The Stray Kids of Edogawa Rampo

While Zen is Sleeping

While Zen is Sleeping

"Innocence is a bliss,"

H I R O Asahina
December 6. 1:58 am.

"Nakikita mo 'to?" pinakita ko sa nakangising ulupong na 'to ang index finger ko. "This will be the first and last time that I'll use my baseball bat to hit someone's head, you understand me?!"

Twelve nodded just like a child. There's this mischievous grin across his lips which gave me a feeling that he's up to something. "Copy that!"

I sighed and brushed my hair upwards, "Bakit kasi kailangan mo siyang i-provoke ng ganon kung alam mo namang mapro-provoke siya?"

He shrugged and sat to have a good look on the poor guy's face. From what I've heard from their conversation, he's the Zen that he's been talking about these past few weeks. Kung pagbabasehan ang awra at datingan, mukha nga siyang anak mayaman. He looks like a spoiled kid, to be exact. 'Yung mga lalaking mala-badass tas tintilian ng mga babae sa manga at Wattpad.

"To be honest, there's no particular reason," he said and stood up. He went back to his seat a while ago and continued sipping his coffee as if nothing happened. "Siguro gusto ko lang makita ang reaksyon niya? Or maybe I wanna see how traumatic it is for him? Some sort like that."

I crossed my arms over my chest, "You're being a jerk then."

"Yup."

At mukhang wala siyang planong i-deny.

He sighed through his nose and scratched his head. Mukhang nagsisimula na siyang ma-guilty. "Eh kasi naman eh! Of course, I'm curious! Lahat ng alam ko ay puro surface information lang."

"Surface information?" I squinted my eyes suspiciously. "Mukha bang surface information lang ang alam mo kung kaya mo siyang asarin tungkol sa two types of people who'll approach Zen Wysteria Gomez punch line mo?"

He did a beautiful eyes gesture and smiled, "Did I look cool?"

"Sure, you did. Pero 'pag hinampas kita netong baseball bat ko tingnan nalang natin kung makakapagpa-cool ka pa!"

He rolled his eyes and pouted, "Ba't ba galit na galit ka? It's just research, you know?! I told you I was curious and found out that this guy is being chased because of the 10 million dollar worth insurance."

Pakiramdam ko malalaglag ang panga ko dahil sa sinabi niya. 10 MILLION DOLLARS?! Para lang sa buhay ng lalaking 'to?

"H-Hindi ba masyadong malaki 'yun?"

"Gago," he blurted with disgust. "Malamang malaki! Galing sa pamilya ng mga diyos 'yang ulupong na 'yan eh?"

I stared at the unconscious guy on the ground and tilted my head. Okay, given the fact that he looks like someone who was born with a silver spoon on the mouth, I didn't expect that he's this rich. 10 million dollars para sa isang insurance? No wonder na maraming humahabol sakanya. This might also explain the fact why he's so wary of strangers.

"So, paano mo siya nakita?" tanong ko at naupo sa may silya malapit sakanya. "I mean, di mo naman siguro siya kinidnap di ba?"

His eyes widened on what I've said, "Trust me, I'm THIS close on doing that. Ang hirap hulihin ng kutong 'yan dahil kung saan saan siya nagsususuot. Worst, sa isang haunted mansion pa siya minsan tumatambay!"