Chapter 3

The next day, Raymond decided to leave the house, relaxing his mind after spending nearly two months in his apartment. All the information was complete; he just needed to think about how to approach Amanda Chloe without making that girl suspicious of him. Not only that, but the reason was that he needed a new job. There was no way he could depend on his dwindling savings to survive.

The problem was, what job should he take? He only has five years of experience as a police detective. Only that. He could not apply for a job as a policeman in the city of Cirillo either, given the impossible procedure because he was not a Cirillo citizen. He could not think of any options now.

There was also no way for him to apply for a job at Ignatius High School, where Amanda Chloe attended. It would arouse her suspicions. After all, it was not like a fictional tale that could easily sneak into the school as a teacher (or a school student, if he is gifted with a baby face that he, unfortunately, did not have).

A man winked as he walked through an area of the town of Cirillo, making him wince and pretend not to notice the body language of the man trying to approach him. He stuck his hands into his coat pockets, realizing that he had forgotten to bring his gloves when he left the house. He accelerated his footsteps as the man moved to follow him.

"Excuse me. Are you, by any chance, alone?"

He did not pay attention to the person and continued walking, looking for a place that was crowded with people. Unfortunately, he caught the attention of several women standing by the side of a walkway in the modern shopping area of downtown Cirillo. 

Their conversation stopped when they saw him, and now they had also approached him. The man looked annoyed when the women also tried to get his attention, and now they were all busy arguing over who had the right to approach him.

He rolled his eyes, looking for another route that would take him away from these freaks. Relieved to realize that the people were no longer there, he hummed, looking around him. It seemed as if the path he took was not the path that he encountered since he lived in the city of Cirillo.

He was too busy spending his time investigating Amanda Chloe and looking for a shortcut that could take him to Amanda Chloe's house if something bad happened, even though it did not happen to this day, so he was quite surprised to find there was a shopping area that had a strong Victorian vibe in the city called a pilot city for the future.

His smartphone rang as he was memorizing this pathway in his brain, diverting his concentration. His hand took out the smartphone that was in his coat pocket. 

It was an incoming message from Hazel.

Sorry, but are you busy right now?

He opened the message and replied to it.

I'm free. What's wrong?

It did not take long for him to get Hazel's reply.

Can you come to my place now? I'll send you the address.

He pulled over in front of a sweet food shop, which was closed today.

Yes, I can. Did something happen?

He looked at the clock on his smartphone's notification screen. It was still eleven o'clock in the afternoon. Hazel did not send him messages at this hour.

I need your help. Is that all right?

It was rare for Hazel to send messages like this. Maybe he should forget about applying for a job. The woman seemed to need his help now.

Of course. I'll be there.

After reading Hazel's reply message and understanding the map of the location of the address where Hazel was, which turned out to be not far from where he was at this time, he stuffed his smartphone into his coat pocket, running towards Hazel's place.

***

As soon as he arrived at what turned out to be a cafe, Hazel, who was wearing her chef uniform (making the woman look very cute in his eyes), was waiting in the back of the cafe and immediately pulled him in before he could ask why she invited him there. 

She brought him to an old man in a chef uniform, who looked relieved to see him. As soon as Hazel let go of his hand, the woman stood beside the old man.

"This is the man I mentioned to you, Uncle. Is that okay?"

Hm? What was Hazel talking about?

The old man looked him up and down, making him slightly uncomfortable from being inspected, then nodded in satisfaction as he put his hands behind his back. Hazel looked relieved and walked over to him.

"Sorry, I knew this was sudden and I didn't tell you earlier, but don't you mind working as a waiter at the cafe where I work? My place needs new people, and I think you can fill the position."

He bit his lower lips and slightly objected. Granted, he was looking for a new job, but he did not expect it to come this soon. It was just that he was not sure whether he should accept it or not. It was too sudden. 

But seeing Hazel's pitiful face made it impossible for him to resist.

"No problem," he said, after a long debate in his mind. He needed the job. Maybe after this, he should adjust his schedule to accommodate his plan to approach Amanda Chloe.

"Thankfully. I know I can count on you." Hazel grinned upon hearing his answer, making him flutter a little. 

It looked like his decision to accept this job was right. 

"Done. Now, I have to get back to my job. You can ask my uncle for details. Okay? See you later."

Hazel had disappeared before him, leaving him with the old man. From behind him, he could feel several pairs of eyes staring at him, making him shudder slightly. When he turned his head, he found the cafe staff—most of whom were women—waving their hands at him while blushing.

The old man stretched out his hand, and he shook the man's hand. "I'm Rufus Clark. I'll just keep it short. You are welcome here. Edward will help you explain the details of your job. Feel free to ask him, okay? Wait a moment. I'll get him here."

The man named Rufus Clark walked away to a room near him. A few moments later, the man returned with a young man with a curt face, wearing a formal work uniform.

"I leave you two here. I still have a lot to take care of," said the man again, before finally leaving him with the curt man. The crowd of cafe staff, who was standing some distance behind him, immediately dispersed voluntarily as soon as the curt man cast a sharp glare at them all.

"Your name?"

The man's curt tone intimidated Raymond a little.

"Raymond. Raymond Cooper."

"Oh." The man turned around, motioning for him to follow the man. "I'm Edward Groningen, but you can call me Edward."

The aura of the man named Edward was so oppressive that it made him feel tense, leading him into that man's office.

"This cafe is always busy, so make sure you serve each customer well. Don't miss a guest's order for more than five minutes. That's the first rule."

Edward closed his office door, walking with echoing steps across the room to the wardrobe. The man's eyes scanned him, then he muttered softly, pulled out the waiter's uniform, and handed it to Raymond. "There are two schedules here, morning and evening. Have you worked as a waiter before?"

"No," he answered honestly. Taking a job as a waiter at a cafe was not something that had crossed his mind all this time.

Edward was silent for a moment, then smiled a little, changing the tense atmosphere that the man had created without realizing it. The man's eyes turned to the work uniform he was currently carrying. "Very nice. It will be easier to train you. Try it first to know if the size is suitable for you or not. The dressing room is across from this room."

"Then excuse me."

When he finished changing his clothes into a work uniform and approached Edward, who was waiting for him at the door of his office, he found his hands pulled by several cafe employees, who were waiting for him at the door to the changing room. They were all gathering around him until he had to endure the annoyance inside him.

The uniform was strangely fitting for his size. Even though he was pretty sure that Edward was just guessing his size when he saw him earlier. The man himself now folded his hands in front of his chest, unmoved, in front of his office when he saw him, letting all the cafe staffs surround him. Did he look weird wearing this uniform?

A waitress named Rachel Felicia (from what he saw on her name tag) hugged his arm so that he could feel her large chest touching him.

"Manager, could you let us explain everything to him?"

Edward frowned at Rachel's request, then looked away, saying nothing.

"I'll take it as a yes." Rachel clasped his arms tighter, making him stiffer. He tried to get away from Rachel, but unfortunately, the woman took him out with the other employees to the front of the cafe, which was full of cafe visitors. 

The woman finally removed her hand from Raymond's arm, pointing at a table some distance away from where he was, filled with four high school students, who were chatting. 

"Can you lend a hand?"

"Is there any problem?" he asked. Suddenly, he felt bad when he heard Rachel faking her voice to make it sound cute.

"Ouch, you are very kind! What's your name?"

"Raymond." He had no intention of telling this annoying woman her full name. "So what can I do for you?"

"You know, our place is currently at rush hour, so it must be really busy."

"And?"

"Please help us handle that table. We are very busy serving other customers' orders. Right, everyone?"

All nodded. Ah, it was as he expected. This woman was looking for an opportunity to prank him. This woman's words were in complete contrast to what they all had just done when he had just finished changing his clothes earlier.

"I see. Let me take care of it."

Rachel jumped with joy, helped him take orders from table number five—the table the four of them were at—and then walked away laughing. Holding back his annoyance, he carried the order and faced the cafe patrons, who distracted them from their activities and stared at him incessantly until it made him stifle. 

There were even a few people who waved at him, and as soon as he replied with a polite smile, the crowd blushed. Shit. It looked like he could not get away from all the weirdos in this town, huh?

"Excuse me. Sorry to keep you waiting. Here is your order," Raymond placed the order on table number five. His eyes widened upon noticing a very familiar figure chatting with her friends before turning to him, looking surprised.

Amanda Chloe.

It seemed fate was on his side. He had just thought of an option to find work in a place he thought this girl would frequent and found that he did not have to bother with it.

"You took a long time! We've been waiting for half an hour!"

A girl with a masculine face and ponytail—Priska Cirillo—who was sitting across from Amanda complained of annoyance, as did a cute kid with curly blonde hair and light blue eyes—Thyme Umberbridge—who was sitting next to the masculine girl while still staring at his smartphone screen. Besides Amanda, a boy with glasses—Gerald Tan—continued to glare at him.

Ah, this was why Rachel laughed after leaving earlier. That bastard!

"Yes, it's okay. After all, the order has also arrived," Amanda asked her two friends to stay calm. The girl blushed when she saw him. "Th… thank you. Sorry to trouble you."

"No, we should apologize for being late in bringing your order. Please enjoy the meal," Raymond said with a polite smile, trying to hold back his irritation as he left the table to serve the other guests who had just arrived.

***

As soon as his working hours had ended, he changed his clothes and walked out of the cafe, taking a deep breath. It was very tiring. 

Who would have thought he would be bullied by his seniors on his first day? Doing all the work that four of these people should have done, all by himself?

"Raymond?"

He looked back to find Hazel, who had changed into casual clothes. The beige knit sweater combined with the A-line midi skirt in black with gold plant decorations and red high heels, and a white oversized coat is perfect for the woman. 

He did not realize that he kept watching her until he did not notice that she kept calling out his name, admiring Hazel's figure. How could he waste the existence of a woman as cute as Hazel Skylar in these two months?

"Raymond?"

He came to his senses and turned his gaze in another direction while clearing his throat, which suddenly felt dry with clumsiness. No, no. He did not have time to approach the woman. He had to remember why he was here.

"You are angry, aren't you? Sorry. I didn't mean—"

"Not. I'm not angry. To be honest, I'm grateful that you introduced me to this job because I needed it," he replied after controlling himself. He offered to bring a tote bag in the same color as the woman's high heels.

"Th… thank you. Sorry to bother you."

"Not a problem. A chef should take good care of their hands, right?" he took Hazel's bag, letting her walk first. 

He then took the side of the road so that the woman did not walk on the side. His eyes were enjoying the beautiful view of the path they were on.

"You're going too far," Hazel said, giving him a doubtful look. "I think you're really tired."

"Well," he said, putting his free hand into the pocket of his coat, tilted his head upward as he exhaled, letting out cold steam. It looked like the city would soon enter winter. "Who would have thought that your place of work was so popular?"

"Sorry. You're the only one I can ask for help."

"No need to apologize. I understand."

"I think you are used to doing the job in the past."

"Did you see me earlier? When did you do that?"

"I asked permission for a moment to check on your situation. Did you ever work as a waiter?"

"This is my first time doing this kind of job, to be honest." Raymond massaged his sore shoulder. "But I was so tired that I couldn't cook dinner. Should we buy food at the convenience store nearby?"

"We still have my cake in the freezer, remember? You don't mind eating that for dinner?"

He nodded with a wide yawn.

They kept walking until they arrived at their apartment. Once inside, the first thing he did was take off his coat and turn on the heating, lying on the sofa chair in the living room, making the woman laugh at him. He buried his face, enjoying the soft chair of the sofa. His nose smells of black coffee and hot chocolate, along with the scent of the cake Hazel kept yesterday.

"Raymond. I already brought the cake. With your favorite hot black coffee."

He changed his position and accepted the cake happily. "Thanks. It looks delicious. I'll eat it."

It looked like Hazel was waiting for his comment on the cake because Hazel looked at him, worried. Like in the middle of a cooking contest where he acted as her judge. 

He slowly spooned a mouthful of the cake. His eyes widened when he learned that Hazel's cake was so delicious that he unconsciously finished the cake until there was nothing left.

"Very delicious!"

Hazel looked relieved now, eating her cake with a flushed face. "It's good if you say it's delicious. I'm a little worried actually, afraid that I won't match yours."

"It's delicious. I mean it. Try to be more confident with your skills, Hazel," Raymond took a sip of his black coffee to warm his body, which was still cold even though the heating was turned on earlier. "Too bad I can only eat a slice tonight. I'm not good at baking, so can you please make some for me next time?"

"Of course."

He took another sip of his black coffee. He glanced at Hazel, who was now eating her cake. He felt warm because he missed the social interaction he had not had for a long time. After all, he kept thinking about Arnold's death. 

Could he just relax and approach his roommate for a while? Did he have the right to do that?

***