10 a.m.
After spending the morning wandering around with her friends, Sera finally made her way back to her room—with Jody Johansson accompanying her. Syd and Roxxy had gone to grab something to eat.
"What time are we heading out again?"
Sera turned to ask.
"..."
The American girl lifted her phone and checked the screen.
"...Four o'clock."
"Alright..."
And then—suddenly—Sera remembered something.
"Oh! Right..."
"Hmm?"
"Jody..."
Sera leaned in and whispered close to her ear.
"...Yeah?"
"Do you still remember the fire footage?"
"!!!"
Jody had almost completely forgotten.
"Yeah... That laptop is still here."
"!!!"
"We've still got three hours... Come check it out in my room."
Jody nodded quickly.
"Let me shower first."
So they split up to get themselves ready.
Sera stopped outside her room door—but just before she tapped the pad to open it, she noticed something sitting outside.
"...What's this..."
A soft, clear plastic bag containing a small box.
She glanced left and right, then picked it up to examine it.
On the box was a message:
"For Sera"
From Mickey.
"...."
"...Hmph. That bastard."
She brought it inside and tossed it on her round wooden table. She plugged in her phone to charge, dropped her towel on the floor, and went into the bathroom.
40 minutes later
Sera walked barefoot out of the steam-filled bathroom, a towel wrapped around her head and a white bathrobe provided by the facility wrapped around her.
She plopped down into her chair and looked at the box.
Rustle rustle.
She crumpled the plastic bag and tossed it aside before opening the pastel greenish-blue container with a golden ribbon.
"...."
It looked like a cake box—which it was.
"Hmm..."
It was a chocolate cake. Simple in appearance.
But the aroma?
A rich, sweet honey scent hit her nose.
"...Did this guy really buy me cake?"
There was even a plastic fork tucked beside it. Sera stared at the piece of cake.
"...I literally just worked out, dammit..."
Then she noticed something had rolled near her feet.
Something must've fallen from the plastic bag when she tossed it.
"..."
She picked up the black little object—it looked like a battery?
Not exactly.
She wasn't quite sure what it was.
It was a small black cylinder, compact enough to pinch between two fingers.
"...What the hell is this?"
She set it aside on the cushion next to her and returned to the cake.
😒😒😒
"...Just a bite... maybe."
Chomp.
"..."
"Hmm... honey and chocolate..."
"..."
"...One more bite..."
Chomp chomp.
"....Mmm... Sweet. A little too sweet..."
Chomp chomp chomp.
"...Not bad..."
Chomp chomp chomp...
"Ah, screw it. I'll just run off the calories later."
In the end, she devoured the whole thing.
"..."
Sera sat cross-legged, grabbed a bottle of water, and rinsed her mouth.
"...Dammit..."
The guilt settled in afterward.
She looked back into the box—
There was another identical slice.
Two pieces. He must've brought her two.
"..."
"...."
"...Should I finish the other one too?"
"..."
"...."
"Alright. I'll just run it off—"
"So? Was it good?"
"AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"
A voice whispered beside her ear.
Sera's heart plummeted to the floor as she leapt like a soaked cat from her chair.
Thud!
Her white head towel flew off.
She rolled across the floor and scrambled back against the wall, staring at the source of the voice...
Mickey Mannix.
The boy she emotionally could not deal with.
Her eyes popped so wide they looked ready to leap out.
"M-M-M-MANNIX?!?!?"
Her heart pounded so loud she could hear it in her ears.
She glanced at the object on the cushion—the little black cylinder—which was now crackling with tiny sparks of electricity.
That could only mean one thing.
"No way! That black thing...!"
It wasn't a battery.
It was a capacitor.
"You! You bastard!!! You were hiding in that black thing!!!"
Mickey had transformed into electricity and hidden inside the capacitor—allowing him to surprise her.
Sera backed into the wall, fingers clawing at the padded panel.
She hissed like a cat, face tense and ready to pounce.
Mickey, in his new orange jacket with sleeves, stood calmly, staring at her with innocent eyes.
"...Was the cake good?"
"GET OUT! What the hell gives you the right to enter my room, you creep!? I'll slap you, you perv!"
"...."
Wearing only a bathrobe, Sera was cornered. She couldn't escape.
She watched Mickey with a mix of panic and fury.
The boy dragged over a chair, placing it a meter and a half in front of her.
He fetched another chair and set it down across from the first. He sat, then gestured for her to join him.
"...."
She clearly had zero interest. Her finger hovered over the [Open Door] button on the wall pad—until Mickey spoke.
"You can leave, sure... Or we could talk it out. Either way, we'll have to work together in China anyway."
"..."
"...I don't want us to end up like Toshi and Roxxy."
"....."
No matter how annoyed she was, he wasn't wrong.
Work relationships did affect missions. Leaving this unaddressed could become a bigger problem later.
Sera wasn't like Roxxy—she couldn't split personal and professional into neat compartments.
Then... she remembered what Jody had said:
"Some problems are easier to fix than you think... all it takes is 'talking'."
Click... creak...
The bathroom door opened.
Mickey—who had been locked inside—stepped out to find Sera fully dressed and made up in dark tones, in preparation for their next mission: infiltrating a fashion show.
She was experienced in the scene, so blending in meant going full premium.
Mickey took the same chair as before. Sera sat across from him, legs crossed, arms folded.
"..."
"...."
"Well? What the hell. Say something."
She glared at him like daggers.
You're the one who came here. Say something!
"I'm sorry."
He looked her dead in the eye.
"...."
"...That's it?"
"...Yeah. I'm sorry."
"..."
"..."
"Mannix... Do you even know what you're apologizing for?"
"...For making you cry... with snot... and—"
"Don't you dare finish that sentence!"
"Okay okay—yeah. But what I really did wrong... do you know what it was?"
"....."
"...Putting the roach on you..."
His tone was unsure—but at least he guessed right.
"You really don't get why I hate cockroaches, do you!?"
"...Because they're dirty?"
He answered.
"...."
"...You seriously don't get it..."
Sera swallowed.
It was hard—talking to someone like Mickey.
He was apologizing without even understanding what he'd done.
"It's not the dirtiness, dammit! They're... all dark and squirmy and... goddammit! The wings! The skittering legs!"
Mickey saw the hairs on her arms stand up.
She was twisting in disgust.
But to him, it just sounded like a description of the insect—not fear.
"...But that's just how cockroaches are, right?"
"THEY'RE DISGUSTING!! GOD!"
She scratched the exact spot he'd touched her with the bug until her skin turned red.
"...So are you scared of roaches? Or scared of squirmy things? What's so scary about squirming?"
"Ughhh!!! You don't get it!!"
"....."
"If you don't understand what you did wrong, your apology means nothing."
"...But I did do something wrong... I made you feel bad."
Mickey said.
He reached out and held her hand.
With the other hand, he gently grabbed her shoulder—where she had scratched until red.
"!"
She froze at the sudden touch.
She stared at his hand, then into his eyes.
"...So let this be the last time... I won't make you feel like that again. I promise."
"!?"
That sweet face—his mother's gift—sent Sera's heart racing.
Whether he realized it or not, his cuteness hit her hard.
"...."
Mickey let go, then picked up the last piece of chocolate cake, holding it out with one hand while balancing it with the other.
"...Eat. I bought it. It's good."
"...I'm not hungry."
"You can run it off later. Eat first."
He held it right up to her mouth.
She couldn't escape, so she opened up and took a small bite.
Crumbs fell onto his hand. He dusted them off.
"You damn imp... nom nom My lipstick isn't even dry yet."
"Then why'd you put it on?"
"Because someone snuck into my room, duh!"
Then, Sera took the cake from his hand—not to eat, but to offer it back to him.
Just like he'd done to her.
Mickey blinked in surprise—
Sera smirked 😏
He smirked back, shook his head, and took a bite.
An unspoken truce was formed.
"Acting like I've never seen you without makeup."
"Listen here, you little imp. Between bare face and naked, I'd rather be naked."
"Seriously?"
"Dead serious."
She licked a bit of honey from the corner of her mouth.
"Sluurp..."
"Are you speaking for all women or just yourself?"
"Tch Ask Jody, she wears makeup too. Even Roxxy uses foundation! It's not weird!"
"You just use more than anyone else."
"Well, I have it, so I use it!"
"But you look fine without it too."
"...Huh?"
The sudden line caught her off guard.
Mickey looked at her—no moves, no touches. Just words.
"I think you look good without it."
"!?"
It was strange—normally, compliments like that didn't phase her.
But why did his words hit different?
Maybe because Mickey was always at odds with her...
Always logic. Always reason.
Completely different from Sera, who ran on emotion.
That contrast…
That difference...
Made his words more believable than all the praise she'd ever gotten.
Just one sentence.
From someone like him.
It made her feel like floating.
But Sera reeled herself back in.
"...Don't try to sweet-talk your way out of this! You think I don't know what you're doing? You're just saying this so I'll stop being mad!"
"Are you still mad though?"
"Of course I am! You broke into my room! What if I was naked? We'd never speak again!"
"Still mad about the roach too?"
"...Yeah."
"Well damn."
"Don't 'well damn' me! You don't even know what true fear is!"
Blaming Mickey felt wrong.
Getting mad at him was like blaming a one-legged man for not running.
But still...
Let her be mad.
Just a little.
"....."
Mickey paused.
"I really don't want to fight with you."
"You do it every day."
"I mean, not really fight."
"Then what the hell have we been doing!?"
"...Making life a little less boring?"
"Huhhh???"
Ding-dong!
Someone rang the doorbell.
Sera looked toward the door—she knew who it was.
"Jody!"
Yep. It was Jody, right on time.
Sera turned to Mickey.
"Who's at the door?"
"OUT. You can leave now."
"Aww... Kicked out just like that."
Sera dragged him toward the door.
When it opened, Mickey was face-to-face with Jody Johansson—stunning in a sleek blue outfit.
"Mickey?"
She blinked.
When had he ended up in Sera's room?
"Get out, you little devil! And take your stuff with you!"
Sera slapped the black capacitor onto his chest before kicking him out and pulling Jody in.
Jody didn't need to ask. One look between her and Mickey, and she understood.
"Yank me like that again and Jody's gonna break her leg."
He wasn't joking—Jody had nearly stumbled.
"Shut it! Even if she breaks her leg, I can fix it! 🖕🖕🖕"
Sera hissed.
...And she wasn't wrong.
Whoosh!
The door slid shut.
Mickey stood outside, dumbfounded.
"...Yep. She's not mad anymore."