Leonel immediately pulled out his phone, his heart pounding as he typed the hashtag — #PoorLira.
The screen lit up with hundreds of thousands of posts, and right at the top was a video of her.
Lira sat alone in a restaurant booth, tears streaming down her face as she mumbled to herself, "I was just so tired . . . I just wanted to eat and relax." Her voice cracked, small and pitiful. Then came the part that made Leonel's stomach twist — a man's voice shouting at her from off-screen.
"Hey! That's my table! Get lost!"
The camera shook as if the person recording was startled. The comments exploded below the video — hearts, crying emojis, angry faces.
And right beside the clip . . . was Roz's picture.
Leonel's eyes widened. The kid's face was plastered everywhere — framed as the villain who made their beloved influencer cry.
From the video's angle, it was obvious someone had taken it secretly. Like Lira had no idea she was being filmed. Someone had uploaded the footage and spun a whole narrative around it. Within hours, it had racked up millions of views and countless sympathetic comments for Lira — while Roz's name became the center of hate.
Leonel felt the world tilt beneath him. His vision swirled, the ground seemed to ripple. He swallowed hard to keep from throwing up.
"T-this . . . ," he whispered, taking a shaky step back. "This isn't what happened."
His chest tightened. Even though he hadn't done anything, guilt wrapped around his throat like a noose. He had been there. He'd even sided with Lira back then — blindly.
And now Roz had lost his job.
Without thinking, Leonel opened the comments and started typing furiously.
[ShortLeo]: That's not what happened! I was there! That kid didn't do anything wrong — it was all a misunderstanding!
He hit send before doubt could stop him.
Almost instantly, replies flooded in.
[Lira4ever]: Another loser trying to stain our Lira's good name. Haters go to hell!
[MyLoveLira]: Are you calling our Lira a liar?!
[iloveLira]: Can't you see her tears? Are you saying they're fake?
[LiraisLife]: Poor Lira! She just wanted to eat, and that brat yelled at her! What's the
restaurant name? I'll sue them myself for making our goddess cry!
Leonel's jaw slackened as his notification bar blew up. He scrolled and scrolled, but every reply was venom — angry fans defending their idol.
The video didn't even show where it happened. Lira must have filmed a new one in a different restaurant, since Gargino's — the place where it really happened — had a strict no-photo policy.
Leonel lowered his phone. His head felt heavy. Hopelessness crept in.
He couldn't fight an entire internet army.
"Anyway . . ." the girl beside him finally spoke after rambling about the incident for several minutes. "You said you know Roz, right? Could you give this back to him?"
She held out a hat — plain black with a frayed edge, clearly worn often.
Leonel stared at it, guilt gnawing at his chest. "Y-yeah. Sure."
He grabbed the hat and dashed off before he could overthink it.
But Leonel being Leonel, his coordination betrayed him — his foot caught the edge of the sidewalk, and he crashed face-first onto the concrete.
"Darn it!" he groaned, pushing himself up before sprinting again, ignoring the scrape on his knee.
The girl blinked at his retreating form and sighed. "Weirdo."
Leonel darted through the crowd, panting, his eyes locked on Roz's small figure ahead. The kid's duffel bag bounced against his side with every hurried step.
"Wait!" Leonel shouted, reaching out and grabbing his shoulder.
The boy turned — but it wasn't Roz. It was some other teen in a hoodie with orange hair.
"What, Mister?" the kid snapped, glaring.
Leonel blinked and quickly released him. "Ah, sorry! I thought you were someone else!"
The boy rolled his eyes and walked away, muttering something Leonel was glad he didn't catch.
Leonel looked left and right, panic setting in. Where'd he go?
Then — as if by divine timing — the store just in front of him opened, and out walked Roz, holding a small plastic bag of groceries.
"Agh! There you are!" Leonel blurted out, relief flooding his face.
Roz blinked at him like he was seeing a crazy person. "Huh?"
Leonel opened his mouth but froze mid-sentence, words failing him. He looked like a deer caught in headlights.
Roz frowned. "Do you need something? Or are you one of those Lira fans here to harass me again?"
"Egh?!" Leonel flinched. Technically, yes — he was a Lira fan. But not that kind.
"No! No, no, I'm not—" Leonel took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves. "I'm Leonel. The new staff at the convenience store. The girl there told me what happened."
Roz sighed, rubbing his temples. "Shirley's such a blabbermouth." He crossed his arms and eyed Leonel warily. "So what do you want?"
Leonel's throat went dry. He wanted to say I feel responsible for what happened to you, but the words stuck. Instead, he held out the hat.
"She wanted me to give this to you."
Roz blinked in surprise before taking it gently. His expression softened for a moment. "Thanks . . ."
But then his face darkened again. "Leonel, huh? Yeah, I heard about you. The new guy." He gave a humorless chuckle. "Guess we won't be working together now. Not after I got fired thanks to that crazy girl who stole our table — and my reputation."
He looked away, his voice turning bitter. "All I wanted was to treat my mom to a nice birthday dinner for once. I saved up for weeks. Should've just taken her to the hot pot stand near our place instead. At least then, she wouldn't have gotten fired too."
Leonel froze. "She got fired?"
Roz nodded, jaw tightening. "Yeah. My mom's boss said the 'negative publicity' might affect the business." He laughed hollowly. "Crazy, huh? One video and everything's gone."
Leonel's stomach twisted painfully. All because of Lira . . .
Then, on impulse, he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a card. "Here. Take this."
Roz blinked. "What's this?"
"It's my work ID. Construction site a few blocks from here. One of the senior guys — Sefin — is friends with my dad. Tell him you're my substitute."
Roz raised an eyebrow. "Uh . . . why?"
Leonel rubbed his hair in frustration. "Because you need a job, obviously! I'll call him myself to let him know. The pay's not great, but it's something."
He paused, eyes darting side to side. "Oh, right. There's an age limit. Just tell them you're eighteen."
"I am eighteen," Roz deadpanned, staring at him like he'd lost it.
Leonel blinked at him, confused. "Really? You look twelve!"
Roz frowned. His short stature — barely 4'7" — and baby face made people constantly mistake him for a grade-schooler.
Leonel didn't seem to notice. He was already typing on his phone. "I'll call Uncle Sefin now! He'll believe me once I explain. Oh heck, I'm late for my interview!"
He glanced at his watch, eyes widening. "Shoot! I gotta go!"
Leonel turned and started running back toward the convenience store. "Don't forget to say you're eighteen!"
He tripped again halfway and face-planted on the sidewalk with a loud thud.
"Darn it!" he growled, jumping up, dusting himself off, and taking off again. "Remember, eighteen!"
Roz just stood there, blinking in disbelief. ". . . What just happened?"
He looked down at the ID still clutched in his hand. For a moment, his stoic face softened.
It wasn't much, but right now, any help mattered. His rent was due, the bills were piling up, and his mom's phone call earlier replayed in his mind — her shaky voice saying she'd been fired too.
All because of that woman.
Roz's grip tightened around the card until his knuckles turned white. He shoved it into his pocket and took a deep breath.
Meanwhile, Leonel was halfway back to the store when a sudden thought struck him — like a light bulb flicking on.
He froze mid-step, eyes widening.
Mike!
That's it!
Why hadn't he thought of it sooner? His rich friend, Mike — the same guy who once offered to buy them a full gaming pod just so they could play together — would totally be willing to sponsor someone like Roz!
If Roz joined them in COVENANT, Mike could pay him monthly just like he did for recruits in Scar's guild. Roz would earn a living, Mike would finally get his dream party composition with a [Chrono Mage] or [Necrolyt], and everything would fall perfectly into place.
It was the ultimate win-win situation.
Leonel's grin spread from ear to ear as he fished out his phone again, adrenaline pumping through his veins.
"Mike!" he muttered eagerly, thumbs flying across the screen. "You're gonna love this idea."
His guilt had turned into excitement — and this time, he was sure he could fix everything.