Neon Street: Red Herring

🎭25: Power On

France kept banging on the elevator door for more than ten minutes now. No one came to help them get out of the suffocating room, making Winnie feel more anxious. "Can't they hear this?" He turns to Winnie on the floor, still hugging her knees close to her chest. "Can you help me out? Call for help or anything. You're just sitting there the whole time." 

But Winnie gave no response, adding to France's frustration. She couldn't bring herself to move because France was just a few spaces away from her. She tried. But it only made her feel like she was going to fall from a building if she gets closer to him.

Giving up, France slides himself against the wall, slowly sitting down. He looked at Winnie and tried to remember where or when he had encounters with her. She's not one of my exes--definitely not my type. Could it be one of those I hooked up with? I don't think so. She doesn't seem to like any of that stuff. One of my friends? If she was, she wouldn't run away from me. I wouldn't do shit to my friends. 

France suddenly lifts his brows, realizing another possibility. Did she have a crush on me? But, which one? It will totally make sense if that's true. I must've dumped her. Tsk, tsk, tsk. That's unfortunate. "Where did you graduate?" He suddenly asks to break the ice. "I'm from Wenwall High."

"I thought you said you weren't going to bother me again," Winnie said with her eyes at him, looking as if she was talking to an evil ghost.

"Is this already called 'bothering'? I figured we'd be stuck here for a little longer, so why not start a conversation?" France explained, but it didn't sound engaging enough for Winnie. "What are you interested in? We could talk about that while we wait."

Winnie looks away and leans her head against the wall. France read it as "not interested" and decided to stop talking. 

A few seconds later, the lights suddenly turned on. The elevator started working again. Winnie quickly stood up and pressed the 'open' button repeatedly. When the door opened, she didn't bother looking back and went straight upstairs to her room. It happened in seconds, leaving France dumbfounded on the floor.

--

Mirae sits in front of the new hotel manager, fiddling her thumbs under the table. "I hope we do this quick, Ms. Kim. Why did you break into the electrical room and cut the power?"

"I was...drunk." She cleared her throat, diverting her eyes away from him. "I might have lost my mind a little. You see, I'm not good with alcohol." She turned to the door and saw Kit waiting outside. "I thought I made myself clear. I was alone when I got drunk." She pointed at Kit and then looked at the manager. "What is that moron doing here?"

"The CCTV footage shows that you and Mr. Kim broke into the electrical room... together. We're letting him stay there because of it. But you keep on insisting that he wasn't an accomplice." Mirae furrowed her brows. CCTV? How come it never crossed my mind? How am I supposed to explain this?! "Can you please come inside, Mr. Kim?" The manager said, gesturing for Kit to enter.

"He wasn't with me! Do you seriously believe a...a piece of technology over a person?! It could've been a glitch! I would never go with a guy when I'm drunk. Leave the boy out of this." Mirae defended.

The manager grabs the telephone and starts dialing a number. "If we don't settle this now, we might have to inform your parents." Mirae felt her stress level rise, leaving her nothing to do but drop her body heavily on the seat. The man returned the telephone, seeing that Mirae had cooled down. 

Kit slowly stepped inside the room. He closed the door with trembling hands and stood beside the chair Mirae was sitting on. "I'll ask this again. Why did the both of you break into the electric room?"

"Kit wasn't with me. Send him back right now," Mirae said as calmly as she could, keeping him from getting angrier with her defensiveness. "Right, Kit?" She looked at him with a "just like we agreed on" expression and laughed nervously. "Tell him."

"What's the point? They already found out," Kit said with a sigh. 

Mirae was going to grab him by the collar, but she clenched her fists instead. Kit still ratted himself out after trying so hard not to get him involved. "Stupid," she said under her breath and faced the front. "Okay. We did it. So, what? You still fixed it, didn't you?'

"Please answer my question first. We'll discuss the penalties after," the manager said while seriously looking at Kit and Mirae.

"We heard you seal the hotel when there's a blackout for safety purposes," Mirae started. "I wanted to see it for myself. I-It looked cool," she cleared her throat and once again glared at Kit. "I initiated it. He just followed me."

"You wanted to check it tonight of all days?" The manager asks, raising a brow.

"There wasn't anyone in the building. No one would be there to keep us out of the electrical room. What else would be the perfect time to do this? I think that's reasonable enough." Kit and Mirae looked at each other with similar thoughts. None of them wanted to disclose what they found out. "Can we talk about the penalty now?"

As per the two's request, the management decided not to inform Kit and Mirae's parents. Instead, they need to help organize an event in Neon Street funded by the hotel. It would take up most of their time, but they thought it was better than getting an earful from their parents.

While everyone talked about the sudden blackout, Lloyd went inside the room he was sharing with Fin, panting. He locks the door and checks his pocket to see what he found on the ground when he followed France and Winnie earlier. He took out the object and furrowed his brows at the little black cube. "A spy camera?"

--

Another clue🙈 The chapter's kinda short, but another flashback is coming in the next chapter!! A bit of Kane's personality will be shown there, so you guys would know how to visualize her🤧 I hope the chapter was okay! I'll be back soon❤