Chapter 1

Joy looked inside her wallet, hoping for a miracle to happen. She opened it slowly, even though she could feel how thin it was in her hand.

Only one hundred pesos greeted her.

In the middle of her wallet, the face of Roxas looked like it was frowning, as if it was not happy to be alone there. It was like even her money had an attitude.

"Good thing I still have one hundred," she whispered to herself, trying to make the situation better. But in reality, she knew it was not enough.

As usual, her trip earlier was a failure.

She was along the streets of Butuan City, her feet were tired and her back hurt from walking. She thought she could sell at the school she went to. She even fixed her hair before entering and practiced her sales talk in her mind.

"Ma'am, vitamins for immune support..."

But it seemed like even the teachers there were immune to her offers.

They rejected her one by one. Someone smiled, someone pretended to be busy, and someone said "maybe next time." It seemed like "health is wealth" was no longer popular today.

Health is ignored, maybe.

She sighed.

She already had no money, and she did not sell anything. Her body was tired, and her ego was tired too.

That is life.

But suddenly, a sound entered her tired world.

"Taho!"

It was like background music played in her life. This might be the answer to her sorrows.

She looked back right away.

It felt like her tiredness and body pain went away with just one shout from the taho vendor. Since she was a child, taho was her favorite. No matter the problem, things felt lighter when she held a warm cup of taho in the morning.

She did not think twice. It was taho. Even if she only had fifty pesos, she would still buy it.

She approached quickly.

"Taho, miss," the vendor offered while smiling.

She handed over her only one hundred peso bill. It hurt her a bit, but her empty stomach hurt more.

This was probably fine to get through the hunger.

With how far she walked, she probably deserved to eat. She would just try to sell again later to her dorm mates. Maybe she could convince someone there.

The question now was.

How far will your one hundred pesos go?

While her change and taho were being handed to her, another voice entered.

"Maybe you also want popcorn, beautiful. Only ten pesos."

She turned her head.

A small popcorn cart was parked a few steps away from the taho vendor. Just the smell was already tempting.

She suddenly remembered herself earlier.

For every offer she made to the teachers, she got a rejection. Now, she was the one being offered to. It was like she was the one being convinced.

She looked at her change. Eighty pesos. If she bought popcorn, she would only have seventy left. And that would not be enough for her fare back to the dorm. She took a deep breath.

"I deserve this," she whispered, like she was talking to her conscience.

She handed over ten pesos. The important thing now was that she could eat taho and popcorn.

She walked happily on the street, even though she knew her fare would be a problem later. Whatever happens. There were multicabs anyway.

Worst case scenario?

Run away without paying.

She finished the taho first.

It was still warm, with the right sweetness. Every bite was like a reward to herself. For a moment, she forgot the tiredness and rejection she received earlier.

Then she gave her attention to the popcorn.

She threw a piece in the air and caught it in her mouth.

One.

Two.

Three.

Perfect shot.

She smiled.

"I may not have sold anything, but at least I have a talent," she whispered as she threw another one.

Every throw went exactly into her mouth.

Until in a flash, a hard chest bumped into her.

She stepped back. A few pieces of popcorn flew from her hand. That was her only food, and it really had to fly away. Before she could fully recover, a rough hand suddenly grabbed the strap of her bag.

A thief.

"Hey!" she shouted, as she tightened her grip on her bag.

She felt the roughness of the man's palm on the strap. She felt how strongly he was pulling. But she felt annoyed the most.

"Let that go!" she shouted angrily while pulling the bag back.

In the middle of the noisy street, everything seemed to move in slow motion. The sound of the cars. The shouts of the vendors. The warm wind hitting her face.

One strong pull. She closed her eyes for a moment and let go of her bag.

"You have no shame! I already have no money but you still chose to rob me!"

She did not stop. She chased the man and with courage she did not know where it came from, she locked the man's neck using her arm.

The man gasped.

"Give that back!" she said in anger, their faces almost touching.

But while she was struggling with him, he still managed to open her bag and shake out its contents on the concrete street.

The vitamins she was selling fell. The sample packs scattered. Her small notebook with notes about her quota dropped. Her faded handkerchief. A lipstick that was almost empty.

It felt like even her dignity scattered on the cement.

When her wallet rolled, the man quickly picked it up and broke free from her grip.

"Hey!" she shouted, chasing the thief again.

She hit him with an umbrella. She just had to fight back. There were many people watching them, but why was no one helping her? She did not know, but she no longer cared.

The man opened her wallet and raised an eyebrow at her when he saw how much was inside.

"You hit me like you have five thousand here!" he complained. "It is only twenty pesos!" And he threw the wallet at her. It hit her chest before falling to the ground.

"You wish!" she shouted, her voice shaking with anger and shame. "I am only eating popcorn, and you still went after me!"

"And you are so pretty," he mocked while stepping back, "but you are poor!"

It felt like something exploded inside her. She was the one robbed, yet she was the one mocked. This was too much!

"Hey! You stupid idiot!" she shouted and was about to hit him again, but the man ran fast, leaving her in the middle of the street with messy hair. Her face was red. Her breathing was heavy.

She picked up her things one by one. She dusted off the notebook. She arranged the vitamins and tucked the umbrella under her armpit while trying to look like she was not affected.

When she checked her wallet, her twenty pesos was gone. She just closed her eyes in annoyance.

"That stupid animal," she whispered, trying hard to stop her tears from falling. "It only had twenty pesos, and he still took it."

She quickly felt the pocket of her pants. The change from the taho was still there.

"Good thing."

She sighed. She did not sell anything. She was robbed. She was even embarrassed on the street.

But instead of crying, she took a piece of popcorn and threw it in the air. She tried to catch it in her mouth, but it only fell on her cheek.

"Annoying," she whispered, then smiled a little and tried again.

But what Joy did not know was that she made someone smile at the top of the building. A man who had not smiled for almost a few years was looking at her.

He was very amused while watching her eat the popcorn and how she fought the thief.

And he only said one thing. "Follow that woman and bring her here to my office.”