Lucian
1776 Words
At around 9:30 that evening,
the last group of customers finally left the convenience store.
Elena stood behind the cash register, but her eyes kept drifting toward the entrance.
She had been distracted all afternoon.
Every time the automatic doors chimed open, she would instinctively look up.
But each time, it wasn't the familiar figure she was hoping to see.
Not the man dressed in black.
Not the scar-faced man.
And not the man who had bought her ointment with that expressionless face.
“Sigh...”
Elena rested her chin on the counter and let out a quiet sigh.
She didn't even realize it herself.
She was disappointed.
“Mister didn't come today...”
The thought made her pause.
She quickly shook her head.
“What am I even expecting?”
Finally, the clock struck eleven.
Her shift was over.
Elena changed out of her uniform, grabbed her backpack, and left the store.
The streets were quiet at night.
The streetlights stretched her shadow across the pavement.
A cool breeze carried away the heat of the day.
Just as she was about to cross the road,
she suddenly froze.
Not far away,
beside a roadside warning post,
a tall figure was leaning against it.
The dim streetlight illuminated his broad shoulders.
A lit cigarette rested between his fingers.
Smoke drifted slowly into the night air.
His familiar profile appeared and disappeared beneath the glow of the streetlamp.
Elena's eyes instantly lit up.
“Mister!”
The man turned at the sound of her voice.
When he saw it was her, he simply replied,
“Mm.”
Elena jogged over to him.
“Good evening.”
The man exhaled a stream of smoke.
His eyes settled on her.
“Has nobody ever told you...”
“not to talk to strange men?”
Elena blinked.
“But you're not a bad person.”
The man was silent for a moment.
“Who told you that?”
He raised an eyebrow slightly.
“Do you know my name?”
“No.”
“Do you know what I do for a living?”
“No.”
Elena was left speechless.
The man extinguished his cigarette.
Then he slowly stepped forward.
One step.
Then another.
The distance between them grew smaller and smaller.
Elena could even smell the faint scent of tobacco lingering on him.
Her heartbeat suddenly quickened.
“Mister...”
The next second,
the man reached out his hand.
Gently lifting her chin,
he forced her to look up at him.
Elena froze instantly.
Those deep eyes were suddenly right in front of her.
So close that she could almost see her own reflection in them.
The man lowered his head slightly.
His voice was low and calm.
“What about now?”
“Do you still think I'm not a bad person?”
Elena's mind went completely blank.
She even forgot how to breathe.
All she could hear was the sound of her own heartbeat growing faster and faster.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
“M-Mister...”
she stammered.
“T-This is too close...”
The man looked at her flushed face.
Then he suddenly fell silent.
Meanwhile,
Elena's thoughts were already in complete chaos.
This is bad.
Really bad.
She couldn't think straight anymore.
Because at that moment,
there was only one thought left in her head.
—Mister is really handsome.
Unfairly handsome.
The man looked at her silently.
A gentle night breeze drifted through the air.
The streetlights stretched their shadows across the pavement.
Finally, he withdrew the hand that had been holding her chin.
“Forget it.”
The man turned around.
“Stay close to me.”
Elena blinked.
“Huh?”
“I'll walk you home.”
He said it as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Elena quickly jogged a few steps to catch up.
The two of them walked side by side along the quiet street.
Occasionally, the sound of passing cars echoed in the distance.
Neither of them spoke.
Yet somehow, Elena didn't find the silence awkward.
Instead, it made her feel safe.
She secretly glanced up at the tall figure beside her.
The man's hands were tucked into his pockets.
His steps were steady and confident.
The scar on his face appeared and disappeared beneath the glow of the streetlights.
He still looked intimidating.
But for some reason, Elena wasn't afraid of him at all.
After a long while, she suddenly spoke.
“Mister.”
“Mm.”
“Why me?”
The man turned his head slightly.
“What?”
Elena lowered her gaze to her shoes.
“Out of all the people in the world...”
“Why did you choose to protect me?”
She had never been able to understand it.
That night,
there had been so many people on the street.
Why was he the only one who stopped?
Why was he the only one willing to help?
She was nothing special.
Just an ordinary girl.
In fact,
she had almost nothing.
The man fell silent.
The wind gently tugged at the corner of his coat.
After a long pause, he finally spoke.
“Because of thirty dollars.”
Elena froze.
“Thirty dollars?”
“Yeah.”
“What does that mean?”
The man didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he looked off into the distance.
“That winter,”
he said quietly,
“a woman gave me thirty dollars.”
Elena listened carefully.
“At the time, I didn't even have a single dollar to my name.”
“I was like a stray dog waiting to die.”
“And I had a little sister burning with a fever.”
His voice remained calm.
But for some reason, Elena felt a sharp ache in her chest.
“Mister...”
The man continued walking.
“She gave me the last thirty dollars she had.”
“And then she told me...”
‘Live.’
“What happened after that?”
Elena couldn't help asking.
The man was silent for a moment.
Then he smiled softly.
It was the first time Elena had ever seen him smile.
The expression softened his cold features.
“After that,” he said,
“I survived.”
Elena still didn't understand.
“What do you mean?”
The man stopped walking.
He lowered his gaze and looked at her.
Those deep eyes seemed to hold countless stories she knew nothing about.
But in the end,
he simply reached out and gently ruffled her hair.
“It's nothing.”
“Kids don't need to know.”
Then he continued walking forward.
Leaving Elena standing there,
completely confused.
The two of them continued walking down the quiet street.
It was already late at night.
Most of the shops along the road had closed, leaving only a few streetlights glowing in the darkness.
With her backpack slung over her shoulder, Elena walked slowly, stepping on the shadows cast by the lights.
Every now and then, she would secretly glance at the man beside her.
Then quickly look away again.
Just then,
a rustling sound suddenly came from a nearby alley.
The next second,
a skinny stray dog emerged from beside a trash bin.
“Woof!”
The dog bared its teeth and barked nonstop at them.
“Woof! Woof! Woof!”
Elena instantly froze.
The color drained from her face.
“M-Mister...”
The man stopped walking.
“What is it?”
“A dog...”
Elena's voice trembled.
The stray dog seemed to sense her fear.
It barked even more aggressively.
“Woof! Woof!”
Startled, Elena took a step back.
But she stumbled.
The next thing she knew, she had fallen straight toward the person beside her.
“Mister! I'm scared!”
In the next instant,
she tightly wrapped both arms around the man's arm.
Her face buried itself against his shoulder.
The air suddenly fell silent.
The man visibly stiffened.
“...”
He lowered his gaze toward the girl clinging to him.
Because she was frightened, Elena didn't even realize how close they were.
For the briefest moment, an unusual expression crossed the man's normally emotionless face.
Even the tips of his ears seemed to warm slightly.
But the feeling disappeared almost immediately.
“It's just a dog.”
he said.
But Elena held on even tighter.
“No!”
“It might bite!”
“One chased me when I was little!”
The man was silent for two seconds.
Then he let out a helpless sigh.
“Let go.”
“No.”
“...”
“Really not letting go?”
“Not unless the dog leaves.”
The man looked at the girl who practically seemed determined to hang onto him.
In the end, he gave in.
Bending down, he picked up a small stone from the ground.
Then he tossed it into the distance.
Clack!
The stray dog immediately tucked its tail between its legs and ran away.
“Whine—!”
Within seconds, it disappeared into the darkness.
Only after confirming the dog was gone did Elena slowly release him.
Then she suddenly realized what she had just done.
Her face instantly turned bright red.
“S-Sorry!”
The man merely glanced at her.
“Scared?”
Elena nodded honestly.
“Very.”
The man hummed softly.
He didn't laugh at her.
Nor did he ask any more questions.
He simply continued walking.
About fifteen minutes later,
the familiar old apartment building finally came into view.
“Elena.”
“Hmm?”
“We're here.”
She looked up.
Without realizing it, they had already arrived downstairs.
For some reason,
a warm feeling spread through her heart.
“Thank you, Mister.”
The man slipped his hands into his pockets.
“Mm.”
Then he turned around, preparing to leave.
“Wait!”
The man stopped and looked back at her.
“What is it?”
Only then did Elena realize something.
They had known each other for this long,
yet she still didn't know his name.
“Mister.”
“What's your name?”
The night breeze drifted past them.
The man was silent for two seconds.
Then he finally answered.
“Lucian.”
His deep voice carried softly through the night air.
A smile immediately spread across Elena's face.
“Okay then, Uncle Lucian.”
“See you tomorrow.”
Lucian looked at the smile on her face.
For a brief moment, the coldness in his eyes seemed to soften.
Then he nodded lightly.
“See you tomorrow.”
He paused.
The corner of his lips lifted ever so slightly into a smile.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD