The Legendary F Rank

"Are you the one that called?" The driver asked as he leaned over in his seat to get a look at Haru's face.

"Yeah, that was me. Do you know where the overnight bus station is?" Haru asked. He hadn't looked it up that much he just knew that there was one so he was relying on the taxi drivers skill to know where it was.

"The one by the edge of the city? Yeah, I know where that is I had a few customers head there already tonight. Here let me help you with your bags." The taxi driver opened the door and walked around to the trunk and opened it before asking for Haru's bags by holding out his hand.

It wasn't much luggage only two backpacks so it was easy for him to help although it wasn't needed. He then put them both into the trunk before closing it and then getting into the front seat. Haru then got into the backseats and looked out of the window as they started to drive down the rood.

Haru's phone beeped as a message came through on Now chat. He looked down at his phone to see that Suyin had replied. 

"No, I'm sorry. I thought you were ignoring me on purpose. I wasn't sure what to think. And my phone number was leaked on the first day my single was released so I had to get a new one. I will call you later tonight so you get my number. 

I have another recording session in five minutes so I will call you when I get home. 

I love you too." Suyin's message read. She seemed to be busy so Haru thought it was probably not the best to disturb her right now so he decided he would just wait for her to call him later to talk. It would be easier for both of them that way. 

By the time Haru looked back up the car was already approaching the bus station and he was the taxi started to slow down to a complete stop at the entrance to the building.

"There we go we're here." The taxi driver smiled and got out again to help get the bags out of the trunk. Haru got out too and then realised he didn't bring any cash with him. He usually did but for he was in such a rush to get out that he forgot to bring any with him.

"Can I transfer the money to your account? I forgot to bring money with me. Sorry." Haru apologised. He felt like an idiot. He would usually bring money just in case but he had spent it all before he came out. 

"Sure. That's not a problem at all. Let me grab my phone." The driver said and then walked over to the driver's seat and pulled out his phone before giving Haru his bank details.

Haru scanned his phone screen using his own and sent the money that he was requesting for the ride. He didn't need to worry about the cost so he didn't even look before scanning his card. He then took his bags and went on his way into the bus station to get a bus to Beijing.

He walked into the oddly empty station. 'I guess not a lot of people travel this late at night.' Haru thought before making his way up to the machines that were used to buy tickets. 

They were a kind of wall-mounted touchscreen display that had a list of times and dates for outgoing buses. He needed to find one for tonight that was heading to Beijing which was much easier than he thought it would be. But the only problem was. The only one that was heading directly there was a luxury bus of some kind. 

The others were all cheaper since they made their way to other places along the way to pick up more passengers. The one that went directly there offered an "Exclusive VIP experience" and that was made apparent by the cost of the tickets. 

They were five times more expensive than the tickets for the regular buses. 'How do you get a VIP experience on a bus? I could understand a plane but a bus. I haven't even heard about that before.' Haru thought, intrigued by the pricing and the information about the ticket. 

So in a moment of curiosity, he bought one. It would make a little dent in his bank account but it was nothing too bad for him. He just wanted to see what it was like. 

As he paid for the ticket the printer inside the machine amped up and started producing a high pitched whine as it printed the ticket he had just bought. 

The information for everything printed onto a piece of card and then dropped down into the metal tray that was underneath it before Haru picked it up to have a look.

'Stand A. 7:15 arrival time and a 7:30 departure time. Not bad I only have to wait half an hour. But where in the world is stand A?' He thought before walking over to one of the many maps scattered around the station that showed where the stands were.

Stand A was on the other side of the building. 'Oh, so that is why I couldn't find it. Okay well, that makes things easier.' Haru then walked to where stand A was and was surprised by what he saw. There were red ribboned gates outside of a door guarded by a big muscled man in a suit along with a red carpet that led up to them.

'I see. This is the VIP experienced they offered. It's kinda… too high profile for me. I thought the inside of the bus would be spacious or something but if this is it then I would have paid for the regular tickets instead. It would have saved my wallet.' He sighed as he approached the security guard at the entrance.

'Your ticket please.' He said in a threatening tone like he had seen too much in his life to be doing this job. Which was probably the case given the small scar on his neck in the shape of a bullet hole. Haru looked at him for a second before noticing the small bump in his clothes just above his waistband.

'Oh, he is guarding this place with a gun? I wonder what's inside. I might have written it off a bit too soon.' He thought before showing the man his ticket that he had just bought. After reading the first couple of words he nodded his head and then stood aside so that Haru could enter the room. 

As he entered he was kind of blown away by how the interior looked despite the outside of the room. The rest of the station just looked like a typical bus terminal but the inside looked more like a lounge you would see when boarding the first-class aeroplane.

It was probably in fact inspired by how they would do it since within the room they had a private cafe that would serve food and drink.

'Woah this place is way nicer than I expected. But I bet the food is also expensive.' He thought before noticing the sign that said everything inside the room was provided free. It would explain why the tickets were so expensive. He was starting to see why there were so many people waiting for the bus.

In total Haru counted around twelve people sat waiting for the bus to arrive but the room they were in was big enough for them all to be so far apart that they wouldn't have to talk to each other. But as soon as he entered the room he felt all the eyes turn to him. Each one of them gave him a disapproving look before looking back to each other confused about why he was there.

On the other hand, there was a young girl around seven or eight years old and an older one who looked to be around sixteen or seventeen. They were sat on their own at one side of the room and he noticed the older one smile at him before he took a seat at one of the many empty tables.

'Who lets their kids get on a bus alone?' He thought as he started to look around the room at the other people to try to figure out who their parents were bit everyone else in the room appeared to be office workers judging by their clothing and many briefcases in the room.

But nothing happened. No one approached them at all. They didn't seem to have their parents with them or anybody for that matter. They were all alone in a room full of office workers. Not that it mattered to Haru. He was just observing the people in the room with him.

And they happened to be the only people that stood out to him. The others seemed to blend into the environment. But what if that was the point? They were supposed to look so ordinary that he didn't notice them.

'That is what is happens. I see… They are the kids of a rich family in Beijing that are being accompanied by their bodyguards. But is this many necessary? Unless they are expecting something.' Haru concluded that something was going to happen if he got on this bus.

He got up and was about to walk to the door when he heard a girls voice call out.

"Hey." Haru turned his head to see the older girl was now looking at him with a smile while everyone else in the room stared at him suspiciously.

That was the only confirmation he needed. If they had nothing to do with these two girls then they wouldn't have even glanced up from whatever they were doing on their laptops but every single one of them looked up at Haru.