Return From Prison

Accidental Kiss

Rys smirked mischievously, clicking the mouse while staring at the screen. Then he spoke, "You know, Ren, this program is just like you... complicated but worth debugging."

Ren froze, raising an eyebrow, but her cheeks quickly flushed. "Huh? What nonsense are you talking about now?"

David and Karen couldn't hold back their giggles at Rys' cheesy comment. "Oh my gosh, you two are adorable!" Karen exclaimed, clasping her hands in excitement.

"David," Rys continued, still teasing Ren, "I think I need to run a test first to see if this… ‘wife module' is responsive."

David burst out laughing, while Ren, though clearly flustered, rolled her eyes in mock annoyance.

"Stop it!" Ren exclaimed, her cheeks now a deep shade of red, her ears burning. She turned away to hide her grin, but Rys caught a glimpse of it, making him smirk even more.

Clearing his throat, Rys composed himself. "Alright, let's see if there are other issues we need to address."

Rys shifted to a more serious tone. "The problem with this project is that it won't progress without the proper budget for upgrades and assembling. Has any prototype or part of the car been started yet?"

Karen and David exchanged uneasy glances before Karen awkwardly scratched her head. "Uh... no," she admitted, embarrassed.

Rys grinned knowingly, shaking his head before turning back to his computer. He opened Microsoft Word and began typing. David and Karen noticed and exchanged puzzled looks.

"What are you doing?" David asked.

Ren also glanced at Rys, curiosity evident on her face.

"I'm making a report," Rys replied as he continued typing. "We need to act on these issues now. We can't stay stagnant while wasting time and resources."

David sighed. "That's useless. It has to go through Dexter first, then the headquarters for approval."

Karen added, "And Dexter won't approve it because it'll cut into the money he pockets from the budget."

Rys smirked. "Is that so? Well, I don't need his approval."

Karen and David stared at him, intrigued by his confidence.

Once Rys completed the report, he included a detailed budget proposal and his action plan. He then sent the email directly to headquarters.

David and Karen were stunned.

"Are you sure about this?" Karen asked nervously. "HQ might still reject it."

Rys simply smiled. "We'll see," he said confidently.

After the budget issue, Rys asked, "What other problems are we dealing with?"

David spoke up. "I've been working on a human and object detection program. The goal is to implement it in the autopilot system to recognize traffic lights, signs, and other objects—both moving and stationary—so the car knows when to stop."

Rys nodded. "Alright, show me the code."

David stood up, opened his PC, and transferred the code to Rys' computer. Rys studied the code, recognizing it was written in C++.

"C++," Rys muttered as he scanned the syntax. "Your base is solid, but we need to improve the detection function for traffic lights."

He began editing the code, utilizing advanced libraries like OpenCV for computer vision. "Let's use cv2.CascadeClassifier() for object detection. This can train the system to recognize the different colors of traffic lights."

As he typed, he elaborated on the process. "First, load a dataset for red, yellow, and green lights," he began. "Then, use Haar cascades to detect shapes and colors," he continued. "Finally, integrate the detection logic into the autopilot's decision-making process," he concluded.

Within minutes, Rys completed the adjustments. He ran the updated code.

Karen, David, and even Ren leaned closer, their eyes glued to the screen.

The program performed better than before, accurately identifying traffic lights and responding accordingly. Karen clapped softly, impressed. "Wow, Rys, this is incredible!"

Rys smiled. "This is great progress, but it'd be better if we actually had a car to test it on."

David hesitated before asking, "Are we going to submit this progress to Dexter?"

Rys shook his head. "No, not yet. Let him think we're not making any progress. Instead, let's create a separate program with plenty of flaws and submit that to him. That way, when the budget comes in, he won't have any excuses to cut it."

Karen frowned. "What if he asks how the budget was used when we supposedly didn't finish anything?"

Ren, who had been listening quietly, smirked. "Then we'll tell him the problems were resolved, but he was too busy to notice the details in the report."

Karen's eyes lit up. "That's true! He never reads the reports anyway. Last time, I submitted one, and he didn't even bother opening the email."

Rys chuckled. "I've got an idea..."

....

Later that day, Rys and Ren were heading home on Ren's e-bike, with Rys driving. They were enjoying the ride when suddenly, the bike lost power and came to a stop.

"What happened?" Rys asked, stepping off.

Ren checked the battery indicator and sighed. "I forgot to charge it."

She tried restarting the bike, but it wouldn't budge.

Rys laughed. "Looks like we're walking home."

Ren smiled awkwardly, clearly embarrassed. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine," Rys said with a shrug. "Let's go." He began pushing the bike while Ren walked beside him, her cheeks still pink from the situation.

As they walked, their conversation turned casual. Ren, curious, brought up something personal. "You mentioned earlier that you grew up in an orphanage," she said softly.

Rys nodded. "Yeah. I have no idea who my parents are or if they're even alive."

Ren sighed. "I guess we're not so different."

Rys furrowed his brows. "You're an orphan too?"

Ren shook her head. "Not exactly. I lost my parents when I was little. They died in a car accident. After that, I was raised by my grandfather and my mom's best friend, Aunt Rosana."

Rys glanced at her, his expression softening as he listened.

Suddenly, the roar of a motorcycle broke the peaceful atmosphere. It sped past them recklessly, nearly hitting Ren.

Without thinking, Rys grabbed Ren and pulled her close to him, their bodies colliding. Ren gasped, her hands instinctively clutching his shirt.

Their faces were mere inches apart. Ren froze, her heart racing. She couldn't move, mesmerized by the warmth and strength of Rys' body against hers. Her eyes flickered between his intense gaze and his lips, which were so close she could feel his breath.

Rys, still holding her protectively, arched a brow. "You okay?"

Ren blinked, her cheeks burning. She quickly stepped back, mumbling, "Y-yeah, I'm fine."

Before Ren could calm her racing heart, another motorcycle sped past, forcing Rys to pull her into an even closer embrace. This time, their faces were so near that their lips were a hair's breadth apart.

Ren froze, unable to move as a strange, electrifying feeling coursed through her. 'Are we about to kiss?' she thought, her mind spinning. She tried to step back, but her body refused to obey, as if it had a mind of its own.

Rys, still focused on the road, glanced toward the passing motorcycle, oblivious to Ren's internal turmoil. "Those guys are reckless," he muttered, shaking his head.

Ren, however, couldn't focus on anything but the strong, steady rhythm of Rys' heartbeat against her own rapid one. Her chest was pressed against his, and her breathing quickened as she stared at his face, every detail of it captivating her.

When Rys finally turned his gaze back to her, he noticed her dazed expression. He tilted his head slightly. "Ren, are you okay?"

Ren didn't respond. She was too entranced by the proximity of his lips, her mind caught in a whirlwind of emotions.

Just as Rys was about to speak again, two drunk men stumbled by. One accidentally bumped into Ren from behind, pushing her forward—straight into Rys.

Their lips met.

Ren's eyes widened in shock as she realized what had just happened. The warmth and softness of his lips sent a jolt through her, leaving her completely frozen. Rys, equally stunned, didn't pull away at first, caught off guard by the unexpected kiss.

Time seemed to slow for the two of them, the world around them fading into silence.

The drunken men, meanwhile, laughed as they witnessed the scene. One of them nudged the other and giggled, "They're so sweet, aren't they?"

The second drunk man smirked and puckered his lips. "I love you, bro," he said, leaning toward his friend as if to kiss him.

"Ew, no!" the other man exclaimed, recoiling in disgust.

Staggering and laughing, the two drunks stumbled down the street, leaving Rys and Ren behind—still locked in an accidental kiss.