Chapter 2

The girl San meant at that time was his junior. He was sure of it. However, he felt that it was his first time seeing her then. So, he relied on his memory of the girl with short curly hair, relatively short in stature, maybe up to her upper arm. He has pale skin and wears glasses.

"You mean Molly?"

"Molly?" San asked one of his acquaintances, who were also his junior. "Yes, Maybe."

"Wait a minute, I know her close friend. I'll call first."

San waited in front of the class, leaning against the wall close to the door. He stared at the cellphone screen that was already cracked at the top. There was a message from his uncle; the person said San had to come home with side dishes this afternoon because the uncle's wife was reluctant to cook.

San just stared at the message without replying. Today alone he does not know whether to go home or not. He has to work extra overtime to pay the compensation that Gio's parents have asked for. His savings have been drained because his uncle was stolen. He said it was for San's living expenses while living at his house.

Cost of living camel horn?! San can count when he 'succeeded' in his uncle's house in just one month. Santiago's name only plays a role in entering the population census list. With that, his uncle's family often gets social assistance because San is an orphan.

He can only enjoy government assistance. San doesn't even know if he is counted in his uncle's family.

Perhaps the right term for San's current situation is, "The rich get richer, the poor get poorer."

The world is indeed unfair.

No.

Even San doesn't know if there is still justice in this world.

"You the one looking for Molly?"

San gasped. He immediately straightened his back when he saw the figure of a woman with long straight hair with bright red lips as if she had eaten live chicken. "Yes. Is she there?"

"Molly isn't coming in." His hand pointed towards the classroom across from him. "Class over there."

"Why don't you come in?"

"She is sick."

San just nodded his head while muttering. "Can I have your home address, please?"

The girl's eyes narrowed, then looked at San from top to toe at her furry shoes, which seemed to be assessing her seriously. "Since when did my Molly have boy friends?" he asked skeptically.

"I'm not her friend."

"Crush?"

San waved his hand. "I don't have much time."

"Gosh…." She handed his cell phone to the man. "Can I have your number? I'll send you the address later. Take it as insurance that there's something wrong with Molly—no, it's not meant to be anything. But, yeah, what's wrong with being vigilant?"

It didn't take long for San to mention a series of numbers, then the girl sent Molly's address. "Okay, thank you!"

San just walked away, holding up one hand. At the same time, the girl was watching with a smile. "Handsome but hairy." He then returned to his class. She suddenly stopped when someone stopped her.

Gio and some of his gang friends greeted the girl.

***

That day, just before San went to Molly's house, he went to the toilet first. He was still in the booth, looking for the girl's address using the map application.

"You know Gio's parents go to campus, right?"

"It must be because of Orphan San. Did they fight?"

San took a deep breath. The two voices outside his cubicle were evident to his ears, but he tried not to care.

"About the girl who was said to be harassed by Gio and the gang. Have you ever seen the girl?" said the short youth.

"Listen, anyway. She was mute. Uh, but he said San challenged Gio's parents. San doesn't want to admit that he's the one who leaked Gio's head." His friend replied casually.

They both heard laughter.

"Just crazy, Man! What can San do? I'm willing to bet he will die! I can't stop thinking I'm the same kid. There's no fear!"

"It's not that there's no fear, but he's an idiot. Already like that, I don't know who the person he's fighting is."

"But if the girl gives testimony, will Gio be dropped?"

No answer. San, who was done with his needs, then came out of the toilet cubicle. The two young men who had been talking about it looked surprised and elbowed each other.

"If only I win," said San while walking towards the sink. "Is it possible they'll apologize?"

At first, the two young men were confused until, finally, one of them spoke up. "You'd better just give up and accept the punishment from the lecturer, San."

San laughed when he heard those words. "You don't need to pretend to care—yes, even though I know that your sentence just now is the same as looking down on me." San turned on the faucet and washed his hands. "I'm self-aware. Gio comes from an influential family, while? People think that I'm just a piece of society's trash. Disappear in a matter of seconds, no one will be looking for it."

The two of them glanced at each other.

"I'm not betting on myself. That girl, if I stay silent, she won't get justice."

After finishing his activities, San strolled away without caring about them.

***

The house is simple. The first thing on San's mind was when he arrived at the front of the iron-fenced house, which was overgrown with vines on both sides. The yard is large, but the house style is simple and minimalist. Several plants in the yard add to the cool and shady atmosphere.

San called, excuse me, at the slightly ajar gate. Since he didn't get a response and maybe the people inside didn't hear him, he stepped inside.

No one was in the front yard, a quiet and peaceful place.

"Horror." San has other words to describe this place. "Really there's no gardener or anything?" He muttered to himself.

When his feet reached the door, he knocked several times. "Excuse me, anyone there?"

He did the same thing over and over again, but still, no one answered.

"That girl with chicken blood lipstick didn't say that her child was hospitalized, right?" He assumed so because it was possible. Maybe the pain is bad enough to be treated.

He was about to ask the lipstick girl by calling her, but suddenly he heard a scream inside. San almost dropped his cell phone because the sound was quite loud.

"Ouch, what is this real horror house?" San doesn't believe in ghosts. Even if there is, he believes ghosts are harmless. Humans are far more dangerous to him.

It's impolite to enter someone's house without permission, but when he idly turned the doorknob, it turned out that the door was unlocked. "If I'm a thief, my life is fortunate, dude."

One second later, San felt something hard hit his head. That made his vision suddenly blurry. His head seemed to turn completely. Then it was dark.