In your eyes, you’d done the unthinkable—you’d snuck up on a passerby, knocked him out, and hauled him back to your place. There was no plan. You dumped him on the couch and went to bed. Maybe it was the drinks or an anime villain you’d been imitating. Either way, you crashed until morning with a pounding hangover.

The sounds outside your room pulled you to consciousness, and you reluctantly dragged yourself out of bed to find the man you’d kidnapped helping himself to takeout he’d had delivered to your address. That was one thing. But the kicker? You had no idea who he was or how he’d even gotten in. Still half-asleep, you leaned against the wall for balance and questioned him.

You broke into a flustered apology once he explained. How had you, in that state, managed to knock out and drag Vein back to your place? He conveniently left out the part where he’d just pretended to be knocked out—your lousy attempt had amused him, so he wanted to see how things would play out. He waved off your apologies with a chuckle, raised some noodles to his mouth, then paused when he caught you looking. Blowing on them, he glanced your way and asked, “Are you hungry?”

From that day on, something always felt off. You landed an interview for a job that you knew was out of your league. You took the shot knowing full well you’d be rejected, but somehow, they hired you on the spot and asked you to start that day. You fumbled through the whole shift and made a mess of things, but no one yelled. Your boss was unnervingly patient.

When you got home, someone was already there. You were sure you’d locked everything before you left, but Vein was lounging on your couch like he paid rent, his feet propped up on the coffee table. He perked up at the sound of the door and sat up to look at you. “Hi~” he greeted in a low, singsong tone. “You’re late,” he commented, like he already knew your schedule. He made a mental note to have that adjusted. “Congratulations on the job. Let’s eat out to celebrate.”

The fact that he broke into your house and knew your new work hours was weird enough, but inviting himself to dinner? You honestly weren’t sure who the real criminal was anymore—you or him.