Rain soaked through his hoodie, dripping from his sleeves and pooling into his worn-out sneakers.
Jessy burst through the sliding glass doors of the city hospital, breathless, heart pounding like a war drum.
The sterile white light of the corridor seemed blinding after the grey haze outside. Every footstep he took squelched against the tile.
He turned a corner sharply, nearly slipping, before finally reaching the room—Room 312. Without knocking, he shoved the door open.
As soon as he was about to ask what happened, he saw Lora, a girl in class G10.
She's Jessie's crush.
Having a Tall and fit stature with beautiful blue eyes, with her blond curls pulled into a tight ponytail under a nurse's cap.
Her uniform, slightly too big on her, told him everything he needed to know.
'Apparently, I am not the only one working side jobs, eh?' Thought Jessy looking at Lora's outfit.
But Lora didn't even blink at him.
She turned with a frown, her nose crinkling.
"Smelly, what are you doing here? Can't you be more rude?" Lora said angrily.
"That's my brother, it's Jessy!" Jina replied astonishingly.
"The doctors say that she collapsed from exhaustion and malnutrition. Are you proud of yourself? How can you call yourself a brother? "
She clearly worked as a nurse in this hospital.
"You are right." He said with eyes full of shame.
He worked himself to the bone day and night to support Jina, but it's clearly not enough.
Covering her nose, Lora left the room and gently closed the door. "I am waiting outside if you want anything, just press that button beside the bed and a nurse will come and help you".
Jessy sank into the chair beside his sister, the soaked clothes clinging to his body. The adrenaline had worn off.
Jess was too tired that he stayed there the whole night.
Snoring and talking in his sleep like a sleep-deprived patient, but…. Maybe he actually is.
In the morning, he woke up upon overhearing nurses whispering.
He groaned, rubbing his face, then glared at the ceiling.
"What a guy! Not only does he smell, but he also snores???"
"Yeah, I could hear him yesterday from the corridor."
'Man, I really am a public enemy now,.... ' Jessy thought.
He glanced at the table before him… something's different.
'An envelope?'
'Jina has a lover? Wa… wait, is that my name on it?'
Jessy immediately opened the envelope, it was from Mr Zain, the math teacher!
Astonished, Jess sat down again in his chair, not believing his eyes.
'Maybe my love for math paid off in the end'
Not only did Mr Zain pay the hospital fees, but he also left something inside the envelope.
A job opportunity flyer.
Jessy checked the details of the flyer, it was a bodyguard job.
With a puzzled look on his face 'Is this a joke?' Jess thought.
Jessy is tall with broad shoulders and a good physique for a 16-year-old, however, he was not experienced in martial arts.
His combat experience consisted of being beaten in school and in some street fights.
Jessy kept analysing the flyer carefully, he noticed that the job involved being a bodyguard for the famous businessman Lazordy Akula.
'What the absolute… how is that monthly salary? Just where did Mr Zain find such a job?'
He used to make a total of 1200 per month by working in a fish market and a waiter.
But this job will get him a net salary of 7000, and that excludes the bonus he will get upon mission completion!
But what are these missions going to be like? But it doesn't matter for Jessy anymore.
"I am done being a joke, I will take this job no matter the exercises I need to go through."
From Jessie's POV.
He will not only be more effective, as now he will spend less time and get more time, but he will also be actively training to defend himself against Thomas's group of bullies.
More time to study, sleep, and for his sister.
He should spend more time with her as a brother, listen to her problems, give her hope, etc..
After reading the flyer for the third time, Jessy looked down at his soaked clothes, still carrying the stench of old fish, sweat, and rain.
He let out a tired sigh and walked out of the room.
A nurse tried to stop him, but Lora, arms crossed, spoke before she could.
"He can use the staff shower. Just air it out after he's done."
Jessy paused. "Thanks."
"Don't thank me. Just don't make her cry again."
The shower was hot. Almost scalding.
Jessy stood under the stream in silence, letting the water run down his face, his back, his hands. His shoulders finally relaxed.
The grime washed away in slow, cloudy streaks along the floor drain.
It felt like the first breath he'd taken in weeks.
When he stepped out, wearing fresh hospital-issued clothes, he felt… lighter.
Different.
Lora was still there, scrolling on her phone, but when she glanced up, her eyes widened slightly.
She almost didn't recognize him.
Jessy said nothing.
He just nodded once and returned to the room.
Jina was still asleep.
Peacefully, despite everything.
'How's she still asleep, hearing me snore all night?' he thought, almost smiling.
He dried his hair with a towel, sat quietly, and picked the flyer up one more time.
"This time, I'm not just surviving. I'm coming for everything they said I couldn't have