CHAPTER 016.
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Your body, doused with sweat. You snap your eyes open as you wake with a sharp jolt from the nightmares of the previous memories.

But no—no! This can't be! That really didn't happen, right? Yet the heavy weight in your lap invalidates your wishful thinking, and it almost coaxes a terrible scream out of your throat.

"Meow?"

The beautiful persian cat greeted you.

Their yellow eyes provided such a striking glow in the darkness of your room; and yet your thought does not dwell further on such anomaly as a realization instantly takes your interest away.

This room...

Your (E/C) eyes briskly skim around, absorbing every familiarity, eventually turning wide as saucers when you had fully noted your surroundings.

You are in utter disbelief

This place—

This is exactly your room!

Your very own personal space that you have decided to ditch in order to escape from the overwhelming toxicity of your family.

But why—

You snatch a (F/C) pillow from your side and use it as a shield from the white cat before you—why in the world are you here back again?

And how?

The last thing you can remember before this is that you were still back there at the restaurant, running; so how are you suddenly here?

There is a little wrinkle in your forehead as you gravely thought of any possibilities.

Obviously the reason must be something magical.

With your distraught mind trying to analyze everything that have happened, you can only conclude that there is no logical explanation for you to be suddenly inside your bedroom.

In your case, only magic could be the most reasonable answer.

Someone must have transported you to this place, but who?

Luck?

But there's no way. Luck was not with you at that time, he's definitely out of the question.

So who would...

In truth you do not really have to ponder for too long— the answer is just right in front of you.

You body suddenly stiffens.

A bucket full of realization seemed to have been poured over you after a moment of thinking. You carefully peek over your pillow, finding your gaze be instantly taken by those seemingly innocent slits.

Startled, you let out a soft gasp.

You quickly take your cover again.

The image of that white Persian cat standing over your stomach as if him being there is nothing strange at all— that alone is enough for him to be suspected by you.

Actually no, you don't even suspect him.

It must be him.

He's the only one who can pull off those crazy shit back then. Because... surely you don't have the capabilities to magic yourself out of that situation. So if it is definitely not you, then it must be him.

Right?

You force out an exhale that you didn't know you were keeping.

You're so stupid.

So so fucking stupid.

Have you seriously not learned from your previous encounter with some other cat as well?

You squeeze your eyes shut, reprimanding yourself for your massive foolishness.

This white feline might not be Misfortune and so what! He could've still been involved with fuck luck. And yet, you didn't even bother to consider that.

Instead, you chose to be an idiot and take him in your arms just because he's cute and now...

And now...

"F*ck!" you curse out loud.

You throw the pillow at him, causing the cat to jump off your lap as a means of dodging.

You do not fucking care though. Because of that stupid cat, you are now in a such terrible predicament.

You roughly rub your face with your hand.

Recalling all the crazy things that had happened prior.

✭  𝕱𝖑𝖆𝖘𝖍𝖇𝖆𝖈𝖐 ✭

You couldn't take it.

You just couldn't—

You were suffocating right now from the heavy tension that came with you being alone with Dark. And then— your throat gulps as you innocently peek over to Dark's direction—there was also those savory scent!

It was getting harder for you to maintain composure as the sight and smell of his sumptuous meals were taking your senses away.

You watched him dig himself in those delicious piles of delicacy. You feel like pouring out waterfalls from your eyes from the intense envy.

You're hungry.

You're really fucking hungry.

But you refuse to talk to Dark, and you refuse to beg and ask from him.

And you are definitely not acting like this because of your ego speaking. It is nothing but shame. Shame, for letting your ego speak earlier. Shame, because now you're regretting your previous decision.

You couldn't beg to him right now, not when he already asked you earlier if you wanted any more meals to eat when he was confirming your order. You were so stupid, so arrogant, as you chose to refuse him, wanting the dinner with him to be quickly over.

And now you're done with your coffee, but he isn't.

Your plan backfiring on yourself.

As you are now forced to wait.

Well, you can't exactly leave the premise since he is the driver. And you have no money. You did try asking him earlier for the taxi's fare, but Dark's only reponse was a fucking heavenly smile.

I am an idiot, you tell yourself again, hating yourself for failing to calculate of just what might happen. And now, as a result of being an idiot, you are stuck here with him, stomach growling.

When you note his sly gaze, you quickly pretend to be occupied. As if never really caring about his feast, you take the empty cup in your hand and sip every drop of nonexistent coffee down to your throat.

Ooh, this is yummy, you brainwash yourself.

This will suffice. You don't need his food, you whisper more words, as if it is a mantra that you have to go by, even when the truth is you do need some food running down your digestive system right now.

Suddenly, you hear a chuckle.

You snap your attention towards the angelic Dark in an instant. A look of worry flash over your features before you quickly compose yourself.

"W—what?"

"Just wondering if that's a talent of yours," Dark starts, pointing at your cup with his eyes swirling with a light that seemed to convey amusement. "Making coffee last for an hour? I can never."

Your face go full bloom rose.

Fuck.

"I—Since this is expensive, I made sure to savor every drop of it," you stammer out; your fingers curling itself more on the porcelain cup before you indelicately tug it closer to your lips and pretend swallowing all its coffee remains.

You stand up.

The back of your right hand wiping your mouth for any invisible stain. You feel like a terrible mess even when you really aren't.

"I have to go to the restroom."

Dark's stormy eyes slowly travel up at you, grinning a whimsical grin, as he suddenly takes the scarlet napkin over his lap and dab it on his mouth.

"Do you need me to tak—"

You quickly wave his hands. "—No! No! Just stay here! I'll ask the waiter for directions." When Dark puts down the napkin on the the side of his plate, you feel secretly relieved.

"Alright, alright, (Y/N). No need to fret so much. I'll be your good boy and stay here." Dark grins at you, and he takes the fork in his hand again.

He then suddenly stabs its sharp points over a piece of expensive fish.

The tip of your ears turning pink when you eventually realized that he wasn't going to take it as food but as a ploy instead to tease you.

It all started with his pretty tongue suddenly darting out those soft lucious lips. And then, he begins to sensually lick the flesh, as if he was exploring every imaginative curve it might have with his gorgeous stormy eyes still being trained on you.

It's as if to imply something; something scary.

A shiver runs down your spine.

You blink back.

Then you dazedly turn around.

Nope. Nope! I did not witness anything at all, you tell yourself while heading outside.

However... your rising heart rate instantaneously betray your words as it only—merely—justified that you did witness his odd, sexual innuendos and now it's affecting you quite slightly.

You softly sniff.

My virgin eyes...

"Miss? Are you done dining?"

Just as you were sulking to yourself, you heard a voice kindly call out to you. Your quickly lift your gaze from the velvet carpeted floor, perceiving the waiter that had been serving you since the moment you stepped inside this restaurant's premise.

Your lips instinctively curve into a polite smile as you shake your head. "Ah, no. Not exactly. I'm just gonna head towards the bathroom."

The waiter smiles back, as shallow as yours. All for the sake of courtesy. "Do you need assistance?"

And you nod. Never did you refuse his help since you truly do need assistance. You allow him to guide you through the hall and crowd and tables.

But as you guys walk, you weren't really that attentive. Your dulled mind barely manages to memorize all the directions as you find yourself absorbing the pretty rare sight of luxury instead.

"We're here," the waiter informs you with a tap on the shoulder by his white gloved hand.

The small gesture automatically snapping you back to reality, and you are then also instantly reminded that you were only able to trudge through such displays of opulence because your idol captor had decided to treat you some fancy coffee.

"Oh, thanks."

Never looking at him all, you crack out a flimsy smile then enter the restroom.

You failed to observe a feline also slithering its way in; his trail leaves a wake of hex—dusting pink blush over the waiter's freckles as he stares at your back, as if he's suddenly enamored by you.

✭ 𝕿𝖎𝖒𝖊 𝕾𝖐𝖎𝖕 ✭

You were sitting over the closed toilet. For exactly how long? You don't know, but maybe... it was about half an hour already. Either way, you don't really care.

You have some time to spare, and it's not like you have not done this before. With your sister constantly having some violent fit, it has been the protocol for you to rush towards your restroom and hide there.

The bedroom, sure, has always been your comfort zone, but there have been times your sister was able to broke through the door by intensively damaging the doorknob with a knife.

On the other hand—your little restroom's doorknob is still going strong throughout the years.

It never once failed you, always managing to save you from the hands of your sister. From the memories, you couldn't help but look down at your left arm. It wasn't very obvious anymore, but you can still see patches of dark shades left by her scratches.

Ugh, I hate her.

You stayed inside the cubicle for quite some more, until you decide to return again. Surely—Dark must be done eating by now, right? If not, then you're hoping that he's close to finishing, cause you staying here for a long time might all go for naught.

With that wish in mind, you push the door open. A gasp quickly leaving your lips when you see a beautiful pure white cat sitting over the sink.

A Persian!

A Persian?

But he's clearly not Misfortune, and Luck didn't mention any white cat at all; so he must be owned by some other customer. There's no way—right? You squint your eyes then you look around the room.

You see no one.

"Where's your owner? Did they accidentally leave you?"

"Meow," the cat answers; and you are not really able to interpret any answer with it.

Nor are you even given the chance to do so because he suddenly jumps over to your figure.

While you have have low stimulus, you fortunately have reflex at that certain moment. You manage to catch him, heart nearly stopped beating by the shock.

"Woah there!" you exclaim.

"Meow."

His yellow eyes blink at you.

Your heart soften; and just then, you could not dare to scold him for his reckless actions.

He's just so freakin' adorable. But there's no way he has no owner, so you can't really claim the cat's ownership. And besides, you are too poor. Where in the hell would you get the means to house and feed him.

So you decide to look for his owner instead.

You didn't put him on the ground, maintaining the cat within your arms, as you plan to seek the restaurant's management.
When you made your way out, your eyes immediately spot the waiter that had aided you earlier.

Strangely, he was pacing back and forth— repetitively, almost as if in a state of anxiety. A beautiful dry flower settled over his trembling hands. His freckled face was tomato red.

Overall, he was a flustered mess.

You look at him, questioningly, wondering why such a poised man earlier was acting like a teenager drunk in their first moment of love.

You try to ignore that though as their personal life isn't your business. You still have a cat here that need some help.

"Excuse me?"

His attention suddenly jerks at you.

And, is it possible but his face seem to get a thousand times more crimsoned at the sight of you? Your heart slightly tug, a bit nervous, but you steel yourself. The waiter quickly rushes towards you.

"I—uh—Miss—"

Unlike earlier, he seems to have trouble speaking. As if the man couldn't find the words to speak, or air to even breathe. He seems terrified.

The cat peers at him. "Meow."

You blink at him in concern. "Oh, um, are you alright?"

Hearing your voice, he almost gasps. He quickly shakes his head, quickly shakes his hand. "N—no, Miss. Don't. Don't worry; it's just—I—"

He hits himself in the head.

He looks like he's slowly starting to despise himself for appearing an embarrassment toward one of their guests, and you feel like he need it too.

"Oh. Okay, I'll ask someone then," you warily eye him before heading towards another waiter.

The helpless waiter drops to his knees, teary-eyed, as he can only follows your figure with his gaze. No, don't go, he wants to call out, but he felt so timid. The dry flowers that he had stolen from one of the VIP rooms turned out to be for nothing.
"Excuse me."

Another restaurant staff whose form is like a 6ft tower turns toward you. When he slowly gazes down at your figure, the smile that was supposed to take form pause, and he seems in a trance for a second.

"Meow," the white cat calls.

He blinks his eyes, and he smiles at you.

You blink back.

His smile was definitely pretty... but somehow you still could not help but found it strange. For a place like this, his felt more sincere than the usual ones you'll get from actual servers.

Or maybe, you were just overthinking.

Maybe he just really loves doing his job...

"Is there a problem, princess?" he kindly asks.

At that moment, a tiny smile that you were supposed to give him withdraws; and your eyes automatically widen from the title.

Princess?

Waiters here can actually use princess to call customers? It's weird; it almost sounds like he's flirting. But maybe, that's just nothing at all.

And so you choose to shrug that strangeness and inform him your concerns. At first you were directly looking at his eyes, but you find your gaze resting on his bowtie by the time you're done speaking.

You feel unnerved by his gaze. It just feels so personal, soo affectionate. It's like he's looking at a loved one, but you don't even know him.

"I see. We will do something about that. Then—"

Your body jolts when you feel his white gloved hands made contact with your bare arms.

"Oh, the cat!"

You stutter when you realized that the man had been reaching for the feline, not exactly touching you for personal reasons.
He stares at you, deep and loving.

"Is it alright that we take him? We will of course make sure to immediately report to you if the owner finally claims him."

"Oh sure, sure."

You quickly give him the cat.

The white Persian stays docile in the tall waiter's hands, silently and just innocently staring at you. You have the urge to pat him, but you resist it. Instead, you offer your gratitude to the man.

"Then your name and number, angel?" He looks at you with hopeful gaze. "Will you be kind to let me have it, angel?" A stutter interrupts midway his query, but that does not refrain him from asking.

Angel? Another title?

"Oh, uh—is that for the reporting?" you ask.

The man does not blink his eyes; the smile stays on his face.

"Yes," he calmly says, after a moment of thinking, as if he realizes that you're not liking his unprofessional approach.
Even so, you didn't believe him.

You have stayed there with him for too long, paying no mind to the creep he gives you. And now it came to the point that he'd even asked you your personal details.

He may pretend it to be necessary, but you do not feel comfortable sharing it to him. So you shake your head, telling him that they do not exactly have to report it to you anymore because you never were really responsible for the cat in the first place.

The smile on his face seems to waver.

Disappointed.

And yet, you do not care. You left the Persian cat to his care, and you looked for another staff that can help you return to your assigned VIP room. Hopefully, this one's more professional.

He wasn't.

This new waiter is flirting—actively flirting with you, and in addition, all his pickup lines are so smooth that your face ends looking like a ketchup right now. Just what in the world is going on with the staff over here?!

You slam the door hard on his face painted with a quite prideful expression that seem to be happy that he made you go all blushy-blushy.

You run towards your seat, not noticing Dark staring at you with a shock expression. And you still didn't notice that because your attention's quickly stolen by the huge amount of food before you.

"What is this?"

You blink your eyes.

"Is this mine?" You look up and turn to him.

Dark doesn't answer in an instant.

Somehow the young man still seems awfully shocked—dazed. He looks at you as if you suddenly turned into an alien, and you of course cannot help but get slightly offended.

"Hey!"

You yell, and that was enough to snap him out of it.

Dark quickly shakes his head, shaking himself out from whatever he was in. "Y—yeah, that's yours. But I didn't order it. For some reason, they suddenly brought that in and said that was free and is for you."

"Free?" Your eyes widen.

Are you suddenly lucky or what?

Or maybe Dark really treated you this meals, and he is just feeling shy.

Because while he may not confess to carrying out such kindness, how he was acting right now reveal all those traces of clues.

Unlike earlier, he's quite more reserved.

To the point that he does not even dare to stare back at you as if he was really scared to locked gaze with you, even when you guys have been doing that a lot of times earlier.

Weird.

Oh well whatever. You still say thanks out loud, just so Dark can hear it.

He doesn't say anything.

Later, you hear a knock.

The door opens, and more food comes pouring in. You stare at it, speechlessly, before you quickly turn to Dark and at the platters again.

"Fuck?" you curse under your breath.

"Is this really for me?"

Isn't this a bit too much? You suddenly have an inkling that instead of actually offering kindness, they're only giving you these meals to fatten you up and devour you later.

You hear a small chuckle beside you, and you notice a new face serving you.

The waiter gives you a doting grin, like he's actually so happy to see you getting spoiled.

"Yes, Miss, I assure you. This is all for you, and a lot more will also later be served."

You clutch your chest.

I think I'm gonna die.

"Where do you even get this money, Dark?! I thought you're not really that rich...?" you call out.

However, the tease in your voice quickly faded. Your words trailed off once it dawned on you that even your idol captor looks surprised as you are.

The young man finally looks at you; his gorgeous gray eyes looking more stormy and earnest than usual "Tell me. Be honest with me, (Y/N). What did you do while you were outside the whole time."

Your breath slightly hitches.

Your heart rate spikes again.

You stand up.

Everything seem to dull out. Everything; the noise, the smell, just everything.

You turn your gaze towards the door, and it opens once again with more—just more food to serve.

A new waiter enters. As he looks at you, he's suddenly star-struck. With flushed cheeks and twinkling eyes, he affectionately smiles at you..

And you do not bother to return it.

You were terrified.

The realization just slaps you on the face.

And...

You run.

You run in hopes of escaping this odd situation because there's just no freaking way that all the waiters that you had bumped yourself onto would suddenly fall in love with you.