Miss, Do you?

Chapter 18 - Miss, Do you?

Torin’s brow furrowed as Alisha stumbled toward him, struggling to catch her breath as he watched her struggle to catch her breath. She had barely made it through the doorway before stopping, one hand pressed against her chest while the other held tightly onto the strap of the large golf bag hanging from her shoulder. “W-what do you mean, help?” Torin asked, stepping toward her with a confused look. “What happened?”

Bent forward with her hands resting on her knees, taking several deep breaths before she could answer, “H-Heavy…” Alisha managed between breaths. She pointed toward the golf bag and tried to steady herself. “The golf kit is heavy. Take it.”

Torin stared at her for a moment, his expression slowly turning into one of disbelief. He looked at the large golf bag hanging from her shoulders and then back at her face, as if trying to figure out whether she was actually serious, for a few seconds without saying anything. His eyes moved from her red face to the enormous bag hanging from her shoulder, then back to her. The expression on his face made his thoughts painfully obvious. Was she seriously asking him to rescue her from a golf bag? He let out a long sigh and reached for it anyway. The moment the weight left Alisha’s shoulder and settled into his hands, Torin’s arm dropped slightly.

“This thing is actually heavy,” he muttered, looking at the bag with a mixture of disbelief and irritation. “You came running all the way here carrying that?” Alisha nodded, still trying to recover her breath.

“You could have just put it down and taken a break, you know,” she asked, following him with a grin.

Torin glanced back at her. “That was your entrance; couldn't hold herself back any longer. She burst into laughter when she saw the look on his face. Torin gave her an irritated stare, but even he couldn't completely hide the small smile forming at the corner of his mouth.

Her laughter only grew louder as they entered the living room. The people already gathered there turned toward them, curious about the commotion, and Torin introduced Alisha to everyone before placing the golf bag against the wall. Alisha greeted them politely, her earlier exhaustion already fading as she looked around the apartment.

A moment later, Gia walked out of the kitchen carrying several plates of side dishes. She was about to place them on the table when she noticed Alisha standing there. She stopped for a moment, and Alisha immediately realized that she had forgotten something important moment later, Gia came out of the kitchen carrying several side dishes. She was about to place them on the table when she noticed Alisha standing in the room. Alisha immediately straightened herself and gave Gia an apologetic smile.

“I’m sorry, Gia. I completely forgot. I went to play golf and only remembered afterward. The moment I realized, I came straight here.”

Gia looked at her for a moment before giving her a small smile and waving away the apology. “There’s no need to worry about it. It’s all good.”

Alisha nodded, though her eyes had already drifted toward the laptop sitting on the table. Her curiosity was obvious, but there was also a hint of nervousness in the way she glanced at Torin before looking back at the screen. “But… what about the results?”

“He passed,” Gia said casually as she arranged the dishes on the table. “With flying colours.”

Alisha straightened up, visibly relieved. Her eyes then moved toward the laptop sitting nearby, and her expression became a little more curious.

She turned toward Torin so quickly that her hair swung across her shoulder. “Congratulations!” she said, walking over and giving him a light slap on the shoulder. “You actually did it. You're officially a real estate agent now's eyes immediately widened.

Torin smiled at her reaction. “Looks like it.”

Gia smiled and added, “With flying colours.”

The tension disappeared from Alisha's face at once. She turned toward Torin with a bright smile and congratulated him warmly. “Congratulations, Torin. You're officially a real estate agent now. You actually did it. “I knew you could do it,” Alisha said, sounding genuinely pleased for him.

Torin gave her a doubtful look. “You didn't exactly say that before the exam”

“You called me an idiot.”

“That was part of the motivation.”

Torin could only shake his head while Alisha laughed. She then remembered the second bag she had brought with her and picked it up from beside the entrance. “Oh, this is for you.” She handed it to him, and Torin immediately noticed its weight. He looked at her suspiciously before opening the bag and finding a bottle of gin inside.

He pulled it out and held it up. “We’ll drink this with the food.”

Gia, who had been walking past them, immediately took the bottle from his hand. “Later.”

Torin looked at her. “I said with the food.”

“And I heard you,” Gia replied as she walked toward the refrigerator. “That doesn't mean you're drinking it before lunch.”

Torin watched her put the bottle away and smiled to himself. “Fine.”

With everything finally prepared, they gathered around the table and settled in for lunch. The atmosphere was relaxed, and the earlier tension around Torin’s exam quickly disappeared as everyone began talking. Food was passed around, conversations overlapped, and Alisha kept asking Torin about his plans now that he had qualified. Torin answered casually, though there was already a clear sense that he had bigger plans in mind.

Before everyone finished eating, Torin leaned back in his chair and looked around the table. “By the way, I’m having a barbecue on the lawn this evening. You should all come. Bring your families too. There’ll be plenty of food and drinks, so don't make excuses.”

The invitation was met with several positive responses, and Alisha immediately agreed to come. The conversation continued for a while before people eventually began gathering their things and saying their goodbyes. One by one, they left the apartment until the noise of the group slowly faded and only Gia, Alisha, and Torin remained.

Once the others were gone, Gia began moving around the apartment, checking the cameras and setting them up in different locations. She adjusted the one near the entrance, checked another in the living room, and made sure the angles covered the important areas. Torin watched her for a moment before turning toward the balcony, where Alisha had already stepped outside.

He followed her out and leaned against the railing beside her. The afternoon air was warm, and the sounds of the city drifted up from below. Alisha rested her arms on the railing and looked out over the street before turning toward him.

“Torin, what are you going to do now?” she asked. “You’ve got your license, but you're still new. If you want, I can help you get an internship at a good firm. You could gain some proper experience before trying to handle things on your own.”

Torin listened quietly before shaking his head. “No. I don't want an internship.”

Alisha frowned. “Why not?”

Torin looked back toward the building. His eyes moved across the old walls and the rows of apartments, many of which were still empty. “Because this building can be much more than it is now. I’m going to rent out every apartment in it and renovate the entire place.”

Alisha stared at him for a moment, trying to figure out whether he was joking. “Every apartment?”

“Every one.”

“And you think you can manage all of that?”

“I'll figure it out.”

Her expression became more serious. “Torin, you're new to this. You have less experience than the people you'll be dealing with, and this isn't exactly a small project. You can't just jump into something like this without knowing what you're doing.”

Torin turned toward her with a calm smile. “I don't need to know everything right now. I'll learn by doing.”

Alisha sighed, realizing that he had already made up his mind. “No formal training, no internship, no firm. You're just going to throw yourself into it.”

“Pretty much.”

She shook her head with a faint smile. “Fine. Do as you wish.”

For a moment, Torin said nothing. He continued looking at her, but the playful expression that had been on his face earlier was gone. Something more serious had taken its place. Alisha noticed the change and slowly turned toward him.

Torin’s eyes remained fixed on hers.

“Miss…” he said quietly, letting the word hang between them for a moment. “Do you ever regret what you did to me in high school?”

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