Temptation of Mine

Chapter 3: The Unexpected Call

Russel's POV

Konna koto ii na, Dekitara ii na. Anna yume konna yume ippai aru kedo. Minna minna minna. Kanaete kureru. Fushigina Pokke de kanaete kureru. Sora wo jiyuu ni tobitai na.

As my phone rings, I hear the first few words of my favorite Doraemon song.

"Damn, that's annoying!"

When my phone rang, it woke me up. This pervert who doesn't sleep at night doesn't care about me, even though I went to bed early because I have a test tomorrow. Furious, I took the phone off the table beside my bed to check who was calling. I was having trouble seeing because of the screen's brightness.

"What did I do to deserve this annoying pervert's punishment?" I muttered, annoyed. I yawned in response.

"You have nothing to do, do you? Do you know that....." before I could finish my sentence, I dropped the phone when I heard a gunshot at the other end.

It lasted a while as I was scared and shocked. Gunshots made me feel like someone was shooting at me. When I looked at my phone, Daniel was still on the line. My heart felt like it would jump out of my chest now.

'What is happening? Who fired the gun? Who is it?'

Strangely enough, my breathing sped up. While my hand was shaking, I picked up my phone again and moved it slowly toward my ear. I was having trouble breathing at that time. From the other side, I could hear people and blasts.

"Sir Daniel!"

When I heard that loud cry, I grabbed my chest. Warm liquid was running down my face.

"Shoot them!" I heard Daniel's voice. Daniel's voice sounds different when worried, angrier, happy, or any other mood. I was unable to move my whole body at that time.

"Was that scumbag trying to scare me?"

Wait. Am I worried? How come I should be worried about that guy? No. I need to calm down. God! It's only in my head.

"Run! Run!"

"Hide! Hide!"

It was like hearing sounds from real life in a movie.

"s**t!"

"That was just a near-miss. Don't worry."

It's getting too much for me. I immediately ended the call, picked up the water bottle, and drank it.

'God, I have no idea what's going on. Protect Daniel, please!'

Daniel's POV

"Turn right...!"

After hearing a series of gunshots, I quickly ran away to hide. I gasped for air when I got behind the huge pile of logs. Another officer got hurt in the leg, so I had to leave the others to go after the assailant. That boss needs to be caught.

Instantly, I reloaded the gun and shot at the enemy again. There was a loud blast outside. Our target ran off, so I ran after them. A strong wind and the lights of the chopper were waiting for me when I got out of hiding. There were also several shots. After hearing gunshots, I ran back inside and hid behind a wall.

The chopper took off after a few more seconds. I took a shot at it, but it got away quickly. I took a deep breath. Although they got away, there was another chase after that.

"Are you okay, sir?"

I looked around at my group. "How are the others? How many of us have been hurt?" I asked.

"Only Marquez, sir."

"Help them. Do first aid. The other team will be here soon."

"Yes, sir."

After my team left, my senior came up to me, turned to look at the others, put his arms around me, and gently pulled me away.

"They'll throw stones at us because we let Joseph Atienza escape. It will be harder for us to follow them because they will be more careful at every step."

"I'll accept the stones, sir. I will catch that bastard next time," I said with determination.

"Now you are in charge of the two teams that need to catch the gang members," he said. "I will be transferred to the other department, and I trust no one in the team except you."

I wasn't expecting what my superior said. I am now in charge of both teams working on that case. I'm proud of doing that. We will get promoted if the team can catch the gang, just like when the Lee couple were caught.

While on break, I looked at my phone in my pocket. I used two phones during the operation: one with an Android system and one with a keyboard that was easier to use. I'm looking at my phone while I drink water. I would have asked my maid, who is always available, to clean the house before I got there. The sun is rising, and I'm sure the maid is awake.

You don't have enough credit to make the call.

"W-what the heck? I haven't gotten used to my load yet," I said.

"Perhaps your service provider ate it," Kim said. "You know, some of their tricks."

"Whoa, seriously?" I asked in surprise.

"Look at your call log. You might call someone by mistake."

Looking at my list of calls made me frown. Seeing Russell's name and knowing how long the call had been shocked me.

"What the... s**t!"

Immediately, I took out my other phone and called Russell. She's likely awake since she has school today. It took a few rings before she picked up the phone.

"Who are you?" Russell asked on the line.

I took a deep breath before I spoke. "Hello, babe, this is your husband."

"Jerk!" she told me, irritated, "You're crazy! Stop calling me!"

"Wait, it is me, Daniel..."

"I know it's you; that's why I get mad," Russell growled. "You made me hate you more with your joke. Did you mean to call me when you were in the middle of a gunshot?"

"No, of course not." Maybe it was accidentally pressed in my pocket, but I didn't plan to call you. "I wouldn't do it on purpose, so you don't have to worry," I said.

"Well, you've done it."

"W-what? You mean you are worried about me?" My heart skipped a beat.

"In your dreams! Why should I be worried about you? You called me while trading shots. Hey, don't call me; you're ruining my day."

A busy tone came next. "Haist, it's bothersome. I did this again, unintentionally annoying her. Instead of missing me, Russell seems to be mad at me now."

"Let's descend the mountain."

"Yes, sir!"

Russell's POV

"Are you serious? He accidentally pressed the button on his phone, possibly causing him to call your number. It just happened by chance."

This morning, I told Claire what happened the night before and how the phone call nearly killed me. As expected, my logical friend sides with Daniel.

"Do you think that's the truth?" I asked. "Should I think that he only had one number on his phone, my number? Of all the numbers there, why my number? Why me?"

"We don't know why he called you during a battle."

"Perhaps he wants me to worry..."

Claire smiled and frowned at me. "And he did it?"

"W-what?" I glanced at Claire with a frown.

"When you heard those gunshots, were you scared? Were you worried about him?"

"Well, you can't blame me. I just woke up and heard that. How do you think I should feel?"

"Being so mad at him, couldn't you have fallen in love with him? Which means that the more you hate the..."

"The more, I swear. Please stop that nonsense. Daniel is not my type of guy. Like I said, I'll never love a man older than me. Teenagers like us are incomprehensible to a guy like him. Ryker, he doesn't understand what I want and will not give in to what he wants, even if it's not in style anymore."

We glanced at Ryan when he arrived. He sat next to me and set the tray of food on the table.

"Why do you look like you haven't slept, Ryan? You've got such big eyebags. Are you taking care of them?" Claire joked.

Ryan smiled instead of answering. "I didn't see you yesterday. Why?" I asked him.

"It was Mom's birthday yesterday," Ryan said. "There was an intimate celebration at home."

We've known Ryan for a long time but still haven't met or seen his parents. It was his first day of school when Claire and I met him. He was my date to prom. I got my first kiss from him. I hope Ryan will be my first boyfriend, too, but I need to get to know him better. Probably because he is so private, I am more interested in him. He's after me, even though many girls like him. Although Daniel did something wrong on prom night, Ryan did not avoid me or stay away from me because of it. We got closer instead.

"There you are, girls!"

When we turned around, Patricia and a few classmates walked in. Patricia was well-known at school, but not because she was smart. She was famous for being herself, an intimidating, bratty lady, and full of herself.

"What do you want, Pat?" Ryan asked. At first, Ryan pushed me away from Patricia, but Patricia was the one who always approached me.

"Oh, I just wanted to invite you to my birthday party on Friday," Patricia said.

"Your birthday is today," Ryan said. Patricia didn't get mad, though. Her response was to giggle.

"Of course. Feel free to come to my birthday party. I will send the details to our GC (group chat). I hope you can make it." Patricia said, looking at me with a smile.

Since we didn't answer, her group got up and left immediately.

"Patricia could be up to something," Ryan said. "Don't go to her party."

I nodded and said nothing.

Patricia, Claire, and I met with the rest of the group in the washroom before the day ended. They followed us to the ladies' room. I told her that I couldn't make it to her birthday.

"Russell, it's just a party..." she said.

"Am I so important that you want me to your birthday?" I asked.

"You are not so important, but someone told me about your secret."

"What secret?" I asked.

Smiling, she looked at Claire and then back at me. "I'd like you to come to my party. My birthday party only had a few people attend. You are the lucky one I chose."

"Seriously lucky?" Claire asked. "You invited her on purpose because you are up to something."

"Oh, please bring a gift," Patricia said, ignoring what Claire said. "Guys, let's go."

Patricia walked away from us, and her friends followed her. Claire glanced at me.

"Do you plan to go?"

I took a deep breath and quickly looked at Claire.