* Featured Character ( A section at the beginning of each chapter to remind readers of who characters are and which characters will be featured in the chapter )
New Character
Haphuco ♂ - The main character
Mayo ♂ - ?
Bodi ♂ - ?
Ba ♂ - ?
Biudo ♂ - ?
Barami ♀ - ?
Nara ♀ - ?
Haphumi ♀ - ?
Biani ♀ - ?
Hakyo - The name of the city where Haphuco is living in
In this world, after hundreds of years of war when invasion and conquer were made out of greed and conflict, human being has come to realization that war only brings unnecessary devastation to the world and so they are done with it.
However, as killing is still a need, a more "peaceful" method has been taken which is Assassination.
Over time, Assassination is now a well-organized system with an Assassin Organization managing everything behind it called the Organization.
In this novel, important words will be capitalized and there will be words with general meanings that will have their first letter capitalized to become terms in the story. Organization is an example. If organization just means an organization in general, then Organization in the story will be understood as the Assassin organization.
People who do these jobs, called Assassins, are well-trained from a young age and when they grow up, they seamlessly blend into the daily lives of normal people, always be ready for action whenever receiving an Order.
The main character of the novel is Haphuco. Like his fellow people, he was also "educated" to become an Assassin when he grows up. Becoming a great Assassin was used to be his life goal when he was young.
But now he is a Bodyguard, known to be an annoying hindrance to Assassin, who has the job to prevent Assassin from killing their Target who is also Bodyguard's Client.
Today is Saturday and Haphuco is having his first day working as a Bodyguard for Barami, the daughter of Mayo who has recently become the mayor of Hakyo City where Haphuco is living.
If Assassin has Order then Bodyguard has Request. If Assassin has the job to kill their Target in the Order then Bodyguard has the job to protect their Client in the Request.
Because this is not an Emergency Request which is made when the Client is in danger of Assassination, the first day of work of Haphuco is turning to be pretty peaceful.
Haphuco went to Barami's house in the morning which is a huge mansion. He then met Barami, his Client who is apparently still in high school. Haphuco's first impression about Barami is that she likes reading books. Although Haphuco does not share that hobby with her, his natural high curiosity led to Barami sharing about the books she was reading, making them feel more familiar and less awkward than the beginning when suddenly Haphuco is assigned to stay near Barami all the time until his duty ends as required from his Bodyguard work.
After spending an entire morning just staying inside the mansion, Haphuco and Biani are now inside Hakyo Shopping Mall. Like every Saturdays, Hakyo Shopping Mall is once again brimming with people gathering here for different purposes like eating, going to the cinema or shopping. Barami, ever since allowed to spend money on her own, has visited here each weekend. The two of them visited many places, spending the most time at the bookstore where Barami bought a lot of books. Barami also wanted to act like a girl so she visited a few clothing stores and currently she was wearing a just bought red dress that looked quite suitable with her reddish pink hair.
Carrying several shopping bags that Barami has bought on his two hands, Haphuco has a reason to complain :
"Uhm, Miss Barami..."
"Huh ?"
"I just want to say that it will be hard for me to protect you when I have to carry so many things on my hands."
"I am your Bodyguard, after all."
"Protect ? Don't be so serious."
"It's not like I would get kidnapped or something in the middle of the day."
"This is not a a world in a book, isn't it."
"I wonder why my dad hired you to become my Bodyguard from the first place."
"Is this some kind of supervising in disguise ?"
"Anyway, you don't need to worry about that, Haphuco."
"Oh, there is an ice cream store, let's go there."
"My treat ! You are carrying my stuff for me, after all."
"By the way, how old are you, Haphuco ?"
"I am 1...no, I mean, I am 22, Miss Barami."
"22 huh, you are like only 5 years older than me."
... ( This is an indication of time skip )
[ Barami's Mansion - 5 p.m. ] ( Or this instead for more specific time skip )
"Did you have a fun time, my sweetheart ?" Mayo, Barami's father who unexpectedly greeted her home, hugs her affectionately.
"Dad ?! Why you are here at this time ?!"
"Do I need a reason to be here ? I just want to be with my dear daughter for a while."
"Dad, it's embarrassing ! Let me go !"
"I know you like it, my sweetheart ?"
Barami : ...
Actually it is not so bad but...
"I am not a child anymore so let me go, dad !"
"Okay, okay, sweetheart." Mayo talks while letting Barami go.
Haphuco, with his clothes changed back to when he came to the mansion, enters the room.
"Mr. Mayo, as it's time, I shall take my leave."
"Oh, okay. You can leave now, Haphuco." Mayo talks.
"Thanks you for today. I know I can count on you."
"This is simply my job, Mr. Mayo. I appreciate the opportunity given today."
"Have a great evening, Mr. Mayo and Miss Barami too." Haphuco then leaves
"So what do you think, Barami ? Is Haphuco a good Bodyguard for you ?"
"I don't understand why I need a Bodyguard, dad. Why so sudden ?"
Mayo : ...
"This is for your safety, sweetheart. About Haphuco, you can trust the boy. He is a very capable Bodyguard, I can guarantee that. Also, I really like that boy, he is quite a likeable person."
"So do you want Haphuco to be your Bodyguard for now ?"
"Well..."
[ Hakyo Agency ]
"Congratulations, Haphuco !" Bodi, the Boss of the Hakyo Agency where Haphuco is working for as a Bodyguard, congratulates Haphuco.
"Eh ? For what ?"
"For securing the job to be the Bodyguard of the mayor's daughter. We just received the confirmation call from them. For now, it will be every Saturday."
"And with that, Haphuco, you have officially become a Bodyguard of the Agency. Congratulations !"
"Oh, that's great to hear, Mr. Bodi. I hope that my "lovely" seniors will be more gentle to me from now on."
"It can't be helped, isn't it ?"
"Considering that you were an Assassin in the past."
Haphuco : ...
"Well, I am off. See you next Monday, Mr. Bodi"
"Wait, Haphuco. Why don't we go drinking some beer tonight for celebration."
"No thanks, Mr. Bodi. I still have another job tonight. And also, I don't dri..."
Fushhhhhh !!!
As soon as Haphuco opens the door, a knife suddenly is launched diagonally up, aiming his head.
Haphuco manages to move his head downwards but it does not end here as the attacker then skillfully turns the knife point to stab straight down.
A swift two-step move from the attacker.
However, Haphuco not only manages to dodge the attack by placing his left hand to the ground to swing his body but also gives a counter kick to the attacker.
The attacker is actually Nara who also works for the Agency like Haphuco.
"Auchy ! Nice, Haphuco !" Nara compliments what Haphuco did while blocking his kick.
Don't let her slim figure fool you because she is a monster with superhuman strength.
"Why did you do that, Nara Senpai ? What if I die from that attack ?"
"Oh please, Haphuco. How can you possibly die from a mere attack like that. "
"You... Mr. Bodi, please tell her !"
"She has a point, Haphuco. Also, I think she just want to see if your skills have gotten any rusty or anything."
"Spot on, Boss !"
"Urg ! You guys are crazy as heck. I am out of here !"
"Before you say anything Boss, this is just a knife toy." Nara talks to Bodi as she pokes the knife into her finger.
"Well, I would say that doesn't matter."
"It's not like he will get hurt from that mere attack."
[ Ba Restaurant ]
"Hi, Mr. Ba and Haphumi. How's it going ?"
"Glad to see you, Haphuco. Are you ready for another night of work ?" Ba says.
Ba is the owner of Ba Restaurant, a Vietnamese-style restaurant where Haphuco is working for
"I am always ready for work, Mr. Ba !"
"Hi, Haphuco Senpai. How's your Bodyguard's job going ?" Haphumi says
Haphumi is Ba's daughter who has been helpful in helping his father running the restaurant. She is currently 17 years old.
"I will tell you about it later, Haphumi. There is already a customer waiting."
...
It's 9 p.m and it's time for the restaurant to be closed. The three people sit at a table, eating food cooked from any remaining ingredient prepared for the day.
"Wow, so you now become a Bodyguard for the mayor's daughter ? That's so cool !" Haphumi is intrigued at what Haphuco did today.
"That's surprising to me too. You must really be capable to be chosen, aren't you ?"
"Well, haha, I just got picked, that's all. "
"By the way, Haphuco Senpai, it has been a while to see you eating with us again. Normally, you would just take the food and then leave, right ?"
"That's because my sister, Biani is not home today so I think I could stay here a bit longer."
"Oh yeah, you mentioned about her a few times before. Who is she really ?"
"We shared the same room during the time we were raised in the Orphanage. Although we are not blood related but I treat her just like my younger sister."
"You kids must have gone through a lot to get this far in life. You should look up to Haphuco as a role model, Haphumi."
"Come to think of it, you never meet Biani right, Haphumi. How's about I tell her to have a meal here next Monday ?"
"Really, that would be great, Haphuco Senpai !"
...
Haphuco then returns to his home. Currently, Haphuco is living inside a house of an old man named Biudo who has renovated his house's spacious basement into six apartments for rent and Haphuco lives in one of them along with Biani. Anyone who wants to rent and live here needs to get the approval of Buido right at the beginning. When Haphuco opens the house's door, he is greeted by Biudo
"Ah ! Mr. Biudo."
"Oh, you're back. How's the work, Haphuco ?"
"It was fine. Have you not slept yet, Mr. Biudo ?"
"I am old now, I don't sleep much. However, unlike me, you are still young so makes sure that you sleep soon, okay."
"Got it, Mr.Buido. Thanks for caring."
"It's not like that, you brat. I am just giving you advices. Go ahead, Haphuco."
Haphuco opens the door to his apartment. As Biani is not at home today, the room is pitch dark. Even when the light is turned on, the room still emits a somewhat lonely atmosphere. Haphuco sits on the sofa and then lay down to relax. There are two rooms inside the apartment which can be used for bedrooms and one of them is used by Biani and the other is supposedly for him. However, for some reasons, he likes sleeping on the sofa, it just feels nice to him.
Overall, he had a good day. Today was the first time he become the Bodyguard for the mayor's daughter. She seems like a nice girl. It's great he is officially recognized as a Bodyguard now and he can expect more duty given to him in the future. He learned how to make another dish from Mr. Ba's restaurant today and he can't wait to have Biani taste it when she comes back from her "business trip".
Haphuco : ...
But in this kind of time when he is alone, he once again is thinking about the meaning of his life. He manages to not think about it while he was at work but now when he is all alone, he could not help but be filled with thoughts.
For a very long time, since he was a child, he had always trained himself to become a great Assassin because he thought that's the only way for him to have a meaning in life. He constantly trained his ability, graduated from the School just for him to then gave up being an Assassin right after his first-ever Order.
Even though he now has a secure job for making money and a cozy room to live, he keeps wondering :
"What is the meaning of my life ?"
And then he falls asleep.
End of Chapter 1 : Meaning
Next Chapter - Chapter 2 : Sunday