Sparkling V

My height was an advantage when chasing the thief, which meant my stride was longer than his. Eventually over time, I was able to close the distance to just one meter in front of me.

"Gotcha!" I managed to pull his hand, causing us to fall on the ground.

He kicked my hand over and over again, until he was finally freed from my grip.

I didn't give up as I tried to grab his back, but I could only grab his necklace. The thief ran fast and disappeared behind the buildings.

"Shit!" I cursed. "Instead of getting him, I only got this necklace!"

I opened my hand, and saw the necklace. It had someone's name written on it. Unexpectedly, the thief was a female. Good! That meant I would catch her soon.

I took out my phone and opened the app.

Question: Who is your target?

I typed in the name on the necklace.

Answer: Kaylee Laurels.

I grinned. "Kaylee, this app will lead you to me."

***

Because of chasing after her, I had to walk further to my flat. Now I was crossing the crowded streets in the center of the city.

After I thought about it, I gambled on writing her name on the app. I don't know what her face looks like? How old is she? And inevitably I have to have sex with a woman I know absolutely nothing about. What's even scarier is that, according to the regulations I'm forbidden from canceling the set target or my life is at stake. This rule is even scarier than the rule about limiting the number of sex acts for the same target. Crazy! I'm really crazy! Maybe my action were motivated by the desire to help Carmen.

Suddenly, someone passed by me and took a long look at the necklace I was wearing. No one else would be interested in a necklace like this, except the owner. That person must be Kaylee!

I could catch her here, but it's hard for me to have sex in a crowd like this. I'd better follow her while looking for the right time to appear.

I turned around and followed her silently from a distance. She walked into a narrow and gloomy alley, then stopped in front of a house. Hmm..., I think I've seen this area before, but where? Wait..., I've seen it on television. If I'm not mistaken, the houses here were burned down a few months ago. The residents were reportedly died in the accident. Then who is that woman?

I watched her open the door. However, before she went inside, I grabbed her hand.

"Is it yours, Kaylee?" I grinned as I held up her necklace.

She was trembling, speechless.

"Let's talk." I pushed her into the house.

Once inside, I pushed her to the floor until her hoodie came off. It turned out that she was just a girl. Despite her pretty face, she looked dull and unkempt. It's a shame that at such a young age she's already stealing.

"Why did you do that?"

She looked down wordlessly. Soon I saw something dripping on the floor.

"Crying doesn't solve problems. Answer me, or you give the police an answer!"

"... had to," she said, softly.

"What?" I asked, not hearing her voice clearly.

"I had to do it."

"You said you had to do it?" I snorted. "Don't play innocent! Stealing still can't be justified for any reason!"

"Shut up! You don't know how I live my life! Since..., since my family died in an acciden...." She couldn't continue, as she burst into tears.

I could only stare at her, speechless. Somehow her crying made my heart ache. The intention to fuck her just disappeared. It would be outrageous if I took advantage of this situation. I would rather accept the consequences than hurt this girl.

I let her cry for quite a while until her crying subsided, then sat down next to her. 

I asked, "How old are you?" 

"Nineteen."

"Listen. At your age, you should be looking for a job," I said.

"I did. But no one accepted someone like me," she replied, sadly.

I sighed. "I'd like to find you a job, but I can't promise you because I'm just a lowly employee. But for now, you must apologize and return the item. Don't worry, I'll give you some money. Well, even if it's not much, at least it's better than stealing."

She paused for a moment, then said softly, "I already ate the bread."

I smiled. "Then I'll pay for the bread, as long as you apologize."

After she agreed, we left the house and went to the store.

***

I helped Kaylee explain everything to Carmen. Fortunately, Carmen accepted Kaylee's apology as long as she promised not to repeat it. However, when we were about to leave, Carmen held me back and asked Kaylee to wait outside.

"Demian—"

"Devon," I interrupted.

"I'm sorry." Carmen smiled. "Devon, actually she stole here twice."

"How much should I pay then?" I asked.

Carmen shook her head. "No need, I'll explain it to the owner later. The owner is my cousin after all, and she has fully entrusted me to manage this shop. The most important thing is that, Kaylee has shown responsibility by apologizing and promising not to steal again."

I nodded. "She's actually a good girl, but the hard life forced her to do that. If I could get her a job, I would."

"A job?"

"That's right. Can you help her find a job?"

"I happened to be looking for someone to help me here, but I haven't found yet." Carmen smiled. "I think she fits my criteria. Tell her that starting tomorrow she can live and work here. There is a small room at the back that can be used as her room."

Actually, I believe Carmen only wants to help Kaylee, not because she fits the criteria. In this place, Kaylee would have a job, a family, and also an older sister who would take care of her. I'm relieved that she won't suffer anymore.

Beep!

I jolted and picked up my phone. It turned out that there was a new notification in the Sparkling V app.

You still have time to complete the target within eight hours.

Fuck! What should I do?