Fate Online: Shadow

"So...how was Joseon? Did you have a good time there?"

Sitting on the sofa in the living room, Amanda asked Michael while taking a drink of the orange juice that her boyfriend gave her.

"Yeah, I think so. Anyway, how was last night's party?" said Michael, he quickly changed the subject of conversation as he didn't want to talk about what he did back at Joseon as he still didn't come clean with her of what he's truly doing for a living.

"It was awesome, Olivia and Miya really make great food, and I know you like their cooking, especially Miya. So I took some leftovers home for you to eat, but I didn't expect that you would actually come back the next day" replied Amanda with a smile.

Michael just scratched his cheek and chuckled as he noticed the slight anger in her voice.

"I-"

Amanda stretched her arm towards Michael and cut him off and said, "Give me minute, I'll call Jenny to bring them over"

On the other hand, Michael could only look at his girlfriend with a bitter smile on his face, but at the same time, he was happy too, because not anyone could get the chance he had received from whoever god it was and now, he's leaving the life he wanted or something along the lines.

"You don't really need t- I mean, yeah. I'd love to have them for an early dinner" When Michael saw the expression on Amanda's face that was getting darker, he quickly changed his tune as he was afraid of angering her right now.

'People wouldn't call me simp because I'm a little afraid of her, right? Hmm, I just don't want to upset her anymore for not telling her that I'm back' thought Michael when thinking of his submissive behaviour earlier.

A few minutes later, Jenny came over with her car and on her hand was a paper bag containing the leftover food from last night's birthday party.

Jenny walked over and saw Amanda and Michael from the terrace, and she said, "It's been a while, Michael"

Michael just smiled and replied, "It was, how have you been?"

"Good, and here, the food that Amanda took home from the party last night. I heard you like this particular cuisine" said Jenny as she handed the paper bag to Michael and started chatting with Amanda as they went inside and left Michael by himself.

Michael walked over to the only sofa in the terrace and sat there and opened the bag to see what's inside.

Inside the bag were two tupperwares containing two different kinds of cuisine while Michael took them out at the same time.

"Shashlik and Beef Stroganoff? Did Amanda seriously take this home last night, especially these Shashliks?" muttered Michael with a laugh when he recognized the dishes inside the containers.

"Was she in her right mind when she cooked these dishes? She rarely makes this kind of dishes because it reminds her of her home" murmured Michael to himself as he knew that Miya doesn't particularly like cooking dishes that reminds her of the place she grew up in.

"I wonder what happened that made her cook th...ahhh! I'm such an idiot, how could I forget that" mumbled Michael as he slapped his thigh when he finally remembered something about Miya that he had almost forgotten.

"That poor woman is fond of kids and always wanted to have one. Sadly, her husband died during the civil war in their country" said Michael with a 'miserable smile' on his face.

'Well...if I managed to get a chance to change my life, then it wouldn't be impossible for her too. Probably just not like my experience, but more like how Randy's life had changed for the better and met Olivia and her kids'

Smiling to himself, Michael opened the container for Shashlik and started eating it as he leaned on the sofa with a contented smile on his face.

On the other hand, Michael didn't notice the two women watching him from inside the house through the glass window part of the door.

"I wonder what he's mumbling to himself" whispered Amanda to Jenny whose face is literally leaning against hers.

"How would I know? Anyway, he really didn't tell you that he would be coming back, didn't he?" said Jenny in a whisper.

"No, anyway, what about that thing I asked from you a couple of days ago?" Amanda gently pulled Jenny towards the living room and asked.

Jenny's eyes flashed and replied in a soft voice, "I've sent people to investigate, and the only thing they found out is that Michael seems to be related to a large and dangerous underground organization"

Suddenly worried, Amanda said, "You didn't learn of its name?"

Shaking her head, Jenny smiled helplessly, "No, my father warned me not investigate further or we'd get ourselves into trouble, so I quickly stopped the operation"

"What? R-really? Said Amanda as he placed a hand over her mouth as she wasn't expecting to hear that kind of result from her best friend.

After all, she wasn't ignorant of the matters in the underground world, and she knew that someone must have warned Jenny's father because of the digging they had been doing.

"Yeah, this bastard of a boyfriend of yours is certainly hiding a deep secret he doesn't want others to know" Jenny hurriedly said when she saw Michael coming back inside from the front door.

"Do you want to go to the movies tomorrow?" Amanda hurriedly said to Jenny as she quickly changed the topic of conversation from earlier.

"Sure, how about bringing the others with us tomorrow? Will Michael come too?" asked Jenny as she quickly went along with her while looking at Michael who was walking past them at the latter part of her words.

Amanda quickly replied saying, "No"

Michael, who was heading to the kitchen, quickly stopped in his tracks and looked at them and said, "Ehh~? Why not?"

With a snort, Amanda said, "Because you didn't tell me you were coming back today"

"What? It was supposed to be a surprise. Gosh, I just should have parked the car inside the garage when I came back" said Michael with a slight shake of his head while scratching his head as he continued making his way towards the kitchen and didn't bother trying to change Amanda's mind.

"Right! Did you buy a gift for Cathy?"

Remembering something, Amanda quickly turned her head around and asked Michael.

Rolling his eyes, Michael replied, "Yes, I did. Happy?"

"Good!" said Amanda with a smile on her face before turning her attention back to Jenny, and the two women started chatting with each other, ignoring the lonesome person in the kitchen eating by himself.

'Damn, I'm suddenly feeling horny!'

Michael took a peek at the two girls from the kitchen and thought to himself, 'I wonder what they were talking about before? They were certainly talking about something serious before they quickly changed their conversation when I came in, it's so suspicious. They're certainly hiding something from me'

'Dang it, this Beef Stroganoff is really delicious. Just what you'd expect from a former executive chef' he thought as Michael took a mouthful of the dish into his mouth.