In the noisy cityscape of Quezon City was an organized mess of an apartment shared by partners in life and crime — a private investigator, Daphnis Manalastas (Daph), and his roommate, Thomas Nieri Sangalang (Tom).

The Forthright Detective and Reticent Tomcat

It was a laid-back day without any actual work to do, and it didn't seem like there would be any new clients until the Holy Week came to an end. The two roommates sat across from each other at the cluttered kitchen table, surrounded by stacks of dated case files and half-empty coffee mugs.

It was too quiet, with only the noise of oncoming traffic to keep them company.

Daph already seemed to have random thoughts running in his head, characterized by how he was fiddling with his headband and mindlessly scrolling through his phone.

Meanwhile, Tom was lazily flipping through an old newspaper, occasionally taking sips from his lukewarm coffee. His attention drifted between the headlines and the mundane scene outside the kitchen window, where a stray cat was rummaging through a pile of garbage.