Then he grinned and said,
"So, my guide, what should we eat today to celebrate? After all… we've finally met."
I pulled out my phone and ordered food.
While we waited, we recorded a silly video for our YouTube channel, then played games together, shouting and laughing like kids.
When the doorbell rang, I ran downstairs to collect the food. I e-paid, thanked the delivery driver, and hurried back to my room.
I showed Gary how to use chopsticks… and he failed spectacularly. He kept dropping the dumplings, his brow furrowed in concentration. We both burst out laughing, louder than I'd laughed in years.
It felt so good.
Gary's POV —>
Five years ago, I had another screaming match with my father. He kept saying I was destined to inherit the family — the mafia empire — and I kept saying no.
I didn't want to be the heir.
I had my own dreams, my own ambitions.
That night, I stormed into my room, sank into my gaming chair, and logged into Galactic Heroes. Then I hopped onto my Discord server and told my friends — and my cousin — about the fight.
We were midway through our sixth ranked match when a skilled player joined the squad. They carried us through eight matches straight. Impressed, I dropped the link to our Discord server in the party chat.
We all introduced ourselves, and Rimini — my usually-bright little sister — suddenly went quiet and shy. I glanced at my cousin's icon on the screen. What did he do to her?
Then, for the first time, I heard her.
That voice — soft, melodic, almost otherworldly.
A Japanese girl.
At first, I thought she might be close to my age, but then I realized she was four years younger. Still…
The group grew closer over time, but I stayed closer to her.
I made sure David never got near her — he's exactly the kind of guy no one should have as a partner. A typical mafia brat. Honestly, so are my cousin and Andrew.
But her… she was different. She gave me something I hadn't even known I needed.
My sister adored her, too. Who wouldn't? She looked and sounded like she was crafted by Aphrodite herself — an angel walking the earth.
But even then… I could hear it in her voice.
The cracks. The sadness.
It made my blood boil.
How could anyone hurt someone like her?
So I started staying up late to talk with her, to send her stupid memes, to just… be there.