Chapter 6: Side Character x Mafia Boss (6)

...

Hours later, in the dead of night-

Ding!

Lyra’s eyes snapped wide open in the dark. "Huh?!"

She sat upright so quickly that the burrito blanket slide right off her shoulders and onto the floor. A glowing blue digital notification screen was hovering directly in front of her face, illuminating the dark room.

Obsession Level: 35%

Lyra’s jaw dropped in pure horror. "...What?" She rubbed her eyes aggressively, blinking at the text. "No. No way. I’m definitely still dreaming. This is a nightmare."

She looked again. The bright neon numbers hadn’t budged a single inch.

"System!" she screamed in her mind, her heart rate spiking. "What on earth is going on?! Why did the percentage jump so high?!"

The System’s voice sounded unusually hesitant, almost as confused as she was.

[..I also do not know, Host. The core program may be severely malfunctioning again.]

Lyra stared blankly at the screen. "Again? What do you mean again?!"

[I need to immediately go offline to run a full diagnostic and repair the system files. Please wait patiently in the safe zone.]

"Wait! Hold on!" Lyra lunged forward, hurriedly reaching her hands out toward the floating screen as if she could physically grab the code and stop it from leaving her. "What about me?! You can’t leave me alone!"

The System rushed out its answer right before the glowing pixels began to fade.

[Do not worry, Host. According to the original plot structure, you have absolutely no major missions scheduled for the next two days. Simply continue working your regular shifts at the café. I will return as soon as the database repairs are complete.]

The blue screen flickered violently once... and then vanished into thin air.

The apartment bedroom fell into an absolute silence. Lyra slowly looked around her empty, dark room, feeling incredibly vulnerable.

"..."

"...It actually left me," she whispered. She reached out, tightly hugging her fluffy pillow against her chest for comfort. "I suddenly miss that annoying, sarcastic robot already."

Little did she know, while she was curled up trying to find peace in her bed... across the city, a dangerous man was sitting in a chair, slowly flipping through a thick detailed file with her name written across the front page in bold black ink.

Alastair Voss sat completely alone inside his luxurious office.

The bright morning sunlight shone brilliantly through the massive glass windows, casting long rays across the room, but it completely failed to warm the freezing atmosphere inside.

Alastair’s long fingers reached out and slowly flipped the cover open. His eyes scanned the typed text on the first page.

Name: Lyra. Age: 22.

Occupation: Waitress at Moonlight Café.

Family Status: Only child.

Parents: Deceased.

He continued reading down the document, flipping through the short pages. There was absolutely nothing unusual or remarkable about her file. She had lived a perfectly ordinary life in the city. No criminal records whatsoever. No suspicious underground connections. Absolutely nothing that should have caught the attention of a mafia boss.

"..."

Alastair’s cold gaze slowly drifted toward a small photograph clipped to the upper corner of the file. It was a simple candid picture of Lyra smiling brightly directly at the camera.

For some strange reason... that exact smile flashed vividly through his mind again. It was the same bright, captivating smile she had worn yesterday afternoon while nervously taking his coffee order at the counter. He knew she was scaread of him yet she put on that brave persona infront of him.

His fingers tightened slightly around the edge of the folder. He closed it with a soft snap. Silence filled the grand room once again.

Alastair leaned back into his chair, running a hand through his neat black hair. A few quiet seconds passed by.

"..."

Slowly, he reached forward and opened the black file yet again. His grey eyes carefully scanned every single line on the page once more, absorbing every minor detail. Her likes. Her dislikes. Her favorite food. Her favorite romance books. Her favorite type of coffee. Absolutely everything.

Eventually, his deep gaze stopped at a specific line near the bottom of the page.

Emergency Contact / Best Friend: Elena Hart.

Alastair’s expression remained perfectly indifferent, like an emotionless statue. "Hart..." he quietly repeated the name aloud.

He leaned forward and firmly pressed the button on the intercom system resting on his desk. A few brief moments later, the office door clicked open, and one of his trusted subordinates walked inside, bowing low.

"Boss."

Alastair closed the folder completely. "Investigate this other girl thoroughly." He slid the paper containing Elena’s picture smoothly across the desk. "I want a complete, detailed report on my desk."

"Yes, Boss. Right away." The man accepted the order with a polite nod before quickly leaving the large office.

The grand room became completely silent once again. Alastair didn’t move. His eyes unconsciously drifted right back toward the closed folder where Lyra’s photograph was hidden.

...

Meanwhile... the very morning...

Lyra let out a huge yawn as she slowly opened her heavy eyes. "Mmm..."

She stretched her arms out wide across the soft mattress before immediately reaching up to hold her throbbing head. "Oww... inside my brain hurts. I’ve got a terrible headache..."

She rubbed her temples gently, trying to clear the fog from her mind. "I swear I had the absolute weirdest dream last night."

In that bizarre dream, someone with hidden face had locked her completely inside a highly luxurious bedroom. No matter how hard she screamed or tried to escape through the locked doors, she simply couldn’t move. The mysterious, faceless man kept holding her body close to his chest, gently kissing her forehead, her cheeks, and her rosy lips until she cried out loud from pure frustration.

Lyra shivered under her sheets, a wave of goosebumps breaking out on her skin. "No... Nope. Absolutely not. That crazy, possessive stuff is supposed to happen to the main female lead! Not to a background extra like me!"

She quickly shook her head, forcing the strange, lingering dream entirely out of her mind. "It’s just a regular nightmare. I’m overthinking because of the murder."

She reached out across the nightstand for her smartphone. The moment the screen lit up, her eyes went wide. "...Wait. It’s already late morning?!"

She looked at the digital clock before groaning loudly into her pillow. "Oh no, I have a work shift today..."

Then, the terrifying memories of yesterday rushed back into her brain. The dead body on the street. The pitch-black alleyway. The menacing Mafia Boss staring at her in the cafe

"..."

"No way," Lyra muttered, shrinking back into her bed. "I’m absolutely not risking it. Especially while the System is completely offline and can’t protect me."

Without another single thought, she unlocked her phone and dialed Elena’s number. The call connected after only two short rings.

"Hello?" Elena’s sweet, melodious voice came through the phone speaker. "Good morning, Lyra!"

Lyra immediately cleared her throat and let out a weak, raspy fake cough. "Cough... cough... Hey, Elena..." she mumbled, trying to sound as exhausted as possible. "I don’t think I can make it to my work shift today. I feel really, really sick."

There was a short silence on the other end of the line. Then, Elena’s voice sounded genuinely panicked and deeply worried. "Oh no! What happened? Do you have a high fever? Should I come over and call a doctor for you?"

Lyra suddenly felt guilt hitting her stomach. She was not used to lying to such a genuinely kind, sweet person. "N-No... it’s not that bad. It’s just... my head hurts a little bit. And I think I caught a nasty cold from the night air." She quickly added another dramatic cough for good measure. "Cough... cough..."

Elena let out a soft sigh. "You should definitely stay home in bed and rest today, Lyra. Don’t worry about the café at all. I’ll tell the manager about your situation. Just focus on feeling better."

Lyra smiled awkwardly at the wall, her guilt growing by the second. "Thanks, Elena... I’m really, truly sorry for leaving you short-handed."

"Don’t apologize at all! Your health is much more important than coffee beans," Elena replied warmly. "If you need me to bring you any food or medicine later, just call me, okay?"

Lyra’s inner guilt literally doubled. "...Okay. I will. And thank you so much."

"Get well soon!"

The call ended with a soft beep. Lyra stared blankly at her phone screen for a long minute. "...She’s way too nice. I feel like an absolute, terrible monster of a human being."

Still, despite the heavy guilt, she simply wasn’t brave enough to risk stepping outside and potentially meeting Alastair Voss again.

After finally forcing herself out of bed, freshening up in the bathroom, and eating a quick breakfast, she threw her body dramatically onto the living room sofa.

"Now what am I supposed to do?"

She spent the next few hours of the morning playing simple games on her phone. After she grew tired of that, she turned on the television and flipped through random channels. Then, she picked up one of the original owner’s romance novels from the coffee table and read a few dramatic Chapters.

Hours passed by painfully slowly. Eventually, she flopped flat onto her back on the sofa cushions, groaning loudly at the white ceiling.

"Ughhhhh... I’m sooooo incredibly bored!"

She rolled over to the left side. Then she rolled over to the right side. Then she rolled back to the left again. "Being safely unemployed for just one single day is somehow totally exhausting."

Just then, a brilliant lightbulb practically appeared above her head.

"I know!" she gasped, sitting up straight. "Shopping!"

Her dark eyes instantly sparkled with intense excitement. "The original owner’s wardrobe needs serious, life-saving help anyway. I can’t live in a house full of neon feathers."

She remembered the money the System had securely transferred into her bank account right before it glitched and went offline. It wasn’t an unlimited fortune, but it was definitely more than enough to buy a few normal, cute outfits.

Lyra jumped off the sofa with completely renewed energy, a bright smile on her face. "Today’s official main mission..." She pointed her finger dramatically toward the front door. "...Save this poor girl’s fashion sense from disaster!"