Epilogue

backstory 2. sorin's seduction sessions

Zalia entered Kira Coffee Shop, a small hipster coffee shop located at a street corner near her workplace, at exactly 7 that evening (and in the morning, but it was entirely Sorin's fault for not specifying AM or PM). The aroma of bitter coffee beans and sweet pastries floated in the air, reminding her of milky foam and chaste cream-colored kisses. The shop's warmth embraced her as she stepped inside, a stark contrast from the sharp chill of the midnight sky chasing away the red sun outside.

"Zalia!" A voice called out to her.

She glanced around the shop until her eyes landed on Sorin, who was sitting at a booth at the side of the room. As she took a seat on the leather cushion facing him, a waiter came up and placed two mugs on the table for them.

"What is it?" Zalia asked curiously as Sorin slid one to her, holding it up to let the warm swirls of steam curl around her nose.

"Black coffee. You seem like that kind of girl," he shrugged.

"And what's yours? A mocha?" Zalia guessed, picking the first coffee that came to mind when thinking of his personality.

"Wrong," he smirked, taking a long sip of his drink before continuing on, "it's hot chocolate. But of course, not as hot as you though."

She raised an eyebrow at him as she drank the bitter liquid in her mug to warm herself up. "Isn't this supposed to be a briefing? Not a casual date?"

"It's both, remember babe? But since you're so eager, here's all the information you need on our suspects." He slid a dark yellow folder across the table, which Zalia opened to find papers upon papers of small font and black and white pictures. "We know the culprit is a tall male who may or may not have had a background in medicine, based on the cause and manner of death released to the public about the two victims so far. According to that description, we have five suspects as of right now. During the Golden Gala, you will go with your family to mingle and flirt with the said suspects, in hopes that one of them will lead you up to the hotel room and try to dissect you. You'll have a microphone, camera, and tracker on you, so whenever you feel unsafe or when you've collected enough evidence to be sure that he's the culprit, tell us through the mic."

"I have to flirt?" Zalia asked, taken aback.

"That's the worst part of what I said?" Sorin questioned back.

"I can't flirt. I work with dead bodies all day," Zalia frowned. Although the two don't seem correlated, her occupation severely affected the way Zalia interacted with others (especially that one time in the grocery store she threw a box of cereal at one of the poor customers because they looked like a body she had studied just a few hours prior). In high school, Zalia wasn't a bad flirt, part of the reason why Liam's and her relationship lasted so long, but now, she couldn't even utter a pick up line.

"Ah, not to worry, babe. That's why you'll be taking lessons with me," Sorin grinned, leaning back and crossing his arms.

"You're the one teaching me?" She asked in exasperation. Sorin wasn't even good at flirting; he was just very persistent and a tad bit irritating. But of course, she couldn't say anything with her atrocious skills.

"Again, how is that the worst part of the mission?" He threw his arms in the air incredulously.

She groaned, frowning as she stared down at her half empty mug of coffee. "So, when will the flirting lessons start?" She asked in dread.

"Sorin's Seduction Sessions will start tomorrow after you finish work. Meet me at Star Bar at 10— PM, to be specific— so we can get some practice in," Sorin grinned boyishly.