Saving the Villain

Meanwhile, in an art gallery…

"Wow…" A woman in a loose white shirt underneath a black and white flannel, matched with loose denim pants, stood in front of a painting. Her eyes studied the painting on the wall; it was a sophisticated art of a goldfish that looked like swimming in a still lake with water illuminating the moonlight.

"This is pretty," she said upon sensing someone standing beside her.

"You think so?"

The first woman in a boyish attire and short hair turned her head to the side. There, standing beside her, was a woman in a sophisticated dress. The latter hair was tied in a clean low bun, displaying her slim and almost spotless face.

"You\'re early, Fay," said the beautiful woman. "I still have a meeting with a client, and I was surprised when I saw you around."

"Work is tough, and I got excited since we wrapped up." Fay shrugged. "It\'s tough to be a director, you see? I always lose my voice because of the nonstop shouting — people are dumb."

"Don\'t be like that." The other woman, Amie, and also the owner of the gallery could not help but chuckle. Fay didn\'t change even after all these years; her words were still brutal. "But then again, I can imagine your actors trembling in fear whenever you lose your cool."

"Working with these goddamn actors isn\'t as easy as you think it is. They\'re quite dramatic — they drive me crazy." Fay sighed, shaking her head as a way to forget the painful memories of being a director in one of the most famous movies recently.

"Anyway, don\'t mind me." Fay cleared her throat, jerking her chin slightly. "Do what you need to do and take your time. I\'ll just look around."

"Don\'t look around. Buy a piece, will you?"

"Oy, do you think I have the money to afford a piece? Aren\'t we friend? You could at least gift me one."

"No can do." Amie rolled her eyes and said, "I have a family to feed. I\'ll give you a discount, though."

"This stingy woman. Your husband earns a good chump of money — what do you mean a family to feed?" Fay clicked her tongue, watching Amie laugh as the latter walked away. "Sarah\'s plane will land in three hours. Don\'t waste time."

Amie halted, looking back at her. "You said to take my time."

"I did, but don\'t use it to waste it."

"Gosh… your temper. Okay, okay. It\'ll be quick."

With that being said, Amie walked away to finish an important arrangement while Fay stood still in the same spot. Fay smacked her lips, gazing at the painting in front of her.

"She should at least give me a 90% discount," she mumbled to herself, before touring the gallery to kill time while waiting for Amie.

*******

"Do you need anything else?"

"No — I mean, yes." A man on the first-class flight gazed at the beautiful flight attendant that had been fulfilling his request since the start of this 24-hour flight. "Please rest. Don\'t ask me anything anymore. I also just want to rest."

"Alright." The flight attendant, Sarah, smiled at the passenger. "I will wake you up once we land."

"Sure. Thank you."

With that being said, Sarah didn\'t disturb the passenger anymore, only to see another passenger raise a finger to get her attention. As a dutiful stewardess, Sarah approached the other passenger to hear her concern.

"Please contain the child in the economy. I want to rest."

"Yes, Ma\'am. We\'ll see what we can do?" Sarah maintained her smile, signaling another crew to do something about the complaint.

After that, Sarah just walked quietly down the aisle to make sure no one needed help or anything of the sort. Most of the passengers in the first class had little to no concern. They would usually just sleep throughout the flight, which was understandable because most of these people were people who had busy schedules. They would rather sleep, and seeing them not eat on the flight was also not rare, but also not surprising. Most of them sleep during the flight and then eat in the first-class lounge at the airport.

As Sarah did a last check for the passenger, she paused. Her eyes landed on the man several rows from her right beside the window. She had met different passengers and most of them were like that man; quiet and would just sleep throughout.

\'I think I saw him somewhere,\' she told herself, shaking her head. \'Well, maybe he flies a lot.\'

Sarah didn\'t think much about it as she had met a few people whom she felt looked familiar. Therefore, even though she had this distinct feeling at the glimpse of this specific passenger, she didn\'t dwell on it.

*** BREAK ***

Three hours later, the plane landed at the Main City International Airport. Sarah went on about everything she needed before going off duty for a month\'s vacation she waited for so long. The airport was filled with people waiting for their departure, arriving, crews and staff, and people welcoming those who had arrived.

Still in her uniform with small luggage in her hand, Sarah directly went to the main exit.

"Sarah!"

When she heard a familiar voice, Sarah turned her head to search for the owner of the voice. There, across the line where several people were standing, she caught two familiar figures waving at her. One of them had this boyish look with really short hair, and then the other one was dressed elegantly as if she came from an important event.

"If I didn\'t know better, I\'d think they were lovers." Sarah chuckled, shaking her head. "They didn\'t need to fetch me."

Just as Sarah turned to approach where Fay and Amie were waiting, a person walking near her bumped into her. Surprised by the mild collision, Sarah nearly lost her footing. Fortunately, the man she bumped into caught her by the waist.

Her eyes shook, gazing up to see a man\'s pair of beautiful eyes behind the thin eyeglasses.

"Careful." His voice was low and cool, pulling her up until she got her balance.

"Uh… sorry. I wasn\'t looking." Sarah cleared her throat, checking around to see if there was anything she could help him with.

"It\'s fine. I didn\'t drop anything," said the man, making her lift her eyes in surprise. She didn\'t say anything, so how did he know what was her intention?

"Uhh…" Looking at him more, Sarah slowly recognized the man as a passenger in first class, which was also her last flight for the day.

"Anyway, are you alright?" he asked, snapping her back into the trance.

"Uhm, yes."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"That\'s good." The man smiled, bowing slightly. "Then, I\'ll go."

The man didn\'t idle for a chat or anything like that. Sarah watched him as he walked away, noticing that the man didn\'t have any luggage with him. He was only carrying a backpack.

"That\'s odd," she murmured before she heard Fay\'s voice once again. Sarah threw any thoughts away as she faced Fay and Amie\'s direction, smiling. "Coming!"

"Is that kind of temper effective in her line of work? She\'s become even more impatient." Sarah sighed quietly, chuckling before resuming her stride.