I nervously walked into the dimly lit pawn shop, the smell of musty old items and cigarettes filling my nostrils. I approached the counter where K was sitting, his beady eyes staring at me.


    “Hey, Sherry,” he said, a hint of malice in his voice. “You are finally here!”


    I swallowed hard, trying to calm my nerves. His shop was the dirtiest ce on earth that I had seen apart from the dump yard.


    “Hi , K, I’m here to talk to you. Tell me what was it that you wanted to hear? I said I will be giving you back your money by… ”


    “Ah, Sherry, good to see you too. Don’t worry about the money for now. Come and have a seat. ”


    He cut me off before I couldplete. I have to admit I didn’t need to meet him per se. I could have easily handed his money back the next week and blocked his contact.


    But I was there. In a ce that made me very very ufortable. Why was I there? Was it to take my mind off Ryan? Or was it some sort of a rebellion because he didn’t want me toe to K?


    Whatever, I needed to make life a little difficult at the moment for myself so that my stupid heart could get some rest.


    “But I need to talk to you about my loan,” I said, my voice trembling slightly.


    K leaned back in his chair, a smug expression on his face. “What’s the problem? You will not be paying on time?”


    I shook my head. “No, it’s not that. It’s just that the interest rates are so high, and I don’t want to pay that much when I will be clearing the rest of the amount in one go. ”


    K chuckled. “Well, that’s not my problem. You knew what you were getting into when you took out the loan.”


    I felt my frustration growing. “But the interest is ridiculous! Why should I be paying that amount when I will be clearing the rest of my debt in one go? ”


    K shrugged. “Sorry, Sherry, but that’s how it works. If you don’t pay up, I’ll have to take something valuable as coteral.”


    I felt a knot forming in my stomach. “You cannot threaten me like that K! It’s not like I am not paying up. I am just asking you to be rational… ”


    K leaned forward, a sinister glint in his eye. “Well, there is one other option. You could always do me a favor.”


    I felt my heart sink. “What kind of favor?”


    K smirked and so did his men . He asked them to go out and we were left in that shop alone. “Let’s just say I have some… business that needs attending to. And you seem like the perfect candidate for the job.”


    I knew what he was insinuating, at least I thought I did, and it made my skin crawl,


    ” Have you lost your mind? What do you even mean?”


    His manners became a little jolly and rxed this time and he said with a smile, “I heard you’re working for Ryan these days. How’s that going?”


    That got me off guard. Ryan was there again. I was there to avoid him but he was there again.


    “It’s going fine. He’s a good boss and I like my job.”


    I said so mechanically that he would not be getting into any more details.


    ” Hhhmm, Interesting. Do you happen to know where he is right now?”


    He asked, his eyes trying to pierce me and perhaps get some more information.


    “Why do you want to know that?”


    I asked.


    “Let’s just say he owes me a favor and I need to collect.”


    I raised my brows. Judging by their status, it was very absurd that Ryan would owe someone like K anything.


    “I don’t feelfortable sharing his whereabouts with you. That’s not my ce.”


    At this point, I was trying to wrap up the conversation and leave.


    “Fair enough. But just so you know, it would be in your best interest to co-operate with me. I don’t like it when people don’t pay their debts.”


    He insisted.


    ” That’s between the two of you, I don’t have anything to say about that. It’s not my ce. ”


    I stood up to leave.


    ” Now if you will excuse me, I need to go pay my sick father a visit. ” I added.


    “We’ll see about that. Just keep in mind that I’m not someone you want to mess with.”This content belongs to N?/velDra/ma.Org .


    His voice was snug and cold.


    I hurriedly excused myself again and left before he could further the conversation anymore.


    As I left the pawn shop I thought I heard a few footsteps.


    . I couldn’t shake off the eerie feeling that someone was following me. My heart started racing as I looked around, trying to spot anyone suspicious, but there was no one there. Still, the sensation persisted, and my mind started racing with thoughts. I quickened my pace, my footsteps echoing through the empty streets as I tried to get away from the unseen pursuer. Every shadow seemed to hide a danger, and every sound made me jump. I had never felt so paranoid before, but I couldn’t shake off the feeling that someone was watching me, waiting to strike.