The four masked men moved in unison. Two approached from the front, while the other two moved to the sides, cutting off Rey's retreat toward the dim coffee shop.Rey leaned his body slightly forward, both hands clenched beside his cheeks in a defensive stance. His breathing was deep and steady, though his heart pounded fast."Hit him!" ordered a rough voice from their leader.The man on Rey's right threw the first punch. Rey dodged, letting the knuckle ring pass by his face.The man on the left immediately followed with a low kick to the ankle. Rey jumped back, dodging it just in time.He had no time to think, his instincts took over. As the man in front was turning his body for a hook punch, Rey darted in.His fist landed right on the man's solar plexus. The man groaned loudly, his body bending over. Rey immediately followed up with a short punch to the jaw until the man fell sprawling.The other two attacked at the same time. Rey managed to dodge one blow to the head, but the second

The clock hand on the kitchen wall had just shown 4:20 when Emily was already standing in front of the stove with an apron tied around her waist.Thin smoke rose from the wok full of oil and fried snacks that were starting to turn golden, while on the table behind her, trays lined up filled with cakes that had already finished being fried an hour earlier.Rey stood at the kitchen doorway, his eyes still half closed. "What time did you start?""Three o'clock," Emily answered without turning around, her hand flipping the fried snacks with a spatula. "Go back to sleep, it's still too early.""No." Rey entered the kitchen and took a chair in the corner. "Is there anything I can help with?"Emily glanced over briefly, seeing Rey's still disheveled face. "Please get the big containers from that bottom shelf. The blue ones for the wet cakes, the red and white ones for the fried snacks."Rey crouched down and pulled out three large plastic containers from under the plate rack. He placed them

Around 10 o'clock, Rey stood outside the station's main entrance. One hand held his phone and the other gripped the strap of his sling bag tightly. People looked busy passing back and forth around him.Rey didn't move along with them, his eyes slowly observing the area in front of him, searching for something amid all that crowd.His steps began to move inward, and his mind went back to the conversation at the coffee shop yesterday."What job?" Rey stared at Ethan that time. "How much does it pay? What company?"Ethan laughed lightly, more like someone who found the question amusing than uncomfortable. "Relax, Rey." He sipped his coffee. "First, about the salary, you won't refuse it. Don't worry about that."Rey nodded slowly, but his gaze didn't change."Don't ask too many questions." Ethan's tone dropped a little, sounding more serious. "This job is simple. Take it, deliver it, done. There's nothing you need to understand beyond that."Rey found what he was looking for, a dark gray

Rey stared at Ethan, waiting for any reaction after he admitted his failure. But Ethan just stayed silent, his eyes widening like someone who had just received shocking news.The car kept driving, passing through streets starting to get busy with afternoon traffic.The driver sitting in the front seat shook his head slowly, then let out a small sigh that sounded like pity.Rey couldn't hold it anymore. "Am I ... going to die?" His voice broke in the middle of the sentence.Several seconds passed without an answer. Rey could hear his own heartbeat in his ears, louder than the sound of the car engine.Then the panic exploded, taking over every nerve in his body. He grabbed Ethan's shirt collar with both hands and pulled him closer."TELL ME!"Ethan raised both his hands, his palms open toward Rey as a calming gesture."Rey ... calm down, calm down first." His voice sounded hesitant. "You still remember what I answered when you asked about this, right?"Rey released his grip and fell sil

Rey lifted two tightly sealed wooden boxes from the floor of Nadia's garage. The boxes were quite heavy, and from the gaps in the wood a strong perfume scent could be smelled.A mixture of flowers and wood that felt expensive. He carefully placed them one by one into the trunk of Nadia's black SUV that was already open."Thank you, Rey," said Nadia, standing beside him while holding the trunk lid."I was so worried they might break. The contents are new perfume samples for the shop. Usually I ask the employees for help, but today they're all busy with event preparations.""No problem," Rey answered briefly while making sure the boxes weren't shaking.Nadia watched Rey for a moment, then asked, "Can you drive?"Rey hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Of course I can."They got into the car. Rey sat in the driver's seat, adjusting the seat position and looking around the dashboard.This car was bigger and more luxurious than any he had driven before. He started the engine and slowly b