Forbidden Link

05. At The Cafe

Without saying goodbye to his mother who was still locked in the room, Alex rushed out of his house. As soon as he opened the door, the view of Quintice city could be seen from behind the concrete fence. On the perpendicular side of Alex, there was a long and narrow corridor that connected dozens of rooms, including Alex's room, which was called home. And when he closed the door to his house, Alex found a lump of black plastic lying right beside his feet.

“Argh… again... no one picked up the trash,” muttered Alex as he brought the plastic with him.

Alex had to descend four floors of the flat to reach the bottom floor via stairs because this residence had no lift. After throwing the plastic trash into the large trash can at the end of the park, Alex headed to the parking lot behind the building. The man took the key out of his jacket pocket and shoved it into the keyhole of a moped that was between the big motorbikes.

The flat that Alex lives in, which was one of the slum areas of Quintice town, was on the western outskirts of town. While the Donati family home, which was one of the prestigious Quintice city areas, was on the outskirts of the northeastern part of the city. To shorten the journey, Alex chose suburban roads so that he was not too blocked by traffic lights and could optimize the speed of his vehicle. But a moped had a certain speed before the vehicle could easily sway when used beyond its ideal capacity. So that Alex could only be patient when his vehicle was overtaken many times by other vehicles.

Being in the back row has become commonplace for Alex. Ever since he dropped out in his last year of school, Alex had been left behind in comparison to all of his friends. While all of his friends had been studying at university, Alex had been looking for a job with his junior high school diploma. Even though he had worked for seven years, it didn't mean that Alex was the superior at work among his friends. Just forget about Farrell, who became the manager of his own father's company. Leona, who also worked in her father's company, always served as the most diligent staff every year. The sloppy looking Mio had already started to gain the advantage after going through the break-even point last month from the cafe he managed from zero.

How about Alex?

Alexandre Lynx was even declared unemployed last night due to the riots that occurred at the factory where he had worked. Five years working at the company did not guarantee that he would be promoted to a permanent employee, otherwise he was simply fired along with hundreds of other workers. Again, Alex's position was immediately at the behind of his peers, the same as when he resigned in the twelfth grade.

Unlike seven years ago, now Alex didn't really care about his current position. Just like driving a moped and being overtaken by dozens of vehicles every minute, Alex didn't really care if he was last among his three friends. Years of having no ideals for his life had turned a young boy who was curious to do many things into a passive person. Working hard did not make his salary increase significantly. Helping his co-workers led to a warning that eventually got his name on the list of problem workers. So Alex was just trying to do everything to the lowest acceptable standard.

Likewise with Alex's current condition. He felt he just needed to go to Lakelynn, ask him all the information about Kaira, then tell his mother everything. After a long moment of contemplation, Alex thought of the idea which had been popping up in his mind : "should he join the link like everyone else who was seeking a reward from Charles Donati, Kaira's father?" were rejected.

Seeing a girl he knew sitting in the courtyard of the cafe, Alex parked his moped near the girl's position. The vehicle engine was turned off. Helmet removed. Messy hair tidied up. Alex performed the ritual as usual before getting off his moped. But this time Alex didn't realize that the ritual was being watched by the girl who had deliberately changed seats just to look at him.

The girl looking at Alex smiled as Alex looked at her. A girl who had been called an angel in high school was still very beautiful seven years later. A smooth white oval face with a feminism that could be seen immediately from the curly eyelashes and sparkling eyeballs like amber stone. The girl's nose was sharp and her lips were perfectly engraved like the ideal lips. The girl tossed her shoulder-length blonde hair before she rested her head on her palm and looked at Alex intensely.

Before Alex's arrival, all the eyes of the men -who were in the cafe or just walking in front of the cafe- looked at the most beautiful girl there. This time they were also looking at Alex, so Alex's eyes caught dozens of pairs of eyes that suddenly turned to him. A sharp gaze generated by a feeling of envy made the center of attention shift from the girl towards him. Alex casually ignored the gaze and walked towards the girl.

"It seems that your extraordinary charm can crush their eyes," said Alex casually, as he pulled out a wooden chair to sit down. This time, all eyes were on the same point, namely Alex and the girl who were sitting opposite each other.

Even though the person she was waiting for had arrived, the girl named Lakelynn still leaned her head on her hands and looked at Alex. Without breaking her smile, Lakelynn blinked an eye which made Alex frown.

"I think it's your presence that could break my eyes right now," said Lakelynn, still smiling as she looked at the man in front of her.

"If you want to say something romantic, that's not the right word at all, Lakelynn."

"I don't need the right words to describe you. Seeing you back after seven years makes me feel like I'm coming back to life."

"Your words are too much."

"And your every word can excite me."

Alex rolled his eyes. But asking Lakelynn in sign language only made the girl want to tease the boy in front of her even more. With a seductive look, Lakelynn added a lick of tongue that swept half of her upper lip. Alex was very used to such views, but the people who had been watching them suddenly coughed profusely.

“You won't be excited if you know my current condition. There's nothing attractive about being unemployed, someone who doesn't even have a high school diploma.”

"I don't think it matters at all. A rental house that does not have heating. A small vehicle with a bright green color from a prize. Clothes that have been worn thousands of times and never thrown away. I still like you with all your conditions."

"Wow. Kaira really has a lot to say to you.”

"And I still like you even though your mind is only filled with your sister. Even though today we just met again after seven years."

Alex took a deep breath. This girl in front of him was difficult to deal with if she had some grudge towards him. If Alex had been in such a hurry, he probably would never have contacted Lakelynn in this condition. Hearing that someone likes him has made Alex's burden even more.

"I don't understand how your life is now. But you should find a partner who is on the same level as you."

"You should replace the word ‘level’ with ‘frequency’. I've never found anyone on the same frequency as me except for Alexandre Donati, who has become Alexandre Lynx."

"I'm not what I used to be, Lakelynn."

"I still see the same person. The person I still like. Yes, I didn't like you for a while, but only for a moment."

After a while, Alex realized that the volume of Lakelynn's voice had caught the attention of the people around him again. Alex pulled up his chair to approach Lakelynn's seat. Trying to detract from the surroundings was not Alex's character. But Alex approached Lakelynn not to detract from the surroundings but so that the girl in front of him wouldn't continue to direct the desired topic.

"I need your help to enter Donati's residence without Kaira's father knowing."

"Then what are you going to do after that?"

"I'll find out later. I don't even know what I'll do after that. I definitely need to see for myself what happened to my sister."

Lakelynn's smile was replaced by a shake and a repeated “tsk”. Not satisfied with Alex's words, the girl added, “Even other people have been trying to save your sister until now. How can an older brother who loves his sister so much let his sister fall into a coma just like that?”

“You mean I followed in the footsteps of people to hit that link and go into a coma? No, Lakelyn. I couldn't possibly leave my mother alone in this condition."

"So you love your mother more than your sister?"

"I don't need to answer that question."

Lakelynn was silent for a moment, then she took the bag that had been placed on the bench next to her and stood up. Before moving from his seat, Lakelynn looked at Alex with his trademark smile: a sharp look and the corner of one lip raised.

“If you change your mind, please contact me again.”