The kid shrank in fear, eyes darting around for a place to hide before realizing there were none.
Slowly, Jay Ferris straightened his back, forcing his trembling hands behind the counter as he tried to assemble something resembling confidence.
It didn't work.
"What… what do you want…!?" he blurted. "I—I told you, I already paid this month off!"
His voice cracked halfway through the sentence, but he kept talking anyway, as if volume alone could save him.
"If this is about the debt, I swear I'm clean! I'm not late, I'm not behind— I even tipped extra because the collector said it'd help settle things faster—"
He swallowed hard, mask tilting down to hide the fear in his eyes.
"So just… leave me alone, okay?"
Jay was still shaking, still trying to look tough, still failing.
Ryn raised both hands slowly, palms open.
"Easy," he said. "If I wanted to collect debt, I'd at least dress the part."
Jay blinked.
Ryn pointed at the name tag pinned crookedly on his apron:
