Luka
When we finally got back to the bar, the whole place was full of noise and movement. The building already looked like the real thing. Some walls had been finished, something nearby was drying, other parts had not yet been completed, but it was beginning to take on a recognizable shape.
We were still far from the perfect version of the bar. Just as far from getting permission to open it. So whatever.
I liked looking at all the movement around me. All the work, all the people running around. And I liked knowing that we had done this.
Our bar was almost here again.
It was all thanks to the insane number of people helping us.
There were so many volunteers showing up every day that, at some point, we actually had to make a schedule so they wouldn't all show up at once while we stood there with no idea what to give them to do.
All of this was happening despite that massive campaign against us.
Despite the attacks.
Despite everything that was said online.
Despite all the fucking bullshit.
People still came.
They still helped.
And honestly, that felt so damn good.
It lifted my mood enough that I thought the rest of the day would probably go great.
"Luka! Luka!" A young hybrid ran up to me with adorable little rabbit ears twitching excitedly. "Look, look at this article." He shoved his phone toward me. "Some rich guy hired a hybrid. As his secretary. Can you believe that? That means things are changing, right? Right?"
He looked at me with huge eyes full of excitement.
I took the phone to see what article he was talking about and froze.
It was about him.
He had one arm around somebody beside him, hiding them from the cameras. I could not see who it was. The person looked tiny, completely covered by Ed's body, and from behind his arm I could only make out the small shape of animal ears.
That was definitely a hybrid.
The article itself said all kinds of insane shit about how he had gone crazy. That this was the end of the empire. There was so much garbage in there.
My eyes drifted back to the photo.
Something inside me tightened.
An unpleasant feeling slowly spread through my body, and I could not even explain what exactly was wrong. It just felt bad.
I probably should have been as happy as the kid standing next to me. Some rich guy had finally hired a hybrid. That should have been good news.
But for some reason, it was not making me happy at all.
I couldn't understand why.
Ed looked perfect.
Perfect suit. Perfect hair. Serious expression.
Just like back then.
When he left, I thought he wanted to stay away from hybrids. But somewhere deep down, I kept hoping he would come back.
I'd hoped when the first video with me showed up online.
I hoped when newspapers started writing about me nonstop. When people turned me into some symbol of protest.
I never asked for any of that. I didn't care about protests. I was thinking about the bar, nothing else.
Nevertheless, my face was everywhere.
And I kept hoping maybe he would see it. Maybe he would come back.
Some part of me waited for him to appear.
That night, those assholes broke into my apartment. I heard somebody slam the door open, and for a second I hoped it was him.
I really hoped it was Ed coming to stop them.
But it was Kazuo.
Ed never came back.
He was not there during any of the worst moments in my life, even though I waited for him every single time.
Looking at this photo now, I finally realized something.
It was never about me being a hybrid.
That probably never mattered.
The truth was much simpler.
I just never meant anything to him.
God, this was so stupid. Standing here, falling apart over somebody I had not seen in months. Somebody who had left on his own and never looked back.
My life was overflowing with problems. I didn't have time for this.
I had documents to collect. Permits to fight for. A damn bar to rebuild. I had to stop wasting my time sitting here and getting upset over Edward Moncler.
Yeah, I knew who he was now.
Once my face got dragged across every news outlet in the country, I spent way too much time online, and of course I constantly came across articles about the great heir to some huge company empire.
Obviously, I'd never been on his level.
It was time to move on.
He was doing fine. Good for him. Good that he hired a hybrid. Good that everything in his life seemed perfect.
Mine would be fine too.
"Luka, why the hell are you standing there spacing out?" Kazuo's voice suddenly cut through my thoughts. "Get over here! We might have some good news for once. Somebody wants to talk to us about the bar permit. Hurry your ass up!"
His voice was so excited that it instantly pulled me back to reality.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming!" I shouted back.
I handed the phone back to the boy. He looked upset now. Probably because he thought he had ruined my mood somehow.
I reached over and gently patted his head.
"Thanks. I think that's a good sign. I'm glad you showed me."
His face lit up again immediately, and he ran off.
I watched him disappear into the crowd for a second before heading toward Kazuo.
Time to focus on things that actually mattered.
Time to stop wasting my thoughts on someone who was already gone.