The Alchemists

"I like this neighborhood," Jean commented after they finished eating and he and Marion were washing the dishes together. "I might check out that house that was for sale that you told me about last night. Where is it located?"

"Gosh, are you serious?" Marion asked in surprise.

Jean nodded. "Why not? I have a lot of money and I don't have a house in Switzerland yet."

Marion just laughed at his explanation, "All right. When do you want to see it? I can find the seller's contact information."

"As soon as possible. I have to go back to Grindelwald to be with Finland to take care of Aleksis this afternoon. But clearly I will stay in Switzerland for a year until I can take on a new identity."

"Alright, I'll tell you later," Marion answered, drying the dishes that Jean had washed and then yawned. "Hoaahhemm ... it's still early but I'm so full. I feel like I'm getting sleepy again."

"If you're sleepy, you can just go back to sleep. You don't have work to do, do you?" Jean asked.

"Hmm … no I don't, but I need to take my dog ​​for a morning walk."

"I can take them," Jean said quickly.

"No, you can't. You look so sleepy. You're still jet-lagged, right? You should go to sleep, so that you can later drive back to Grindelwald safely," Marion shook her head and pushed Jean's body into the guest room. "Go sleep!"

Jean was astonished when Marion treated him like a child and forced him to sleep. He could only shake his head and mumble, "I'm an adult, I'm fine."

"Aish ... don't argue. You haven't slept at all. I know your devious intentions. You don't want to sleep now so that later you'll be too sleepy to drive and I would be obliged to drive you back to Grindelwald. Don't think you can fool me!" Marion said in a curt voice.

"Why do you have to send me back?" asked Jean, pretending not to understand.

"Crazy! Do you think I'll let you drive that far in a sleepy state??? Do you think that I won't be worried to death, huh!?" Marion exclaimed as she threw Jean's body onto the bed.

The man was surprised to see how strong Marion was, but at the same time he felt comforted by Marion's attitude which he initially thought was excessive. He scratched his head and grinned.

"Hmm ... are you worried about me? Are you perhaps already in love with me?" he asked mischievously. Marion narrowed her eyes and gave him a very dangerous look.

"Sleep! You know that I can kill you and hide your body in Jungfrau so it won't be found for a hundred years."

"Can't you make up another threat? Try to be creative for once," Jean replied, definitely not intimidated at all. He smiled broadly and finally decided to obey Marion's request. After all, he was already starting to feel sleepy.

Slowly Jean took off his sweater and shirt and opened his belt.

"Ehhhh ... what are you doing??" Marion asked in surprise.

Jean looked at her with the same puzzled look.

"I am going to sleep; aren't you the one who told me to sleep? How could I sleep in full clothes?" When Jean narrowed his eyes, he saw Marion's face had turned red and he immediately understood what was going through her mind. Jean's crisp laughter could soon be heard in the guest bedroom, "You have such a dirty mind. Ahahaha ... do you think I'm trying to seduce you?"

He folded his clothes neatly then put them on the bedside table. He closed the blackout curtains then went under the blanket and closed his eyes, "I'll sleep now, good morning."

Marion, stunned to see how casual Jean behaved in front of her, could only pinch herself. She was indeed thinking dirty when she saw Jean take off his clothes one by one. Ugh ...

"Uhm ... good night," she said then, leaving the guest room to allow Jean to rest. She quietly went outside to take her dogs' leashes. They were very happy to know that they were going out for a walk.

For some reason, Marion spent endless hours thinking about Jean's handsome face when he laughed carefree every time they chatted. Then, she thought of the delicious breakfast he prepared for them, and how her dogs really liked the actor.

Ugh ... why am I thinking of him so suddenly? Marion kept pinching herself to distract her mind from Jean.

***

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh...!!!!!"

Marion was enjoying her afternoon tea on the veranda while working on something on her laptop when suddenly a hysterical scream came from inside the villa.

She rushed inside. Her assistant, Alicia, must have just seen Jean and screamed hysterically, she thought. She had forgotten to tell Alicia that her idol actor spent the night at Marion's house.

Sure enough, when she arrived in the living room, she saw Alicia, the 23-year-old girl she hired as her part-time assistant, standing dumbfounded in shock and her mouth agape. She had the exact same expression like Macaulay Culkin in the popular Home Alone movie decades ago.

Jean was standing by the guest room, bewildered by the overly exaggerated reaction of Alicia. When he saw Marion enter, his eyes immediately asked for an explanation.

"Alicia, he is not a ghost, he really is Jean, in person." Marion said in a loud voice so that Alicia was moved from her surprise. "He's visiting here. Can you make him some tea?"

Tears flowed down from Alicia's eyes when she realized that the handsome man in front of her was indeed her idol actor. Shyly she walked forward and touched Jean with her index finger. After making sure that the person she touched was indeed human, she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Good day, Alicia," Jean said, kissing Alicia's hand which stretched out to touch him. He gave her his sweetest smile - the one that used to adorn many magazines.

The girl's legs suddenly turned to jelly and she collapsed on the floor. She never dreamed that she could really meet her idol actor, and just now Jean kissed her hand.

Marion widened her eyes in surprise. She never knew that celebrity fans could be so tacky - or was this really what it was like to have an idol? She hurried to Alicia and helped her up.

"Sshh ... don't embarrass me, please, Alicia. Please make Jean some tea." She then turned to Jean, "Do you want fruit tea or chamomile tea?"

"Just fruit tea, please, I just woke up, so it is not suitable to drink chamomile," Jean replied. He only smiled at Alicia's blushing face who immediately went to the kitchen to make tea.

Jean then sat on the veranda, followed by Marion after she made sure that Alicia was fine.