章 6: She is Discouraged

Ran watched Owner leave, strutting his know-it-all attitude and misunderstanding out of the fast food restaurant. She didn't start laughing in frustration until after she watched him completely leave.

'Seriously,' Ran felt her stomach hurting whether it was from her laughter or her frustration, 'He's obviously misunderstanding since he thinks that I'm suffering from some sort of mental problem.'

She laughed until she felt satisfied with releasing her pent up feelings. Her smile, however, quickly disappeared once her laughter stopped. It seemed like everything is no longer a joke, a prank... no matter how much she wished it was one.

There is seriously something wrong going on with everything related to her, and she obviously can't take it as a joke anymore? Ran played with her straw as she let her thoughts swallow her up.

But she'll tackle this problem after she solves her house problem first. After all, having a permanent shelter is much more important than her social life.

...

"This number is no longer available,"

Ran heard this awfully familiar message as she grumbled. She called the phone number about a dozen times already, about six of them consecutive, but she started calling in ten minute intervals after that. It was already 11 am, and she's migrated from the fast food restaurant to a nearby cafe due to the weird stares the workers gave her.

'Whenever I meet Owner, I end up experiencing bad events for the rest of the day,' She silently cursed to herself as she dialed the number again after ten minutes. Miraculously, however, somebody picked up this time.

"Hello?" A tired female voice picked up the phone.

"Hi, I'm interested in learning more about the plot of land that's on sale located on the 4th street in the 8th neighborhood," Ran decided to approach this cautiously. Rather than demanding them to give back her house, she'll first figure out what happened to it. She highfived her genius inner self.

"Oh... you mean that? You're actually interested in buying it?" Ran listened to the caller go from tired to excited in a matter of milliseconds.

"Uh yeah but can you tell me what happened for it to become like that? How come there's no house?" Ran frowned in confusion.

"Let me just find the files, hold on," Ran heard rapid keyboard clicking sounds, they were loud to the point where Ran thought the caller deliberately placed the phone there to give her a headache. ASMR certainly isn't for Ran.

"There had been minor issues with the land before. Originally, the previous owner was about to sell the house, but the kitchen caught on fire, causing the house to burn down. Oh but no worries! His insurance company paid for it all! Since the accident happened recently, a new house hasn't had time to be built yet," The caller did her best to reassure the potential buyer.

"M-may I ask how recent this was?" Ran started to stutter.

"...Two weeks ago."

"Oh," Ran felt her heart grow heavier, "And what was the owner's name?"

"I'm sorry, the owner requested for this information to remain confidential in order to *cough* avoid being chased by potential buyers. Though, I'm sure the nearby residents have a looser tongue," Ran could picture the caller winking at her, "He's lived in the house for over ten years, this I can tell you."

"Was there never a resident that went by the name of 'Ran'?"

"You'll have to ask the residents about that, but in the records, no. Not for this house and not for any other houses in the 8th neighborhood."

"Thank you," Ran growled softly as she hung up the phone. She held her head in her hand for a long time after the call ended as she felt that somehow everything in her life was literally falling apart into pieces.

At this point, it somehow felt that Ran's position in the world was gone, as if she never existed in the first place.

She immediately shot down that thought once it crept up to her mind. There was evidence of her phone, her credit cards, her driver's license, and even her memories to prove that she definitely existed.

"Oh no. Please don't tell me I set up some sort of flag on myself now," Ran sunk her head deeper into her hand as she facepalmed. Although she was usually a panglossian person, with all the heartbreaking events being foisted at her by the world, even a saint would end up feeling depressed.

She looked up with her heart feeling heavy, clearly upset. However, what she saw out the windows of the cafe made her whole body twitch in shock. Her eyebrows raised and her pupils dilated when she saw a familiar silhouette pass by the cafe. Without wasting another second, she hurriedly gathered her phone and keychain before dashing out the cafe.

"Ro!" She was surprised to see him so early in the morning, especially since all of their interactions only occured during the late night for some odd reason. The person in front of her paused, and he turned his head back with an exhuasted expression.

"Oh, Ran?" His voice was deeper and huskier than normal since he was both mentally and physically tired. He was also a bit unsteady balance wise, "Good morning. Or should I say good afternoon? Oh but I just got off work so it must be morning, so good morning Ran."

Ran approached him with a concerned expression. He looked like he was going to fall over any moment since he kept swaying from side to side, though his perfect standing posture never broke apart.

"You were working till now? Damn what kind of working hours are enforced on you?" She got close enough until she could smell his familiar cigarette + cologne scent. It had a calming effect for her, since it reminded her of last night.

"Working hours that normal people don't have," He ruffled his curly fringe and yawned, "I might collapse any second, so I apologize for having to cut our conversation short."

"Wait!" He was about to wave her farewell until her shout suddenly stopped him, "Based on my observation, you don't look well enough to walk home on your own. Would you like me to escort you home?" She cheekily mimicked his way of speaking

Rowan also picked up on this little detail as he showed a satisfied but tired smile. He gave her a small nod as he turned to head towards his home, followed by a cheered up Ran.

...

Owner was inside his bookstore, cleaning the shelves again as part of his morning routine. Even though he swept it last night before closing, he preferred wiping them again to ensure that there's no excess dust. He had his gray shiba apron wrapped around his waist as he hummed along to the classical music playing throughout the store. He also lit up his Lavender scented candle to produce a relaxing effect for his customers.

He didn't look like somebody who just fought with a 'stranger' earlier. And that's because Elysia stopped by earlier to give him coffee that she bought from her favorite shop. He didn't dare tell her that he already had a cup earlier and accepted it cheerfully. Anyone would cheer up if the person they liked came by for a visit with a present in hand. Though his mood slightly dampened when his flirting attempts were once again shot down by her.

And Ran? He's already pushed her out of his mind.

He's got a store to manage and his one-sided love life to worry about. Running into an odd stranger for two days doesn't occupy much of his thoughts. The only concern that he has is if she would ever return to bother him or Elysia. But he can involve the police next time, so he isn't too worried.

...

"Thank you for walking me back home," Rowan stood in front of his luxurious apartment as he waved Ran farewell. Ran was initially surprised to see that Rowan was living such a decent life in such a harsh economy, though of course she didn't visually show her stunned reaction. She probably should have expected this much from somebody who obviously has a rather high position in a company as grand as ATE.

She waved at him until she saw that he safely entered his grand apartment then dramatically put her hand on her face, covering her eyes from the bright lights seeping through the cracks of Rowan's apartment and the one standing next to it.

"I should really get by shit together," She whispered so quietly, even she couldn't hear her own voice.