Echoes of Hollow

"How I love the internet; everything happens so quickly, doesn’t it?"

Her smile is so bright that Theodore wonders if he was truly deceived and everything was just a bluff, or if this is a genuine reaction of happiness due to closing a good deal.

Aaaahh...

'A loss of over 200 million...'

He sighed once more, his eyes sadly drifting towards the two things that still kept him somewhat content for having come to this place.

'Well..., at least not everything is bad, I suppose... When my term ends, I’ll try to send a resume to the Orian Group headquarters...'

"Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I hope we can do business again in the future."

Looking through the back window of her car, the frustration of the loss lingered, but the view only reinforced Theodore’s thoughts.

'Yes..., I hope this last year ends soon...'

As the silver car drove away, Alyia sighed.

"To think there’s someone so shameless... I thought I was going to create a hole in my body."

"Why didn’t you complain if you were so uncomfortable? He’s just a mayor; it wouldn’t have been a problem."

"No, that could have ruined your plans to make him accept a lower price, or he might have simply decided not to sell. Didn’t you come here to buy this place? That would be a problem, wouldn’t it?"

'Then she was thinking about us… Even though that wouldn’t happen.'

For a brief moment, Samantha was at a loss for words and slightly taken aback. Looking at Alyia, who, with a parrot in her fingers, was observing the surroundings, she smiled.

"Well, I have to get back to work, but someone needs to stay here for a while and wait until the workers arrive and finish surveying the land. Do you want to come with me or would you prefer to stay here for now?"

"No, I... I’ll stay. But you can take the car; Tom must be quite bored waiting in this out-of-the-way place."

"Alright, I’ll ask him to come back to pick you up later. See you later. Oh, and I’ll probably be late tonight, so, Hye, please pick up Hilary in my place later."

As the distance between them and Samantha grew, Alyia began to shiver slightly. She didn’t understand why and didn’t expect to have this kind of reaction at all. However, the moment she heard the car start and drive away, with an almost nonexistent click, something seemingly turned on inside her.

"I did well, didn’t I? Do you think she liked me?"

The parrot in her fingers fluttered in panic at her sudden movement and flew away as she quickly approached Hye.

"She liked you, right? I don’t see where I could have gone wrong; I even put up with that old fool the entire time."

"I’m not sure; she invited you to come along, so probably. But..."

"Hey!"

Hye could hear her footsteps, getting closer with each moment, and then suddenly stopping right behind him. Anticipating what would come next, he closed his eyes, sighed, and swallowed the nothingness in his mouth.

"Look at me when you’re talking. Do you think I didn’t notice? Up until now, you haven’t looked at me for more than two seconds, not even once."

The sigh repeated, this time even deeper. His heart raced as his body turned, the sun seemed brighter, the trees more vivid, the birds more beautiful and slow, and... those eyes... How could he resist her if he had to look at her directly all the time? It was impossible...

"Great... don’t do that again, are you listening?"

And then, to make his situation even worse and end his futile attempts... a smile. Hye tried, he really did. But with one hand on her waist and the other gently on her face, he barely noticed the passage of time as his heart warmed, and without even realizing it, he slowly removed his own clothes.

"What’s this...? Do you really think it’s possible for us to do this here and now?"

Throwing his shirt aside, his breath unusually heavy and hot, he continued, approaching silently and gradually placing his hands under Alyia’s clothes, beginning to kiss the enticing neck before him.

"Yes... it seems so..."

As his kisses moved slowly up her neck, his breath continued to warm her soft skin. His eyes flickered as they gazed at her shiny, reddened lips. With his eyes closing, Hye moved forward again, but... a finger...?!

"Consider this a repayment for the kiss you denied me at the hospital. Now, take those hands away."

As his hands slowly descended, fingers sliding softly over the skin he couldn’t touch, Hye pulled away. Alyia smiled, radiating an air of victory and satisfaction, while those Samantha had warned about pointed in the distance along the road. Raising a hand, she waved to the workers, guiding them to the correct place.