I’d Like to Change My Reincarnation Subscription, Please - Chapter 158

By the time Ji Soo has switched to drying the freshly cleaned dishes, the break room door opens and Spectrum walks in. He does a double-take when he sees Jeannine, considering she is snuggled up with her knees drawn to her chest to hold the blankets in place, occasionally sipping the coffee and smiling at Ji Soo’s phone as she continues perusing the Mr. Quacks gallery. He at least manages to recover before either of the room’s inhabitants notice his expression.

“Well, I’m glad you seem to be feeling better. Good news, Kamalani is gonna be fine. He’s a bit woozy from the amount of blood loss, but he’s with the Blood Smith, so he’s all patched up. Seems they already had a connection from his time with Howling Cartographer, before Kamalani got shafted by their mass layoffs. …Just what managed to get you smiling like that?” Once Spectrum delivers the good news, he can no longer resist asking his burning question, walking over close to Jeannine and looking down at the phone curiously.

“Oh, thank goodness. I really should do something to thank him later, that speed supe too. Hehe, here, look how cute they are.” Once Jeannine has finished speaking, she holds Ji Soo’s phone up, showing off a shot of Sylph balanced on top of Mr. Quacks’s back whilst he is balanced on top of Franz’s head.

Spectrum stifles a small snerk of laughter, walking over to sit down next to her on the sofa, looking on as she continues scrolling through a few more photos. There is a series involving Mr. Quacks and Sylph balanced in various positions on Franz, and then on Willy, starting once he had all of his nails trimmed, and the bandage from earlier removed.

One shot, in particular, is actually rather impressive, as it must have been no small feat for Sylph to manage to keep her balance steady on top of Mr. Quacks’s head, let alone while he is precariously balanced on Willy’s long and narrow snoot. This side of the phone is unaware of the sheer number of times she fell over and had to be caught, stubbornly insisting she can do it.

Scrolling further, the Lynn family seems to have finally exhausted their Mr. Quacks inspiration, and finally actually started photographing the people involved.

“Oh, this was the speed supe that helped me out earlier.” Jeannine holds Ji Soo’s phone up to show Spectrum a fairly normal portrait shot of Jonathan, apart from his shy and awkward smile. She doesn’t pause for long, swiping through a progression of shots of Lucas creeping up behind him, picking him up by the armpits, then followed by a series of shots that must have been done in rapid succession; Jonathan being spun in a circle, flailing the whole time.

Jeannine giggles a few times while going through this particular collection, though Spectrum takes on a thoughtful expression.

“They seem familiar… Oh, wait, weren’t they on the news last night? Why do you have all these photos anyway, Ji Soo?” When Spectrum asks this, Ji Soo locks up for a moment, almost dropping the cup he was drying.

“Oh, uh, well I was, uh, in contact with their boss, and when it, uh, came to my attention that they don’t have a website established yet, I, uh, offered to take on the project for them. No-not for free of course, we just were going to discuss compensation once the pro-prototype was done. When I asked for art assets, THAT was what they sent.” Ji Soo’s guilty body language is all too apparent as he answers, causing Spectrum to gain a wry smile.

“So instead of working you were watching streams again, and when you were flooding chat someone distracted you by pointing out their lack of a webpage?” Spectrum has a dangerous smile after asking this, looking straight at Ji Soo.

“Well, um, it was be-between projects, so-so… An-anyway, I wasn’t flooding chat!” Somehow, Ji Soo seems to find this statement redeeming, and even straightens his posture a bit.

Spectrum just stares at him, obviously judging him. After a few seconds of this silent critique, Ji Soo buckles.

“…I did some digging around to find the boss’s phone number and was directly messaging him instead.” When Ji Soo makes the far more accurate admission, Spectrum simply nods.

“Ah, of course. But, fine, yes, I know you didn’t actually have any projects going on lately. And honestly, this could be a pretty good connection to have. I doubt I need to stress it too much that you better do a good job, hmm?” Spectrum crosses his arms while he says this thinly veiled threat, and Ji Soo hears him loud and clear.

“Right! Right! I’ll get back to work right away! It will be so good they’ll want us to maintain it for them in perpetuity! Ah, could I, er, have my phone back..?” Ji Soo manages to sound resolute as he takes a few firm steps over toward them, but he loses his spine when he holds his hand out to reclaim his phone.

“Oh, yes, sorry. Thank you, I needed that…” Jeannine willingly hands the phone over, but then sighs softly. After going to take another sip of coffee and discovering she already drank it all, she sighs again, even more despondent.

Once Ji Soo recovers his phone, he scurries out the door, getting back to work ASAP.

Spectrum takes the empty mug from Jeannine, heading over to set it in the sink. While he’s doing this, he hums thoughtfully and then speaks up.

“Do you think you’ll be okay to go back to the scene? I’ll go make a few calls, have a friend or two come out and bring a change of clothes for you, then we can all go see if we can hopefully find your keys or phone or something? …Assuming you remember roughly where it happened. Ah, but don’t force it if you aren’t ready yet. I can help you get in contact with someone whose place you’d be comfortable staying the night, if you prefer.” Towards the tail end of Spectrum asking this, he sneaks a covert glance in her direction, trying to gauge her reaction.

Jeannine locks up briefly, but after her moment of hesitation, she nods with resolve.

“Ye-yeah. The longer I put it off, the less likely it is we’ll find my stuff. Assuming it’s not already too late… Um, please, and thank you. I really appreciate your help. I… There aren’t very many people I could count on like this, I’m really glad you and Ji Soo are on the shortlist.” Initially, Jeannine is looking at him as she answers, but partway through her gaze turns downward as her voice gradually gets softer.

“Hey, just because the world’s gone to shit doesn’t mean we all need to be heartless assholes, right? I’ve got a few things to take care of first, but I’ll start making those calls in just a bit, see who I can get. The front door’s already locked, and I’ll be right in my office, think you’ll be okay for a little while..?” Spectrum had walked over and stopped by the door, turning to look directly at her as he double-checks her mental state.

“Mm, I’ll be okay… Thank you.” Jeannine looks back up at him again, giving him a small smile, even if it is a bit forced.

Returning her smile, he heads out, gently shutting the door behind him.

Wrapping her arms tightly around her folded legs, she shudders one more time before pulling the blankets close again. Leaning forward with a sigh, she rests her forehead on her knees, making a conscious effort to maintain level breathing as she squeezes her eyes shut.

Thankfully, there are at least a few decent people out there, even if they’re sometimes hard to find.

—–

Lucas total kills: 7

Lucas total deaths: 11

Lucas total assists: 1

Lucas current GDV: 17.18 (+.01 net change)

Lucas’s fame level: 5.0* (Already beginning to receive authentic global attention. His local levels are effectively maxed.)

Lucas’s hero suspicion level: 2.5* (More than just passing suspicion for many paranoid individuals, numerous people have realized he’s an impulsive idiot.)

Jonathan total kills: 7

Jonathan total deaths: 2

Jonathan current GDV: 5.96 (+.01 +.01 = +.02 net change)

Jonathan’s fame level: 2.75* (+.25 What fame he does have is predominantly local.)

Jonathan’s hero suspicion level: 3.0* (More than just overly-paranoid people are suspicious at this point.)

Willy’s fame level: 1.5* (Anonymous meme fame, local fame primarily as ‘Xenoclast’s dog’, but some strangers know him as William/Willy now.)

Supervillain social circle size: 15

—–

Little character theater:

To give you an idea of the sort of nonsense that has been going on; Lucas is standing with his spine ramrod straight whilst backed up against a wall, holding his shoulders squared, his feet lined up with his shoulders in a power stance, his arms crossed over his chest, and Miss Masher standing on his shoulders while holding the same exact pose. The first attempt at taking the picture was blurry, thanks to the fact Jonathan couldn’t stop laughing at their dead serious expressions while holding this pose. Of course, they also take additional photos with their hands on their hips in otherwise the same pose, as well as with their two positions swapped.

Willy and Franz are busy happily nomming some treats that Dan snuck off to get for them while everyone else was distracted by the ongoing antics. Needless to say, Sylph is also getting her fair share of snackage as well.

427, unable to stop fretting: ‘You’re showing off your proprioception too much! These photos stand out so much, there’s no way they aren’t going to go into circulation!’

Author, sitting next to Jeannine and gently patting her back: Sorry, but I couldn’t just let you have infinite coffee, you were drinking it too fast!

Mr. Quacks, contemplating climbing up on top of Miss Masher’s head for one more photo: Quack?