Chapter 6

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No Plagiarism!RUZKHBtjnZIq5ZEU9nLhposted on PＥNAＮＡ In a certain flat in a certain building, a woman founded one of the most popular industries among men—selling kisses. Apart from the staff, the shop was covered with white, almost letting out a faint glow. Its modern design gave customers a sense of inner peace, so as to comfort those whose souls had been hurt deeply.8964 copyright protection209ＰＥＮＡＮＡXH4iIE7fXY 維尼

This is the place where I work at. All staff members (which are all women) have no names, not even the boss. We only call her ‘Boss’, while staff members are only given code names.8964 copyright protection209ＰＥＮＡＮＡgmMO2V5z4O 維尼

‘Hello. I’m Miss Number One Three Two Four. Welcome.’ I have to introduce myself like this to every customer I meet, in a particularly cold tone no less. This is done so as to avoid any misunderstandings and make sure that no feelings are established at the start. 8964 copyright protection209ＰＥＮＡＮＡWIkR5uRaEl 維尼

With his languid expression and crooked back, the man in front of me is clearly very tired. I think to myself, ‘Such a weirdo. No wonder he’s a customer.’ Yet, I remain composed, still putting on my stony facade. Sitting on a chair in the middle of the spacious, white room, I gaze into the soul of this customer, buried in the depths of his eyes.8964 copyright protection209ＰＥＮＡＮＡbG9P7SCuuu 維尼

Here’s another man who needs to be saved! 8964 copyright protection209ＰＥＮＡＮＡbVO3sip9nD 維尼

He draws closer to me and stops. The tip of my nose and his face shares a mere distance of about fifteen centimetres. His fixed gaze speaks to me, as if he was begging the most beautiful goddess in the world to spare him a little of her love. Stretching his hand out, his eyes remain grave, wanting to pull away my mask which looked like the one worn by the deformed Erik in The Phantom of the Opera. His hand almost grazes against my mask. 8964 copyright protection209ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9lyUjQUXK7 維尼

‘Sir.’ I say firmly. He waves his hand away immediately, but his eyes still show a kind of affection which resembles the admiration of many when looking at the Mona Lisa. I pity the fool, yet I can do nothing more than performing my own duties.8964 copyright protection209ＰＥＮＡＮＡKrNN9g8Jo9 維尼

‘Sir. According to rule fifty nine of our store, customers are not allowed to touch staff members’ masks.’ His cheeks flush red in response, followed by several apologies at once. I swiftly cut to the chase without giving him a hard time. ‘Sir, once you tell me the code, we can begin.’8964 copyright protection209ＰＥＮＡＮＡDYJ4EI8lMM 維尼

‘I love you!’ He exclaims, before giving me a kiss.8964 copyright protection209ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9gaOD7APmR 維尼

‘I love you too.’ I reply, as our kiss deepens between our embrace. His lips are dry, probably because he hasn't been using chapstick for some time. His poor oily skin… At this moment, tears start streaming down his cheeks, warm and bitter… His tongue swirls against mine, desperately clinging onto my mouth, not wanting to let go as it seems to gently plead with sorrow, ‘My darling… my love…’8964 copyright protection209ＰＥＮＡＮＡjEwIs3RT8X 維尼

This man, he really needed a kiss from somebody. After ten seconds, the session ends.8964 copyright protection209ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6iEUHBjej2 維尼

‘Ten seconds have already passed, sir. That would be a thousand dollars.’ 8964 copyright protection209ＰＥＮＡＮＡ43bVxtjuuo 維尼

‘Can we kiss again?’8964 copyright protection209ＰＥＮＡＮＡXK2Faw42NM 維尼

‘Sir, it will be one thousand dollars for every ten seconds. Any extra time short of ten seconds will be counted as ten seconds as well.’8964 copyright protection209ＰＥＮＡＮＡEF1HDxr9Vz 維尼

‘Never mind then!’ He says with reluctance, though his gloomy expression has already softened a bit, his smile showing his gratitude.8964 copyright protection209ＰＥＮＡＮＡC0kDvS6z7M 維尼

‘Hello Miss Number One Three Two Four! We meet again!’ 8964 copyright protection209ＰＥＮＡＮＡA9OLAuWnrG 維尼

It's that waster again.8964 copyright protection209ＰＥＮＡＮＡEm73EWLyBn 維尼

‘Hello sir. Welcome’, I reply with an icy tone.8964 copyright protection209ＰＥＮＡＮＡE77zWk2CKR 維尼

‘Do you still remember me?’ He asks, his naive eyes resembling that of a child: twinkling with curiosity and wonder.8964 copyright protection209ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5oNAZMrMli 維尼

And what a cute mouth. 8964 copyright protection209ＰＥＮＡＮＡgMHy1OXF8T 維尼

Obvious as it is, without saying it out loud, we both already know the answer. Still, I have to answer his question routinely. ‘Don’t worry, sir. According to rule thirty two of our store, staff members are not allowed to deliberately remember customers’ faces and names. Your personal information and privacy are kept safe.’8964 copyright protection209ＰＥＮＡＮＡGX0OnthbEj 維尼

He smiles and says, ‘Don’t be so rigid! It’s boring!’ before walking towards me. Facing this sort of person, I don’t know whether I should find this enjoyable or ridiculous. As I begin to relax, my gaze drifts towards the small cockroach wandering above the ceiling. Meanwhile, unexpectedly, he lunges towards me, points at the tip of my nose, and softly mutters into my ears, ‘Be my lover, okay?’ I turn red in the face almost immediately.8964 copyright protection209ＰＥＮＡＮＡxB7V5lA2SR 維尼

‘I love you!’ He crushes his lips against mine before he even finished speaking, flicking them with his tongue.8964 copyright protection209ＰＥＮＡＮＡjeZdg48kPF 維尼

I haven’t even said my ‘formula’ yet, and now I’m being ‘molested’ by his French kiss, totally unprepared. Ridiculous as it sounds, who would ever think that ‘selling kisses’ counts as ‘molesting’ as well? 8964 copyright protection209ＰＥＮＡＮＡKMOYiVZ5oT 維尼

Truth be told, this job isn’t much different from sex work; just that it’s been disguised as ‘a treatment for those in need of kisses’. 8964 copyright protection209ＰＥＮＡＮＡclBK5ORHwF 維尼

Nonsense! Lies, lies, lies. All lies!8964 copyright protection209ＰＥＮＡＮＡtOaMmCMS9O 維尼

Sadly though, I could only accept this type of work, as I have just graduated high school.8964 copyright protection209ＰＥＮＡＮＡYLRYEdowGP 維尼

After ten seconds, we’re running out of breath. 8964 copyright protection209ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4XJrxRI5HQ 維尼

‘Sir, it has been ten seconds. That would be one thousand dollars.’8964 copyright protection209ＰＥＮＡＮＡBhMvGlUI27 維尼

He seems to ignore me, cupping my face hidden away by the mask once more. ‘I love you!’ This time, he waits for my response instead of kissing me right away. 8964 copyright protection209ＰＥＮＡＮＡO4cxYQrbyE 維尼

‘I love you too.’ I utter out the lie once more.8964 copyright protection209ＰＥＮＡＮＡwFuZHonSD6 維尼

Kissing, kissing, kissing. 8964 copyright protection209ＰＥＮＡＮＡ66RSNp04V6 維尼

I hate this kind of person the most! With a tongue piercing, he probably hasn’t heard of the saying ‘Our bodies,to every hair and bit of skin, are received by us from our parents’. From his kissing skills, he’s probably hurt many girls before; by kissing random strangers, he’s probably forgotten what they taught in school about sex education...8964 copyright protection209ＰＥＮＡＮＡ67ZtRFg9cS 維尼

Bit by bit, bit by bit, I gather all my assumptions about him, which makes me hate him—the person who’s now kissing me.8964 copyright protection209ＰＥＮＡＮＡIXVuLHy1LK 維尼

He spent a grand total of eighteen thousand dollars. 8964 copyright protection209ＰＥＮＡＮＡIIgnFQwLQW 維尼

‘Goodbye for now! Please consider what I’ve said!’ He grins with a wink, and leaves the room without turning his head round.8964 copyright protection209ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1U88OQfj83 維尼

Gazing upon his shadow, I smile. Even though I hate him, I still enjoy the feeling of being loved by him.8964 copyright protection209ＰＥＮＡＮＡPZmawMmnz1 維尼

There hardly seems to be any differences between our mentality, I think. Ha! 8964 copyright protection209ＰＥＮＡＮＡq7JpS7NGao 維尼

The next customer is my former boyfriend, and I knew it right away before he even walked in. The rhythm of his footsteps are still unique to me. The only difference is, he’s wearing a pair of new shoes. In the past, he used to only wear trainers, ones in an eye-catching neon green mixed with shades of orange. They were only worth a few hundred dollars; I gave them to him as a gift.8964 copyright protection209ＰＥＮＡＮＡyHG01EbntJ 維尼

Here he comes, wearing his winter uniform with the button on the collar undone and his tie missing, showing off a bit of his bronze-coloured skin. All while wearing a pair of white new trainers. 8964 copyright protection209ＰＥＮＡＮＡr4P9Mqkt3V 維尼

My heart aches at the sight of him.8964 copyright protection209ＰＥＮＡＮＡITA6O3koVb 維尼

Before, once he got out of school, he would change his shoes and instantly wear the trainers I had given him. Sadly, our love has ended. I can’t believe that I can remain so calm and composed in front of him, and even tell him my introduction of the kissing service. I can't help but to chat with him, even though I know I have broken the company’s rules.8964 copyright protection209ＰＥＮＡＮＡyQTWr79QR8 維尼

Not long after, I can’t help but smile at him.8964 copyright protection209ＰＥＮＡＮＡFCjRajy6E9 維尼

‘You look like my ex-girlfriend.’ He freezes in shock,his eyes shining with infatuation as well as sorrow.8964 copyright protection209ＰＥＮＡＮＡvT3zMaYZtU 維尼

‘I love you.’ He delivers those words with feigned composure. 8964 copyright protection209ＰＥＮＡＮＡphZnT9HLWR 維尼

‘I love you too.’ My heart flutters at his words.8964 copyright protection209ＰＥＮＡＮＡtNI1UNAfX5 維尼

We kiss. I know how I should kiss him: no tongue swirling involved, just laying it flat. He knows morse code, and he used to spell out ‘I love you’ with the tip of his tongue. 8964 copyright protection209ＰＥＮＡＮＡ75iYwS6jfD 維尼

Kiss after kiss after kiss.8964 copyright protection209ＰＥＮＡＮＡpE2UlkkGtL 維尼

I kiss him hungrily and greedily while I desperately try to grasp his heart that once belonged to me with my palms. My tongue seems to cry out, ‘I love you!’. Yet, he doesn’t seem to know.8964 copyright protection209ＰＥＮＡＮＡSGZfsFmoV7 維尼

His kiss beseeches me, trying so hard to seek the slight chance of comfort in my small mouth. Such bitterness his kiss tastes! Oh, without me, how much has he been tortured by loneliness! 8964 copyright protection209ＰＥＮＡＮＡANOMauHF7Q 維尼

Tears of guilt and shame fall from the corner of my eye, as they pierce right through my heart. Let’s keep kissing like this! Even though our romance has been long gone, we can still comfort and support each other through kisses. 8964 copyright protection209ＰＥＮＡＮＡekyMEsd1ks 維尼

Ten seconds have passed. We stop, not wanting to part from each other. Standing in front of me, he looks so familiar yet so foreign.8964 copyright protection209ＰＥＮＡＮＡFtvEhGPSCh 維尼

My nerves tingle as his gaze travels up and down my body.8964 copyright protection209ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6zYdIMelkt 維尼

If you recognise me, just say it! Tell me to take my mask off! Even if it means losing my job, I will definitely take my mask off for you, just so our eyes and smiles can finally meet each other.8964 copyright protection209ＰＥＮＡＮＡusWJNSueH4 維尼

Yet, I know you lack this kind of courage. You’re such a coward that you won’t let yourself love others. I know you well enough…8964 copyright protection209ＰＥＮＡＮＡTwBNDeWcBr 維尼

Such a person doesn’t deserve my love!8964 copyright protection209ＰＥＮＡＮＡc3PRmsmVhc 維尼

My mind goes blank after being stirred up, all those routine lies gone in an instant, all while hoping that you’ll break the rules.8964 copyright protection209ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0V5Z2VS9bv 維尼

In the end though, you didn’t say anything about recognising me. Without a word, you leave me, not even turning your head around once.8964 copyright protection209ＰＥＮＡＮＡxOJ0AdHerG 維尼

It’s lunch time, but I decide not to eat anything. A puff of smoke drags across my lips as I have my first taste of cigarettes in the staff room.8964 copyright protection209ＰＥＮＡＮＡeHbbNs8uc0 維尼

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