The bus rolled to the stop letting out the eager passengers and waiting for other’s to board. Vernon tucked his hands underneath Mina’s armpits and lifted her onto the steps of the bus. They swiped their passes and bowed to the driver before taking their seats towards the back. Mina found their seats and slipped into the one closest to the window.

“What do you want to do first Mina?” Vernon asked sitting beside her.

“hm.” She tapped her fingers against her knees. “I am kind of hungry.” She said looking up at him hoping they would eat before they did anything else.

“Then we’ll eat as soon as we get off.” He smiled.

Mina attempted to look out the window after they’d finished discussing their plans. It turned out she was just a little too short to see the cars passing by. She leaned closer only being able to see the top of some large cars. That was hardly good enough. She leaned over far enough that she was practically standing.

The bus came to an abrupt stop easily sending the little girl’s body forward. She anticipated the pain of the impact but it never came. Vernon had reached out and caught her arms before she could come into contact with the hard plastic of the seats in front of them.

“You okay?”

“You saved my life Mr. Vernon!” She wrapped her arms around his waist. Her cheeks squished into his side and he couldn’t help but smile at how adorable she was.

Mina stayed hugging his side until they came to their stop. They walked around the food court in the mall a while until they finally found something they wanted to eat. They were served quickly and it didn’t take them all that long either to finish their food.

“Thank you for buying me lunch Mr. Vernon.”

“You don’t have to thank me for that.” He said ruffling the loose black hair on the top of her head.

“Well you don’t get thank you’s for the other jobs you do so I think as your best friend I should thank you for something.”

“Mina-“

“Nope! End of story. We’re moving on.” She started walking ahead of him quickly.

“Mina!” he whined.

She stopped dead in her tracks and her heel. “If we’re going to hang out today Mr. Vernon then you need to keep up with me!”

“Yes mam,” He mock saluted.

They’d walked on the first floor a while. Mina got ahead of Vernon a few times causing him to worry to which the girl made some silly comment about him being too slow.

“I can’t be losing you every five seconds.” She finally said after losing him yet again. She slipped her small hand and his and gave it a nice squeeze. For the first time today she felt unsure of what she was doing. “It’s alright if I hold your hand… Isn’t it?”

Not too long ago this would have felt strange to him. He would have yanked his hand away accidentally hurting her feelings in the process. But now the warmth in his heart was something normal. The smile on his face was sincere. Unlike any time in his life he was now certain that this little girl loved him and he loved her just as much. 

“You don’t even have to ask.” He bent over kissing the top of her head and he let her drag him to whatever store she wanted.

There were plenty of places to go. They could look at clothing, music, and toys and not one yet really caught their eye. Until they were met with the home of all things pink. Little girls ran inside. You could see through the glass panes their princess clothing and the dolls they played with and their parents pained expressions were clear as day.

Mina looked up at Vernon hopefully and all he could do was nod his head. With her grip tight Mina took off full speed into the store. The store could only be described as a child’s dream. Slides in the very back, tables and child sized houses, dolls and all the accessories they could need were set up in little stations.

Mina disappeared into the heard of children and magically reemerged with a fluffy boa around her neck and something behind her back.

“Try this on Mr. Vernon.” She pulled out a tiara from behind her back. It was silver and covered in hot pink rhinestones and had pink feathers covering the base of the tiara.

“I…” He thought about refusing but eventually kneeled down to her level so he could place it on the top of his head. He smiled adjusting his hair, “How do I look?”

“Like a handsome princess!” She giggled.

“How do I take that?” Like a complement. She quickly kissed his cheek before running off to look at what else the store had to offer.

Vernon stood and rubbed his cheek. It had been a long time since anyone had done that to him. It was a pleasant surprise. He took a seat in a section where he could easily keep an eye on Mina. Surrounding him were fathers and mothers. There were several just happy to be there and some who impatiently checked their phones as they waited for their children to finish playing and picking out their toys.

“Your daughter’s playing. You don’t have to wear that anymore.” An older man said pointing to the frilly tiara on Vernon’s head.

“Oh she’s not my-“

“How old is she?” The man cut him off before he was able to explain their situation.

“She’s six.” He replied taking the plastic thing off of his head.

“Six is a nice age. It may not seem like it now but you’ll miss this age in the future. My babies are all grown up. I’m actually here with my grandchildren. They’re around six too. They may even go to school together.” The ahjusshi went on and on about his grandchildren and though it was nice to hear Vernon hoped Mina would be ready to leave soon.

For some reason or another it seemed as if the laughter in the room got louder and the sound of chanting accompanied it. The voices were too far off to actually make out the words though. Vernon was curious but didn’t want to seem rude so he continued to listen to the ahjusshi.

“Hmm.. That sounds like my grandchildren…” The man squinted his eyes and cupped a hand around his ear.

“Mina’s next! Mina’s next!”

Vernon knew those voices. He’d heard that chant on the playground at Mina’s school too many times not to recognize it. He and the ahjusshi got up to inspect what was going on.

The sound of sobbing became louder as they came closer to the chanting. It was those damn kids from school aright. They had a tight circle but he could see Mina collapsed in the middle.

“No I’m not.” She cried out but her words sounded defeated.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” The ahjusshi yelled out grabbing one of the kids by the collar. The chanting immediately stopped and the children looked panicked.

“Grandfather. I-I..”

“What’s this about?” He demanded.

Vernon picked Mina up from the floor and let her bury her head in his shoulder she sobbed out incoherent words.

“Grandfather!” The children pleaded though they still didn’t supply an answer. The ahjusshi kept his grip firm on the child and walked over to Vernon.

“Sweetheart what did they say?” He asked softly.

She lifted her head and tried to wipe the tears, “Th-they said I… The killer… He-“ She broke out into more tears and Vernon held her tight.

“You don’t have to speak anymore. There will be consequences. If they behave like this again you can get my contact information from the school.”

Vernon bowed and set down all of the stores merchandise before walking out. He patted Mina’s back hoping that he was helping in calming her down.

“No one is going to hurt you Mina. I won’t let them.” He whispered to her. Her reply was to only hold on tighter to him.

Eventually she calmed down enough that her cries had subsided into small hiccups every few minutes.

“Are you alright now?” He asked combing her hair down with his fingers.

“Y-Yes.” She nodded rubbing an eye with the back of her hand.

He smiled at her and kissed her forehead before taking her to other stores. They went into a music shop where she showed him her favorite music and vice versa. He ended up buying her an album that they both rather enjoyed. They went to a few toy shops only briefly and then out into the mall to look at other things.

They were looking at some model cars when someone tapped Vernon on the shoulder. At the familiar face Vernon bowed.

“You’re still coming into work tomorrow right?” Vernon’s boss at the car garage asked.

“Yes sir.”

“Good because you’ve been missing unexpectedly a few times. As annoying as you are I’d hate to have to fire you.” He said with a laugh. “And who’s this?” He asked squinting his eyes at Mina.

“Oh. This is my friend’s daughter.” Vernon said with a smile.

“Hu… I didn’t think you had friends. Well good for you I suppose. I’ll see you tomorrow. And nice meeting you little girl.” He said with a little wave before walking off.

Vernon looked to the floor slightly effected by what he’d said. Part was because of him saying he’d had no friends. It was true for so long. However the other thing upset him more. Missing work. Because of the drugs. Though he’d finally gotten out of the contract with TOP he still hated to think about it. It made him feel like he’d let down his new friends. Like he let down Mina and his mother and he hated that about himself. He hated it more than anything.

“That ahjusshi must be crazy to think you have no friend’s Mr. Vernon.” Mina said poking his side. “Am I invisible?” She asked with her hands in the air.

“Not invisible.” He said with a slight smile though his body language still screamed out that he wasn’t okay.

“Let’s get ice cream!” Mina said taking his hand and pulling him out of the shop. “Mr. Vernon where do we get ice cream?” She asked after a few minutes of wandering aimlessly.

“We can go to the parlor a few blocks away okay?”

She nodded and they headed for the mall exit. They walked a way’s in silence and eventually were out of the building. At first the sidewalks were full and they had to be careful to not bump into anybody. Eventually the amount of people thinned out with time.

“What street is it on?” Mina asked looking at the signs above her.

He told her and she lead him over to a street map.

“This map says it’s just over there.” She pointed in some direction and then looked back at the sign. “I think there’s a shortcut.” She said. “Can we take it?”

“I don’t know…”

“Please!? I want to get there quickly.” She begged.

“Okay.”

They took a quiet street and then turned down an ally way. It wasn’t dark or muddy unlike other’s they had passed by. It wasn’t long either so they would definitely get to the ice cream faster. The ring of Vernon’s phone went off and he quickly accepted the call.

“Hello?”

“Hey kid… are you still available to do business?” TOP’s deep voice sounded over the speakers. He paled slightly. He knew he should have never gotten into business with him. He should have known from experience once you got in it was nearly impossible to get out.

“I can’t do that anymore. Things have been turning around. I can’t do it. And we had a deal.”

“You’re right and I’m sorry. I was just doing my job.” He laughed from the other end.

“What do-“ TOP hung up before Vernon could ask any questions.

“MR. VERN-!” he heard Mina squeal before he voice was cut off.

A man was holding Mina’s limp body in his arms with a devilish smirk on his face. He’d seen that superior look in those evil cat like eyes before. It was the same man that flashed his gun him at work months before. That same unsettling feeling started in his gut. Was this the man who’d gone around killing innocent people? Was he the man who killed Vernon’s mother?

Without any thoughts but rage and the need to protect Mina Vernon lunged at the man.

didn't feel like editing tbh

Oh my gosh I am an evil human being! What have I done? I knew this from the start of the book but WHAT HAVE I DONE??

This hurts so much man. I’m sorry!

Rina