93 The Rooftop

They've tasted adobo at Kusina ni Nanay, yet they can all tell that Hayden's cooking was much more sophisticated.

A few seconds later, Hayden came out of the kitchen wearing an apron atop his clothes earlier. He carried a silver pot that contained his special Adobong Manok at Baboy. He put the pot in the middle.

The CHORUS members, analogous to ravenous wolves, was going to dig in when Hayden stopped them. "Wait, wait, wait. Rice. We need rice. This is a viand. All viands taste better with rice."

Hayden went back to the kitchen. He exited with a pot full of rice and without his apron. Sitting adjacent to Eun-ha and Sayuri, Hayden spoke with open arms. "Dig in."

The first one to have a full plate of rice with adobo sauce on top of it and a viand of both chicken and pork was Eun-ha. She quickly took a bite under the watchful gaze of Hayden.

When she bit the chicken, the meat of it melted in her mouth. It was savory, sweet, and had a very light touch of sourness. The conflicting flavors made for a wonderful taste. Scooping up some adobo sauce-laden rice into her mouth, Eun-ha couldn't contain herself. She closed her eyes and threw her head back. It was a match made in heaven!

"If this isn't true cuisine." Eun-ha mumbled mindlessly with a mouth full of food. "I don't know what is."

The other CHORUS members disregarded her as they hurriedly ate. The viand garnered the same reactions from the remaining members.

Subsequently, the eleven members wolfed down the food as Hayden took some rice and a little of his adobo into his plate. He turned to Eun-ha, unable to contain his amusement.

"What?" Eun-ha innocently stared at him." Don't blame me for having no manners. This is the most delicious food I've tasted in my life. That's saying something since we've all eaten in a couple of Michelin star restaurants."

A grunt of approval can be heard from the rest. Today, Hayden witnessed a spectacle. What was the spectacle you ask? Aiko and Madoka eating five plates of rice and adobo.

Sure, they were wielders, but this was absurd. He's never seen someone eat five full plates of food in one sitting. Well, at least someone that skinny. He reasoned with himself. 'Well, I'm sure their metabolisms can handle that….'

In the end, the pot of adobo was reduced to a mere fourth of what it originally was. As for the rice pot, it was wiped clean. Literally clean. No bead of rice was left in it.

Don't get him wrong. He liked being with her. It's just that… 'Fucking son of a bitch. Hayden. Hayden. Listen to me. Do not panic. You can't. You promised. Strengthen your defenses. You have so much more willpower than this.'

In all honesty, Hayden would rather be tortured physically than this. At least with that, he could curse his torturer out loud. In this situation, he couldn't even utter a single word.

Sayuri closed the gap between them, wrapping her arms around Hayden's left arm. She leaned her head on it. Hayden closed his eyes and took a deep breath, his lips flattening dryly.

"So, Hayden…kun…" Sayuri talked in Japanese, giving Hayden the '-kun' suffix. Hayden nearly died inside when he heard that. Good thing Divine Perception reined in his emotions. "What is the plan?"

"We sneak in." Hayden's poker face was uncanny. His willpower was sluggishly being hammered into strong steel. "You're a Level 4 wielder, I'm a Level 2 dual wielder. Let me ask, how strong exactly are you?"

"I'm the second strongest among CHORUS." Sayuri's voice softened. Hayden looked at her. He was certain that defeat was nigh, but he soldiered on. He can't fall down here. "In Lunar Assembly… All transformation-type wielders are above their own class levels. Physical power is something that cannot be topped by puny powers."

Hayden gulped. The desire to kiss Sayuri on the head was overwhelming. The desire to embrace her was more so. It was tough for him. 'Ahh, Divine Perception. What would I do if you're not here…'

In truth, there was one more reason that he didn't want to take Sayuri as his girlfriend. This reason was that he deemed himself unworthy for two stunning women.

On one hand, the gentle and foxy-in-both-body-and-attitude Eun-ha was too much for him. To this date, whenever he's with her, he'd still feel surreal. On the other, the extroverted, cute, and sexy Sayuri was… As perfect as Eun-ha.

Her antics was one that cannot be annoying at all. If anything, Hayden found them profoundly adorable. Something that he can get used to in a day-to-day basis.

In Hayden's point of view, two perfect people, although in differing ways, cannot exist at the same time. There was also the matter of that fierce, cute, and tsundere Chung-hee. Chung-hee was someone he deemed perfect as well. It was all soul-crushing.

Besides, all of them were indeed too powerful for Hayden. There was nothing cowardly hiding behind a woman, of course. That was something normalized a long time ago. Nevertheless, he aspired to be the one to protect them, not to be protected. He can't lose someone because of himself.

Till then, he chose not to love another soul.

Explaining the gist of the plan and the method of sneaking in, Sayuri grasped how true Eun-ha's words were. She giggled. "Eun-ha was right. You're a little pragmatic, but when you're going to help, you go all the way."

"Well, if you're going to help, might as well do it right." Hayden was a loyal person at heart. It wouldn't sit right with him if he didn't fulfill something he promised to do to the best of his ability.

"You're such a kind-hearted person, you know?" Sayuri rotated his head. The two locked eyes. The romantic tension grew intense. Hayden gulped another time in anxiety. "Not everyone can be as kind as you. You're one of the better person I've seen in this world. And it's such a privilege to work with you."

Hearing Sayuri's words, Hayden's mind went blank even harder. He didn't think it was possible, yet, it did. This was inexplicable. The wall was slowly crumbling. He fought hard, to no avail. Sayuri was unreasonably… Charming. Her natural charm was as good as Eun-ha's Nine-Tailed Fox Queen's passive.

The romantic tension in the air spiked upwards. Hayden forcefully denied his own feelings. He was too young to die of a heart attack caused by beauty. He can't.

"You're so cute, Hayden-kun." Sayuri enchantingly beamed at Hayden. That smile was a flawless concoction of sexiness and adorableness. It was unfathomable. Sayuri closed her eyes, her lips puckering. Her face inched closer to Hayden.

Hayden was petrified. Sayuri's womanly scent was overbearing and attractive at the same time. Her moving closer made this worse.

He wanted to move, however, his mind was too blanked out to allow him to move. At that moment, the elevator dinged and opened.

Panicking, Sayuri pushed Hayden away. Thankfully, Hayden recovered from his daze and managed to steady himself amidst his stumbling. He had a glimpse of Sayuri being incredibly flustered by the events.

He ignored her. Focusing his attention to the elevator, he perceived a pouting Chung-hee. For some reason, he had the premonition that a big headache was homing in on him.

Chung-hee marched angrily with squinted eyes. She snubbed Sayuri, grabbing Hayden by the collar with both hands. "You invited Sayuri-noona first instead of me? Remember that I saved your ass back in South Korea! You didn't even bother to request for my help!?"

Hayden blinked his eyes rapidly. He was speechless of Chung-hee's fierce attitude. Her excessively cute pout was something that he doubtlessly wouldn't forget for a long time.

"Uh…" All Hayden achieved to mutter was this. That glare of Chung-hee's was freakishly fervent. No wonder her Ability was Tiger's Calling.

She literally resembled a baby tiger. Both fierce and weirdly endearing. As if the tiger wouldn't grow up to be something that will eventually be capable of killing you. You forget all that when you see a cute little baby tiger.

"Why not take us both?" Sayuri had plenty of time to recover, hence, in the present, she shrugged as she suggested. "The more, the merrier. The more help, the better. Right, Hayden-kun?"

"S-sure." For the first time in months, Hayden involuntarily stammered. Usually, he'd stammer due to the sheer idiocy of what he just heard. This time, he stammered due to being flummoxed. This had never happened and he never thought it'd happen. "T-tigers are ambush predators, using stealth to hunt. I-I guess you do fit the mission…"

"Precisely." Chung-hee nodded. Her eyes narrowing threateningly. She pointed her right hand's index finger at Hayden. "You don't exclude me next time! I'll kick your ass if you do. You idiot."

Saying that, she let go of Hayden's collar. She snorted, crossing her arms and eyeing Hayden with somewhat resenting eyes.

Hayden breathed in deeply whilst he dusted himself. He coughed. His nonchalance returned to him. "Okay. Here's the plan…"

The trio leaned on the glass railings again. Hayden reiterated the plan of infiltration to Chung-hee. While he recounted the plan, he detected Chung-hee's arm was in direct contact with him. The first sign of attraction.

To his left, Sayuri persisted on clasping Hayden's left arm. She leaned her head on Hayden's arm again, slightly rubbing it. Like a dog.

'I guess this is it.' Being surrounded by the two girls, Hayden partly accepted his fate. This removed a burden on him. 'It's been a good run.'

When he finished, he wryly sighed out. 'What a shitty and elating day all at once. Goodness gracious. The rollercoaster of life is really something, huh?'

"Remember." Hayden bridged his last sentence. "The main goal here is to save Ayesha's father. That's the contract. We kill only when it is necessary or when we're found out. We can't be found out here as we have no information on that Angus at all. As long as those two comes under the protection of Puting Araw."

"Wait. Why Puting Araw?" Chung-hee questioned Hayden. "From the story, isn't Puting Araw working with some government organization?"

"Triple A?" Hayden joggled his head side to side. "Well, I'll have to be honest that it remains to be a safe space from criminals and the likes. With Ayesha's Ability, she'd be a talent worth grooming. There's no doubt they'd protect her."

"Huh." Chung-hee bobbed her head in understanding. "That's the extent that you're willing to help her, huh?"

"Yep." Hayden admitted. "It's not my place to tell her about this. I don't know the connection between the two. It's only me who hate being tied with the government, maybe not her. Clearly Puting Araw has good intentions. I simply don't like their approach."

"Not dragging people down with your own dislikes. Not taking advantage of this. Not judging something without sufficient evidence. How wise." Chung-hee 'sarcastically' praised Hayden.

"Thank you for the compliment." Hayden playfully nudged Chung-hee, who expressed her dismay by saying 'psh' and rolling her eyes.

Thereafter, the trio conversed casually about various things. Chung-hee mainly inquired regarding his career choice. Sayuri mainly inquired of his personal preferences.

As someone who partially accepted his own fate, Hayden obliged by answering their questions. Moreover, he didn't yearn to come off as rude to the both of them.

…..

8:00 PM. Hayden's SUV. Hayden still had his outfit on while Eun-ha sported Hayden's stolen jacket and gray yoga pants. As the SUV barreled down the freeway without Hayden's assistance, the two was making out against the left door of the car in a provocative position.

Hayden's right hand was on the small of Eun-ha's back, the other on her upper back. Eun-ha's right arm was around Hayden's neck, her left hand on Hayden's cheek. It was quite a steamy scene.

Pulling back, Hayden leaned his forehead on Eun-ha's forehead. He breathed out heavily, staring into Eun-ha's eyes. Eun-ha bit her lip and smiled. Hayden's right hand started to meander around Eun-ha's body whilst he osculated Eun-ha's neck. Eun-ha moaned involuntarily.

First, Hayden caressed Eun-ha's arm, then went down to her breasts, down to her flat stomach, and finally down her shorts. The second Hayden's right hand touched her nether regions, the volume of Eun-ha's moan increased. She trembled, her embrace on Hayden tightening. The extreme pleasure was enough to send her wanting for more.

Soon, she climaxed, shouting in pleasure. She shook all over. She buried her head on Hayden's collarbone. "Why… Are… You… So good at that!"

"Just doing my job." Hayden pecked Eun-ha on the lips. He seductively licked his finger that was on Eun-ha's crotch a second ago. "You are so wet down there, tsk."

"It's your fault." Eun-ha pouted and grumbled. "Seriously though. Within a second, you made climax already."

"Thank my Divine Perception." Hayden chuckled as he let go of Eun-ha, steadying himself. Abruptly, Eun-ha sat on Hayden's lap and vigorously kissed him. Hayden let Eun-ha do so, placing his hands on her small waist.

"You're still not satis – Wait." Hayden pushed Eun-ha away, his countenance grave. "Get off, get off. Take your mask out."

The instant Eun-ha got off of him, he twirled his seat back in position and switched the drive mode to manual. He immediately drove the car to the side of the road with his left hand. His White Fox mask materialized in his right hand.

With a flicker, the mask was on his face, his door opening. He exited his car. Suddenly, the ground tremored, the road cracking. A shockwave was sent in the air as well, destroying the cameras. His car almost fell sideways. Luckily, Eun-ha was able to stop it.

In front of him was a ginormous man with bulging muscles. He wore only tattered denim shorts, The Hulk style, albeit his skin was silver. And that he had a bull mask. The man even growled irately at him similar to The Hulk. Below him, a small crater was created from the force of his landing.

Underneath the mask, Hayden's expression was that of repulsion. A freaking copycat. Why not make his own thing? Fucking jeez.

"That's a Level 3 wielder, honey." On the opposite side of the car, Eun-ha had her mask on. She yelled. "Be careful."

"Don't worry about me." Hayden's pitch deepened to that of a demon's. Seething rage can be heard from his tone. After all, he and Eun-ha's time was interrupted by this puny person. "This guy is a weakling amongst Level 3 wielders. I can defeat him."

"How arrogant for a Level 2 wielder." Iron Bull said derisively. "A Level 2 wielder, defeat a Level 3? How-"

Before he can complete his sentence, extreme pain sprouted from his right side. He coughed out. This was followed by a twist kick to Iron Bull's left temple from Hayden. This almost caused him to black out, stumbling sideways.

He instinctively swung a left hook to Hayden, who ducked and threw an upper cut directly on his chin. Respectively, Hayden put his left hand on Iron Bull's cheek and shoved him to the ground.

The ground cracked once more. Removing the bull mask, a square face was unveiled. Desiring to get back to Eun-ha as soon as possible, Hayden sliced down the neck of Iron Bull with the claws of his index and middle finger. Iron Bull's skin, in spite of the hardness of the skin, was cut akin to butter.

'What the…' This was Iron Bull's last thoughts as he died with Hayden pulling out the Origin Crystal from his heart. Iron Bull's skin reverted back to normal.

Looking into one direction, Hayden squinted his eyes.

…..

A few minutes earlier. Jumping around the freeway from Caloocan City to Makati City, which intertwined with Quezon City's and Manila's, was Iron Bull. He landed on the road with a light foot, no crack was produced by his bulky build at all.

About 30 meters away from him were two people. It was Comedy and Discord. They were both invisible to the naked eye.

"He's insane." Comedy uttered. "There are cameras here. If the cameras pick this up, Maestro of Death is going to personally kill him."

"Let him be." Discord responded impassively. "He's too much of an idiot to think about that. Maybe he'll get his just desserts without needing us to make a move."

A few minutes later, Iron Bull caught a glimpse of Hayden's car in the distance. His bloodlust started to act up without knowing that it was Hayden inside. He charged up and jumped high. Mid-air, he was perplexed as to why the car stopped.

Landing on where the car was supposed to be if it hadn't stopped, a strong shockwave spread out. He was speechless when he saw a Level 2 wielder that was able to withstand the shockwave.

After Hayden's declaration of him being able to defeat Iron Bull, Iron Bull ridiculed, "How arrogant for a Level 2 wielder. A Level 2 wielder defeating a Level 3? How-"

The next thing he knew, Hayden's continuous attacks left him unable to react. He was pummeled within mere seconds without much resistance. He died without even seeing the face of his killer. 'Ironic…'

In the distance, Discord and Comedy was visibly, although they are invisible, shaken. Discord muttered, "What kind of a monster is that Level 2 wielder? That monstrous physical strength."

What surprised them more was that the Eun-ha, who was behind the car, appeared somewhere else. A scream can be heard from distant trees.

When she got back, she held three Level 3 Origin Crystals in her hand. She spoke, "Those people were following this guy. Huh."

Hayden stood up and approached her. Precipitously, Hayden looked into the direction of Discord and Comedy. They shuddered. That gaze from beneath the mask was unnerving.

As people who bordered the line between life and death every day, they have fathomed when to pick a fight or when to retreat. This situation was an extreme example of when to retreat. An almighty Level 2 wielder with a Level 4 wielder? Like hell they had a chance.

Eun-ha was going to move when Hayden stopped her. "Let them be. Let's get back in the car, go to the house, and continue what we were doing."

"What a pervert." Eun-ha was amused of Hayden's quip.

"Your pervert." Hayden joked, taking one of the Origin Crystals in Eun-ha's hand. "Remember that. I'm your pervert."

Eun-ha laughed aloud prior to getting in the car. Because the road was destroyed, Hayden had to lug the car back into the undamaged road. When he got in, Eun-ha jumped on him. Hayden said they'd wait yet Eun-ha pounced on him. Yep, they had sex in the car.

…..

RWL, Category: Music – With the extremely big Hallyu (Or Korean Wave) during 2028, South Korea's economy has joined the ranks of the truly big names. Due to this Hallyu, the world of music has undergone a through evolution. Music videos had more depth. Most musicians learned to dance. And all music videos, like most K-Pop, has dance steps, with some being complex. This includes ballads, heartbreak songs with a sad tone, and rock. Unless you're in a band, it was tantamount to suicide if you go in the music industry without a dance in your video. In fact, even bands have their own dances that creates dance crazes due to its simplicity.

As such, many elite groups have risen the past decades in other countries. Even then, the K-Pop groups remain to be the indisputable champions when it comes to music.