Der Praesi

Koko Yi

Nevaeh stood frozen at the end of the narrow alley right next to the cafe. Her breath hitched under her coat collar, while her mind raced to piece together the puzzle: how could this stranger know so much about Koko Yi, when her phone hadn't rung since she'd escaped?

​Before she could formulate an answer, a loud vibration in her coat pocket shattered the silence.

​Her phone rang. The name "Koko Yi 🙄" flashed on the screen.

​She immediately swiped the green button and put the flat object to her ear. "Hello?!" she exclaimed sharply, a trace of panic lingering.

​"Dude! Oh my gosh, why does your voice sound like you're about to start a fight?" Koko Yi's voice greeted her from the other end, sounding innocent over the din of traffic. “How’s the hot chocolate? Is it good? Koko’s already in front of the cafe, but why is it so quiet? The barista can’t be seen. Where are you?”

​Nevaeh closed her eyes, massaging her throbbing temples.

​“Where are you now?” she interrupted coldly. “Don’t go anywhere. Stay right there.”

​“Huh? Hello? Your voice is breaking up, dear. Hello—?”

​The connection was cut off due to the poor signal between the stone walls of the old alley. Nevaeh snorted in annoyance, pulled her coat tighter, and then gripped her violin case tightly. She stepped out of the alleyway, intending to immediately pull her brother away from the dangerous area.

​However, her steps immediately froze.

​In the cafe’s frosted doorway, Koko Yi stood confused, carrying two paper cups of gelato, looking around like a lost child.

And to Nevaeh's horror, the cafe's glass doors swung open—three men in Midnight Cobras leather jackets were seen stepping out onto the sidewalk, not far from where Koko Yi stood.

​Her survival instincts immediately screamed.

​She couldn't afford to stir up trouble or attract the attention of these thugs. Nevaeh swallowed hard, deciding to pretend she was deaf and blind to the situation around the cafe. She just wanted to get her brother to safety right now.

​With swift strides, she lunged forward, ignoring the tension still hanging in the air, and grabbed Koko Yi by the sleeve of his coat with all her might.

​"Eh—eh?! Slow down, little one! The gelato's spilled—oh my god, my pistachios!" Koko Yi protested in shock, nearly dropping his order as he was forcibly pulled away from the cafe courtyard.

"Shut up! Don't talk too much or I'll swallow the gelato whole!" Nevaeh growled, her voice trembling with the anger and fear she was trying to suppress.

She even glanced briefly at the group of men in cobra jackets who had glanced their way, then quickly looked away, speeding up her pace, leaving the area as if nothing had happened in the cafe a few minutes ago.

​All the way to the U-Bahn station, she continued to drag Koko Yi, who was half-protesting in his confusion. Upon arriving at the warm rented room near Ringstraße, she slammed the door, locked it tightly, and then roughly dropped her violin case onto the sofa.

​She turned, hands on her hips, her eyes glaring. "Sit."

​Koko Yi, who was much older, suddenly cowered, obeying and sitting on the edge of the bed, staring at his sister in horror.

​"Now," Nevaeh stepped closer, pointing right in front of her brother's nose. "Explain why Koko was so busy looking for gelato when I nearly died at knifepoint in that cafe!"

​Koko Yi choked on his own saliva, the gelato cup nearly slipping from his grasp. "Gang... biker gang? Little one, did you take the wrong medication or what? This is Vienna, the capital of Austria! The place where Mozart composed symphonies, not Gotham City! Why would a biker gang be holding people up in a cafe in the middle of the afternoon?"

The vein in Nevaeh's temple throbbed even harder. "Oh, nothing, huh? Do you want to know that I almost turned into a human shish kebab because I was so busy waiting for your pistachio gelato?! They were looking for me, carrying guns, and I was almost mistaken for a spy because my phone was ringing! And where was Koko? He was busy wandering into an antique bookstore!"

Koko Yi immediately raised both hands, panicking as he saw his sister's eyes start to well up with tears. "Oh, my gosh... what for, Little One? You're okay, right? I swear, if I'd known this would happen, Koko wouldn't have left you!"

"It's okay, you head!" Nevaeh hissed fiercely, though her shoulders slowly slumped. "I almost lost my life! And not only that..."

She was stunned for a moment, remembering the man in the narrow alley earlier—the man in the neat coat who knew about her million-euro violin, knew about Koko Yi, and the pistachio gelato.

"There's... there's another weirdo out there," Nevaeh continued, her voice suddenly much lower, filled with a newfound sense of dread.

Koko Yi's expression changed drastically. The last trace of humor on his face evaporated, replaced by a hardened jaw.

Protective brother mode was officially in full swing.

"Who?" he asked coldly, his voice dropping several octaves. His fists at his sides turned white. "Members of that motorcycle gang?"

"No..." Nevaeh hurriedly shook her head.

"Damn it. How dare they bother my sister. Let me find them now!" Koko Yi roughly placed his cup of gelato on the small table near the door. "Where's that damn gang? I'll fight you right now!"

"Koko! Stop! Where are you going?!" Nevaeh screamed hysterically, lunging at her brother and gripping the back of his coat tightly.

"Let go, little one! I'm going to teach you a lesson!" Koko Yi growled.

"Not the biker gang, you i***t!" Nevaeh pulled her brother back, causing him to stagger backward. "The person I met in the alley wasn't a member of that gang! And listen, even if he was, would you want to be a hero and come back in a body bag?!"

Koko Yi snorted in annoyance, his breath coming in short gasps. "So you want me to just keep quiet when you find out you're being harassed by a stranger?"

Nevaeh took a deep breath, calming her pounding heart, then pushed Koko Yi back into his seat. She stared her brother straight in the eye.

"That guy... he doesn't look like a street thug," Nevaeh said quietly. "He's wearing a neat coat, and he knows my name, knows this violin, and even knows I bought gelato. He was just warning me, not threatening me."

​Koko Yi fell silent, his frown deepening. "A stranger knows all that? Could it be... a stalker? Or an Interpol agent?"

"How should I know!" Nevaeh snapped in frustration, massaging her temples again. "So, stop acting like a street fighter. We just landed, and I just want to focus on violin practice for the day after tomorrow. Period!"

​Koko Yi sighed in resignation, realizing his sister was right. He wiped his face roughly, then looked at Nevaeh with softened eyes.

​"Okay... okay, sorry," he murmured softly, patted the side of the bed. "Come sit. From now on, wherever you go, Koko will be stuck to you like a stamp. No more stories of being left behind just because Koko craved gelato."

​Nevaeh snorted, her lips curling into a thin smile. She stepped closer and sat down next to her brother, letting her fatigue take over.

Today had been crazy, but the qualifying round was just around the corner—and she had to make sure her fingers were ready to dance across the violin strings, forgetting for a moment the image of the man in the black coat with the dark eyes who had turned her world upside down this afternoon.