Nov 2023 - Side Story (Part 1)

Hi guys 👋 Here's the side story for the month! This story is written from Skylar's POV and is basically an insight into what they thought when first meeting MC. I decided to choose Tsundere MC who's crushing on them because I think it would be the most interesting dynamic to write from Skylar's perspective 😆

It's 3.5 K words long and as always, I'll split it into two parts. I hope you guys enjoy it! I'll now get to writing the spicy side story next 😁

* * * * *

You yawn and stretch as you lounge languidly on the leather armchair. It has only been five minutes or so of waiting, but you’re already itching to move and get on with your day. The hallway you’re sitting in is silent, except for the ambient sounds, which include the faint instrumental music playing on the speakers and the muffled voices talking coming from Mrs. Kim’s office.

It doesn’t really help with your feeling of restlessness.

Mrs. Kim have summoned you to her office today to become an unofficial representative of the Agency and to meet with the representative from the ECPD, which you assume, will be whichever poor detective it is that handles this whole Nemesis project case. She hopes that the two institutions will be able to better organize and pool their resources for a more efficient and better effort in hunting down and stopping the group once and for all.

Why you’ve been chosen? You aren’t really sure, but after seeing your mentor being the next target, you are more than happy to take on the task.

A rhythmic sound of high heels clicking against the marble floor echoes down the corridor, making you turn to see the newcomer. A tall and elegant woman is striding your way--or more like towards Mrs. Kim’s office. Her brown hair is pulled up in a tight ponytail that makes you wince inside at how it must’ve felt pulling on her poor scalp. She’s wearing a clearly expensive red jumpsuit that matches her equally red lipstick.

Even without her domino mask, you clearly recognize her; she’s the superhero known as Phoenix. You’ve never really talked much with her other than some cordial exchanges of words and greetings. She’s a difficult person to get along with.

You consider greeting her, but she looks even more irritable than she already usually is, and right now, she doesn’t, she doesn’t seem to notice you. Her ire brews around her like a cloud of storm, and you happily let her pass you by.

She raps at the door three times before immediately opening it, not even waiting for Mrs. Kim to let her in or for her response at the very least. You hear the discussion inside die down a bit as she enters but it quickly picks back up again as soon as Phoenix closes the door behind her.

You totally understand all of these senior heroes' concerns and frustrations, of course. Two of their colleagues have been murdered and a third one is now marked for death in two weeks. Who knows who would be next in Nemesis’ crosshair?

This reminds you of your talk with your mentor yesterday. As soon as you saw the broadcast, you quickly contacted her, but she didn’t respond to any of your messages or calls that night. The next morning though, she finally texted you and asked to meet up and talk.

So you did…

You offered to meet up in an inconspicuous cafe somewhere downtown, but she refused. You couldn’t blame her for being paranoid after what happened last night. Nemesis seems to know almost everything about her, even things that you didn’t know, like how she has a kid all this time. And you had always considered yourself to be one of the few people who can be considered close.

The two of you ended up meeting in the Celestial Lotus Hotel. It is a luxurious place--actually might be the best hotel on the West Coast. As soon as you stepped into the hotel’s restaurant, you saw Yvette sitting in a more isolated corner, right beside the expansive wall of glass looking out into the city below.

“So… Any reason why you chose to meet here? Or is it simply because it’s high-class?” you teased her as a greeting, pulling out the chair to take a seat across from her. During these awkward hours between breakfast and lunch, the restaurant seemed pretty deserted, except for a few patrons spread here and there.

She looked up at you, a strained and weary smile on her face. Even with her make-up on, it was clear that she hadn’t been sleeping well--if at all. “Well, this is simply one of the most secure places in the city. I don’t think the Nemesis group would foolishly try to carry out an attack in here.”

A waitress sauntered over to ask what you were going to be ordering. You randomly picked a drink and a dish that sounded delicious, trying to get her away so you could continue your talk with Yvette.

As soon as she was out of earshot, you asked her, “Really? What makes this place different from any other public place in the city?”

“Because this place is owned by the Aikawas,” she answered, keeping her voice low and hushed. “This place might look unguarded but it--along with the casino just beside this… This is the bastion of the Morozov-Aikawa syndicate. Nemesis would be foolish to piss them off… more than their leader already did last night.”

Okay, she was starting to lose you with all of these. It’s not like you are unfamiliar with the names Morozov and Aikawa. Your parents have talked enough about trying to arrange a meeting between you and ‘the young Morozov’, telling you that if you manage to get them, your future will be set for life.

You’ve always managed to weasel your way out of meeting this mysterious Morozov, including not attending their supposed birthday yesterday. But now… After such revelation, they intrigued you.

“Morozov…” you savored this seemingly feared--and revered--name in this city. “They said it too last night. Something about your uh… boyfriend. Ex-boyfriend, I suppose,” you quickly added the last part.

She sighed, “I didn’t know he was a Morozov when we first ‘dated’.” She made quotation marks with her fingers when she said ‘dated’. Made sense since she must’ve not wanted that relationship to be official and known by all people.

Whether you agreed as to how she treated her love as something that had to be hidden like that…

“You never told me you have a kid,” you point out, not accusingly, more like amusedly.

She scoffs, “Because it’s no one’s business. Also, there’s just no good way to bring it up in a conversation, right? You expected me to just one day drop the bombshell on you casually?”

That image made you laugh. “Yeah, yeah, I get it. So… Is your kid a Morozov too then? Are they the young Morozov that people have started to talk about?” you asked again.

“They are,” she groaned. “Somehow, the Nemesis knows about them too and I’m willing to bet they intentionally timed that broadcast with their birthday.” She raked her fingers through her hair in frustration.

You didn’t really know what kind of relationship she had with her child, but from how she handled her ex-boyfriend and how no one even knew that she had a kid, you could guess that it was probably not pretty--or non-existent. But still, you were going to try bringing it up subtly.

“Were you there at their birthday party when the broadcast dropped?” you asked.

She grimaced before shaking her head. “No. I was not invited. The Morozovs hate my guts,” she spat the last sentence.

“Including your kid?”

“I… I don’t know,” she whispered and she looked like she was about to burst into tears right here and now.

Okay, so that was a very sour topic for her and it wasn’t the primary reason for you to meet her this morning. “How are you doing? I was so worried you weren’t answering my calls or messages last night.”

“Sorry about that, I was panicking and the Agency’s people came to take me to one of their safehouses,” she explained. “I didn’t really have time to sleep or to do anything else, to be honest.”

The waitress returned with your order and you decided to shift the topic of the conversation. You started telling her about your day yesterday and today, anything that might help her get her mind off her predicament even for only the duration of this brunch.

It worked… Somewhat. She looked less stressed as she listened to your story. At the end of the brunch, she told you something that surprised you.

“I’ve made up my mind. I think I’ll go talk to them,” she said to you. “Maybe they’d be able to help. But either way, it’s time for me to stop running away from it.”

You smiled at her, “I think that’s a good idea. I wish you the best of luck.”

[Part 2]