Modern Traveler

Yawn. Neo woke up and realized it was already 10 in the morning. So-Hee had woken up earlier to prepare breakfast. Her grandma had returned home late at night. We didn't know where she had gone, but we didn't care much.

"Neo, let's eat! I know you're already awake," So-Hee called as she opened the door and walked inside.

"Yeah. By the way, So-Hee, I bought a house recently. Hahaha! Do you mind decorating it?" I hugged So-Hee from behind and sniffed her neck.

"What house? Are you seeing another girlfriend?" she asked, turning around to face me.

"No, someone set me up on a blind date, and I have a feeling it's going to be great." I leaned in and kissed her forehead.

"Okay. Give me some money; I'll bring Kyo and Suzy with me," she said, extending her palm for the money.

"Speaking of money, my mom said I need to pay $160 billion. I don't know what for. Anyway, I'll transfer you the money, and you can treat yourself, Kyo, and Suzy," I replied, reaching into my pocket to pull out my phone.

"Maybe it's for the medicine? The U.S. president announced that Gray Charity brought in 4 million serum doses to distribute to severe cancer patients." She took my phone and saved her account number.

"Is that so? I should give them more funds. The way they spend money, $40 billion won't be enough. So-Hee, is $1 billion enough?"

"What do you think? I'm decorating that house, not buying another 20 houses. That's too much money," she flicked her finger against my forehead.

"Don't worry. Spend as much as you want, and ask me if you need more," I said. I transferred $250 billion to my mother's account and sent $1 billion to So-Hee, then texted my mom to let her know I had sent the money to her

"Enough about money. Let's eat already!" she said, dragging me out of the room.

Grandma was still sleeping. So-Hee and I ate our fill. Afterward, we took a shower together, and we know what happened next. I left So-Hee's house because the manager had contacted me to say that my blind date would be at the park at 1 PM. So-Hee had already informed Kyo and Suzy, and they agreed to join her.

I arrived at the park a little early, but my date was not there yet. I sat under a big tree, observing children running and playing. Many people were also on dates, having picnics. I waited for her for an hour, but she still wasn't there, so I decided to walk around.

"I used to play in the park with my cousin when I was a child. What good memories! Since my date ghosted me, why not make the children happy?" I murmured to myself as I walked to my car. Once inside, I visited Pandora and made a bunch of toys.

After making the toys, I created a big cart and put a sign on it that said, "Free toys, please take one." I assembled the cart and filled it with toys. Once I was done, I pushed it towards the playground. Many kids were curious about it but didn't dare to approach. Their parents watched me, equally curious.

When I arrived at the spot, I opened the cart and left it there. I moved back to my previous spot and watched as the kids picked out toys one by one. The joy on their faces made me really happy.

"You sure lived up to your name! Sorry, I'm late. I bought you an iced coffee," a woman's voice said as she sat beside me and handed me the drink.

"Look at their genuine smiles; most of the time, you can only see that kind of smile with them."

"Your maturity isn't in line with your age, you know? Most people our age love to party or brag about their million-dollar deals," she said.

"I love being in the spotlight, you know? It gives me an edge when meeting beautiful ladies. Look at us now—if I weren't rich and known for being a playboy, do you think your manager would have forced you into this blind date?" I laughed while observing the kids playing.

"True. And how do you know that I was forced to come?"

"It took three days to convince you… No, wait, it was two days. I was the one who suggested moving it. Anyway, you agreed but planned to be late, expecting me to be gone by the time you arrived. Then you could just apologize to your manager, saying you were late."

"Wow, that's exactly what I planned to do. I only arrived when I saw you bringing toys to the children, and I felt guilty, so I bought a coffee as an apology."

"No problem. I was just interested when they said they would set up a blind date for me. So, are you going home now? I can at least give you a ride."

"No need. We're already here, and I was interested in what you're doing. Watching children under the tree is kind of cool, don't you think?" she smiled and said.

"You're funny. Want some snacks?" I offered her some snack food.

"Where did you get this? I was sure you weren't holding anything when I arrived here." She stood up and looked around me.

"Do you believe in magic? Because that was magic."

"Hmm. Do more. This time, bring a bottle of water," she said.

"For magic to work, you need to close your eyes and count to three seconds."

"Okay, I'm closing my eyes. One, two, three."

"Here's your bottled water! Told you I know magic; David Blaine is my mentor." I smirked at her and handed her the bottle.

"How? I checked your surroundings. Where did you hide it? Okay, this time I will believe you if you can bring a chair for both of us."

"Like I said, you need to close your eyes…"

"Yeah, yeah. I will. One, two, three!"

"Oh, two chairs! And they're solid wood, not foldable." My smile widened as I saw her struggling to accept reality.

"When? This is impossible. No one is here besides us, and people are so far away. Tell me the tricks!"

"It's not a trick; it's pure magic. You're so stubborn. I told you I can't teach it to you."

"But that's impossible! If you're truly a magician, make the sky darker and bring on the thunder."

"All the things you could pick, and you choose my specialty," I murmured to myself and looked at the sky. "This will be the last time, okay? This time, you don't need to close your eyes."

"Okay, do it," she looked up and waited for Neo's magic.

I looked at the sky and used my powers to gather dark clouds and make them rumble once. After that, I dispersed the clouds.

"Oh, do you believe me now? Worship me," I joked.

"I don't believe it. You're just tricking me, Neo." Even when faced with the truth, she still denied it because it seemed unreal. But it wasn't for me.

"How could I trick you? You were the one who suggested all of this! Hahaha, just accept it; I'm a good magician."

"You meanie! I just want to learn it. Fine, I won't bother you anymore," she pretended to be mad this time.

"That won't work against me, even though I love beautiful women. How about this? Oh, here. It says on Google that you love taekwondo?"

—

Shao 🫡