Chapter 2: Cliché. 

Who would've thought that a figure suddenly appeared behind Lee, between him and the man. 

 

As a result, the figure 'tanked' the hand-chop for Lee and immediately blacked out! The figure instantaneously fell against Lee's back, stopping his advances. 

All were stunned! 

Even the man only realized what had happened. The Young Master's mouth twitched. He couldn't help but exclaim, "What the hell?" 

Upon closer inspection, the figure was a young man around the same age as Lee, 15-20 years old. He was carrying a backpack and was dressed in a school uniform. There was also a phone and an earphone that the youth dropped when he blacked out. It turned out that he was just a passerby! 

The youth was clearly listening to music and was very busy scrolling on his phone. He didn't see nor hear what was happening so he just witlessly barged in between the chaos. He ended up getting hit and blacked out.

But things aren't so simple as everyone thought.

... 

Ugh*

Titus moaned as he wobbly got up. He didn't know what had happened. All he remembered was that he was just walking back to his apartment from school, when he suddenly blacked out.

When he opened his eyes, he found that it was already night-time, and it wasn't the sun that illuminated the room, but rather a weirdly shaped light bulb. It was shaped like a prism.

He then turned his attention to the room. It was just an ordinary city-style apartment's room. Of course, this wasn't something of a surprise. What puzzled him was, why was he here in the first place?

He did remember blacking out while walking, but the most logical place he thought he would wake up to was the hospital or a clinic, and not some strangers' apartment. He shivered at the thought. 

He quickly looked for his phone and found that it was on a table that was made into a make-shift desk. His bag was there too. He also realized that apart from that and a computer (?) there was nothing else. No paintings or frames were hung on the walls. 

He carefully stood up and tiptoed towards his bag securing his belongings. He turned on his phone and was about to locate where he was through GPS, when he found that it couldn't track him at all. There was also no signal. He couldn't call someone even if he wanted to, much less call the authorities.

Weirded out, he took a step back and started thinking about the situation. However, before he could delve deeper into his thoughts, the door suddenly opened! He was surprised and then became tense. He felt insecure, after all this was a stranger's house and who would know what was the other party's intention... To actually bring him here. 

"Oh, brother you finally woke up!"

Lee exclaimed as he saw the youth who 'tanked' the hand-chop for him already awake. He was relieved at the thought that there was no serious injury done otherwise they really couldn't afford it. Especially now that his dad just got fired. It was also his rashness that led to this...

"Who are you and why am I here?"

Titus blurted out, he didn't feel comfortable at all. Even after knowing that it was a youth of the same age as him. He couldn't let his guard down so easily. Not after what had happened to him. 

"Ahh.. Brother this is..."

Lee blushed from embarrassment. He understood Titus' hostility. After all, he got knocked out while walking and then he suddenly woke up in a stranger's place. If that happened to him, he too would respond the same.

...

"So, you're saying that I just got caught in the crossfire?"

"Basically, that's what had happened. After you got knocked out, that 'Young Master' simply tossed you to us. It seems that the leader of the men in black was also sort of an adviser. When he saw your uniform, he probably thought it would implicate things as you're a student probably going home from school, a simple passerby. Since, he is a son of a big shot, he couldn't ruin their company's image. So with that, they left in the limousine under the pretext that he had forgiven my father and my rash action for the time being."

"But why didn't you take me to the hospital and brought me here instead?" 

"Brother must be kidding... Ha-ha-sigh*. As I've said before, my father apparently offended that 'Young Master' and got unreasonably fired so we aren't really financially stable right now. Also, the hospital's fees are sky high. As a matter of fact, the prices of commodities here in Gold City is high. It is a second-class city after all. Even if my father didn't get fired. We could still barely afford it."

"... "

Titus was silent. He was really confused. What Gold City?

"Brother, please don't be offended- Can I ask you a question?" 

"What?" 

"Are you from 'that' place?" 

Titus frowned upon hearing Lee's way of talking, "Speak clearly. What do you mean by 'that' place?" 

This time, it was Lee's turn to be confused. He didn't know what 'that' place is? 

"Eherm, brother I'm referring to the slums... I thought you came from there since - how can I say this? The phone you are using is an antique (?). Likewise, the earphones are of the same quality."

Suddenly, it dawned upon him. Titus felt something click inside his mind. He finally put the puzzle pieces together. It turned out that he time-skipped into the future. It felt surreal!

No, this was not him weebing out and being crazy. But this was the only possible explanation. He was no green-horn when it comes to stuff like this. He had his fair share of reading novels, manga and anime.

For now, this can only be a claim and it has not been confirmed yet. Despite all the pieces pointing to that, he still didn't fully believe it. He probably just got kidnapped and while he was unconscious, they transported him to this Gold City.

The problem with that though was that he hasn't heard of a 'Gold City' near his place, but it was possible that it was just him being ignorant. Let's ignore the weird tech for now. 

"Ahhh about that... It's a gift from my deceased parents. They gave it to me on my last birthday as a safekeeping. It is indeed antique compared to now. It is still usable so I didn't buy a new one. I couldn't afford one even if I wanted to since I only strive through the meager inheritance my parents left me.

I am not from the slums, but with my current situation where my funds are almost depleted, I might as well move there. Hahaha.

Wow, that got off in a tangent there... Anyways, the name is Titus. And you are? "

Titus steered the conversation and introduced himself first as he held out his hand. 

"Excuse my rudeness brother Titus, I'm Lee."

Lee replied as he reached out a hand of his own and shook hands with Titus.

What they didn't know was that this awkward handshake of theirs marked a beginning of a brotherhood for life!

"So Lee, can... I use your 'computer'?" 

Proofread by: @lynn

Author's Note:

Brother here is used as a respectful call to someone of similar age and does not mean that they are actually 'brothers.'

Weird tech refers to the light bulb and the 'computer.'