Extra's Ascent-Chapter 179: Hanging Out (i)

Working under the Executive Bureau of Mystic Order, specifically the Second Division, turned out to be far more relaxing than Eric Aldaman had ever anticipated.

His first day on the job had been remarkably uneventful. Joseph and Xander arrived late, nonchalant and carefree. Joseph immediately dove into a fast-paced action game, his focus absorbed by the console. Xander claimed the second TV, indulging in an anime series that, to Eric's dismay, featured an excessive amount of fan service and barely a coherent plot. As for Gerald, the division's leader? He excused himself shortly after he arrived at the office and vanished without a word on where he was headed or when he might return.

And Eric? He sat there. Watching. Waiting. Wondering if this was the standard protocol for the job or if he'd stumbled into a team that had long since abandoned any semblance of a work ethic.

Curious, Eric had asked Xander what time the workday ended. Xander had replied, "Six o'clock's the general cut-off." But he'd also mentioned something else that made the whole arrangement even stranger. The Executive Bureau didn't follow a strict schedule. Emergencies could occur at any time. Agents were expected to be available, whether physically present in the office or not. "Much like doctors," Xander had added with a smirk.

Still, that expectation of constant readiness didn't align with the leisurely atmosphere he witnessed day after day. The second day mirrored the first. Nothing urgent. Nothing to do. Just another day spent idly. The third day? A repeat. The fourth? Identical.

By the fifth day, which was on a Friday, Eric reached his limit.

He wasn't going to keep waking up early just to sit around watching Joseph mash buttons and Xander react with dramatic flair to fictional characters. He wasn't going to sit through yet another day of Gerald's unexplained disappearances. No. Enough was enough.

So, he stayed home.

If he was going to do nothing, he'd do it on his own terms, lounging comfortably on his couch, catching up on actual television with flesh-and-blood actors, not stylised 2D caricatures.

That was the plan.

But, of course, it didn't last.

At the break of dawn, there came an unexpected knock at the door and standing on the other side was none other than Marvelous Kennedy.

Yes, that Marvelous Kennedy. The CEO of Kennedy Enterprises. One of the most powerful women in the entire economic sector, casually showing up at his doorstep without a hint of prior notice.

Didn't she have boardrooms to command? Contracts to review? A jam-packed schedule filled with high-stakes decisions and critical appointments?

Apparently not today.

"What's wrong? Not vibing with the series?" Eric asked, noticing the distant look in her eyes, her focus drifting far from the screen.

Honestly, who would've thought? Eric Aldaman, sharing his living room with the elegant and enigmatic Marvelous Kennedy, both of them curled up on the couch, a different couch, streaming a mystery-thriller together. Unbelievable and yet, undeniably real.

"Not really," she replied flatly. "The plot's all over the place. The mystery lacks depth, and the suspense? Completely non-existent. I just can't get into it."

'No surprise there,' Eric mused silently. She didn't strike him as the type to enjoy overdramatised plot twists or half-baked storylines.

"I get it," he said aloud. "It's the kind of show you have to watch from the beginning to appreciate. This episode's from the third season, and without the early context, it's just... messy."

"Don't bother justifying it," Marvelous said with a soft shrug. "Even if I started from episode one, I doubt it would capture me."

He considered that. There was no point trying to sell her on a show she clearly wasn't interested in.

"Then what does interest you?" he asked, turning toward her.

The question lingered longer than expected.

Now that he thought about it, Marvelous had come over a few times before. She always made the effort to check in on him, to ask how he was doing. She listened, really listened to everything he had to say. But in all that time, Eric realised, he had never once returned the favour. He'd never asked about her. Her life. Her interests. Her dreams.

That was... strange.

Even stranger, she never complained about it.

"I don't know," she said after a thoughtful pause. Her brows furrowed as if she were sifting through a fog of memories. "Right now, I can't think of anything that really excites me."

Her honesty struck him. This was someone who had the world at her fingertips. Money, power, influence, whatever she desired, she could obtain with a single call. And yet, here she was, unsure of what she even liked.

Wasn't that ironic?

He imagined that kind of life: the ability to have anything, anytime. It must be thrilling at first, intoxicating even. But eventually, wouldn't that very convenience drain the colour out of life? When nothing's out of reach, when everything is guaranteed, where's the thrill? Where's the motivation? The wonder?

Perhaps the average person, with their daily struggles and aspirations, experienced more genuine excitement than someone who lived above it all.

The pursuit of something, anything. It gives life meaning. The yearning for what we don't yet have fuels ambition. It shapes dreams. It forges purpose.

Eric couldn't deny it, he still wanted a comfortable life. A secure one where he could raise children without ever worrying about the next bill. But even he understood that a life without obstacles was a life without meaning. Sacrifices, after all, were part of the balance.

If everyone lived in opulence, society would fracture. Chaos would reign. But so long as there was disparity, a division between the wealthy and the working class, there would be drive. The average person would strive for more, and the privileged would labour to maintain their status. It was a flawed system, but it created motion. Progress. Stability.

He chuckled to himself. How did he get here? He was supposed to be learning about Marvelous, not ruminating on the philosophies of social structure.

His mind really did have a knack for drifting.

"I remember now," Marvelous said suddenly, breaking his reverie.

Eric blinked, pulling his attention back to the present. Her lips curled into a soft smile as she looked at him. There was a glow in her eyes, a kind of gentleness that caught him off guard.

"There's one thing I really want," she said, her voice calm and sure.