Evelina's POV

  Looking through the shelves, I ran my fingers along the neatly arranged chocotes, my lips twitching in amusement. It had been so long since I had eaten any—both in this life and the one before. My predecessor barely indulged in sweets, and my past self? Well, I had other things to worry about back then.

  My eyes nded on a strawberry chocote bar. A small chuckle escaped me. 'What? Just because I was a man in my previous life doesn’t mean I need to have "alpha male" taste buds'. I had always liked sweet things, and if that wasn’t manly enough, too bad. Besides, I used to cospy. Turning into a girl? Not that big of a deal.

  Holding the chocote in my hand, I turned to my brother.

  "Старший брат, что ты хочешь отсюда?" (Big brother, what do you want from here?)

  I pointed to the chocotes, watching as Alexei’s expression twisted in horror. His brows furrowed, his lips parted slightly, and I could practically hear his internal struggle. Was he... afraid of my choice? Did he think I would force him to eat something overly sweet?

  He sighed in defeat.

  "Я съем всё, что ты выберешь, Лина." (I’ll eat whatever you pick, Lina.)

  I grinned. Nice try, big bro, but I know you too well. Thanks to my predecessor’s memories, I remembered that whenever we visited a chocoterie, Alexei always picked dark chocote. That was probably his favorite. I grabbed one for him and walked towards the drink section.

  For myself? Strawberry milk. Again, judge me all you want, but it’s delicious.

  And for Alexei? Chocote milk. Because as much as he pretended to be all serious and composed, even he couldn’t resist childhood nostalgia(Even if the chocote milk he drank in childhood is different!)

  As we walked to the counter, I finally saw him.

  Daniel Park.

  He was fidgeting nervously, his bruised face making it clear that Zack Lee had already had his fun. I felt an uncomfortable pang in my chest. I could have stopped it. But I didn’t. Just because I didn’t want to change the scenario.

  Still, that didn’t mean I couldn’t help him now.

  I pced my items on the counter, offering him a small smile.

  "I’d like to buy these."

  He nodded and started scanning them. His bruises stood out even more under the harsh convenience store lighting, and I felt an ache of pity settle in my chest.

  I hesitated for a moment before making a decision. Medicine.

  Turning to Alexei, "Я хочу помочь этому парню, можно?" (I want to help this guy, can I?) I said, worry evident in my voice.

  Alexei frowned, immediately shaking his head.

  "Ты не можешь здесь задерживаться. Купи ему лекарство, но пусть он сам позаботится о себе." (You can't stay here. Buy him medicine, but let him take care of himself.)

  I sighed but nodded. 'Fair enough'.

  I walked over to the shelves and grabbed Betadine and cotton pads. When I returned to the counter, Daniel was visibly shaking. I turned my head slightly, following his line of sight.

  'Oh'.

  Alexei was just staring at him.

  I held back a ugh at how intimidating my brother looked right now. Instead, I pced the medical supplies on the counter and said,

  "I’d like to buy these too."

  Daniel’s gaze darted between me and Alexei before he quickly scanned the items. He muttered the total, and I handed him the money. As he pced the change in my hand, I spoke again.

  "Thank you."

  His head snapped up, eyes wide with surprise. My heart clenched a little. 'Right. Nobody had thanked him yet'. In this part of the story, Daniel had only received scornful looks and beatings.

  I rummaged through the package, pulled out the Betadine and cotton, and pced them in front of him.

  "This is for you."

  Daniel blinked. "For me?"

  I nodded. "I’d help you put it on, but my brother and I have to go."

  Alexei checked his watch. Ah. That was my cue. Time to leave.

  I didn’t wait for Daniel’s reply. Instead, I turned and walked outside with Alexei. Just as I was about to enter the car, I gnced back and saw Daniel still staring at me, his expression unreadable. Smiling, I raised a hand and waved.

  To my surprise, he slowly lifted his own hand and waved back.

  Once I was inside the car, Alexei immediately went into worrywart mode.

  He grabbed a disinfectant wipe, took the packages from me, and meticulously wiped them down. Every. Single. One.

  I watched, biting back a ugh as he handed me the disinfectant bottle.

  "Обработай руки." (Disinfect your hands.)

  I obliged, but he wasn’t satisfied. Nope. He took another wipe and cleaned my shoes. Then, to my horror, he reached up and wiped my face.

  "Алексей!" (Alexei!)

  I sputtered, trying to lean away. "Ты серьёзно?!" (Are you serious?!)

  "Ты не должна посещать такие места." (You shouldn’t visit pces like this.)

  He ignored my protests and continued wiping my face as if I had walked through a battlefield instead of a convenience store.

  "Ты хоть представляешь, сколько людей трогает эти полки каждый день?" (Do you even know how many people touch those shelves in a day?)

  I sighed dramatically.

  "Тогда мне придётся снова туда пойти." (Guess I’ll just have to go again.)

  Alexei froze. Then, he shot me a sharp look.

  "Если ты пойдёшь, я тоже пойду." (If you go, I’m going too.)

  I grinned.

  "О, старший брат хочет пойти со мной в магазин?" (Oh, big brother wants to go to the convenience store with me?)

  He groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose.

  "Ты невыносима, Лина." (You are insufferable, Lina.)

  I just ughed.

  But as we drove home, my smile faded slightly. Tomorrow… school starts.

  And if today was already eventful, I could only imagine what kind of chaos awaited me there.