between them.
There were no more intimate monts.
She didn’t demand sex, didn’t show up in his room at night, and didn’t send provocative ssages.
On the one hand, it was a huge relief; on the other, it deeply unsettled Sohen.
(What was she up to?...)
Because what was happening instead was even more unsettling.
Valkyrie communicated with him remotely and acted... like a best friend.
At first, Sohen expected threats, orders, jealousy, or at least cold control.
Instead, she wrote rarely, but when she did, the atmosphere was completely different... warm and almost friendly.
- (). "???"
She sent him s that were actually funny.
She recomnded manhwas and novels that he might really like.
Sotis she’d just send a funny cat video or a TokTok that made him smile involuntarily.
Every morning she asked how he slept and what he was going to eat.
She gave pretty solid advice on nutrition, sleep, and workouts.
A lot of what she said, Sohen already knew, but sotis there were real gems — little life hacks he’d never thought of, but that worked perfectly.
(This... Damn, that’s a good idea...)
She called him "my dear boy," "Soheboy," sotis just "silly boy," and she didn’t overdo it.
It was... nice, and that’s exactly why it was scary, because she... SAW EVERYTHING.
She knew when he went to bed, when he got up, what he ate, how much ti he spent on his laptop.
Sotis she would casually ntion little things:
- (Valkyrie). "Did you drink soda again at 3 p.m. today? You shouldn’t; you’ll gain extra calories."
Or...
- (Valkyrie). "You were staring at the ceiling for a long ti before going to sleep tonight. Was sothing bothering you?"
- (). "..."
One ordinary day, Sohen noticed sothing... a cara on the cara that was on his computer monitor.
Small, about the size of a fingernail, skillfully camouflaged among the pixels of the fra.
(A cara on a cara... I don’t know how to comnt on this without irony.)
He could have removed it, but... he didn’t, and pretended he hadn’t noticed anything, continuing to act naturally.
(It’s dangerous to remove it, because... I’m sure it’ll only make things worse.)
He knew she was watching, and that thought wouldn’t leave him alone.
Sohen treated her the way she wanted... calmly, sotis with a touch of humor, replying to ssages, thanking her for recomndations, but inside he was constantly on guard.
Every word, every gesture, even the way he sat at the table... all of it was noted.
He tried to find out more about her.
He looked through the photos she sotis sent.
(No matter how you blackmailed , I would definitely... "et up" in certain cities with your photos.)
He looked for clues in her writing style, in her references, in her slang.
The only real clue was a note in her handwriting that she’d left on the monitor that night.
(I have one theory about the handwriting, but... it’ll take ti.)
Once, he found a photo online of a girl who looked a lot like Valkyrie — gray hair and similar features but it turned out to be a Thai influencer.
(Not her...)
The search was moving slowly and precariously.
He couldn’t take any chances, especially after what happened.
About ten days ago.
He had gone for his morning run.
On the way, he decided to quickly check sothing on his phone.
He had barely opened the browser when a ssage ca in from Valkyrie:
- (Valkyrie). "Why aren’t you focused on your workout? You’re staring at your phone the whole ti... Don’t wear yourself out too much, my dear."
- (). "???"
(How did she... )
Sohen simply closed his phone and kept running, trying not to show his panic.
After that, he beca even more cautious.
Now, even in the bathroom or other rooms in the house, he didn’t risk looking for information about her.
Valkyrie was the perfect controlling "best friend."
She didn’t pressure him, threaten him, or demand anything.
She just... was there... all the ti... worried... supported... watched.
Sohen understood... that was the scariest part.
(.....)
He really wanted to find out who she really was.
He wanted to find a way to break free from this quiet, gentle, and iron-fisted control, but for now, he could only play by her rules.
For now.
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