Chapter 453 'Paying Up'

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The next day, everyone did the usual daily routine early in the morning.

Shin already accumulated quite a lot of fatigue due to the series of events that happened just recently. Doing a top-notch military mission, finishing his special training, and completing all of the requirements for the special recruitment exam.

Fortunately, he still had a couple of days to relax his mind and body before the said exam could even start.

Or so he thought.

Because the moment he walked down the stairs towards the living room, he was immediately greeted by a 'lively' sight. Everyone had 'gathered' once again, waiting for something.

"Oh! Hey, Shin! We come to freeload again!" said Lorraine with a smiling face the moment she saw Shin walked down from the stairs.

"You are making breakfast, right? Make it quick, Mom wants me to join her for a meeting later," said Shiella as she browsed at the virtual screen in front of her to check her schedule for today.

Beside her sat Alice silently and seemed to be dragged in here by Shiella.

On the other hand, Arthur and Leonard were currently busy doing an arm wrestling on the side. Their 'battle' seemed to be quite intense on the surface, but Shin could tell that they were just putting an act to dodge his gaze.

Seeing all of those, Shin started to doubt his decision of learning how to cook for the first time in his life.

"Looks like, my upcoming days are going to be much busier than before," muttered Shin to himself after taking a deep sigh.

And that was the time when Cloe hopped on his side while leaning her body in front of him. "What's your plan for our breakfast today? Can I help?"

Seeing her energetic face made Shin smile a little. So, he patted her head for a brief moment before messing with her hair. "How can you help me? You don't even know how to properly cut some veggies."

After that, he started walking towards the kitchen and left Cloe who was stunned at his actions. But after a few seconds, she finally recovered herself and yelled. "Hey! How dare you mess with my hair! Do you know how much time I spend to fix it up?"

Shin started laughing when he heard that and continued walking toward the kitchen, ignoring her.

Seeing that, Cloe suddenly became even more furious. "Hey! How dare you ignore me! I will remember this! Now, you owe me three dates!"

Hearing that, Shin suddenly halted his steps before turning his head towards her. And when he looked at her, he immediately saw her brightly smiling at him. That was when he suddenly realized that he once again had fallen on one of her schemes.

Cloe started laughing when she saw the frowning look on his face. Then she immediately ran away and left him stunned.

Shin chuckled a little when he saw that and could only shake his head. And when he was about to turn around, he suddenly felt that someone was looking at him.

Looking at the direction where that gaze was coming from, he saw Alice watching them with a poker look on her face.

Shin suddenly felt awkward when their gazes met. So, he could only flash a smile and nodded his head before walking back towards the kitchen.

Alice squinted her eyes a little before turning her attention back to what Shiella was talking about.

Meanwhile, Cloe was also squinting her eyes as she watched that brief interaction between the two. And after a few moments, she muttered to herself. "Sure enough, there is something suspicious between these two."

"What's more, I felt like I've seen her before," she added while falling into deep thought.

Then Lorraine suddenly appeared beside her and commented. "Isn't it obvious? She is an idol after all."

Hearing that, Cloe shook her and immediately responded. "No, I am sure that I've seen her somewhere before I even knew that she is an idol."

After taking their breakfast, everyone immediately went on their way to do their own things.

Meanwhile, Shin was currently feeling aggrieved because he was left by the others to deal with the dishes. "D*mn! Am I these guys' housemaid or something? I prepare a good breakfast for all of them, yet none of them have any conscience to help me clean these up?"

That was when Cloe jumped from behind while saying. "Then that means I am the only one with a conscience."

She was about to extend her hand to help Shin clean the dishes when the latter suddenly yelled with some panic. "Don't you dare lay your hands on them! I don't want to owe you any more dates."

Hearing that, Cloe suddenly stopped her actions and clicked her tongue before glaring at Shin. "Tsk! What do you take me for? Of course, I am doing it for 'free' – I am not going to 'charge' you this time, alright?"

Though, she was having a different thought in mind. 'Tch! Looks like this trick will never work again.'

After that, she suddenly pouted her lips while turning her head away. "Hmph!"

Unfortunately, Shin was able to read what she was thinking since he already knew very well. "My whole schedule is already packed. So, how do you think will I bring you to a date that you want if I don't have much time?"

Hearing that, Cloe immediately turned her head back to Shin while saying with an excited tone. "Then you can pay up now! You don't have any plan for today, right? Then let me use one of my dates now!"

Then Cloe immediately started cleaning the table before Shin could even reply.

Seeing that excited look on her face, Shin couldn't bring himself to crush her hopes by rejecting her. So, he just overlooked the fact that he fell on one of her traps once again and started taking care of the dishes.

When they were done, Cloe immediately looked at Shin and said. "I am going to change my outfit, alright? So, make sure to dress properly too, okay?" while pointing her index finger at him.

After that, she immediately ran towards the door. But before she could even get to the door, a sudden thought flashed in her mind which made her stop her actions.

She turned around and looked at Shin before taking back what she said earlier. "No, you can wear anything you want as long as it is quite decent. As long as it is not going to attract a lot of attention, then it is fine."

Then she quickly turned around once again and ran out of the house.

Meanwhile, Shin watched her with an amused look on his face while shaking his head. But that look was immediately swapped with a serious expression on his face before calling out Arthur and Leonard, who were hiding upstairs. "Oi! You two can come down now. I need to tell you something first."

Hearing him, the two walked down from the second floor while wearing an embarrassed look on their face. But those looks only lasted for a moment before the two of them suddenly wore a serious look on their faces too.

p "You want us to be a lookout for those guys, right?" said Arthur with a solemn tone.

"But those guys seem to be skilled. They are most likely some professionals; their hiding skills are quite high," added Leonard while taking a quick peek outside.

"Yeah, I know. Big Sis even called out some of her people to deal with them but none of them got caught," said Shin as he fell into deep thought.

Seeing that, Arthur and Leonard turned their heads at each other before sending some eye signals. 'We can't let these b*st*rds ruin this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.'

"Alright, alright. Let us deal with them. So, you better start preparing now before Cloe comes out," said Arthur while pushing Shin towards the stairs.

At the same time, Leonard suddenly added. "What's more, Sister Cloe also has her own secret bodyguards. Even that mysterious uncle gave us a visit last night, so you don't have to worry about it."

"Just focus on your date and make sure to act as normal as possible so that Cloe will not notice anything, alright," said Arthur, urging Shin to go upstairs.

Arthur and Leonard watched Shin climb up on the stairs and waited for his back to disappear. And after they made sure that Shin really went to his room, the two of them turned their heads at each other while wearing a determined look on their face.

'Let's make sure that this date is going to be a success,' said Arthur through their special eye signal.

Leonard nodded his head a couple of times before replying. 'Let's destroy these guys who dare to plot a scheme on sister-in-law.'

After that, they make a special handshake unique to them before shouting while suppressing their voices.

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