Hidden in our DNA

We didn talk until we got to the public transportation, where you could ride your vehicle. I thought he would leave me there, so I thanked him, but he said no, nodded his head and motioned for us to go inside. To tell you the truth, I was still shaking without realizing it, it was a lot of emotions, so I didn mind the company. The trip was fast and again in silence, until we started our way and passing by an artificial park I gave him back his helmet, to go home after thanking him again.

— Wait!

— Yes?

— Can we talk?

He scratched his neck nervously, I figured he might mention the coffee shop, I wanted to avoid hearing it, however, in the end I owed him a favor. I pointed him to a seat in the park, and after we sat down.

— You tell me, sir.

— Sir? Im not that old, Im only twenty-two.

— Good for you. I did it to annoy him, and it was worth it to see his face.

— My name is Lee, please call me by my name.

— Okay… Lee, what do you want to talk about.

— First, I want to apologize for the coffee shop.

— You already did it that day, and I told you it didn matter.

— I know, but I still had to do it again. I started laughing. — Really? I don know why?

— I don understand?

— Forget it, you
e excused.

— Thanks… Anyway, the other thing I wanted to know about is what happened on the bridge.

— You
e referring to the wolves.

— Umju… Im a biotechnology, and Ive never seen that interaction between a human and an evonimal.

— Is that what they call it?

— Its a way to distinguish between the ones we have in the reserves and the ones in the outside environment.

— Okay… I don know what happened. I thought I was going to die, but we looked into each others eyes, and something clicked. He behaved like a dog and begged me to pet him, at least thats what I understood from his gestures.

I shrugged my shoulders.

— Thats wonderful! I was going to hit him with the moteco, however, as I watched him lick you, I was paralyzed.

— It was breathtaking, it has a soft and beautiful fur, but when I reflect on how harmful they are and remember the bodies in the place, I cringe. How did they get in? It must have been the radicals. What about you? What were you doing there?

— Wait, wait!!!! You don think Im one of those crazy people.

— I don know, anyone can be a radical.

He took a slow breath.

— I was there because I was coming…following you. — His cheeks turned pink. I looked at him, startled—. No… don take this the wrong way, I had to give you your communicator. — He reached into his pockets—. Here, take it. You left it at my uncles house, and I told him Id give it to you.

— Oh! Thank you, seriously, thank you very much.

— No problem, you should be more careful, this is something essential why you took it off your wrist.

— I don like to feel it wet, thats why I take it off when I clean. Thanks a lot, but I think you should go, right now, they will be seeking guilty people, if they see you here, they will take you away.

— Are you worried about me?

He said with a half-smile and mocking eyes.

— Im doing it because you helped me, Im returning the favor. — At that, a group with guns in their hands approached, so I ask him to put on his helmet-. Lets go to my house.

We got on his moteco and continued our way to my house. Once inside, I called for my father, but he was clearly not there. I looked at my communicator and I had a message, I listened to it on my way to the kitchen.

— My dear daughter, I was called to the night shift. Don open the door for anyone, and your dinner is in the oven.

— Wow! Too late, daddy, theres already a stranger in the house.

— Did you say something?

— Ah?! No, please sit down.

— Thanks

— Don you have any friends from here?

— Ah, yes, lots of them.

— Then you can call them to stay at their house.

— Aha… its just that they
e not here.

— Im sorry?! Do you or don you have friends from here?

— Yes. —He said it with a slur, which caused me to raise an eyebrow at him—. I do, but they
e working at the lab, and they
e sleeping there tonight, I just had the day off.

— Oh! Okay… since theres no other way, you can stay here. Tomorrow well leave very early.

— Well leave?

— Yes, of course, I must work.

— Ah! At the cafeteria.

— No, I start at twelve oclock. God, why do I tell him so much?

I mumbled the last part and he smiled.

— How many jobs do you have?

— Ah…three?

— What? Three jobs? But during which time do you study?

— Lunch time, and I was studying in the evening, Ive already graduated.

— Oh, congratulations. Do you live here alone?

— No, with my father.

— And does he work?

— Of course, the factory keeps him busy, he even takes extra shifts because the pay isn good, and he wants to help me pay for college. — I see. And what do you want to study?

— I want to be… I took out the book I was carrying in my backpack and showed it to him.

— Archeology?!

— Aha… I love it, I can wait to see myself in mines full of stories.

— Its a tough career, you know.

— Yes, however, I have one of the best as a teacher, Mr. Kim. He trains me and gives me these books.

— My uncle trains you?

— He taught me how to dive in his pool and how to climb, Im not good, but I can do it. The truth is, I owe him a lot.

— When do you enter university?

— At the end of this year, I hope, so Dad won have to work so hard. Im going to study non-stop to be one of the best and get my father out of here. Anyway… are you hungry? — A little.

— Well, if you don mind eating poor peoples food, you
e welcome to it.

— Seriously, poor mans food, that doesn exist, its food and thats it.

— You
e right, Ill serve you.

— So, youve already raised all the money for college.

— This week I will get the payment and I will have all the money, for the first year and expenses.

I said excited and proud because I managed to get it together with my two years of effort.

— Hey! How come, just the first year and the rest?

— Well. — I bit my lower lip— Ill work every year to get it.

— Youll have three jobs too?

— If it is necessary, yes, though its impossible with my class schedule, but Ill manage. Im applying for a scholarship; the bad thing is that I need a tutor.

— And why don you ask my uncle?

— No, never! Your uncle has been wonderful to me, he not only pays me a high salary, but he also teaches me. It wouldn be right if he had to carry a Latin girl, it would affect his reputation.

— What are you talking about?

— Leave it, come to dinner.

We ate quietly, he didn say a word. I set up the couch for him and went to my room, wishing him good night. After showering and putting on my pajamas, I wanted to read, but I realized I had left the book outside, so I went to get it. He was asleep, and it is unclear to me why I couldn help but look at him, he really was handsome. With a height of 6.17 feet (1.88 m), not at all normal for the Asian part I would say, a black hair like ebony and silky. White skin not as white as mine, although most humans these days were white skinned due to little contact with the sun, still, we varied in tone. His eyes were almond shaped, and his nose was thin as were his lips, completing his face perfectly. He was really a temptation, clearly many women fell at his feet, besides having a certain charm, something about him was very attractive.

— You know, its quite awkward that, someone is stalking you.

— Oh, Gaia! What a scare. — I breathed with one hand on my chest, my heart pounding—. I wasn stalking you, I came to get the book, good night.

As I was leaving, I saw her half smile, I couldn help but feel myself blushing with embarrassment.

The next morning the smell of brewed coffee woke me up, yes coffee, it still exists currently, and it keeps us alive. I got up and after getting ready I went out to the kitchen. The image I found was incredible.

— Hello, breakfast is ready.

I thought my eyes were going to pop out, the smell was coming from my kitchen, where did the coffee come from? Although we still had some, it was really a luxury to have it at home.

— Where did you get this?

I asked with the cup already in my hand.

— Ah! I asked a friend to give me some as a gift.

— Really?

— Yes, in fact, he doesn live far from you.

— And if so, why did you sleep here?

— Right… I just remembered him today, don tell him anything.

— I don know him, and you have an answer for everything, don you?

— Maybe, come on, lets finish, we must go.

— Thank you… I haven had breakfast like this for a long time, I guess since my mother died.

— Im sorry about your mom.

— No… its okay, I don remember much about her, I was six, so I don really know what happened. And my dad doesn talk about it.

— I guess hes got a reason for that.

— I suppose.

We finished breakfast in silence as usual, and he took me to my first job at a flower shop. I handed him his helmet and he asked me when my shift at the coffee shop was over. I told him four in the afternoon, and he nodded and left. This person was quite weird, but at the same time there was something about him… I don even know how to explain it. I also don know why the hell I spent the whole day thinking about him.