Chapter 7: Side Character x Mafia Boss (7)

The absolute moment Lyra stepped outside her cozy apartment building, she confidently looked left...

Then she looked right.

"..."

"I still have absolutely no idea where on earth I’m going," she muttered flatly to herself.

Just as she was about to completely lose her mind and spiral into a massive panic attack, a familiar, bright golden arrow suddenly materialized out of thin air right in front of her nose.

"Huh?"

She blinked once, twice, rubbing her eyes in disbelief. "The System actually left this behind for me before it crashed?"

Her tense expression slowly softened, a small, grateful smile touching her lips. "...Well, for an annoying AI that is completely useless at the worst possible moments, it’s surprisingly thoughtful sometimes."

The glowing golden arrow floated gently in the cool air, bobbing up and down as if inviting her to follow. Lyra happily kept pace behind it, letting the bright marker guide her safely through the unfamiliar city streets. After a peaceful twenty-minute walk, she finally arrived at the grand entrance of one of the biggest, most luxurious shopping malls in the entire metropolitan area.

Her dark eyes instantly sparkled with childlike wonder. "Wow... so pretty!"

For the next few hours, Lyra completely lost herself in the joy of retail therapy, wandering happily from store to store. She carefully picked out a few simple casual dresses, a pair of highly comfortable walking shoes, and even a cute, sparkly cherry-blossom hair clip. Every single item she chose was a massive improvement over the original owner’s truly horrifying mountain of neon, frilly, and over-the-top clothing.

As she finally walked out of yet another trendy clothing boutique, carrying several large shopping bags in both hands, a very familiar figure suddenly caught her eye.

"Hm?"

Lyra froze dead in her tracks.

"...Elena?!"

Right there, standing just a few meters away near a large bookstore, the beautiful female lead was looking intently through the glass display window. Lyra’s heart dropped straight into her stomach. She immediately ducked behind a large group of chatting shoppers, trying to make herself as small as possible. Only the very top of her head peeked out from behind a stranger’s shoulder.

"What in the world is she doing here?!" Lyra panicked, her brain scrambling. Then, a realization hit her. "...Wait. I literally just told her over the phone that I was deathly sick in bed."

Her face turned entirely pale, draining of all color. "Shit. Double shit. If she sees me out here carrying five bags of clothes after skipping my shift, I am completely dead."

She slowly, carefully took a cautious step backward, trying to blend into the background. "I just need to silently disappear into thin air before she notices me."

She spun around on her heel, ready to bolt in the opposite direction and almost screamed at the top of her lungs.

"..."

"..."

Alastair Voss.

The ruthless Mafia Boss was walking directly toward her from the opposite side of the mall corridor. He looked incredibly imposing, wearing a perfectly tailored suit, with several large men in black suits following closely behind him. Their direct path... was leading straight toward hers.

Lyra felt like throwing herself on the floor and crying. "What kind of utterly rotten, garbage luck is this?!"

She looked frantically to her left. People. She looked to her right. More people. Behind her was Elena, ready to uncover her massive lie. In front of her was the terrifying male lead of the entire book world, ready to potentially murder her for witnessing a crime.

She wanted to bang her head against the nearest wall. "Is this happening because I skipped work today?! The plot is literally punishing me for slacking off!"

She grabbed her head in frustration, her shopping bags rustling loudly. "Think, Lyra! Think fast!"

Alastair continued his slow stride forward. The physical distance between them became dangerously shorter with every passing second.

Ten meters.

Eight meters.

Six meters.

Five meters.

Then... an absolutely insane idea suddenly flashed through Lyra’s desperate mind.

"...Forgive me, universe," she whispered.

Before she could lose her sudden burst of reckless courage, she rushed forward across the gap. Disregarding every single survival instinct in her body, she reached out and tightly grabbed Alastair’s wrist.

The dangerous men in black suits behind him instantly reacted, their hands flying inside their jackets to reach for their weapons. "Boss!"

But before anyone in the crowded mall could even react or cause a scene-

Lyra hurriedly pulled the massive mafia don by his wrist, dragging him into a nearby, completely empty service hallway right beside a clothing store.

"Hurry, hurry, please just move..." she mumbled frantically under her breath, her heart pounding loudly. "Just stay right here for a single second..."

Holding her breath, she carefully peeked her head around the corner of the brick wall to watch the main corridor. Right on cue, Elena walked smoothly past the mouth of the hallway, completely unaware, without even glancing in their direction. A few tense moments later, the angelic female lead vanished into a boutique across the way.

Lyra let out a huge sigh of pure relief. "Phew... oh thank goodness. That was way too close."

Only then, as the immediate danger passed, did she finally remember... she wasn’t alone in the dark service hallway.

She slowly, stiffly turned her head around.

Alastair Voss stood right in front of her, towering over her small frame. His icy, cold grey eyes stared down at her face without blinking a single time, his expression completely unreadable. Only now did Lyra realize a horrifying fact... her small fingers were still tightly wrapping around his large hand.

"..."

"...Shit."

She immediately let go of his wrist as if she had just touched a blazing piece of iron fire. "I-I’m so incredibly sorry!" she gasped, instantly bowing her head repeatedly in apology. "I am so sorry! I completely mistook you for my boyfriend from behind!"

The very second the word boyfriend left her trembling lips, the ambient temperature inside the narrow hallway seemed to drop by twenty degrees. Alastair’s expression became even colder. His sharp eyes silently watched her every expression.

Completely unaware of the incredibly dangerous, suffocating atmosphere she had just created, Lyra peeked over his broad shoulder one last time. Elena was completely gone. Finally.

A bright smile broke out on Lyra’s face. "Thank goodness..."

Then, a sudden chill ran straight down her spine. She looked down at her own hands. Her fingers had only just left Alastair’s skin.

"..."

"Oh no. I really, physically touched the main lead again..."

She let out a very awkward, nervous laugh, stepping away toward the exit. "S-Sorry again for the trouble, sir! I won’t bother you ever again! Goodbye!"

She bowed one final time before turning around on her heel. And then she ran. She ran as fast as her legs could possibly carry her, her shopping bags flying wildly in the air behind her.

Surprisingly, neither Alastair... nor a single one of his armed men... made any physical attempt to chase after her or stop her escape.

The service hallway fell into stunned silence.

Soon his men cam running. One of the subordinates slowly blinked his eyes, completely dazed. "...Boss?"

Another man whispered in utter disbelief, "She... she just grabbed your hand. And she’s somehow still breathing and alive."

The rest of the guards exchanged highly confused, shocked looks. Normally, anyone who dared to touch their boss without explicit permission wouldn’t even live long enough to regret the mistake. Yet today, not only had this strange waitress touched him, she had actively dragged him away into a corner, lied to his face about a boyfriend, apologized, and then casually escaped.

Alastair remained exactly where he was standing, completely unbothered. His dark gaze lingered deeply in the direction where Lyra had just disappeared around the corner. Then his gaze fell on the floor where a tiny hair clip was lying, he picket it up.

"...Boyfriend," he quietly repeated the word under his breath, the syllables tasting foreign and harsh.

For some inexplicable reason... the thought of that word irritated him down to his very bones. He frowned slightly, his dark brows knitting together.

Behind him, his loyal subordinates looked at one another in sheer terror. None of them had ever seen their ruthless boss react like this over a single, ordinary word.

At that exact same moment- far away, on the other side of the busy shopping mall, inside Lyra’s panicked mind...

Ding!

Obsession Level: 38%

Lyra abruptly stopped dead in the middle of her frantic running, her jaw dropping.

"..."

"...WHAT ON EARTH?!"