Chapter 3

After hiding out for half an hour, I finally managed to calm down.

The more I thought about it, the more convinced I became that the problem had to be the phone.

Every single person had reacted the same way.

The moment they saw it, their expression changed.

But no matter how long I fiddled with the thing, I couldn't figure out what was wrong.

Photos: 0.

Files: 0.

It was obviously a brand-new phone.

After thinking it over, I decided to try my luck at the phone store.

They were the ones who sold it to me.

And if something about this phone was responsible for ruining my life, then they had to take responsibility.

Before going there, though, I decided to run one more test.

I stopped at a small convenience store and bought a bottle of water.

Then I casually struck up a conversation with the woman behind the counter and asked if she'd take a look at my phone.

She examined it for a while, turning it over in her hands.

"Nice choice. This is the newest model."

Everything seemed completely normal.

But then I said,

"I actually bought it for my younger sister, and then..."

The woman's face instantly went white.

She hurled the phone straight at me and snatched the bottle of water out of my hand.

"Get out!"

"I'm not selling you anything. Get out of my store!"

I stood there stunned.

Before I could even react, she'd already grabbed a broom and started driving me toward the door.

"We don't serve sick freaks like you!"

"You'd better leave right now, or I'm calling the police!"

When I saw her reaching for her phone to make the call, I panicked.

I grabbed the shattered phone and hurried straight to the phone store.

The moment I arrived, Lisa Chandler, the salesperson who had helped me before, came over to greet me.

But instead of exchanging pleasantries, I slammed the phone down on the display counter.

"Did you install some kind of virus on this thing?"

"Why did my sister want to cut me out of her life the second she saw it?"

"She called me a monster!"

"My parents want nothing to do with me now, and even my wife wants a divorce because of this damn phone!"

"What the hell did you put on it?"

Lisa jumped at my outburst and immediately tried to calm me down.

She started rattling off all the phone's features and telling me how reliable the model was.

I didn't care.

I demanded that they inspect it and figure out what was wrong.

"Sir, the phone is damaged this badly, so unfortunately we can't offer a refund."

"And this is one of the best models on the market. There shouldn't be anything wrong with it."

She examined the phone, then nodded again.

"I can assure you, there's no problem with it."

"Then why did my sister react like that after I bought it for her?"

The smile vanished from Lisa's face.

She stared at me.

"You mean..."

"You bought this phone for your younger sister?"

The next second, she lunged at me, her long nails clawing toward my face.

"Boss! Call the police!"

"There's a pervert in here! Call the police!"

"You disgusting bastard!"

"You bought this for your own sister? What the hell were you thinking?"

"Boss, hurry up and call the police! Don't let this sick freak get away!"

Her coworkers were startled by her sudden outburst.

One of them quickly grabbed the phone from her.

But the moment she looked at it, her expression turned strange.

"Wait... I don't think this phone is..."

Before she could finish, police officers rushed through the door.

"The woman at the convenience store across the street reported a pervert in here."

"Which one of you is it?"