Chapter 10 (Revised Edition)

"Boss, we have been out for a week now. What about this week's wages..."

"I will have the finance department pay you as usual."

As a cleaner, YN had been brought along on this mission quite unexpectedly, so she finally found the courage to ask Graves for clarification regarding whether her pay would be docked.

"Boss, my Franklins... I mean, my bonus..."

YN's voice was naturally soft. She spoke English and Chinese with less authority and fluidity than she did in Russian, and certainly with far less ferocity than when she was brandishing a rocket launcher to fire shells.

Whenever she spoke, she tended to state the first half of her sentence clearly, while the important, latter half usually trailed off into a whisper.

YN clutched her discarded maid outfit to her chest. Was she acting so cautious because she truly needed the money?

Graves couldn't help but recall the look in YN’s eyes as she gazed down at him after firing the rocket launcher.

Did she realize it, or did she not? Whether it was the physical contact that seemed to offend the "Apple Dog" (a nickname for his men), or the adverse situations he had intentionally arranged for her—or even the classified "kill on sight" order he had issued before the mission began—everything had been his way of testing her.

This little rabbit was truly unfathomable.

YN took small, hesitant steps to keep up with Graves, who had come to a halt.

Should one call her pretentious, or clever?

In just these few days, Graves's intelligence network had managed to scrape together a rough sketch of YN’s past in Russia.

She had once been a member of that very same extremist nationalist organization.

He was incredibly curious: why on earth had she come to work as a cleaner for his Shadow Company?

Given her raw talent—whether as an intelligence broker or a mercenary—she was more than capable of doing either. And both of those paths paid far better than cleaning.

Could it really be, as Shadow-9527 claimed, that she actually enjoyed the benefits and perks of a janitor at his company, and simply preferred driving the floor scrubber while wandering around his base every day?

"Boss?"

YN looked up, her eyes—dark like obsidian submerged in water—waiting for his confirmation.

How could someone who had once killed without blinking still possess such clear, luminous eyes?

"The bonus stands, of course. Once we return to the company for the victory celebration, I will issue bonuses to every Shadow who participated in the operation."

"But I’m a cleaner."

Graves suddenly raised his hand and gently patted YN’s head.

This time, YN’s instinct was to dodge, but she remembered how she had reached out to brush the dust off him back in the town without a second thought, and he hadn't flinched. So, YN obediently leaned into his touch.

Graves smiled. The "taming training" he had set up in advance was already starting to show results.

How cute. It made him want to tease her again.

"Even if you are a cleaner, you will still get it. After all, I promised you back when the mission began. A preliminary estimate..." Graves mimicked YN’s way of speaking, stating the first half of the sentence and leaving her to guess the rest.

YN moved to stand in front of him, looking up at him with wide, expectant eyes, like a puppy waiting for its meal.

"I estimate you'll get several tens of thousands of dollars."

"Se... several tens of thousands?!"

Graves's answer wasn't entirely certain, but it was enough to send YN’s heart into a flutter.

Tens of thousands of dollars?! No matter how many "tens," it was still "thousands"!

Seeing that YN had taken the bait again, Graves let out a "tsk" and pursed his lips, continuing, "Sorry, YN..."

"Hmm?"

YN took two steps toward him.

Her intuition told her something was fishy! Surely he wasn't going to deduct the costs of the tactical equipment and ammunition she had used, was he?!

If she had to pay for all that herself, she wouldn't just be penniless; she would be flat-out bankrupt.

At the thought of this, YN became nervous again. Whenever she was anxious, she would unconsciously swallow hard.

"Shadow-1, prepare for boarding!" the Shadow in charge of the flight shouted, urging them along.

Wait—

She couldn't board until she got a definitive answer from Graves! If she went bankrupt in America, she would rather take these twenty thousand dollars and quit right now.

Seeing YN’s nervous little expression, Graves couldn't help but chuckle inwardly. However, he cleared his throat and spoke to YN in a tone of feigned guilt: "I miscalculated just now, my apologies, YN. The bonus I’ll be giving you should be over one hundred thousand."

This wasn't the half-hearted teasing from before, but a statement of fact.

Over one hundred thousand dollars?!

At this rate, if she worked a little harder, could she save enough for four years of tuition at Harvard University?

***

After the Middle Eastern mission concluded, YN returned to her daily routine in the Shadow Company's cleaning department.

Her boss, Graves, kept his promise and gave her a triple bonus. In the end, what she held in her hands was a full $450,000 in crisp, new banknotes.

The brand-new $100 bills were bundled into stacks about 1.16 centimeters thick. The Shadows were fast and efficient, quickly pulling all the cash from the crates and laying it out on a table ten meters long and one meter wide.

Amidst towers of champagne, small cakes, and the dazzling glow of crystal chandeliers, the heroic Shadows and the beautiful "Bunnies" were dancing to their heart's content.

YN stood in the corner, holding a cleaning cloth. She watched the joyful scene for a while before getting up to resume her work.

Everyone else in the cleaning department had gone to the armory to help polish weapons. YN had wanted to go too, but Ms. Emma had assigned her to wait on standby in the banquet hall.

The problem was, YN had waited for ages, and no one had given her any orders. As a cleaner, YN—who couldn't stand being idle—conscientiously picked up her cloth and began to clean whatever looked dirty while she waited.

"Would this lonely young lady care to dance with me?" Shadow-9527 was no longer wearing his balaclava. A sincere smile played on his face as he gestured an invitation, asking YN in Russian to seek her consent.

Having shared snacks with Shadow-9527 on the floor scrubber many times, this was the first time YN had seen his true face. She hadn't expected him to speak Russian.

YN looked at the 1.86-meter-tall Shadow-9527, feeling a bit flustered, especially since his cool, grey eyes were fixed on her with such sincerity.

She turned around, hid her cloth in an inconspicuous corner of a table, and wiped her hands on her white apron. Then, she used the hem of her maid dress to wipe her hands again, over and over.

Shadow-9527 had actually understood the Russian phrase YN muttered when they first met: "Good little bear, Big Sister will buy you lots and lots of ice cream scoops later, don't cry."

He had never asked about YN's past, but the term "good little bear" was clearly meant to comfort a child. YN must have had a playmate—or perhaps a younger brother—who looked just like him.

YN was kind and cute, and he didn't mind at all that she treated him as a surrogate.

While working, YN didn't wear her black gloves. She placed her slightly chilled hand into Shadow-9527’s.

"My Russian is quite good. If you want to speak Russian, I’ll keep you company."

*If you miss him, I will provide you with comfort; if you want to whisper Graves’s 'secrets,' I can speak Russian with you, too.*

Graves only spoke English; he didn't know Russian. Shadow-9527 thought to himself.

"Okay." YN’s eyes reddened slightly.

She had so many secrets, yet Shadow-9527, as her friend, had never tried to pry. He was kind and wonderful; she wanted to be his friend for a lifetime.

***

Neither Shadow-9527 nor YN knew how to dance. After stepping on each other's toes more times than they could count and exchanging a few "greetings" in Russian, they parted ways in frustration.

But the next day, when the sunset appeared, YN and Shadow-9527 were back on her floor scrubber, eating ice cream scoops of the same flavor.

Except this time, YN was the one treating.

"I've got your ice cream covered for the whole month."

"YN—you're generous!"

YN was no longer penniless. Even though she had sworn to turn over a new leaf and stop her old line of work, she had still managed to earn a lot of money.

Looking at the beautiful sunset, YN felt that working for Graves for the rest of her life might not be so bad after all.

Inside the Shadow Company's command building, Graves was looking through binoculars at the sight of YN and Shadow-9527 sitting on the floor scrubber, happily eating their ice cream.

Since returning from the Middle East, he had been busy with clean-up work and hadn't had time for YN.

But seeing her laugh so freely gave Graves the feeling that "whoever gives her good food, she’ll run off with."

If she were to run off, it had to be with him, as the entire Shadow Company belonged to him.

Roz, who was standing nearby giving a quarterly report, had been reporting word-for-word. However, seeing Graves standing by the floor-to-ceiling window, binoculars in hand and adjusted to the sharpest focus, made her raise an eyebrow.

She was Oz’s younger sister. With her honey-colored skin, neatly braided cornrows, and the standard Shadow unit uniform, she looked incredibly spirited and full of vitality.

She glanced at her brother Oz, who stood nearby like a small mountain—*What is Graves doing?*

Oz shrugged. He figured Graves was just surveying the base from a high vantage point.

Graves, clearly, wasn't listening.

Roz closed the folder containing the quarterly report and walked over to the window. She pulled out her own binoculars from her tactical vest and looked in the same direction. She wanted to see exactly what had Graves so captivated—

A parked floor scrubber? That was enough to have Shadow-1 completely mesmerized?

Roz adjusted her binoculars to the sharpest setting. There was a "Bunny" and a Shadow sitting on the vehicle.

From high up, YN and Shadow-9527 were blocked by the body of the machine, so Roz couldn't see their faces clearly. She could only judge by the way their four legs were dangling and swaying—they were most likely dating.

Having been under Graves for so long, Roz knew that while he cared for his subordinates, he rarely interfered in their private lives. So, if he were to step in, it would definitely be a big deal.

Roz: *Graves, have you taken a fancy to that Shadow?*

Oz: *Don't be crazy, he’s not gay.*

Understood. Graves was interested in the "little rabbit."

***

Roz stood to the side, studying the expression on her boss's face—*tsk, tsk, tsk*, he was pursing his lips; he was full of mischief. But his expression wasn't relaxed, so he probably hadn't thought of a good plan yet.

Graves hadn't even noticed she had stopped her report. It seemed this "little rabbit's" charm was truly potent.

Suddenly, the tension on Graves's face shifted into a relaxed look, and he pursed his lips into a smile.

*Oh boy.* Roz couldn't help but shiver. Every time Graves was about to pull a "deceptive" move, he had that exact expression.

The Shadow and the "little rabbit" were both his own people. Surely Graves wasn't going to play the "old father" and break up a couple?

For now, that was all Roz could guess about Graves's intentions. The reason her quarterly report wasn't getting finished was simply that her boss's mind had already flown away; for her to continue reporting would be a waste of time.

Roz didn't do "wasted effort"—

"Here! See for yourself!"

She shoved the quarterly report into the hands of Graves, who was still "scenery watching" with his binoculars. After rolling her eyes at her brother, she pushed open the door to Graves’s office and walked out without looking back.

Not long after Roz left, YN and Shadow-9527, who had shared "their day" on the floor scrubber, finished their ice cream and waved goodbye, saying "see you tomorrow."

Just then, Graves said to Oz, who was standing nearby: "Send Shadow-9527 to the frontier for a while. Don't let him go to the battlefield, but don't make it too easy for him either."

Oz replied honestly, "Understood! Should I send him to a hot frontier or a cold one?"

Oz was loyal to Graves, following his lead in everything. But he wasn't as sharp as his sister Roz and couldn't read his boss's mind.

Graves finally took down the binoculars and curled his lip at Oz.

Oz: "I'll handle it right away! Shadow-9527 will set off for the frontier tonight!"

***

Night fell. After a shower, YN changed into her little yellow duck pajamas and hid inside the locker in the cleaning department's dormitory.

Due to her childhood experiences, she couldn't enter a deep sleep, nor could she sleep soundly on a bed.

For years, she had hidden in all sorts of cabinets that could fit her frame to rest. The small, dark space had become the best sanctuary for her to escape the nightmares that haunted her.

Shadow-9527 had helped her save all her money, putting it into a bank card printed with two little bears and a small heart.

YN didn't know how Shadow-9527 had managed it. The moment he handed her the card, she felt that perhaps she could use the money to open a medium-sized snack shop. She would be the shop owner, and she would run it well.

But, she only dared to imagine it.

YN had let Shadow-9527 save her bonus and ten thousand of the original twenty thousand dollars. Before going to sleep, she took out the remaining ten thousand she kept in her tactical leg pouch for emergencies.

Actually, it wasn't ten thousand anymore, because YN had promised to cover Shadow-9527’s snacks for a month. But just now, he had told her he was being sent away.

YN felt dejected. She had money, she could buy any delicious treat to share with Shadow-9527, but he was leaving tonight.

The Benjamin Franklin printed on the $100 bill didn't look so handsome anymore.

As she counted, YN suddenly hallucinated that Benjamin Franklin’s face had become Graves’s face. She rubbed her eyes; it must be the stress of returning to her old ways that was causing such hallucinations.

At first, YN feared Graves because his identity and methods reminded her of that terrifying man—the nightmare incarnate who held a scythe and chased her constantly.

But Graves wasn't as terrifying as him.

As her boss, he was actually quite kind to her.

After returning from the Middle East, YN would occasionally run into Graves while cleaning the command building.

Whenever he saw her, he would always greet her first, asking if she had eaten or if she was getting used to the work.

Sometimes he would even say, "Thanks for your hard work," or "Shadow Company really needs employees like you."

She had been planning to slack off after finishing her work early, but now, with his encouragement, she felt too embarrassed to do anything but roll up her sleeves and keep mopping the floor.

They had returned to the relationship of superior and subordinate. It felt as if the night he had held her in his arms to let her sleep peacefully was nothing more than a distant dream.

At the thought of that night, YN’s face suddenly felt hot.

Actually, back then, although she had been incredibly sleepy, her mind was somewhere between waking and sleeping.

After about half an hour, she had opened her eyes.

Her boss, Graves, had fixed her head in the crook of his arm and against his shoulder, keeping it steady.

The road was bumpy, and he had held her head like that the whole time.

Even though YN was awake, she didn't dare move, because she noticed Graves had his eyes closed.

The road before dawn was the darkest. Shadow-O was driving the off-road vehicle slowly, smoking to stay alert; he had to keep his eyes open.

A cold wind blew, and YN suddenly shivered...

She didn't know if Graves was asleep, but she silently rested her own arm on his tactical vest. She wanted to draw a little warmth from him.