The next day at the shop went more or less the same as the previous day. Mr. Yuan maintained his facade of restraint while saddling Raijin with the most mundane, laborious tasks he could come up with. Raijin kept persevering through it all thanks to his enhanced physique and genuine good nature. Conflict continued to simmer in the old man's mind. The eager young man was more help around the store than he had found in years, and his customers seemed to appreciate the effort as well. The last two days were seeing an improvement in traffic and sales. Ultimately, though, none of this changed the fact that this Japanese boy had poor prospects and little ambition and would surely wind up being a burden to Yuan's family. The intolerant old goat made his mind up that today would be the day that he takes care of Raijin once and for all. No more leaving things up to chance. He would take direct action. He just needed to find the right moment...
Mr. Yuan located the small, white porcelain jar he had gotten ready days before. The ointment within would certainly do the trick. He just had to convince the boy to use it somehow. That afternoon, he finally saw an opportunity to set things into motion.
Mr. Yuan was watching Raijin through the store's front window as he worked on the sign above it. The old man had insisted that the sign be taken down, cleaned front and back, and put back up perfectly straight. As heavy as the sign was, it was little trouble for Raijin. He had already taken it down and cleaned it and was in the process of trying to keep it level while hanging it back up. He was atop a stepladder holding the sign overhead. The effort was pulling his shirt tight across his chest and causing his melon-sized biceps to flex hard against his sleeves. Just then, a couple of young ladies walked by. Mr. Yuan watched them pause and ogle the young stud. He saw them exchange a few words and even take a picture of his biceps in action before moving on. Seeing this as a chance to cause an accident, Mr. Yuan hurried to the door and burst out to shout at Raijin.
"What do you think you are doing flirting with those hussies?! You are supposed to be dating my granddaughter!"
The sudden outburst had its intended effect. Mr. Yuan had barely begun shouting when Raijin lost his balance. Instead of falling, he was able to nimbly hop off the stepladder and land on his feet without dropping the sign, but the weight of it forced Raijin to twist awkwardly on the way down. Raijin set the sign down and winced as he straightened up to face his tormentor.
"Oh geez! I'm sorry, Mr. Yuan! They just wanted me to hold the sign still so they could take a picture of it! That was all!" Raijin stammered as he rubbed his back.
"Oh," Mr. Yuan replied innocently. The damage being done, there was no need to belabor the matter further. "Well, my mistake, boy. You know how I love my Lily. I wouldn't want her to feel sad. I'm sure you feel the same."
"Of course, sir. She means everything to me! I would never do-"
"Yes, boy, I see," Mr. Yuan interjected. He didn't need to be reminded about their relationship. "Come inside after you hang that sign up. We'll see what else needs to be done today."
Raijin groaned a bit as he picked the sign back up and stepped back on the ladder. He wasn't seriously hurt, but his back did feel pretty sore. After a few minutes, he had the sign back in place and was on to other things.
The young man finished the rest of the day mostly unfazed aside from the occasional pause to rub his back or stretch a bit. Mr. Yuan had to contain his excitement. He had the boy right where he wanted him. With the patience of a spider on its web, he waited for Raijin to come to him about his back pain. Sure enough, as they got ready to close up shop, he brought it up as the old man had hoped.
"Hey, Mr. Yuan? I think I wrenched my back a little bit when I was putting that sign up. It's not too bad, but do you have anything good for sore muscles? I wouldn't want it to cramp up overnight and keep me from helping you out tomorrow."
"Oh! I didn't know you were hurt! You should have said something, my dear boy! Of course I have something you can use." Mr. Yuan handed Raijin the porcelain jar from under the counter. "This will take care of things! Take it! No charge! It's my own personal formula."
"Okay. Thanks! So do I just rub it in where it hurts or...?"
"Yes. Rub it in there and try rubbing it in all over your body before bed. It will relax everything. You will sleep great and wake up like new!"
Mr. Yuan could barely contain his delight. Without hesitation, the naive young man had taken the ointment and sealed his own fate. As he bid the boy farewell for the day, he gloated to himself that it would probably be for good. All that needed to happen was for the fool to apply the concoction, and he would be out of his and his granddaughter's lives for good! He patted himself on the back the whole way home.
That night, as Raijin got ready for bed, he did as he was told and opened the small jar. He rubbed the thick ointment into his sore lower back. He then spread it all over his huge, sculpted body. Sure enough, a deep relaxing sensation seeped into his muscles as he lay down and fell asleep. If only he had suspected that Mr. Yuan was, in fact, trying to get rid of him, he might have thought twice about using the ointment. This devious concoction of Mr. Yuan's was...