Chapter 86: THE FIRST NIGHT

Kai stood in front of the mirror hanging on his bedroom wall—a small mirror with a metal frame rusted at the corners, reflecting his still-tired face, his messy hair, and the black t-shirt he was wearing. He had considered wearing the same clothes he had worn when he met Diana that night—the wrinkled black suit, the crooked red tie—but he changed his mind. Those clothes were already stored in the wardrobe, and tonight he didn’t want to look like a teacher in the wrong costume. He wanted to look like someone who wouldn’t be remembered. Black t-shirt, gray training pants, worn-out sneakers. Clothes that wouldn’t make anyone look twice. Clothes that would make him blend into the darkness.

He took his wallet, keys, phone, and the paper with the address Jona had given him—Bar Hot Viper—and put them in his pocket. He glanced at his apartment for a moment—the old sofa, the table with the empty can, the flickering light—then he opened the door and left.

The night air greeted him like a slap—cold, sharp, with the scent of wet earth from the rain that had fallen a few hours earlier. In the distance, crickets chirped back and forth—chirp, chirp—and the wind blew softly, swaying the leaves on the tree near the apartment stairs. Kai descended the stairs with slow steps, his hands in his pockets, his eyes on the steps that had worn down in places. He hadn’t reached the ground floor when he saw someone standing near the exit—a figure he recognized, in a simple black dress that fell to her ankles and long black hair loose over her shoulders.

Diana.

She looked different tonight. Not because of her dress—she always wore a black dress, it was her work uniform. But because of something in her face—something brighter, more alive, like someone who had just received good news. Kai wasn’t used to judging people’s appearances, but he could see that Diana looked beautiful tonight. He didn’t say that. He just stopped at the last step and nodded slightly.

"Good evening, Ms. Diana."

Diana turned. Her smile appeared—a warm smile, one that made her face look younger. "Good evening, Mr. Kai. Where are you going at this hour?"

"I have night work," Kai answered. "I have to go somewhere."

Diana raised her eyebrows. Her eyes moved from Kai’s face to his t-shirt, to his training pants, to his sneakers—and back to his face. "In clothes like that?"

"Yes," Kai said. "The work I’m going to do isn’t formal work. So I think clothes like this are enough."

Diana was silent for a moment. She looked at Kai with an unreadable gaze—a mix of confusion, curiosity, and something else. Then she smiled slightly and shook her head. "You’re something else. Morning you have to work, night you have to work. Don’t you ever rest?"

Kai looked at her. "You’re the one who’s something else," he said. "In a situation like this, you still want to work. You don’t give up. I respect that."

Diana blinked. Her face—which had been bright—suddenly turned red. Red that crept from her cheeks to the tips of her ears, making her look like a teenager who had just been complimented by someone she admired. She looked down, trying to hide her face behind her long hair, and she let out a soft breath—haaah—trying to calm herself. When she lifted her head again, her face was still a little red, but her smile had returned.

"You," she said. "You can’t talk like that."

"Like what?"

"Like—" Diana stopped. She shook her head again. "Never mind. Where are you going? I’m also going to work."

"Which direction?"

"Toward the bar. This street."

"Then we’re going the same way," Kai said. "Want to walk together?"

Diana looked at him for a moment. Then she nodded. "Alright."

They walked side by side along the sidewalk that was starting to empty—streetlights glowing yellowish, illuminating the still-wet asphalt, and occasionally a vehicle passing with dazzling headlights. Diana walked beside Kai with shorter steps—her long dress prevented her from walking fast—and Kai adjusted his pace without saying anything.

"Do you often work at night?" Diana asked.

"Lately, yes."

"Why? Isn’t your work at school enough?"

Kai looked at the road ahead. "There are some things I have to take care of. Outside of school."

"What things?"

Kai didn’t answer right away. He turned to Diana briefly—seeing the woman’s face looking at him with genuine curiosity, not the kind of curiosity that demanded an answer. "There are some things better left unknown to you," he finally said. "Not because I don’t want to tell you. But because I don’t want you to get involved."

Diana nodded slightly. She didn’t ask again. "I understand," she said. "I also have some things I don’t want others to know."

"Like what?"

Diana smiled faintly—a smile more bitter than usual. "Like why I work at that bar. Like why Iris never talks about her father. Like why we move houses so often." She looked at Kai for a moment. "You know, Mr. Kai. Sometimes I think life is like a series of doors that have to be opened one by one. And behind every door, there’s something that isn’t always beautiful."

Kai looked at her. "Have you opened many doors?"

"More than I wanted to," Diana said. "But I’ve never regretted it. Because every door I’ve opened—even if what was behind it wasn’t always beautiful—brought me to where I am now. And where I am now—" she smiled, this time more sincerely, "—there’s Iris."

Kai didn’t say anything. He just walked beside Diana, feeling the woman’s steps slower than his own, and listening to the crickets still chirping in the distance.

"Mira said you often visit our apartment," Diana said. "I never had the chance to thank you. You’ve helped Iris a lot. You’ve helped my family a lot."

"I just did what I was supposed to do," Kai said. "Iris is my student. It’s my duty to make sure she’s alright."

"But you did more than duty," Diana said. "You paid off my debt. You helped me face that man. You bought food for Iris—I know that from Mira. You never even asked for anything in return." She looked at Kai with soft eyes. "You’re a strange person, Mr. Kai. You’re too kind to people you’ve never met."

Kai turned to Diana. "You’re also too kind to people you’ve never met. You let Iris play with Mira even though you knew Class IX was a cast-off class. You never stopped her. You never ostracized us."

Diana smiled. "Because I know what it means to be ostracized. I know what it means to be unwanted. I don’t want Iris to feel the same thing."

They walked in silence for a while—not an awkward silence, but a comfortable one, like two people who had known each other long enough not to need to fill every second with words. In the distance, a building with the words Heaven in Heaven started to come into view—its pink neon light glowing among the darker buildings.

"That’s my workplace," Diana said. She stopped in front of the door, looking at Kai with a slightly sad smile. "I have to go in. Thank you for walking with me."

"Thank you for walking with me," Kai said. "Be careful inside."

Diana nodded. She stepped toward the door, then stopped and turned back. "Mr. Kai."

Kai turned.

"If you ever need a place to talk—about anything—you can come here. I’ll listen." Diana smiled—a smile that didn’t expect anything, that only gave. Then she entered the bar, and the door closed behind her.

Kai stood in front of that bar for a moment. Then he turned and continued his journey.

Bar Hot Viper wasn’t like Heaven in Heaven. If Heaven in Heaven was a bar with pink neon lights and a more intimate atmosphere, Hot Viper was a larger box building—with concrete walls painted black, with spotlights hitting its facade from below, and with a long line winding in front of its entrance. The people in line wore different clothes—some wore leather jackets, some wore shirts, some wore evening gowns. They all waited patiently, occasionally talking to the person beside them, occasionally glancing at the door that still hadn’t opened.

Beside the long entrance, there was another door—a smaller door, with the word VIP above it, and with two guards standing on its left and right sides. That door had no line. Only a few people passed through—men in suits, women in expensive dresses—who entered through that door without needing to wait.

Kai walked toward the VIP door. He stood there—not too close, not too far—with the same pose as the door guard he had seen at the arena the night before: hands in front, feet slightly apart, back straight, eyes staring straight ahead. He stood there like a statue—not moving, not speaking, not doing anything except standing.

The man guarding the VIP door—a large man with a black leather jacket and a tattoo on his neck—didn’t notice him at first. He was too busy watching the long line beside him, too busy making sure no one tried to sneak in. But after a few minutes, he turned to the side—and he saw Kai. Standing there. With the exact same pose as him. In the VIP section.

The man blinked. He stared at Kai for a few seconds—trying to understand what he was seeing—then he stepped toward him with a face that had already turned red.

"Hey," he said. His voice was heavy, with an unfriendly tone. "What are you doing here?"

Kai looked at him. "I’m a door guard."

"A door guard?" The man laughed—a laugh that wasn’t funny. "Are you a homeless guy looking for work? This isn’t a place for people like you. This is the VIP section. Only staff are allowed to stand here."

"I’m staff," Kai said.

"Staff?" The man looked at him from top to bottom—black t-shirt, gray training pants, worn-out sneakers. "You’re staff? In clothes like that? You think I’m stupid?"

"I’m new," Kai said. "I haven’t had time to change clothes."

"New?" The man stepped forward—one step, two steps—until his face was only a few centimeters from Kai’s face. "Listen, homeless man. I don’t care if you’re new or not. You can’t stand here. Leave before I call security."

Kai didn’t move. He just stared at the man—flat, without emotion. "I was told to stand here."

"By who?"

"By Jona."

The man blinked. That name—Jona—made him hesitate for a moment. But he shook his head. "Jona wouldn’t tell a homeless man to stand here. You’re lying."

"I’m not lying."

"You—"

"What’s going on here?"

The voice came from the direction of the VIP door—a calm voice, with a tone accustomed to commanding. Kai and the man turned. Nolan stood at the threshold—with a white shirt rolled up to the elbows, with slicked-back hair, and with two large bodyguards behind him. He looked at the man, then looked at Kai—and for a moment, his face changed.

"What’s going on?" Nolan repeated.

The man stepped toward him. "Boss, there’s a homeless man standing in the VIP section. I already told him to leave, but he won’t."

Nolan looked at Kai again. He recognized him—of course he recognized him. The man who had defeated twenty fighters the night before. The man he had recruited as a door guard. The man who was now standing in front of the VIP door in a t-shirt and training pants, like someone who had just woken up.

Nolan let out a breath. "He’s not a homeless man," he said. "He’s new staff."

The man blinked. "New staff?"

"Yes. Go back to your post."

The man looked at Kai for a moment—with a gaze that was a mix of confusion and disbelief—then he nodded and returned to his post. Nolan stepped toward Kai, with an unreadable expression.

"You," he said. "Why are you wearing these clothes?"

Kai looked at him. "I don’t have other clothes."

Nolan stared at him for a few seconds. Then he let out another breath—longer than the first—and he grabbed Kai’s arm. "Follow me."

He pulled Kai through the VIP door, past a quieter corridor, past several closed doors, until they finally reached a smaller room—the staff changing room. Inside were several iron lockers lined along the wall, with a wooden bench in the center, and a large mirror at the end of the room. On one of the lockers—on the very last locker—there was a name written: KAI.

"This is the changing room," Nolan said. "Your equipment for tonight’s shift is already prepared inside the locker. The uniform is included."

Kai nodded. "Understood."

Nolan looked at him once more—like he wanted to say something, but didn’t. Then he turned and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.

Kai stood alone in that changing room. He looked at the locker with his name—an iron locker just like the others, with black paint peeling in places, with a number printed in the top right corner. He stepped toward it and opened the door.

Inside, there was a uniform—black shirt, black pants, black boots, and a black tie folded neatly on top. There was also a name tag—a small tag with the word KAI that he had to pin to his chest. Kai stared at that uniform for a moment. Then he started removing his t-shirt.