ONE MONTH LATER.
The apartment stood quietly against the winter morning.
Outside, snow drifted past the windows in lazy currents. Gathering over rooftops and clinging to rusted railings.
The sky was pale, colorless in the way only winter could manage. Cold enough to make the city feel muted.
Inside, warmth lingered.
The smell of breakfast had already spread through the rooms.
In the kitchen next door, something lightly sizzled.
In the smaller bedroom, a lump beneath a thick quilt remained perfectly motionless.
Rifa was deeply asleep.
The curtains were only half drawn, letting pale winter light spill slightly across the room.
Under the heavy quilt, only messy gray hair was visible. She did not move from her posture.
Did not care that morning had already won.
The door suddenly opened.
A man in white hair stepped inside.
Sharp features softened by age rather than ruined by it. Handsome in an effortless, tired sort of way. He wore a simple white t-shirt despite the season and a muffler wrapped loosely around his neck.
He looked at the unmoving blanket.
"RIFAAAAAA!"
The room practically shook. The blanket remained unmoved.
He narrowed his eyes.
"Rifa."
"Rifa, get up. You have work."
The man exhaled slowly through his nose.
"Never think sweet fruits come without proper struggling. The world doesn't hand people things because they sleep like corpses."
A muffled groan came from beneath the quilt.
The blanket shifted and finally a sleepy face emerged.
Gray hair, messy and flattened on one side.
A face still carrying traces of adolescence and imperfection.
Small pimples scattered across her skin. The facial blemishes she had long since stopped trying to hide at home.
Her eyes blinked sluggishly.
She stared at him for several seconds as if trying to remember what reality was.
"Uncle Sheridan…"
Sheridan raised a brow.
"Oh, woke up at last."
Rifa pushed herself up with visible reluctance, sleep clothes wrinkled beyond saving. She rubbed one eye, still half buried in exhaustion.
"You yell too loud…"
"Haha, your mother used to yell at me a lot when I snored at night. Eventually waking up the neighbors."
He turned toward the doorway.
"Breakfast's ready. Wash up before it gets cold and hurry. Winter is not a good excuse to become unemployed."
Without waiting for a reply, Sheridan stepped out of the room.
Leaving Rifa sitting there in messy hair.
Blanket still wrapped around her legs. Trying to negotiate with the fact that morning had arrived again.
Rifa sat on the edge of the bed for a full minute, staring blankly at the floor.
"No… no, I have work…"
She dragged herself up.
Her body protested immediately.
The room felt freezing the moment she stepped away from the quilt.
She quickly wrapped her arms around herself and shuffled toward the bathroom like winter had personally offended her.
The bathroom tiles were cold.
Rifa splashed water onto her face first.
"Ah—!"
She hissed quietly, wiping her face fast before staring at herself in the mirror.
She brushed her teeth slowly, leaning against the sink with the energy of someone spiritually unemployed.
Then came the hardest battle.
" Bathing in winter really sucks."
She took the towel over shoulder. She stood outside the shower for several seconds.
"You can do this. If other humans survive this, I can."
She turned the water on and instantly turned it off. Turned it on again.
"Coward." she muttered to herself.
Finally with the courage of someone entering war, she splashed water over herself.
"AAAAH—! WHY IS IT LIKE ICE?!"
Her voice echoed through the bathroom.
Sheridan casually yelled laughing amusingly,
"Ah, seems like the birdie is awake!"
Twenty miserable minutes later, Rifa stepped out dressed for work, hair still damp, looking emotionally defeated but technically refreshed.
Rifa changed quietly after drying herself.
A silvery shirt with faint red edges along the sleeves and collar. Simple, slightly worn but clean. A regular pair of dark pants. Nothing fancy to wonder of.
She stood before the mirror for a moment, gathering her gray hair and tying it back neatly.
At least now she looked awake.
The smell of food pulled her toward the dining area.
The moment she entered, Sheridan appeared from the kitchen carrying dishes like he had somehow timed everything perfectly.
"There she is, the survivor of the winter bath."
Rifa gave him a tired look.
"I almost died."
"No, my princess. You have a long path ahead to prove your worth. Show those thugs what women are capable of!"
Steam rose gently from the food.
"There you have fish curry, warm rice and fried vegetables."
A small side dish she liked.
"These are my favorites… people could laugh if I said that in public."
Sheridan shrugged casually, pretending it was nothing.
"Well, first month of work. You don't have to feel any stress. You will feel overwhelmed that is normal. Someone is farting the class off with their sparkling talent and you can't, that is normal. One is better than another, that is the universal beauty of our world. What we can do is to maintain our patience and keep moving onwards with truthfulness."
" Thank you, Uncle. I will remember it. "
Sheridan sat across from her with his own plate, resting back in the chair with quiet ease.
Sheridan wasn't loud in the house unless waking her up demanded it.
Mostly, he carried warmth in small ways.
Rifa took a bite. The warmth settled quickly.
Sheridan watched for a second before asking,
"So. How did the first few days have gone?"
Rifa chewed slowly.
"Neither good nor bad, I guess."
He nodded making an expressionless face.
"I know right. Most of these Agents who joins, ends up getting mad on their first mission. I am nervous sometimes about you."
"No. I am enjoying the warmth. I made a few mates there."
Sheridan smiled immediately.
"Oh? Look at you. You are having social evolution!"
"Don't make it sound like I was a cave creature."
"You slept like one this morning."
That earned him a quiet glare. He looked far too pleased with himself.
By the time breakfast ended, warmth had finally settled into the apartment.
Rifa quietly finished the last bite and stood.
"I should get ready."
Sheridan immediately got up too.
"Right, right."
He hurriedly took the dishes away to kitchen.
Rifa walked to the living room while Sheridan somehow had already picked up her bag.
"Did you pack everything?" he asked.
"Yes."
"Wallet?"
"Yes."
"Notebook?"
"Yes."
"Lunch?"
"…You packed it yourself."
"Oh right."
He looked strangely relieved anyway.
Standing near the small table, Sheridan suddenly started adjusting random things on her bag for no apparent reason.
Straightening straps, checking zippers and patting the side like it might explode.
Rifa watched him with an annoying yet amusing reaction.
"You know what? You sometime act like I am leaving for war."
"You never know."
"What now."
"Danger exists everywhere. What if the atoms around you randomly exploded on its own!?"
"Why is that even going to happen in the first place?"
Sheridan nodded seriously.
"I don't know." then proceeded to give a heroic pose.
Rifa sighed and looked at her watch.
" It is seven o'clock right now. I need to reach the headquarters in nine."
Sheridan seemed determined to spend every remaining minute fussing over her existence.
"Oh!"
He disappeared into another room.
Came back holding a red muffler decorated with tiny snowflake patterns.
"Wear this."
"Uncle, I already—"
"Shut up. I don't understand English."
Before she could protest, he carefully wrapped it around her neck.
Just enough to keep warmth in. He stepped back proudly.
"There you go, my grown princess."
Rifa touched the muffler quietly.
"…You really don't have to do all this."
"Of course I do."
His expression turned completely sincere.
"You are working now. Means I have to support morale."
She stared for a second and couldn't help but sigh.
"You are too foolish sometimes."
Sheridan grinned immediately.
"I accept this criticism."
"You shouldn't."
"But I do and you just said that three seconds ago."
Rifa shook her head, unable to argue anymore.
At the door, Sheridan opened it for her dramatically like some doorman in an expensive hotel.
"Good luck today!"
"Thanks for that."
Snow drifted lightly outside. Rifa stepped away.
"AND COME BACK BEFORE NIGHT!"
Sheridan suddenly yelled from the doorway.
People across the street probably heard him.
"EAT PROPERLY!"
Rifa winced. "I KNOW!"
"TAKE CARE OF YOUR HEALTH!"
"You too!"
"DON'T IGNORE COLD WEATHER!"
"UNCLE!"
He paused. "…Okay."
Rifa sighed again but smiled before walking off.
Sheridan stood there watching until she disappeared down the snowy street.
Then smiled to himself.
"Ah, you see it? Growing up already. I hope you are content on me, sister."
He looked back casually going inside and shutting the door.