The group of n, who had been pushing their limits, furrowed their brows when they saw Lola standing in the middle of their path.
What is she doing? they wondered.
None of them dared speak a word, conserving their energy just to last a little longer. They had been running for days now, with barely any food or sleep. Even so, if they sohow managed to survive an entire month of this, Atlas would let them off. The chances were low, but they had to take it.
anwhile, Lola stood there with her arms spread wide, trying to stop them. Much to her dismay, the n didn’t stop. Instead, they continued jogging, parting in the middle to avoid her and regrouping seamlessly once the last row passed by.
"??"
Confused, Lola turned to watch them continue. "Are they ants?"
She glanced at Allen, who was still drinking his coffee off to the side. He rely shrugged.
Lola scoffed and turned back toward the runners, still blocking the path. She waited, and when they circled around again, she tried once more.
"Stop!" she yelled, but her words floated through the air like a leaf in the wind.
Again, the n split in the middle, ran around her, and regrouped on the other side. This ti, she gasped.
"Hey! Didn’t you hear !?"
But none of them answered or even looked at her. Not a single glance.
"Sir Allen, why aren’t they stopping?" she asked. "And please, don’t just shrug at ."
Allen rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Maybe because they were punished for listening to Scarlet’s orders, even though the big boss gave specific ones? They’re probably not about to make the sa mistake twice."
Lola clenched her teeth. "That makes so much damn sense."
Her fiery, conflicted eyes stayed on the group running themselves to death. "Goodness. Are they really just going to die here?"
Her thoughts raced as she bit her lip out of habit. How could she stop these n from running straight into hell?
"Every step they take, they get closer to heaven..." she murmured. "...or hell?"
She looked at Allen again, only to see him smiling faintly—half supportive, half amused. He raised his fist in mock encouragent.
I guess I can’t expect an angel out of him, she thought, peeling her eyes away.
As she pondered what to do, the n ca around once more. She rubbed her chin while they ran past her like ants again. Just as she was about to co up with a plan, a pair of familiar voices called out.
"Good morning, Mommy~!" Chacha greeted cheerfully, still hugging the plushie her parents won from the amusent park.
"Mommy, what are you doing there?" Second asked, standing beside his sister.
"Mommy, are you pretending to be a barricade?" Chacha added.
Lola’s face twitched at the question as Allen moved to stand near the twins. "Good morning, Little Miss and Little Master," he greeted.
"Good morning, Uncle Allen~!" they chid before turning their attention back to Lola.
"Actually, I’m trying to stop them," she explained, pointing at the incoming group. "But sohow, they won’t stop. I’m trying to figure out how to make them stop."
The twins blinked at her curiously. Then Second turned toward the approaching n.
"Stop!" he shouted.
Like robots, the n froze.
Panting heavily, drenched in sweat from head to toe, they all stopped dead in their tracks. Now that they were still, Lola could see their pale, chapped lips and sunken faces. But most importantly—
"What?!" she gasped. "How could you—"
Disbelief spread across her face as she looked from the n to Second. The twins simply stared back at her, innocent as ever.
"It’s not that hard," Second said with a shrug, then turned to the n. "You can continue now, Uncles."
And without hesitation, the n resud jogging, passing Lola as if nothing had happened.
"..." Lola opened and closed her mouth, utterly speechless. "I was literally in the way, spreading my arms—and they didn’t even blink."
Even if she had split herself in half, she doubted they would have stopped. But one word from Second, and they obeyed instantly.
As her disbelief grew, another thought crossed her mind.
"Was it because... I’m an outsider?" she whispered, glancing at the twins. "But them..."
Chacha and Second had grown up with these n. To them, the twins were the little bosses. Naturally, they would listen unless Atlas said otherwise. Lola, on the other hand, was rely Atlas’s lover.
Having lived in the underground world, Lola should’ve known better about hierarchy. These n didn’t just belong to the underground—they ca from sothing much bigger. aning, the structure was stricter. In other words, even if she was in a relationship with Atlas, that didn’t an his n respected her or would take her orders.
anwhile, Allen smiled subtly as he observed her. Just from her expression, he knew she’d realized why they ignored her.
It’s not that easy to ta this lot, he thought. Even Sir Atlas had to work hard to make them listen when he first took over as head of the Zorken Family.
"What’s going on here?" a familiar voice interrupted.
Slater approached Allen and the twins, and the trio all turned toward him. They shrugged in unison.
Slater followed their gazes to where Lola stood in the path. "What’s she doing there? Pretending to be a barricade or sothing?"
Before anyone could answer, Lola nodded to herself, eyes gleaming with determination. The twins, Allen, and Slater all raised their brows curiously.
When the n looped around again, Lola didn’t try to stop them. Instead, she joined them.
Jogging beside the group, she kept pace, her hair fluttering with every step.
"Isn’t Mommy trying to stop them?" Second asked, confused.
Chacha tilted her head, then her face brightened up. "If you can’t beat them, join them! That’s probably what Mommy wants to do!"
Everyone turned to look at her. She just bead like a proud little princess.
In the end, the four of them set up a table on the side and enjoyed breakfast, cheering every ti Lola jogged past them.
Lola, while hearing the cheers: Don’t cheer for !
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