Rebirth: King to Superstar

It was completely silent as the clock struck 10 inside the small store. The owner of the store who sat behind the counter was laughing like an idiot as he continued to watch a show on his phone while ignoring everything around him. It almost seemed like he didn\'t care for his own store. 

As he continued to giggle alone like a madman, the store door opened and a woman came in. The owner didn\'t notice her or even hear the door open because of the earphones he was wearing. Noticing no one was around, the woman walked up to the counter and tapped on it while saying.

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"Hey, are you the store owner here?" But the store owner didn\'t mind her and just said, as he didn\'t even lift his head up while waving his hands.

"Yeah, yeah. Just go in and look around for what you want. Come here when you are done and I\'ll tell you the amount to pay. Also, don\'t even think of stealing the stuff here. There are cameras everywhere, so you\'ll be found easily." He seemed very nonchalant about stuff and didn\'t think that the person would even steal stuff.

The woman was dumbstruck when she heard him and snapped out after the guy was done. Her breathing became a bit quicker as she was fuming because of the guy. She took out something from her pocket before slamming it on the counter and shouted.

"You little bastard, how dare you to speak like that to a police officer. Show some respect." And she even continued on to snatch the earphones out to make him hear.

The shop owner, who was enjoying his favorite shows only a second ago, was now shocked after he heard what she said. He didn\'t look at her but instead looked at the police badge she slammed on the table and became nervous after seeing it was actually the real deal. He slowly looked up with a flattering smile and replied while slowly standing up.

"Oh, officers of justice, please excuse my rudeness. I didn\'t want to be rude to you at all. Please, if you need anything, take it and I\'ll give you 50 percent off because of the hard work you all do for us." 

The police officer, on the other hand, just huffed and said, "Don\'t try those tactics on me, you little bastard. I didn\'t come here to buy anything. Where is the store owner? I would like to speak with him for a minute, call him out." 

The store owner immediately became stiff as he replied, "Dear police officer, might I ask why you are looking for the owner?" In a low and careful voice. 

The police officer raised an eyebrow after hearing him and continued, "Do I need to tell you what I came here for? Just call the owner now." 

The store owner became a bit nervous as he gulped a mouth full of saliva and stuttered out a response, "Miss Officer, I am the store owner you are looking for. What do you want from me? I don\'t remember doing anything wrong. I even stopped selling drugs a few months back. I\'m clean now. That\'s why even the store is empty." He got scared and spilled a few beans too. 

The police officer tilted her head a little as she looked at him from top to bottom before confirming what she just heard. "Did I hear that right? You are the owner of the store?" As she ignored the useless part of him selling drugs. Even though that is important, she had a bigger matter at hand she was quickly wanted to get to.

In response, the guy quickly nodded before taking out his ID card from the wallet and showing it to her while saying, "I am sure you checked my details before coming here, police officer. Please check my ID if you have any doubts." The police officer looked at the ID and as he said she did, check his details. 

After noticing it was the same name, she nodded and said, "Alright I need to speak to you for a while. In secret. Close your shop for a while, let\'s go into your office and talk." looking right into the guy\'s eyes.

The shop owner became a little more scared when she asked if they needed to speak in private and just said, "Officer, can we not talk here? I mean there is no one at the shop and if I close the shop and go inside, I might lose a customer." 

The Officer simply looked around the entire shop and said, "It doesn\'t look like there would be many people coming to your shop, anyway. I\'ll also compensate you a little if you miss any customer. So don\'t worry. Just close the door, so that we can talk inside your office." With a bit more force, leaving no room for debate. 

Seeing the woman in front of him giving no more room for negotiation, he just slowly walked to the other side of the counter and went to the door. He took out the keys from his pocket and locked the place before flipping the sign to close. The officer didn\'t take her eyes off him as she observed his every move like a hawk. She also leaned into the counter and looked out of the transparent door as if searching for something outside.

The guy turned around and said, "Alright the officer, let\'s go into my office now. I closed the shop as you asked me to." And showed her the way after she gave him a slight nod. His office was right behind the counter.

"Please come in, officer. Don\'t mind the papers and mess around. Here, take this chair to sit. Would like some water, officer?" 

The office looked nothing like an office. It was filled with waste like papers and empty noodle cups. The guy quickly cleaned one of the chairs and gave it to her as he sat behind his desk. 

She sat down on the chair and said while shaking her head, "No need, I just want to ask you a few questions and after you answer them, I\'ll be on my way." 

The guy nodded and asked her to continue. The officer didn\'t continue and instead took out her gun before placing it on the table between them. She looked at him with a smile and said, "Now, don\'t lie to any of the questions. Alright?" Making the guy nod like a duck. He was scared shitless at seeing the gun on the table. 

"So, now question 1. Who was working here on the 6th of last month? Now, remember carefully before you answer." She warned him once again. 

The guy nodded before he quickly replied, "I was the one working officer."

"Oh! A very quick reply." 

"The guy who worked for me during the night left the job at the beginning of last month, officer. So the entire last month it was me behind the counter." It was also the reason he was behind the counter today. He didn\'t find a replacement for the guy who left. 

The officer nodded and continued, "Now question 2. Do you have any CCTV outside the shop while facing the park right opposite to the shop?" 

This time the guy shook his head and said, "Of Course not, officer. This is only a small shop. Even the cameras inside the store are fake ones to scare the people who might try to steal. A small shop like this one can not afford things like CCTVs." 

Hearing him, the police officer\'s face twitched, and she wanted to curse at the guy. He was nothing but a show-off. She gained some hope when she noticed the CCTV inside the shop and thought her work would get done quicker than she thought, but now the guy was saying those were all dummy products to scare people. 

She took a deep breath to calm her nerves down and said, "Alright then. Now for the most important question until now. Remember, very carefully, before you answer this one. Extra careful, you got it?" In a more serious tone and expression than before as even her hand went closer to the gun than before.

The guy once again nodded and sat up straight like he was in an interview with his arms on his lap. He quickly wanted to get done with this interview of sorts and continue on with his show, so he played close attention to the next words coming out of her mouth. 

The officer looked at him and asked, "Alright then, question 3. Do you remember a black van on the 6th of last month? It should have been parked or stopped for a few quick seconds on the opposite side of the road. Now think very carefully. I want you to think and answer. Don\'t spill out bullshit." This question made the guy stunned as he looked at her with slightly wide eyes.