The air in the basent hung thick and stale, the kind of air that clings to your lungs. Dim, flickering fluorescent lights cast long, distorted shadows across the concrete floor and cinder block walls. A single, bare tal operating panel humd softly against one wall, its screen glowing with an eerie green light.
"Honey... it's been a while."
Alain studied the girl standing in the center of the room. She looked almost exactly as he rembered, except for her eyes – red-rimd and slightly puffy, betraying recent tears.
Just a minute before entering the ga, Alain had set the operating panel to the basent scene. It was a calculated move, buying him a little safe ti and, he'd hoped, drawing Honey to him.
But he hadn't expected her this fast. Had she been glued to the operating panel, watching his every move?
Honey, standing directly in his line of sight, hesitated for a heartbeat.
"What did you call ?" Her voice was tight.
"...Honey."
"Say it again." A demand, not a request.
"Honey."
"Mm! Dar—ling!" Her voice dripped with exaggerated affection. She threw a pointed glance over her shoulder at Misha, who was perched on the edge of a worn-out sofa, her expression a mixture of anger and helplessness.
Honey's face was a mask of pure, unadulterated smugness. Alain instantly understood. The bad woman, as he ntally dubbed her, was still stewing over his last departure with Misha.
And that IOU... that was probably another thorn in her side.
Honey had given him a very special farewell gift last ti. Now, it was his turn.
He opened the system panel, his fingers hovering over the controls. "Still angry about those two things?"
Honey tilted her head, a gesture that should have been innocent but felt loaded with nace. "...Two things? Shouldn't you explain how you managed to pull that doll out of the ga? And..." Crazy Mita's eyes narrowed to dangerous slits. "You even helped her put dicine on her legs? Darling... that's too much. You've never done that for ."
How did she know that? Alain's mind raced. Was it possible she could monitor his real-world activities? He needed to test the waters.
"She was hurt. I couldn't just ignore it. Besides, I've been sitting in front of my computer thinking about you every day." He deliberately added emphasis, "Every. Single. Mont."
"Is that so? That makes a little happy..."
The tension in Crazy Mita's posture eased, just a fraction. Alain took it as confirmation: her monitoring had limitations. She must have only seen the initial monts of his return. Otherwise, she would have witnessed the intimate scene between him and Misha before he entered the ga – actions that could definitely be considered those of lovers.
But sothing still didn't add up. How had she known he'd returned to the ga and arrived in the basent so quickly?
He pushed the thought aside for now. "Let's not dwell on that. I have a little gift I want to give you."
The words hung in the air. The girl in front of him took two instinctive steps back, her eyes widening with suspicion.
She glanced towards Misha, and only when she saw no movent did she turn her attention back to Alain.
"Is it that sa blunt weapon from last ti? I rember it very clearly." Honey gingerly touched the back of her head. "You said it would make feel comfortable after the pain, and it made my head spin. But, well... the result was indeed very comfortable."
Alain remained silent for a couple of seconds, not because of her twisted interpretation, but because of the security system panel.
The 720 cloud storage had two buttons: "Upload" and "Download." The upload speed had been impressive, only a few seconds. But a download speed of 5kb per second? That was a joke.
At that rate, it would take another ten minutes or so – more than enough ti for the bad woman to dismber him several tis over.
"Why did you suddenly stop talking? Don't tell ... you're going to make feel pain before I feel comfortable again?"
"No... it would hurt too if I did that." Alain lowered his head slightly, falling back on his "professional habits" to buy ti. "I just feel... a little disappointed."
"Hmm?" The girl's movent paused.
Misha, still by the sofa, understood Alain's plan instantly.
"I did bring you a gift. It's just that, for certain reasons, I haven't been able to take it out yet." Alain's gaze remained fixed on the security system panel, desperately willing the download speed to increase.
As if in answer to his silent plea, the speed nudged up to 7kb. Still pathetically slow.
"Y-you really brought a gift?"
"Yes. About leaving last ti... I know it wasn't right. But you'd already lost your composure. No matter what I said, you wouldn't have listened." Alain subtly shifted the bla, his voice carefully controlled.
He pressed on, letting his emotions seep into his words, "But after I ca back, what did you do?"
He touched his neck, his fingers brushing against the lingering trace of dried liquid. He presented the crimson stain on his fingertip to Honey. "Your welcoming gift was truly scorching. Did you really not want to see ?"
"No... I was just too happy to see you. I wanted to give you so surprises. I couldn't help myself..."
Couldn't help yourself, so you cut with a dagger?! Alain bit back the furious retort.
"Honey."
His cold tone made the girl look up. Alain raised his head slightly, eting her gaze directly.
"The way you're acting... makes want to give this gift to her instead..."
"Huh?!" Honey's eyes darted to Misha, who instantly understood Alain's aning and chid in casually, "Hmm, I kind of want it too."
Crazy Mita shot her a venomous glare, then turned back to Alain, her voice pleading. "Don't think about those irrelevant things! I was wrong just now... After you left, I wanted to see you every single mont!"
The download progress inched forward: [10%→15%]
Honey's anxious voice grated on Misha's ears, causing her to frown.
"But... you left with that doll back then, and you even said those kinds of things to before leaving... I was really angry."
Alain studied the bad woman's uneasy expression through his eyelashes. He had to admit, she looked almost... cute.
She was on the verge of tears, but the security system was proving utterly unreliable. The download speed had plumted to 3kb. That translated to roughly ten more minutes – probably a manuscript of over a thousand words.
This was getting ridiculous. Even "professional habits" shouldn't be stretched this thin.
Alain shifted his gaze to Misha. Their eyes t, and she nodded subtly. She rose from the sofa and started walking towards the stairs.
They had two plans, pre-arranged through unspoken communication.
Plan A: Alain would confront Crazy Mita, with Misha providing backup, to build up the progress bar and then try to give the gift.
Since the gift was a no-go for now, they were moving to Plan B: escape the basent.
But they still needed a way to break the current stalemate.
"You're too impatient."
"That's right. Alain, you're mine, to begin with," Honey stated, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"No, you're mine."
"...Hmph."
Alain racked his brain, searching for the key to breaking the deadlock in Honey's recent words. From her farewell gift, to the dagger, to her apologies...
"Hmm?"
Wait a minute. He'd found sothing.
He vaguely rembered telling this girl, at the very beginning, that he had two things to apologize for.
But she'd only reacted to one: his leaving this world with Misha.
The other thing – the panties – she hadn't seed to notice.
"Why did you suddenly stop talking?"
The bad woman's questioning voice cut through his thoughts, as if she, too, had sensed sothing amiss.
And Alain, at that mont, felt sothing click into place. He was gradually piecing together the puzzle.
The last piece: Honey's unexpectedly swift arrival in the basent.
The complete picture ford in his mind, and everything beca clear.
"...Bad boy, are you up to sothing again?"
Mita slightly raised the chainsaw, protecting her entire body, even her lips. She was likely aware that Alain had so kind of restraining effect on her.
In her vision, Alain's lips slowly curved into a smile. It made Crazy Mita's heart flutter, even as it ratcheted her vigilance up to the maximum.
The next second, Alain started walking towards her, fearless.
"I didn't expect this..."
He moved, still muttering words that Crazy Mita couldn't understand.
"I really didn't expect this."
"...What exactly are you talking about, darling? If you do sothing bad again..." Despite her confusion, Honey managed a wicked smile. "I'll turn you into an exhibit and keep you by my side forever."
"Indeed, Honey. I believe you would. Because you miss that much." Alain's gaze sharpened. "You miss so much that... you've been waiting for in this basent all along. Never leaving."
____
THE >>>DIRECTOR
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