章 27: Weekend Chase

As soon as Megumi stepped foot inside the fast-food restaurant, Hajime's stomach started grumbling, as if to complain about his complete rejection of the food so freely offered to him. With slight contempt and regret, Hajime grabbed his stomach and gave it a silent order to stay quiet. Fortunately, Megumi didn't hear anything a moment ago. Had she heard, she'd have laughed at such irony, causing Hajime to feel self-conscious.

It had been four days since Hajime last ate, but he didn't feel that hungry this morning. Due to the severe heat, however, his energy was depleted and his body started screaming for food. As much as he wanted to eat, he didn't want to get further in debt, and that's why he utterly rejected Megumi's goodwill.

Due to his one year of isolation, Hajime found it difficult to trust anyone, be it a classmate he'd known, or a kind stranger that just so happened to lend him a hand. Ever since that incident, he found it hard to open his heart to anyone. Adding to that, the debt collectors constantly tried to ruin his life, which caused Hajime to emotionally lock himself away, throwing away the key since he couldn't be bothered in the first place. Besides, it's not like he has time to spare.

'What am I doing here anyway?' Hajime asked, blocking his eyes from the sun that bore down on the place. The agonizing seconds that passed made Hajime feel uneasy. A couple of times, the thought of leaving Megumi behind occurred in his mind. However, he stayed put. He had caused her more than enough trouble as it is.

"Sorry for the wait," Megumi casually spoke up as she got out of the restaurant. Before Hajime could react, Megumi handed her one of the paper bags she carried. The savory aroma of burgers and fries emanated from within the bag. Hajime salivated, it took all of his being to remain expressionless.

He figured that Megumi just wanted him to hold onto it so he received it, no questions asked.

"That's yours." Megumi wore a smile that seemed to penetrate Hajime's invisible emotional shield. Was it because Megumi always looked down on him that he felt like that? Or was it because he rarely saw her smile? Hajime couldn't make heads or tails of her. Notwithstanding, he was able to maintain his same old 'expressionless' expression.

"What do you mean? I told you I'm not eating."

"I told you to accompany me for the day, wouldn't it be rude if I don't even pay for our meals? It's my treat— or would you rather turn down my offer and pay for my coffee instead?"

"Sigh~ fine." Hajime was cornered, that much was certain. In the end, he opened the bag and ate with Megumi. As the two of them strolled and surveyed many shops downtown, they managed to form a common understanding that the other party was not that bad after all. That didn't further their friendship though since there was none from the start— their opinions about each other slightly changed, that's all.

Just when Hajime ate the second burger in the bag, something in his mind clicked and he stopped mid-bite. With a confused expression on his face, he examined the wrapper of the burger. 'It looks familiar... '

That's when it occurred to him that it was the very same burger that a certain someone anonymously left for him by the park. 'Was it a coincidence? Don't tell me she was the— no, that's not happening. It's probably just a coincidence.' Hajime violently shook his head. No way on earth is Megumi that outgoing.

"Why are you looking at the burger like it's your lost loved one? Just eat it." Megumi gave him a cold stare. She assumed that Hajime thought badly of her, which wasn't the case at all. "Anyways, we're here. Are you going to buy anything?" Megumi asked, pointing at the mall. "Oh wait, you don't have any money, right? I'll just buy a few things and then let's head home."

Hajime silently nodded. Finally, Megumi brought up the topic of going home.

...

Step. Step.

A woman wearing her strikingly recognizable red heels, along with two other familiar men, sauntered downtown, enjoying their weekend. As debt collectors, their weekdays were always spent running all over the place, chasing people who borrowed money from their employer. That's why the weekends are a change of pace for them, quite literally, since they won't have to chase after slippery eels.

"Hey, Shelly." Matsumoto Tamotsu, the burly man of the group, pointed a few meters in front of him. "Isn't that— "

"Yeah, doesn't it look like he's on a date?" Shelly responded.

"That kid, how dare he go on a date." Hayashi Jiro commented as soon as he saw Hajime and Megumi. Without hesitation, he approached the 'couple', prompting both Tamotsu and Shelly to go with him.

Hajime detected them before they could even step in his ten-meter range. His head suddenly whirled around as he felt the bloodlust directed at him. There, right on the other end of the pedestrian, were the three musketeers who had been chasing after him for the past few months.

Although Hajime stopped short in his tracks and decided to walk the other way, he realized that Megumi was actually halfway through the pedestrian. There was no time to think. With adrenaline pumping, Hajime accelerated and grabbed Megumi by the hand.

Three meters.

Two meters.

One meter.

"Megumi, we have to go." There was urgency and seriousness in Hajime's voice that Megumi stopped short. She didn't even bother about Hajime's tight grip on her wrist. For some odd reason, she felt like Hajime sounded a tad bit cool just now, but she immediately dismissed the thought.

"What do you mean?" Megumi asked, flustered and surprised at the same time.

"There's no time to expl— "

"And here's the little rascal. Enjoying your little date, are you?" Jiro, one of the debt collectors, crossed his arms as he interrupted Hajime.

"So this is why you couldn't pay your debts, huh," Shelly added, stepping closer to Hajime. "Where did you get the money?"

"Come on you guys, are we really going to do this right now?" Hajime responded coolly, even though his heart was already thumping like crazy due to his nervousness. "Come on, Megumi." He hissed.

Before the other three could react, Hajime threw his body at them, making them lose their balance in the middle of the road. In a heartbeat, Hajime took Megumi by the hand and dragged her out of there. The only thought in his mind was to get away as far as possible in hopes that the debt collectors won't catch up to them.

"Hajime, wait!" Megumi strained since Hajime was running too fast and she couldn't keep up. She was basically being dragged around by him and he already tripped over her legs twice.

Suddenly, she felt a sting on her right ankle, causing her to fall down. Hajime unintentionally let go of her hand due to her abrupt deceleration. Hajime almost tripped as well, but he managed to catch himself, rushing to Megumi's aid. "You okay?"

"Of course not— I think I broke my ankle," Megumi complained, gritting her teeth.

"You probably just twisted it." Hajime continued. "Can you move it?" Inwardly, Hajime scolded himself for dragging Megumi, causing her to fall on the pavement. He was too focused on prioritizing their escape that he forgot about Megumi's physical capabilities.

"Um... I think so." Megumi uttered, biting her lips due to the pain.

"Yeah, probably just a sprain," Hajime assured her as he kneeled and turned his back on her. "Hop on,"

"Wait...what?!" She exclaimed as if forgetting the sprain on her ankle. "Why would I ride on your back?!"

"Then would you rather I princess-carry you instead?" Hajime shot back. As he gazed afar off, he saw that the debt collectors were slowly catching up to them. "Just hurry, or you might end up buried six feet deep in someone else's backyard."

The threat seemed to do the trick. This time, she climbed on his back without thinking twice. Hajime immediately sprinted across a narrow alleyway and through a crowd, emerging on a completely different direction just a few seconds after. Megumi couldn't believe that Hajime could sprint even though he was carrying her on his back. But then again, she's probably just too light for her. She immediately remembered that Hajime still worked at a construction site and that might be the underlying reason why he can carry with ease.

I think... yes, they're gone. They went to the opposite direction already." Megumi heaved a sigh of relief.

The debt collectors became aware that they lost Hajime in the crowd even though he was with someone. Annoyed, the three of them ran straight to their car, deciding to patrol the area in hopes that they'd run into Hajime. Unbeknownst to them, Hajime was already one step ahead of them— he already knew the model of their car and their plate number.

.....

Meanwhile,

"I lost them haah~ that kid sure is fast haah~" Franz panted, leaning on both his knees as he tried to catch his breath. He didn't feel the need to chase after them since he saw that they were able to shake off their pursuers. "I guess I should just wait for young miss's call." He told himself before he headed back to the limousine.