The Ranch

New Experience (1)

The group of four managed to leave the Lecture Hall before the crowd came out of their stupor.

"What should we do next?" Kai asks.

"Well, our options are the Cafeteria, Central Market, Training Colosseums, the mountains or plains, or we could go back to our dorms."

"Hmm...since we're close by, let's head to the Market?" Kai suggested.

"Sure! Oh, and we should drop by our electronic guy that we told you about earlier."

"For the wristwatches?" Kai recalls.

"Yep." Lucien answers concisely.

They make their way to the Central Market. Walking into the crowded and bustling streets, the noise is actually quite inviting, creating an immersive and lively atmosphere.

The group walks around for a while, stopping to enter a repair shop. The door bell rings as they walk in. A voice can be heard from behind the counter," Welcome, I'll be with you in a moment!" The voice sounds flustered. The movement of metal clinking together can be head until it ends with a thunk. A teen with glasses pop up, rubbing the back of his head as he looks at the visitors," How can I help- Ah? Sherlock?"

"Hey mate! Can you do us a favor?" Sherlock smiles.

"Uhh, if it's within my abilities, of course!" The teen stares blankly at the group.

"Great! We need four communication watches!" Sherlock shows four fingers.

"F-four?! I- I don't think I have all the parts for that many and it'll take me a while to fix all of them..." The boy twiddles with his fingers.

"That's fine That's fine, just tell me what parts you need and I'll get them for you. There's no time limit...Ah, but it's best to get them before the months ends." Sherlock spots some paper and a pencil.

"Umm, I should be able to finish it in a month...the parts-"

Sherlock turns around," Kai, Tih, you guys can head out for now, this might take a while. Do you want to meet in front of the fountain when we're done?"

"Sounds good!" Kai waves goodbye as he pulls Tih along. They leave the repair shop and continue walking through the streets. A whiff of warm food flows through the air as vendors can be seen on both sides of the street, calling out to passerby.

Kai notices Tih's gaze and brings him over to a frankfurter stand. Kai wasn't planning on spending any money, but he felt bad for forcing Tih to sign up for the Parkour class. "It'll be okay if it's only this much."

Kai's attention was focusing on buying the street food so he didn't see Tih wandering off. Tih wasn't actually interested in eating the food, he just wanted to look at the new types of food he's never seen before. He's still not used to having more than one meal a day.

Tih wanders close to the frankfurter stall as he watches the vendors make food. Tih unknowingly attracts someone's attention. From the second floor of the building in front of the frankfurter stall, a man is looking through the window. The man's eyes gleam in delight as he's found his newest prey. Licking his lips, he dresses himself and leaves the bedroom with a delightful smile of a child.

Kai brings the two frankfurters to the absentmindedly staring Tih. Kai stuffs one into his own mouth before pulling Tih's chin down and stuffing his mouth with the frankfurter. Tih bites and chews the food like an obedient child.

"Pfhh, I though I could get some kind of reaction out of you, but I'm once again proven wrong. Do you want me to keep feeding you like a baby or do you want to hold the food yourself?" Kai teases with a amused smile.

Tih doesn't mind either way, he swallows before opening his mouth again. Tih wasn't planning on eating anymore today, but since food was offered, he would eat it.

"...Really? Sigh, okay." Kai didn't expect Tih to really make him hand-feed this child. He paused before letting Tih have another bite as he mumbles,"what am I, your babysitter?"

"Hey little chipmunk! Do you want to hang out with big brother? I'll treat you to all the food you could ask for?" The man's eyes shine as they stare at Tih.

Kai turns around holding a half eaten frankfurter and Tih turns around with bulging cheeks.

The man has a large stature at 6'3 and is easily able to look down on everyone in the area. His lean muscles were outlined over his black military suit, long limbs and thin waist with broad shoulders. His handsome facial features include a chiseled jawline, greek nose, blue eyes, and long eyelashes. Pomade was used to slick back his black hair. He looks like the mannequins you see in stores, but with the elegance and arrogance of the son of a rich businessman. He throws Tih a glimmering smile of pearly white teeth. His eyes curve into crescents as dimples appear.

Tih looks past the man's seemingly kind smile to look in his eyes hiding greedy intentions. He silently listens as the man introduces himself. "My name is Phillip. It's very nice to meet you. Now you see, I've taken a fancy on you, so what do you think about breaking up with your boyfriend over here and hooking up with me?" Phillip winks at Tih and shows a devilish smile.

Kai coughs on the frankfurter he was eating," W-What do you mean boyfriend?! We're both guys!?" The thirteen year old blushes.

"Oh? You're not? Does that mean you're available?" He waits for a reaction from the boy. From his experience, the boy with either get angry, get scared, or blush. As an experienced playboy, he can work with any of those scenarios.

But his expectations did not become reality. Tih stares at the man blankly. In fact, now that he's come closer, Phillip can feel they creepy aura the child is exuding, causing him to feel a tingling feeling down his back. His eyes narrow even more in interest. The two found each other equally interesting.

Tih found him interesting because of the look in the man's eyes. He has seen greed and envy before, but this one is new. What Tih will not get to learn, is that this emotion is called "lust".

The man bends down into a squat, becoming eye-level with the child,"Should I take your silence as confirmation then?" He supports his chin with his hand as he stares at Tih.