In the Prosperous Kingdom, Riverdale's Tavern, Second Floor

Thomas Hark sighed as he buttoned up his dress shirt in front of the mirror. Unlike his father and his half-brother, Thomas didn't enjoy wearing formal clothing. It was a stuffy and tiresome article of clothing that reminded him of the past...

A past that was best forgotten...

Thomas grabbed the matching black suit jacket that had been tossed onto the back of a rickety, wooden chair and reluctantly slid his arms into the sleeves.

He stared at himself in the mirror, inspecting his formal attire.

'If only I had another clean t-shirt...'

Thomas sighed.

'I wouldn't have to wear this stupid thing if I did. How does Father and Brother wear this? Don't they feel uncomfortable?'

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Thomas glanced at the spoiled t-shirt he had lazily dropped onto the floor.

'Should I take it down to the laundry basket in the staff room?'

He shook his head.

'Brother would lose his cool if I did and it was stolen. He's already in a bad mood so I should put it somewhere else.'

Thomas picked up the expensive t-shirt and winced at the large, brown stain that greeted his eyes.

'It's going to cost a lot of gold to get this stain removed. Do we have the time to get this washed?

'...

'I guess I have to ask Father, he'll know.'

Thomas folded the spoiled t-shirt before placing it on the dresser across from the bed.

'I should probably go back down. Father will be mad if I don't listen to his daily bragging.'

Thomas cringed at the old memory that sprung up with that thought.

He gave himself one last look in the mirror before turning around and leaving the room.

***

Back to Me

I have a feeling that the System hates me more than I realized.

Each blonde, freckle-faced boy was seated at a table with two others--one of which had the same blonde hair, and the other, red hair.

The chances of this happening is like winning the lottery or being struck by lightening!

Unless it's rigged, of course.

In that case, this current situation would make a WHOLE lot of sense!

Who should I begin with?

The one with the blonde hair or the one with the BLONDE HAIR?!

And, as if to add salt to my wounds, another blonde, freckle-faced kid walked down the stairs and walked towards a table.

The table with Aaron--the idiot--and the smart old man.

Now, it's six, instead of five boys with blonde hair and freckles...

Oh, the tragedy...

Ughh...

Let's think about "Every Cold Winter"...

Thomas Hark travels with his family to the Prosperous Kingdom for work.

With him is his father and his younger half-brother, Aaron Hark. The father has blonde hair like Thomas and silver eyes like Aaron. Aaron, however, has red hair like his mother.

Wait a fat second...

I turned to face Aaron once more.

He was still glaring at me.

But this time, I recognized some important details...

Red hair, arrogant silver eyes, neat outfit, the name Aaron...

...

I...

I am stupid...

The cliché...

How could I possibly not recognize the walking, talking cliché?!

Aaron, my darling, I am so happy to see your Villainous face!!!

I am so happy, I could kiss you!

He' arrogant.

He's neat.

He's ambitious.

He's expensive.

And, last but not least, a jerk!

He starts off as being Thomas's friend in the beginning of the story, but becomes a stepping stone for Thomas later on.

After all, the Hero has to start out somehow, right?

So, the blonde, freckle-faced kid sitting next to Aaron has to be Thomas, right?

There's only one way to find out!

Taking a deep breath to calm my roaring emotions, I leisurely walked over to Aaron's table.

***

"Oh great, it's coming over." Aaron took a sip of his coffee, irritated out of his mind.

"What is?" Thomas asked as he sat down at the table.

"The Beast Man that just came in." Thomas's Father answered, taking a big bite of chocolate cake.

"Is it someone you know?" Thomas inquired as he looked through the menu.

His father sighed. "Unfortunately, no. A sad thing too, because if I had, I would've offered giving them the extra Spacial Collar that's been hogging up my inventory this whole time."

"Why do you need to know them to give them something?"

"Because then I can ask them to pay up in the future without much hassle. The thing is, if you give stuff to strangers, there's no guarantee that your good deed will be returned."

"Father, that's a dick move." Thomas frowned.

"But a profitable one." Aaron took a bite out of his vanilla ice cream, squinting his eyes in satisfaction. "How else are you going to move ahead if everything you give doesn't have strings attached?"

"Funny how you speak of profits." His Father stabbed a strawberry with his fork, holding it up to examine it. "Judging by the way you sometimes raise your voice, I'm amazed you know about the concept. Do you know, if you were to raise your tone as frequently as you do in front of a client, you'd most likely scare them off? Perhaps not. You just can't seem to watch your tongue."

Aaron blushed from embarrassment. "Father, we discussed this earlier!"

"Then what was that just a minute ago? Don't think I forgot."

It was then, a sound interrupted their conversation.

"Meow."

All three of them stopped and looked at the cat which had managed to climb on top of a chair without them noticing.

Thomas's Father coughed awkwardly. "Is there anything we can help you with?

"Meow."

"Oh great, it's a Beast Man that can't talk." Aaron grumbled.

"Oh my, how unfortunate. It's a little lost kitten. Fear not, my dear boy... or girl..." Thomas's Father turned to Thomas, pleading with his eyes.

Thomas helplessly replied to his father. "It's a boy."

"My dear boy, we'll help you find your parents!"

"What, why?!"

"And Thomas, I leave the kitten in your room. Tomorrow, we'll go to the Guard House after breakfast."

"Yes, Father."

"This is just preposterous!"

***

Back to Me

...

I don't know if I should be offended or not.

I was just mistaken for a child!!!

But at least I know for a fact that I found Thomas Hark.

And poor Aaron... he was ignored the whole time they planned my stay for the night.