//------------------------------//
// Someone To Rely On (Part 2) 
// Story: Pursuit of happiness 
// by Reagan 
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It has been a month and a half since Sunset is in her new workplace, and she had been handling well. Not only the whole process is smooth for Sunset, but she had made a new official friend in the form of Marc. Ever since she helped him with his work, they had been hanging out with each other if possible. At most a couple of days per week, they will hang out in different places in Hollywood immediately when they are dismissed from work. Often, mainly daytime when they don’t have work, they will hang out in Yogurt Ur Way, the same place where their friendship indirectly gets triggered.

Under the afternoon sun, Sunset and Marc are under the cooling conditioning of Yogurt Ur Way Café. They just finished their desserts, and both are just discussing where they can go. “How about GameStop?”, “For the last time, I’m no gamer.”, Sunset rolled her eyes while saying that. “How about Amazon Books?”, “To be honest, I’m not into books that much.”, Marc replied. Despite their friendship, Marc and Sunset have opposite interests, but still respect each other. 

Sunset sighed and laid back, “Well I don’t have any other places.”. Marc then said, “How bout we look around for a while and see.”. Shrugging, Sunset figured might as well follow Marc’s advice, and they both exit the café, seeing where they can go.

Looking for about ten minutes, Sunset and Marc sweat under the beating sun as they continue their search. Despite the size of the place they are in, there isn’t really that much variety of spots that they have a common interest in. The places they explore on previous days are just shopping malls, and frankly they do not want it to become a routine.

Then, they stumbled onto something on the other side of the road. Opposite to where they are standing at, is a comic book store. “COMICS’ WORLD”, the bolded, red and Comic Sans font sign on the store’s roof declares proudly what the store mainly sells. Both Marc and Sunset look at the place with curiosity. 

“Have you seen this place before?”, “No.”, Sunset replied. Despite the exploration she did, Sunset has never touched the area they are currently at, let alone the comics store they are looking at now. Sunset and Marc look at each other, their expressions giving the same look of asking whether each other is interested. With a simultaneous agreement from both, they walk across the street, and enter the shop.

As soon as they stepped foot into the entrance, they are greeted by variety of heavy colours on the walls, shelves, ceiling and items before the bell above even made a sound. As soon as the bell made a sound, a person behind the counter looked up from the documents he is currently doing. He is a middle aged man, probably around his 50s, wearing an oversized baseball shirt with a cap, black trousers and soccer cleats. “How can I help?”, he immediately stood up before saying that, trying to sound as friendly as possible. “We just want to look around.”. The man looked like he is trying to hide his dismay behind his face, then looked back at his papers, “Help yourselves, there are plenty of good things I’m sure with attract you.”. Despite feeling awkward that the man is seemingly trying to convince them to buy something, they proceed to browse what this place offers.

Sunset looks around the place. While she still prefer books with plain texts to stimulate her imagination even more, she cannot deny that she occasionally enjoy some comic books also with decent to interesting stories. She can see that most of the comics are of famous established franchises, while some others are obscure but still interesting looking. However, not all of the shelves sell only comics. On the top area of the shelves are other merchandises like action figures, cheap collectables and posters. However, Sunset give little to no notice on those things, and is only focusing on the printed pages.

“Uncle Rodrick where do you want me to put this?”, “Just right here.”. Both Marc’s and Sunset’s ears perked up at the familiar voice. They turned back to the counter, and saw the office door behind it opening, but it is who is coming out that attracts them. Jasmine is coming out of the room, carrying a cardboard box. She put the box to where her uncle told her to put, right at the corner beside the door. When she finished putting the box, she turned outwards and is surprised at who she saw. 

“Marc? Mia?”, Jasmine called out to both of them. “Jasmine?”, both of them called back simultaneously. The man behind the counter with Jasmine, Rodrick registered the excitement that his niece emits and look back and forth to see who she is greeting. “These are your friends?”, he asked pointing to Marc and Sunset. Jasmine then corrected, “There are my colleagues from the set, we get along well.”. The man then turned to the two of them with a smile, “Oh yeah, so you two are the Marc and Mia that my niece talked about?”, they both nodded. “Sorry for my attitude just now, I usually treat my customers like that.”, he apologised. Marc replied, “There’s nothing to be sorry for, you’re not being rude.”, and Sunset nodded in agreement. Rodrick laughed kindly, then asked, “You two want to stay here with me and Jas, we both could use some friendly company for a while.”. Deciding they had nowhere else to hang out, they followed the man into the office, followed by Jasmine.

Sunset and Marc both looked around the utilities the office has. No, scratch that. The office might as well be an apartment itself. It has a couch which can be also folded as a bed, which is what they are sitting on now. On the floor next to the sockets, there is a small air conditioner and heater sitting right next to each other. There is a table with a electric kettle, microwave and mini fridge, and what is above is a shelf is some canned and other preserved foods. Moreover, right beside the desk is a sink. There is also a second desk with stacked files and documents. Sure there are no windows, and the wall and paint is quite chipped, but other than that it is quite comfortable to live here.

Rodrick is currently preparing two cups of beverages for Marc and Sunset right in front of the kettle. He walk to them with two mugs in hand. “Here’s your drinks, carful they’re hot.”, the man said. Sunset get her coffee, while Marc took his tea. “You guys can stay and talk to Jasmine if you want, I’ll be going back to the counter now if you need me.”, he then exit the office. Meanwhile Jasmine, who is sitting on a chair, look at them happily. The three of them just give each other friendly smiles, before one of them decide to speak up.

“So what are you doing here Jasmine?”, Marc asked. “My uncle owned this place. I sometimes come here to help him during my free time.”, Jasmine said. Sunset look around the room, before asking something else, “Don’t you think this is a bit too much for an office?”. Jasmine’s face immediately look like she wanted to dodge the question, but instead decide to answer. “Umm yeah, sorry about that. Uncle Rodrick likes to work long hours here. So he wants his office to be as comfortable as possible.”. Deciding not to press further, Sunset accepted the answer.

“Are you two the only employees here?”, Marc asked. Jasmine nodded, “This is a small store, so there’s no need too much hands. And Uncle Rodrick is practically here all the time, so he can manage everything himself.”. Marc said cheerfully, “You two seem close for a guy who worked long hours.”. Jasmine smiled and replied, “He does try and spend his time with me.”. Sunset then decide to ask, “What about your parents?”. Jasmine heard the question, then looked down with a frown. Sunset and Marc looked worryingly at her physical response. Marc then said, “You don’t have to say if you don’t want.”, Sunset chimed in with a nod. Jasmine smiled back, glad that they are not forcing her to talk about uncomfortable matters.

Suddenly, they heard some commotion from outside the office. “Sorry, I really still cannot pay in full-,”, “This is the seventh month Mr Robinson, Mr Whitehead already give you enough time to accumulate the cash and you still cannot pay in full. He is already unhappy enough as it is.”, the man talking to Rodrick said in a respectful but disappointed manner. Rodrick sighed, “Sorry.”, “Listen, he told me that if you cannot pay in full this month, he will come here personally and come for it. And if there is still nothing to show, he will tear down the business. So please try and pay the money you still owe.”, “Yes sir.”. With that, the footsteps sounds like the men are walking away. 

Rodrick then came back to his office, then saw the three of them looking at him with concerned faces. “I guess all of you heard it.”, they all nodded. He turned away from them slowly, then pinched the bridge of his nose before preparing a cup of instant coffee. He took a small sip, ignoring the three who is behind him.

“Is it them again?”, Jasmine asked, Rodrick nodded. Jasmine looked down and quivered her lips, like she was about to cry, but decide to hold back. Sunset and Marc look at both of them with worry, but is afraid to say anything.

“You guys should go now.”, Rodrick said simply. Sunset and Marc tensed up at the coldness of the tone. Jasmine’s face remained neutral, but looking like she is siding with her uncle. “Please for your sake, leave now. I want to be alone.”, he said with some exasperation this time. Flinching, Sunset and Marc quickly got off their seats, and exit the office, leaving Jasmine and Rodrick inside.

While they are leaving, Sunset decide to look around the store one more time. “What are you doing?”, Marc asked. Sunset replied, “I’m seeing what I can buy, support their business at least for a bit.”. Marc realised Sunset got the point, inspired by her generosity, he followed her and see what he can buy also.

After some searching, they found the things they decide to buy. Sunset decide to buy a comic series that is bundled in a package for sale, two separate comics and three keychains. Marc decide to buy an electric lantern shaped like a adorable creature character, three separate comic books, a Rubik’s cube alarm clock and two keychains. They put their items at the counter, and was about to ring the bell.

“Just let me think okay!”, both friends flinched as they heard Rodrick shouting, obviously targeting at Jasmine. Then, he quickly stormed out from the room with a frustrated look, and is stunned to see they are still there. He looked down at the items on the counter, and look back at them.

“Umm, you can keep the change.”, Sunset said awkwardly. Marc nodded frantically. Seeing and hearing what they want to do, the man let out a small smile, even if the prices of these items are not enough to pay for his financial troubles yet.





Sunset is currently back at her hotel room, reading one of the current comic books she bought from the store. Taking another spoonful of her oatmeal, she casually flipped to another page when she is done reading the previous. Before she know it, she looked outside her windows, and is surprised that the sky is already dark. Deciding that this is the time to hit the sack, she bookmarked her page, finish her food, and off the lights.

Lying on the bed, she slowly closed her eyes. However no matter how hard she tried, she seem to cannot float away to the slumber she wants. She know what is exactly keeping her awake, but cannot shake it away.

Sighing, Sunset turned to her right, and sees the two of comic books she had finished reading lying on the floor, with the one that she is currently reading on the top. Staring at the printed pages only amplify the worrying thoughts she had towards Jasmine. The girl’s uncle look like he is currently having troubles with supporting the finances for both him and her niece, and it is currently straining their relationship from what she can tell. If this problem goes on, who knows what will happen to them, especially Jasmine.

She can just imagine now what will happen after a month has reached. Jasmine and Rodrick see the store sadly demolished between their eyes, them finding easy but unfulfilling ways to try and support their finances. Moreover, the money they earned might not be as much as they are used too. They might have to resort to become beggars and live in a cardboard box. Then, their relationship becoming more strained as ever. Eventually, one decide to leave one another alone, and made out on their own.

Okay, Sunset realised that she probably exaggerated most of the situation. She is positive that Jasmine and Rodrick will not abandon one another, and she is also sure that their finance situation will not cause them to become homeless instantaneously just because the store closes down. There are probably plenty of decent and easy to get jobs out there that can still allow the same amount if not more earnings than running a small store. But still, the fact that Rodrick still refuse to give up on the store shows that he had love for it, even if he cannot support.

Experiencing personal failures and mistakes before, Sunset can empathize with the feelings of not achieving personal goals and sustaining it. Even if she did not achieve it herself, she does not want the people around her to suffer the same fate, and wish she could help if possible. However, she just don’t know how to help now.

Turning the other side, her eyes remained opened until her mind decide she can rest. Her bags slowly grew heavy, and she drift away to sleep.





“Jasmine?”, Sebastian called out to the said person. Jasmine hear her name, and immediately zoned out from her daydreaming. She turned to Sebastian, who looking at her with some sternness. She immediately nodded and proceed to show the camera the clapboard. “Take 2, scene 40”, she said. “It’s take 1, scene 39 Jasmine.”, Sebastian said with exasperation. “Cut, we’re doing it again.”, Jasmine nervously walked back, and wait for her cue again. This time, she got the procedure and details correct, but that does not save the fact that she got it wrong previously and wasted some time.

After some more filming, the crew decide to have a lunch break. Sunset sat at her spot along with Marc. However what is usually the period where one of the friends starting a joyful conversation, this time it starts with Sunset looking at Jasmine with worry. Marc saw what she is doing and decides that this is not the time for their usual friendly talks.

“Still worry about her?”, Marc asked. Sunset simply nodded, and Marc followed what he is doing by looking at Jasmine. Her face looks like she is somewhat struggling to lift her lips in order to not form a frown, and is eating quite slower than usual. “I just not sure how to help her, it’s not like I have plenty of money to give out.”, Sunset said in pity. Marc sighed and responded, “I get what you mean, but sometimes you cannot just help everybody I guess.”. Sunset know Marc is right, but the statement still made her feel guilty.

Meanwhile, they saw Sebastian approaching Jasmine. He sat down right in front of her, and it looks like he is trying to strike up a conversation with her. Judging by his physical responses, it looks like the replies he got from Jasmine is unsatisfactory, half-baked, or useless. With a disappointed look, he rose and walk away from the girl. 

Next, Sebastian arrived next to them. More specifically, he sat beside Sunset as he sees what they are doing. “Looking at Jasmine too huh?”, he asked as he took a spoonful of his meal in his mouth. “That girl has not been performing well from what I see. Tried to ask her what’s wrong, but she don’t want to say.”, he said with disappointment. “Seriously, girl’s stubborn as hell. I fell that she is affecting us today.”. Sunset and Marc looked more bleak, showing some hesitation to admit what they currently know about her.

Sunset know she’s not supposed to do that, but figured that she can trust Sebastian with the information. “What if I told you I might know what is wrong with her?”, Sunset told her friend. Sebastian looked surprised at that, while Marc is in shock at what she wants to say. “You know?”, Sebastian asked with a raised eyebrow. Sunset nodded, “Her uncle is losing her store soon.”. The filmmaker’s eyes widened at that revelation, “What happened?”. Marc is still hesitant to answer the question, so Sunset continued. “He cannot pay the rent in full for a few months. They said if he still cannot pay it the next months along with the extra money he still owed, they will tear down his business.”.

By now, Sebastian felt some sympathy for the girl who is sitting alone. While he is still disappointed at her performance, he can understand what is wrong with her now. “How much is the rent?”, he asked. Marc then decide to reply, “We didn’t ask.”. “I don’t think she will open up either.”, Sunset said. Sebastian realised that approaching Jasmine might be more difficult than expected, but at the same time he still wants to intervene somehow so he can help her. Sebastian then have a idea, and that is the only idea he can think of.

Turning to Sunset and Marc, he asked, “Where is the store?”. The friends turned to Sebastian, who is waiting for the answer.





“This is the place.”, Marc pointed out as they arrived. Out of some soft spot for his employee, Sebastian willingly take a day off from editing his movie scenes, which is what he does when they are not shooting anything. Instead, he decide to look at the current state of Jasmine’s relative’s store via the owner himself, and see what he can do to help her, the uncle or both. Entering the store, Rodrick looked up, and is immediately surprised to see the two people again. However, he is more surprised that they brought a third person here.

“Hey, nice to see you guys again.”, Rodrick put up a warm smile towards Sunset and Marc, but turned to Sebastian with a curious look. “He’s with you?”, Rodrick asked. With a smile, Sebastian approached Rodrick and said, “Yes. I’m Sebastian, the filmmaker that your niece is working with.”. Rodrick is surprised at more of his niece’s co-workers coming in, but happily extended his hand to greet him. Sebastian get the cue, and shook his hand. “Nice seeing you here, Jasmine also says you’re a decent guy.”, “Happy to know that.”. 

Rodrick then decide to change the subject, “What are you all doing here?”. Sebastian’s face then turned worried, and claimed, “Well recently, your niece has not been working well with us.”. Rodrick then cocked an eyebrow, “Oh, is it?”. Sebastian nodded and continued, “And I heard is because she is worried about, something.”. Glancing back at Sunset and Marc, Rodrick had a hunch on what is going on. “What is it?”, the store owner ask. “I heard you’re having some financial issues.”, the filmmaker said straight up. 

Now Rodrick is really focusing back on Sunset and Marc, looking a bit peeved at them. “Why do you say it?”, he growled angrily at the two, although he did not shout. Both of them stepped back, and Sebastian moved closer to them. “Don’t blame them from it, I was the one who want to know.”, the filmmaker claimed. “These are my problems! I don’t need anybody to know!”, Rodrick is now shouting loudly. Sebastian’s eyes narrowed, “Well your problems clearly affected your niece, and frankly I’m just trying to look out for her like a good employer!”. Hearing the mention of Jasmine caused Rodrick to relax, although not fully.

“Well then, tell me how the hell are you supposed to get me out of this hell hole?”, Rodrick asked hopelessly. “Let me look at the details of the problems first.”, Sebastian said. Even though he doubt it will not help much, Rodrick relented and bring them inside the office.

“$2050 per month isn’t so bad.”, Sebastian said after he read the shop details. Rodrick’s eyes narrowed, and pointed to the log book which is on the other desk. “I also owed an extra $3500 on top of it from the previous rents, and I had to substitute what I earned for food, water and my other necessities.”. “But still, why this problem is only happening now?”. Rodrick then sighed, “It was not always like this. The neighbourhood is getting poorer, less and less people are interested in comics no matter what I do, and I cannot afford more helping hands to help me. I also don’t know why it happens now.”. 

In an instance, Sebastian have a hunch on what is going on. “So you’re saying that not that many people buy your stuff here?”, Rodrick nodded. “Have you tried selling your things in public?”. The man sighed with frustration, “I put up posters, post online ads, and also bring some of my stock to the public to sell. But I can only do so much.”. 

Marc then stepped in, “So you need more hands to help you?”. Rodrick then said, “If only I can pay them.”. With a smile, Sebastian said, “What if I said you don’t need to?”. Rodrick cocked his eyebrow confusingly, “What?”. “I’m going to help you turn this business around for free.”, Sebastian said. “You can?”, “I’ll try, I think I have a way.”, the filmmaker replied to Rodrick.

Just then, Jasmine entered the store with a wheelbarrow still stacked with some comic books and merchandise, her body sweaty. She was about to say something, then stopped herself physically and vocally as she saw her colleagues, along with her employer. “What are you guys doing here?”, Jasmine asked. With a grin, Sebastian said, “I’m here to fix your store.”.





Sunset, Marc and Sebastian arrived back holding some tools and building metals. Sebastian instructed all of them to wait outside as he work.

Sounds of metal moving around can be heard from the office as Marc, Sunset, Jasmine, and Rodrick wait outside the room for Sebastian to finish what he is doing. However, they are not having a friendly conversation like previously.

After realising that Sebastian wants to help with her and her uncle’s financial situation, she quickly deduced what is going on. While Rodrick managed to calm down after the conversation he had with the filmmaker, Jasmine is still quite peeved at Sunset and Marc telling her boss about her situation. She is currently crossing her arms, looking at them with an irritated look.

Sunset is currently trying to defuse the situation, “Look Jasmine, we all are just worried okay. Sebastian just wants to-,”, “I can perfectly handle myself, this is none of your business.”. Marc then intervened at Jasmine’s remark, “That’s not what we see when we were here.”. Jasmine then decide to turn her head away from them.

Rodrick then decide to step in the conversation, “Look Jasmine I don’t feel like asking help as much as you do, but they made a good point. This is not healthy for us.”. Jasmine then narrowed her eyes at her uncle, “What if this is for nothing again? Remember what happened last time?”. Rodrick look away when he remembered what happened, while Sunset and Marc grew more curious at Jasmine after what she claimed.

Meanwhile, Jasmine realised that she just blurted out something she did not want Marc and Sunset to hear, and quickly silence herself. “Don’t even ask.”, Jasmine told Sunset and Marc, who both said nothing and just nodded. They definitely do not want to further agitate the already pissed off Jasmine.

Nearly five hours passed, and Sebastian is still working way late by the time night rolls around. After closing his store, Rodrick banged on the door and said agitatedly, “Can you hurry up?!”. “Almost done.”, a voice called out from inside. However, it took another half an hour for Sebastian to finally come out.

“It’s done.”, Sebastian said. Marc, Jasmine, Sunset and Rodrick all came in to see what he had worked on. What they see is a simple box like contraption with a door above, a slot below, a crank oh the other side of the and a coin slot beside. “Good thing I took some engineering courses before.”, the filmmaker said.

“What is this?”, Rodrick asked. “Give me your stack of comics and I’ll show you.”. The store owner then took a stack back to Sebastian, who opened the door above the contraption and put the comics inside. Then, he closed the hatch, and fished out a coin from his pocket.

“Watch.”, Sebastian said simply. He then place a coin in the slot, and turn the crank. After one rotation, one comic ejected out from the slot, and Sebastian pulled it out with ease. 

The four people in the room are impressed by the device to say the least, and one of them decide to speak up. “Can’t say I’m not impressed. But how does that solve my problem?”, Rodrick inquired. Sebastian explained, “Well clearly your marketing, operations and working place cannot attract enough people to your store. So, why don’t we bring the store to them?”. He pointed to the box, “Just put this box anywhere you want outside. With a little paint job and instructions, it will get some attention and you can make money with this thing”. He pulled out an embedded box right below the crank to show where the money goes to, “This box will store the money people put inside. Just try and collect it once in a while.”. He then pointed to the screws at both the box and the door, “You can use screwdrivers to lock and unlock the door and box.”

After hearing the explanation, Rodrick and Jasmine then look at the box like it is the last hope for them, and Rodrick turned to Sebastian with a smile. “Wow, thanks for that. But can you make more?”. Sebastian then took a piece of paper from the table and show them the blueprint he sketched out. “I already had the blueprint, I’ll try and do as much as possible.”, the filmmaker made the promise. Rodrick nodded, and turned to the device again, “So now what is all left is paint.”. Sebastian nodded, “Yeah, and don’t forget the instructions also.”. “I already know how it works, so I think I’ll do the rest from here.”, Rodrick said. “If you say so.”, Sebastian replied. 

With that, Sunset, Marc, and Sebastian said their goodbyes to Jasmine and Rodrick. “Please help to build more of these!”, Rodrick reminded Sebastian as he walk out of the office door, before turning back to the box and seeing how he can decorate it.

When they stepped out of the store, Sebastian was greeted in the face by some a two one-hundred-dollar notes. He turned to his side, and see Sunset stretching her arms holding the bills. “What are you doing?”, “You need to build more of those boxes right? You will need money to do it.”, Sunset replied to Sebastian. The filmmaker then objected, “Mia, I don’t need your-,”, “Please just take it first. You need your money for the movie isn’t it? I don’t want you to use all of yours’s.”. 

Unable to argue with that logic, Sebastian decide to take the notes, and smiled to Sunset. “Okay then, thanks for that.”, “Your welcome.”, Sunset replied back. “I guess see you guys tomorrow?”, Sebastian said, Sunset and Marc nodded. They waved goodbyes to each other, and Sebastian followed his own route, while Marc and Sunset walk with each other in the opposite direction.

As they are walking, Marc is trying to stifle a laugh but failed. Sunset saw this and asked Marc, “Are you okay.”. Marc chuckled a bit and said, “You’re into Sebastian isn’t it?”. Sunset blushed at the question, and quickly look away, “No, what makes you say that?”. Marc became amused at his friend’s uncomfortableness, and continue to tease her, “Oh really?  I never seen you give out your own money to someone else before, and $200 is no small amount.”. Further blushing, she denied again and made an excuse, “He cannot afford to spend too much okay, he has a movie to shoot.”.

“I can already imagine the scene. Mia Sutherland and Sebastian Gosling kissing under the tree. As their hands ran up and down each other, the man decide to go underneath the girl’s-,”, “Don’t even go there!”. Now face fully red in embarrassment and anger, Sunset repeatedly hit Marc with her backpack, and Marc remained unfazed by the attacks, and started to laugh.

“Okay, I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”, Marc said amid his laughter. After calming down, Sunset sighed and said, “Since when did you become this perverted?”. “There are lots of things you don’t know about me Mia. After all, I thought you have read my visual novel.”, Marc crossed his arms with a grin. 

Exhaling the hot air from her nostrils in irritation, Sunset calmed down moments later and continue her late-night walk with her friend. “But for real though, I feel that you actually like him.”, Marc said with a friendlier tone. Realising the cat is already out of the bag, Sunset might as well confess. “I guess you’re right Marc.”, she admitted. “But why him out of all people? Mia.”, Marc asked curiously. Sunset shrugged, “I don’t really know. I have met people who are almost like him, but he just sticks out for some reason.”. Marc then said, “There must be something special about him that you missed.”. 

Listening to the tip, Sunset pondered a bit on why she had affection towards the filmmaker. After some soul searching, she felt that she finally found the reason. “Maybe is because he changed my life.”, Sunset claimed. Marc cocked his eyebrow, “Helped you?”. Sunset then came up with a fictional story, “I do not have really that much of a proper childhood. My parents were very conservative people, barring me from almost everything except for studying. My dad’s a lawyer, and my mom’s a stockbroker. They expect me to constantly push for me to ace my exams, excel at every extracurriculars they put me to and get to a good college where I can get a good degree which could get me a good career as high-paid and respected as them. I was trained to only go by their values, and I was always alone.”.

Sunset lowered her head, and is pretending to sound as sad as possible, “But when I did not get accepted to a good college, they are very upset with me. They called me a failed mistake, and eventually stopped talking to me. I settled on a local office job to prove my worth, but it was never enough.”. She quivered her lips, “I began to be more aware how toxic are there. So I began to save a lot of money, until I feel that it is enough for me to resign and leave town.”. 

Sunset began to hitched a bit, and Marc decide to put a hand on her shoulder to comfort her. Sunset showed a smile of appreciation while facing her friend, the look away as she continued her story.

“Anyways, I just wander around. No home, no job, no goal. All the things I did previously are just to impress my folks and leaving town, I never think so far before.”. No longer needing to pretend and continuing to lie about the story, Sunset genuinely smiled as she remembered the night she met Sebastian. “The first place I stop by is Manhattan. I booked a hotel to stay, and I decide to have a midnight snack at a diner.”. “And that is where I met him. We talk for some time, then he realised I was jobless. He offered me a job, and that leads me to where I am now.”.

Sunset rubbed her hands awkwardly, “I guess what I’m trying to say is that Sebastian is the first person that I ever felt a true warmth and connection with. He offers me a new path, and genuinely care about my well-being. He has priorities yes, but I can see that he also never only cares about himself. It is almost like god has seen how much I suffered and offer me an alternate and more hopeful way to change.”.

Marc is comprehending what his friend just said, before speaking up. “Wow, that’s deep Mia. You have quite a story.”. “But does Seb feel the same connection about you?”, Marc asked. Sunset shrugged, “He said he feels much closer to me than you or other people, but only in friendship.”. Sunset then said dismissively, “But that is fine by me, I’m not really looking for a boyfriend now. My first step is to just settle down first.”. Marc then nodded, “I mean that’s your call. After all, you can’t rush romance.”. “Thanks for the support.”, Sunset thanked Marc.

Marc then realised that he is reaching his bus stop. “Oh there’s my stop, bye Mia.”, Marc said as he speed up to the location. “Bye.”, Sunset waved at him while saying it. Just like that, Sunset is walking the rest of the way alone.



 

For the next month, Sebastian is trying his best to construct a new contraption for Rodrick every day. Every few days, he will finish at most two of , bring it to the store with the help of Sunset and Marc, and allow the store owner for the paint job. Under Sunset’s insistence, she will try and pay part of the resources with some tens of dollars if she can afford to, and Sebastian got used to accepting it. Speaking of affording, the three will also occasionally buy a few items when they drop by the store in order to support the business further, which is greatly appreciated by Rodrick.

However, the three’s relationship with Jasmine is still somewhat strained. While she still comes to work and is performing better compare to the previous month as her issues are mitigated, she became as reserved as ever, and is keeping silent nearly every time. She behave like she constantly needs to hide secrets that she cannot allow anybody to know, which is sensible considering she did not want anybody’s help with her issue in the first place. Marc, Sunset and Sebastian decide to just leave her be, and talk to her about work and nothing else.

Sunset, Marc, and Sebastian are currently walking to the store again, tugging a trolley with another contraption that Sebastian built on it. Sebastian currently had bags under his eyes and is walking with some tiredness, which cause Marc and especially Sunset to worry about him. 

“You know, you should take some rest.”, Sunset advised. Sebastian yawned before responding friendly, “Hey don’t worry about me Mia, I can still work. Besides, Jasmine’s well-being is also important.”. “You should have asked for our help.”, Marc said. Sebastian chuckled, “Yeah maybe I should have, but don’t worry too much about me.”

When they finished the conversation, they entered the store and see Rodrick behind the counter. He looked happier than he usually is, not that the three people noticed it. 

“Hey, I finished building some more.”, Sebastian said as he pushed the trolley in front of the counter. Rodrick look towards them with lit eyes as he said, “Today will be the last day you need to come kid.”. The three widened their eyes.

“What’s wrong?”, Sunset asked. “Today is payday again, and I finally paid back what I earned.”, the owner claimed joyfully. The three is in shock as they realised they lost track of time, but Sebastian smiled as he said, “That’s good news.”. The owner nodded and said, “Thanks to you, the business grew by 140%. Not only so many people use the machine that it is practically full by the end of almost each day, but more people from everywhere are more willing to come here after seeing the address I painted on the machine, and seeing what other interesting comic books I sell.”. He then grinned, “You should have seen Mr. Whitehead’s reaction when he came a few hours ago. That guy practically fainted as he realised how much I made. He don’t really have that much faith in me in the first place.”. 

“Wow, I guess you’re welcome then.”, Sunset said. “I should you’re welcome you guys too.”, Rodrick said as he opened the cash register, and took out a few hundred-dollar bills. “Here, $100 for each of you.”, he offered the money to them. Needless to say, they are surprised by the large generosity. “Rodrick, you don’t need to-,”, “Please, you all helped me equally. Just take this as a token of appreciation. I had a lot of money anyways.”, Rodrick insisted and not giving Marc a chance to finish his sentence. 

Giving up at the pleading from the man, the three gladly accepted the money. “Thank you then.”, Marc thanked. “Can we see her?”, Sebastian asked. Nodding, Rodrick gestured for them to follow enter the office. When they entered, they saw Jasmine eating cup noodles on the desk. 

“Hey Jasmine.”, Sunset greeted. “Hey.”, Jasmine greeted back without looking at them. Realising the uncomfortableness their friend still felt, they are not sure what to say. “So now your uncle has paid his debts, how are you holding up?”, Sebastian asked. Jasmine just simply shrugged. Realising there is nothing more they all could say, the filmmaker decide to end it with, “Welp, I guess you’re welcome. Hope to see you at work.”. Jasmine just nodded.

Sunset and Marc both also said their byes to the girl, before the three turn around. But just before they could close the door, Jasmine called out to them. “Wait.”, they turned back to Jasmine as soon as she said that. Looking like she is suppressing a smile, Jasmine shyly said, “Thanks, see you at work too.”. Smiling, the three nodded and closed the door.

Rodrick saw the conversation go down, and sighed in dismay. “Sorry about that, Jasmine is still a bit uncomfortable around you guys no offense.”, the store owner said. Sebastian placed a hand on Rodrick’s shoulder and assured him, “It’s fine, I’m just glad she’s okay. Take care.”. Rodrick nodded, “You guys too.”. 

With that, the three decide to leave the store. As they are walking outside, Sunset could not help but continue to look proudly at Sebastian. While she already took a liking for the filmmaker ever since she started working for him, she felt her respect and fondness towards him grew way past the limit she thought she could not break after he helped Jasmine unconditionally. She never expected a boss would go this far to help their employees, but Sebastian is a good example that contradicts her view, and she is glad that she managed to meet a perfect person like him.

“I guess see you guys tomorrow too.”, Sebastian said. Sunset and Marc nodded, before they split ways with their employer again. While Sunset and Marc is walking, Sunset is walking with a slight skip in her movement. “You look happy.”, Marc said. “You try to be sad when you met a perfect person.”, Sunset grinned while saying it. Marc laughed at what Sunset said, “That’s it, I’m 100% shipping you two.”. Sunset punched Marc’s arm a few times, but this time both are laughing at each other. After a while, they stopped their playfighting, and continue to walk while discussing other topics.