Felean was frantically biting his nails, one hand desperately gripping his phone against his ear as he spontaneously called the number over and over again. His boots tapped rhythmically and anxiously against the dark pavement. Leansei slowed down his pace, keeping his gray eyes completely fixed on Kean's twin. His protective radar was ringing at maximum volume; he could sense that something was definitively, dangerously wrong with Kean's brother.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Corshe asked, halting his stride to glance back beside Revin, who also turned around to look.
"You coming?" Revin asked softly.
Leansei remained perfectly quiet, offering zero verbal response as his gaze stayed locked on Felean's uneasy, trembling hands and the continuous, rapid tap of his foot against the asphalt. Corshe and Revin exchanged a quick, knowing look; they could tell from his rigid posture that a crisis was brewing.
"You... you guys can go ahead without me. I..." Leansei started to murmur. Before he could finish, Xerchin and Beidhen caught the shift in their energy, their attention drawing away from their own conversation as they walked forward to join the row.
Suddenly, three male students dressed in formal gala suits materialized from the shadows of the secondary building, slowly, sneakily approaching Felean's blind spot from behind. They were quietly laughing among themselves, putting their index fingers over their lips to sign each other to remain perfectly quiet as they closed the distance to his unmoving back.
Leansei halted his feet midway, his pupils dilating as his eyes completely fixed on the scene. Corshe, Revin, Beidhen, and Xerchin immediately tracked his sharp gaze, looking straight toward the dark corner of the parking loop.
The boy leading the prank cast a quick, mischievous glance back at his two companions before lunging forward, aggressively snapping both of his hands right over Felean's eyes. Leansei's jaw dropped in absolute horror. He felt as if a physical blade had been driven straight through his heart when Felean immediately let out a piercing, hysterical scream of pure, raw terror.
"AHHH!!! N—NO! GET OFF ME!" Felean shrieked, his voice fracturing into an agonizing panic as he violently thrashed against the grip.
The three pranksters instantly froze, the mischievous smiles vanishing from their faces in a fraction of a second. Terrified by the severe, unhinged reaction, they immediately let go of their hold. Felean's knees buckled, and his body crumbled heavily, stumbling straight down onto the hard ground. He sat paralyzed on the pavement, his hands trembling violently as he pressed them flat over his ears, his other arm moving frantically, anxiously across his own body as if checking for wounds, his face completely pale and frightened.
Leansei moved his feet on pure instinct, sprinting across the asphalt before his brain could even execute a logical safety command. He closed the distance in a second, his fingers snapping down onto the collar of the lead prankster's suit jacket, aggressively yanking the boy far away from Felean's frame.
"What the absolute fuck do you think you're doing?!" Leansei roared, completely losing his detached composure as his temper flared.
The three boys defensively raised their hands into the air, frantically shaking their heads in a panic.
"W—We didn't mean any harm! We didn't do a single thing to him!" one stammered out.
"Ye—yeah, we just wanted to execute a quick surprise prank on his line! Isn't that explicitly what school friends do?" another whimpered.
"We promise we just c—covered his eyes for a split second! That's literally all we did! We swear it!" the boy trapped in Leansei's tight grip added, his voice trembling violently with fear.
Leansei yanked the kid's frame back, harshly shoving him away across the pavement, before sharply dropping his gaze down to look at his twin. Felean was sitting curled on the cold floor, his entire body shaking as an expression of profound, unshielded fright distorted his handsome features. He looked exactly like a person who had just been violently reawakened into a buried, agonizingly traumatic milestone of his past life—a dark memory he had tried to bury deep in the ground. Looking at his broken state, a heavy wave of genuine empathy crushed Leansei's ribs.
Behind his back, Xerchin and Beidhen strode into the light, their faces written with an absolute, lethal seriousness as their large frames intercepted the other two boys, while Revin and Corshe began loudly, fiercely rebuking them for their reckless actions. Leansei dropped onto his haunches, crouching low beside his twin. He extended his hand across the space to offer comfort, but his arm hesitated midway, his fingers curling into a tight, trembling fist.
' What on earth happened to him in the past... to make his soul look this shattered? ' Leansei wailed silently behind his teeth.
He slowly opened his palm, carefully, delicately tapping Felean's tense shoulder to ground him. "Felean..."
The exact microsecond his skin made contact, Felean flinched violently as if he had been burned, aggressively scrambling backward across the asphalt to escape his reach.
"No! Get away from me!" Felean shouted, letting out an aggressive, ragged gasp of air as he stared into Leansei's face with a look of pure, unbridled terror.
"I—it's just me, Lean—I mean, Kean," Leansei corrected his slip quickly, his voice soft, grounding, and gentle. "Your older brother."
Leansei abruptly checked his movements, his jaw clenching as a sharp, blinding spike of physical pain suddenly shot straight through his temples. He winced through his lenses, his mind short-circuiting as an unexpected, vivid memory segment resurfaced behind his eyes.
_____
"K—Kean..." Felean's identical face was a total portrait of physical trauma under the dim light, his skin flushed red and marked with a dark bruise across his cheek. Kean was standing over him, his own eyes swollen and red from crying heavily, as his hands trembled violently while carefully pulling a heavy comforter completely over Felean's broken body. "I can't endure this parameters anymore... please," Felean pleaded in a low, cracked whisper, his defenses completely gone.
"It's going to be okay... I promise I'll personally bring you home safely right now," Kean cried out softly, the tears running down his face.
Felean's hand suddenly shot out from beneath the blanket, his fingers locking around Kean's wrist with a desperate strength. "N—no... absolutely not the family home."
Kean wept bitterly as Felean's grip slowly weakened, his eyelids fluttering shut as his consciousness faded into total darkness.
_____
Leansei aggressively rubbed his hand against his temple, gasping for air as the raw pain of the vision subsided. This was absolutely not his own past memory—it was Kean's subconscious code rewriting his brain yet again.
' Was that... was that scenario actually true? ' Leansei's thoughts spun into a chaotic, terrifying circle. ' Did that horrible incident genuinely happen to them in the past?— '
Felean's terrified features subtly softened the exact second his pupils focused on Leansei's face, recognizing his twin. But the brief relief evaporated in a fraction of a second, his teared eyes turning instantly dark, venomous, and full of absolute, pure hatred. Raising his arm, he delivered a harsh, violent slap straight against Leansei's hand, forcefully striking it away from his body.
"This is entirely your fault!" Felean hissed, his voice trembling violently with a volatile mixture of anger and tears. Leansei stared at him completely speechless, his mind in total disbelief as he failed to process the logic behind the blame. Behind his shoulder, Corshe and Revin exchanged a deeply confused look, while Beidhen and Xerchin analyzed the identical twins with a highly complex, unexplainable expression. "Leave me the absolute fuck alone!" Felean screamed.
Leansei refused to back down, softening his voice into a calm register as he tried to protect him. "Okay... I understand. Just... please, just let me be the one to take your body home safely tonight..." He reached his hand out toward Felean's shoulder a second time, but before his fingers could make contact, a broad hand aggressively intercepted his arm, pushing Leansei's frame harshly away from Kean's twin. The sudden, violent force caught Leansei completely off balance; he hadn't prepared a defensive stance and began to stumble backward toward the hard pavement.
But he didn't hit the floor boards. Moving with blinding athletic speed, Xerchin lunged forward, his large, solid arm catching Leansei's waist from behind to securely support his back.
Leansei didn't look at his savior, his gray eyes tracking the newcomer instead. Felean didn't risk a single glance at his older brother anymore, his eyes locked entirely on the man who had just sprinted into the parking loop. The stranger wore a simple unbuttoned shirt and black trousers, his hair messy as if he had run all the way down from the city bar lines. He efficiently wrapped a broad, heavy arm around Felean's shaking shoulders, sliding his own formal blazer over Kean twin's frame to protect him from the cold wind.
"Sean... you're finally here," Felean whispered, an exhausted, desperate wave of pure relief loosening his features as he stared into his face.
Leansei's breath locked in his throat, his heart rate dropping. "Felean..."
Sean finally turned his head, casting a freezing, dead-cold glance directly onto Leansei's profile. "I will be the executive to bring his line with me tonight. It's not like his presence is willing to stay inside the same room as you either way." He stated the words harshly, before yanking Felean up onto his feet and guiding his shaking body away toward a waiting vehicle. Leansei clenched his hands into tight fists, his gaze tracking their shadows as they faded into the dark. He couldn't find the physical strength to launch a counter-argument—because deep down, he recognized that Sean's words weren't wrong. He found himself trapped in a deep, agonizing state of confusion.
' What on earth did the old Kean actually do to cause this level of trauma? Why did his twin brother scream in pure, unadulterated terror at a simple prank, as if a horrific milestone of his life had just resurfaced? And why the hell are Kean's memories choosing to wake up right now? '
Xerchin gently, carefully helped him stand back up, his large hand remaining on his arm. He looked down into Leansei's pale face, his baritone voice dropping into an exceptionally soft, deeply worried register. "Mooncalf..."
"I'm completely okay..." Leansei muttered flatly, his gray pupils remaining fixed on the empty pavement until the taillights of Sean's car disappeared past the gates.
The circle of friends swarmed his position, handling his distress with absolute, genuine care as they tried their best to comfort and reassure his mind. Together, they guided his steps back inside the massive gymnasium. The high-society crowd of students had entirely dismissed themselves, leaving the venue empty save for the maintenance crews who were already wrapping up the decoration removal, stacking the formal chairs, and shutting down the tech consoles.
Leansei remained entirely quiet, his brain running through a chaotic train of thoughts as he mindlessly helped the crew clear the final tables. Xeilin tracked his rigid, silent movements from the desk, his brow furrowing with concern before he finally walked over.
"Hey..." Xeilin called out, his tone carrying a rare layer of hesitant worry.
"Yeah?" Leansei answered flatly, his fingers methodically organizing a scattered pile of papers and folders to look entirely unbothered by the crisis.
"You do not look fine right now, Kean," Xeilin stated gently.
Leansei let out a sharp, hollow scoff, forcing an artificial, fake chuckle past his lips to de-escalate the scene. "What exactly do you mean by that? I look perfectly, structurally okay. See? The cleaning operation is officially complete. Is there any other administrative task we should execute before we lock the doors?"
Xeilin let out a long, defeated sigh, deciding to respect his boundaries and not press the matter any further. "Yeah, I think that covers everything on the master itinerary."
Felina and Delia stood near the upper bleacher steps, looking down at the group of friends whose spirits had dropped into a low, heavy registry. They exchanged a bright, playful smile, wanting to violently shatter the gloomy atmosphere. Stepping to the edge of the boards, Felina clapped her hands together twice, her loud palms capturing everyone's absolute attention.
"I can clearly see that every single soul in this room worked remarkably hard today—especially our brilliant President and Vice President who spent an entire month processing these logistics to ensure the night was a massive success!" Felina cheered loudly, her eyes sweeping across the two Vcheroi brothers, Tael, Corshe, Rell, and a quiet Revin who had stayed behind to help. "So... to reward our efforts, the council came to a definitive decision... right, Delia?"
Delia offered a firm, cheerful nod of absolute agreement, a bright smile lighting up her features as she threw her hands into the air. "Let's officially go celebrate our success tonight, guys!!!"
They all looked at them, laughing, chuckling in collective disbelief as the heavy mood in the room finally shattered. Leansei, however, remained temporarily drenched in his own thoughts, the haunting echo of Felean's breakdown still pulling at his mind.
"Yeah, you completely took the words right out of my mouth, Felina and Delia," Xeilin chimed in with a bright, thoroughly relieved laugh, dropping his clipboard onto the scoring desk. He walked down from the bleachers and faced the remaining crowd. "Due to the exceptional hard work of our executive officials and our unexpected volunteers... let's officially celebrate tonight! It is my treat."
The student council officers screamed in excitement, their exhaustion evaporating in a fraction of a second. Corshe playfully nudged Revin's shoulder, his eyes wide behind his lenses. "Let's come along with them! Xei said everyone is invited! Can we go, please??" Corshe asked excitedly.
"Of course. All of you are explicitly required to attend," Xeilin cheered. "Let's all gather and meet up at the nearby grill shop down the avenue."
The officers immediately snatched their bags, rushing out the double doors in pure excitement. Within a few short minutes, the only remaining figures inside the cavernous gymnasium were Xeilin, Revin, Tael, Corshe, the Vcheroi brothers, Rell, and Leansei.
Revin subtly nudged Leansei's arm, forcing Lean to break his blank stare and look at him in surprise. "Hey, Kean. I'm pretty sure whatever horrific scene just transpired with your twin out there... it was just born out of the pure, overwhelming heat of the moment," Revin whispered softly, his voice full of absolute, comforting reassurance. "Let's just focus on enjoying this night together, shall we?"
Leansei hesitated for a brief second, his fingers twisting into his navy suit fabric, before offering a compliant nod. He glanced behind his shoulder just as Xerchin smoothly, delicately took the heavy leather strap of his carry bag to ease his load, while Corshe aggressively pulled his arm forward to guide him out toward the loop alongside Xeilin and Revin.
"Yeah! No matter what kind of complex struggles we are facing in our lives, let's just force ourselves to enjoy this night for now," Corshe pouted aggressively, crossing his arms as they walked down the sidewalk. "It has been an exceptionally stressful, brutal week for our circle."
Leansei let out one long, deep sigh through his nose, before nodding his head in absolute agreement. Revin and Xeilin nodded to match his sentiment. Seeing the genuine joy on his friends' faces, Leansei decided to let them do whatever they pleased; he knew for a fact that every single soul in this group had worked hard simultaneously for two consecutive weeks to secure the gala's success.
Tael initially hesitated to join the transit line, his posture rigid near the gates, but Rell and Beidhen firmly, aggressively insisted on his presence, reasoning that it would look entirely too awkward if only the three of them backed out of the celebration.
.
They eventually arrived at the local grill shop, and because the clock had already passed midnight, the rustic wooden interior was completely occupied by their group alone. Within minutes, the long central table was completely filled to the brim with a massive mountain of foods and bottles of alcoholic drinks. Sizzling side dishes lined the tabletop, the aromatic smoke rising beautifully as plates of pork and beef were grilled to absolute perfection over the hot coals.
Leansei claimed a seat directly beside Corshe, and the exact microsecond he dropped onto the bench, Xerchin claimed the empty space right flush beside his right side. On his left, Corshe aggressively pulled Tael down to sit beside him, while Rell smoothly secured the slot next to Xeilin. Revin and Beidhen dropped onto the bench right beside each other, while the remaining student council officers seated themselves directly across their row.
They initiated the night with absolute fun, drinking lively as the alcohol began to flow. At some point during the chaotic campus chatter, Leansei completely forgot about the food resting on his plate, his mind temporarily eased by the vibrant energy of his friends.
A few more rounds of heavy drinks came by. "We are officially complete tonight!" Corshe cheered loudly. For terms of factual record, he was an incredibly light drinker, and the few sips of alcohol had already turned his cheeks a bright, breathless shade of pink. He mindlessly waved a piece of fried chicken through the air. "Oh, wait... no, hold on. Perial is not sitting at this table." Tael glanced down beside him, his dark hair tied up neatly to keep it away from the smoke.
"I genuinely miss Perial so much right now," Corshe whimpered, his eyes turning watery and teary as the intoxication completely took over his senses. Without a single shred of hesitation, his heavy, drunk head fell sideways, leaning completely against Tael's broad shoulder. Tael went entirely, dead rigid in his seat. His glass was frozen in the mid-air hallway between the table and his mouth as he slowly, thoroughly flustered, turned his head to glance down at the completely unconscious, drunk boy resting against his jacket.
"I'll be the executive to call her private line real quick," Leansei insisted, needing an excuse to clear his fuddled brain. The exact second he prepared to slide off the bench, Xerchin reached across the space, firmly yet gently resting his large, warm hand flat over Leansei's thigh. The intimate contact made Lean sharply snap his head around to look beside him.
"Where you going?" Xerchin murmured, his light blue eyes locking onto his profile, his ears subtly flushing a dark crimson.
"I'm just going to walk outside to place a quick digital call to Perial. I promise I'll be right back to our row," Leansei whispered back softly. He reached down under the table, his fingers gently squeezing Xerchin's hand against his thigh to reassure him, before standing up from the bench and navigating his way out through the shop's front doors.
Leansei leaned his heavy back flat against the exterior brick wall, letting out a long, ragged exhale into the cool midnight air. He could physically feel the heavy intoxication circulating rapidly through his veins, the alcohol slowly kicking into his nervous system. Pulling his smartphone out, he dialed Perial's private contact number.
Several long rings buzzed through the receiver before Perial finally accepted the voice call. [ A—ahh...K—kean? ] Perial's voice crackled through the speaker. Her tone sounded uniquely stuttering, frantic, and breathless, but due to Leansei's own heavily drunken state, he didn't pay a single shred of analytical attention to the odd frequency.
"We literally just finalized the entire acquaintance party cleanup operation, Perial," Leansei murmured, his voice slightly slurred. "I genuinely thought your line was scheduled to attend the showcase tonight? I even sent a detailed text to your phone earlier stating that the council was going to execute a celebration block... you should be sitting here at this table with us."
[ So—sorry. The production shoot came too late. I—I ] Perial panted out rapidly, pausing for a brief, heavy second as if struggling to find her breath. [ I simply cant make it to the venue to—tonight. But I promise I'll completely make it up to you all next time. ] She paused a second time, a strange rustling sound echoing in the background.
Leansei's brow furrowed slightly behind his lenses. "Are you truly okay over there? Your voice sounds remarkably... flustered." The line went completely, heavily silent for a long, agonizing beat.
the line wet silent. [ I...I am currently right in the middle of a massive, heavy full-body massage appointment right...right now. ] Perial stammered out frantically, her voice pitching high. [ I'm gonna have to hangup this line for tonight, kay? i'll see you at the condo. ]
Click.
The call officially ended, the digital screen illuminating the dark sidewalk. Leansei stared blankly down at the glass interface, thoroughly perplexed, but his train of thought was violently interrupted as a figure stepped into his field of vision.
It was Revin. His face was entirely flushed, his gray eyes bright and unfocused from the high volume of drinks he had consumed during the feast. He walked over with loose, slightly clumsy steps, leaning his back flat against the brick wall directly across from Leansei's position.
"What exactly did the rising celebrity star say to your line?" Revin asked, his voice thick with sleepiness.
"She couldn't make it to the grill shop tonight," Leansei explained, sliding the phone back into his suit trousers. "She seems entirely, super busy with her modeling campaigns." Revin offered a slow, compliant nod of agreement. An absolute silence settled down over the narrow sidewalk between them, the cool midnight breeze rustling the leaves of the overhead trees, before Revin slowly lifted his head to break the quiet.
"Hey, Kean..." Revin murmured, his eyes locking onto Leansei's face with a profound, unshielded sincerity. "I desperately want to say thank you to your soul. If it weren't for your grounding words and your help at the Student Affairs Office this week..."
"Hey, stop that nonsense. We are real friends, Revin," Leansei interrupted gently, a warm smile breaking beautifully across his lips. "That is explicitly what real friends are for. I am just profoundly glad that the scholarship parameters worked out for you."
Hearing the words, Revin's tired features completely illuminated, a soft, incredibly relieved smile painting his face under the streetlight. He slowly lowered his head, his gaze dropping to his formal shoes as his fingers twisted nervously inside his jacket pockets. A sudden, heavy layer of hesitation locked over his posture, his chest rising and falling with a deep breath.
"The truth is... there is actually a major, critical secret I would genuinely love to disclose to you tonight, Kean," Revin whispered, his voice dropping into an exceptionally low, trembling frequency.
Leansei adjusted his glasses, shifting his weight against the wall as he turned an intensely focused, supportive look toward his friend, his expression silently signaling him to proceed. Go on. What is it?
"I..." Revin said hesitatingly. He let out a shaky exhale and glanced up to meet Leansei's eyes. "I like you." Leansei froze in his tracks, his mind short-circuiting as the gravity of the words hung in the cool night air. But before he could even gather a single syllable to respond, Revin quickly rushed ahead.
"I like you... after we've gotten close. But I know for a fact that you don't feel the same way, and you'll never be able to feel that way for me." Revin smiled at him genuinely, his gray eyes softening under the streetlights. "I know how much you like—no, how much you love that jerk. I know it, I can see it, and I can physically feel it whenever you two are in the same room. But please don't worry about it. I've already fully accepted the reality... and besides, there's another jackass who completely managed to steal my attention away from you anyway..."
Revin's voice trailed off into a quiet whisper as he sharply looked away toward the dark park hedges, his cheeks turning a bright, breathless shade of pink—infinitely more flushed than they had been seconds ago. "How incredibly ironic it is...."
Leansei stared at his profile, a sudden understanding easing his rigid posture. "Is that jackass... Beidhen?" Revin went entirely, dead rigid, snapping his head around to glance at Leansei in pure, wide-eyed surprise. Leansei merely let out a soft, genuine chuckle at his shock. "Come on, Revin. You guys are quite noticeable despite your best attempts at being lowkey on campus. And Beidhen is remarkably vocal about his boundaries at some point, so you can't exactly blame my line for figuring it out."
Hearing the explanation, Revin's defenses crumbled completely, and a slow, beautiful laugh escaped his throat. "Right... that jackass possesses absolutely zero shame." They both laughed together, the heavy, toxic tension of the university gala completely evaporating into the midnight breeze.
"I just... I desperately wanted to tell you the truth tonight," Revin murmured softly, looking back at him with absolute gratitude. "Since you are explicitly the single bridge that allowed me to become who I am today. But I genuinely hope nothing changes between our lines because of this confession. I would still love to remain your close friend."
Leansei strode across the narrow pavement, aggressively yet playfully smacking his hand against Revin's arm. "What on earth do you mean by that? Of course nothing changes between us, you idiot." Revin looked at his face, letting out a bright laugh as his shoulders dropped. But their attention was violently cut short as the heavy glass door of the grill shop suddenly swung open with a loud click. They glanced toward the entryway to find Tael carefully, meticulously guiding a completely collapsed, drunk Corshe out to the curb. Corshe's leather school bag was slung loosely over Tael's broad shoulder, and the older chef's large arm was firmly wrapped around Corshe's waist to support his stumbling weight as they walked.
Leansei and Revin immediately broke away from the wall, hurrying over to assist their station.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk," Revin muttered, shaking his head as he inspected Corshe, who was completely unable to coordinate his own feet, his eyelids half-opened in a daze.
"Owne—ehem. Mr. Licon," Leansei corrected his register quickly, his voice full of genuine worry. "Are you still perfectly sober enough to drive his car??"
"Yeah, don't worry about my parameters. I am sober after all," Tael replied smoothly, his baritone voice grounding their panic as his eyes drifted down to look at the boy leaning heavily against his chest. Corshe's fingers were tightly, unyieldingly gripping a fistful of Tael's suit clothes. "Your little friend on the other hand... he's completely out of commission. I'll make sure to take him home safely to his estate."
Leansei and Revin offered a synchronized nod of absolute agreement, stepping back as Tael carefully placed Corshe into the passenger cabin and closed the door with a solid thud. But midway through circling around the sleek hood to claim the driver's seat, Tael checked his movements, halting his boots against the asphalt as he cast a final glance back at Leansei.
"Thank you... for forcefully making me come along with your group tonight," Tael stated softly, a profound wave of relief and genuine warmth lightening his handsome features. "Even though I am not a part of your official council registry or your elite high-society circle. But please... just do me a favor and call me Tael from now on. Mr. Licon feels entirely too formal and distant for us, right?"
Leansei offered a warm, radiant smile, nodding firmly. "Exactly as I stated during our previous conversation in the gym, Tael—it never changes. Please make sure you head home safe and sound tonight."
Tael offered a final bow of respect before climbing into the cabin and driving the car smoothly into the city traffic lanes. Revin reached out, resting his hand firmly over Leansei's shoulder to guide him back toward the door. "Alright, let's head straight back inside now."
The exact second they crossed the threshold back into the private room, the chaotic roar of the celebration hit their senses. Xeilin was standing near the center console, aggressively chugging a fresh glass of liquor while Felina and Delia were loudly, raucously cheering his performance. Standing right beside the island, Rell was staring at the president with a look of absolute, pure shock written across his face.
Leansei glided back down onto the rustic wooden bench, and the exact fraction of a second his boots settled, Xerchin smoothly reached across the space, his large hand instantly claiming its permanent spot flat over Leansei's thigh. He raised his own crystal glass, draining the liquor without a single shred of effort, his light blue eyes locking onto Leansei's flushed face.
The late-night feast proceeded until the very last drop of alcohol was drained from the bottles. Felina and Delia were successfully, safely escorted back to their private residences alongside the remaining student council officers. Rell carefully lifted a totally wasted, heavily slurred Xeilin, guiding his frame securely into the front passenger seat of his car to drive him home. Meanwhile, Revin was thoroughly drunk, yet he still possessed enough coordination to walk on his own feet.
"Make sure you take proper care on the dark roads tonight," Leansei called out softly.
Revin waved a loose hand over his shoulder, murmuring a quiet response before climbing straight into the front passenger seat of Beidhen's luxury car.
Xerchin strode across the pavement, smoothly throwing the passenger side door of his sports car open for Leansei. Lean offered a soft, genuine smile, sliding into the leather cabin before the door shut securely. Xerchin circled the hood, claiming the driver's seat, and started the powerful engine, pulling the vehicle into the dark, desolate streets.
Leansei kept his eyes trained directly ahead through the windshield, his fingers twisting into his navy suit fabric as a heavy, unyielding silence stretched between them across the console. Xerchin broke the stillness at once, his deep voice smooth.
"Did you honestly have a fun time celebrating tonight?" Xerchin asked, keeping his focus fixed on navigating the dark road metrics.
Leansei offered a firm nod, a radiant smile breaking beautifully across his lips. "Absolutely. It was perfect."
Xerchin adjusted his grip on the steering wheel, his jaw clenching slightly before he forced out a quiet confession. "The truth is... earlier after the intermission... Seleigh explicitly came down to the backstage wings to find me. But she—"
Leansei's breath locked for a split second, before he cleanly, smoothly cut his sentence short. "I already know everything about it, Xerchin." He turned his torso, leaning his head back against the soft leather cushion of the seat to look directly into the athlete's handsome profile with absolute tenderness and warmth. "She already explained the parameters of your conversation to my face. So... please promise me you won't ever act so cold or rude to her presence on campus or anywhere anymore. The cold truth is... she is remarkably pitiful, you know?"
Xerchin checked his movements, completely startled by the boy's empathy, before a soft look entered his blue eyes and he slowly nodded his head in compliance. "Alright. I understand."
The luxury sports car eventually glided to a smooth halt, but as Leansei looked out the dark glass windows, his brow furrowed into a hard scowl of utter confusion. The surrounding landscape was entirely unfamiliar. Xerchin unbuckled his harness, stepped out of the cabin, and smoothly opened Leansei's door to extend a hand.
"Where exactly... where on earth are we?" Leansei asked, his voice low as he stepped onto the quiet grass, scanning his perimeter. The layout was an absolute masterpiece of natural beauty; the sweeping fields were filled to the brim with rows of vibrant flowers, manicured bushes, and towering trees—matching Leansei's absolute favorite botanical preferences. "Where... are we, Xerchin?..."
But the fact that they are alone now, one quiet villa rest house, just two of them makes his cheeks heat as different of scenarios came into his mind. Xerchin guided his steps toward the heavy wooden double doors of a beautiful, isolated villa. "Welcome to my own private rest house."
Leansei's jaw dropped in pure, unadulterated awe, his gray eyes wide as he took in the architectural layout. He was deeply impressed by how flawlessly the estate had been constructed, every single interior design element matching his exact personal taste.
But the factual reality of their current situation suddenly crashed straight through his fuddled brain, freezing the blood in his veins. They were completely, entirely alone now—trapped inside a quiet, restricted villa rest house at midnight, with just the two of them occupying the perimeter. A sudden, scorching wave of heat rushed straight to his cheekbones as a sequence of highly chaotic, adult scenarios came flooding into his imagination.
' Shut your damn mouth, Sei! ' Leansei screamed frantically inside his own head, his pulse skyrocketing into a frantic rhythm as he bit his tongue. ' What the absolute hell are you thinking about right now?! Have you genuinely become too incredibly naughty after executing that shameless jerking off session in your bedroom last time?! '
Sunk deep within his own defensive, panicked thoughts, Leansei completely failed to notice that their boots had already navigated the long corridors, stepping straight across the threshold into the master bedroom suite.
Ah!
Leansei flinched violently. Moving on pure, explosive panic, his right hand shot out across the space, flattening his palm up into the air like a defensive Iron Man shield, while he slammed his other hand tightly over his eyeglasses to block out the view.
"W—what exactly do you think you're doing?!" Leansei stammered out frantically, his voice raising a sharp pitch of pure, breathless shyness.
Xerchin checked his movements, stopping mid-stride as he glanced back over his shoulder to survey the boy's ridiculous pose. "I'm merely preparing to go take a necessary shower. It has been an exceptionally long, grueling day on the floor. My skin is covered in sweat from the stage performance, and..." A wicked, thoroughly amused smirk curled beautifully onto Xerchin's reddish lips. He slowly closed the distance, leaning his upper torso forward until his mouth hovered a mere inch away from Leansei's burning ear, his baritone voice dropping into a devastatingly sexy whisper.
"...and I thought... you might desperately want to join me inside the showe—"
Leansei violently, aggressively shoved Xerchin's chest away—not rough or hard enough to cause an injury, but with an explosive surge of pure, flustered shyness to break the proximity. Xerchin let out a loud, triumphant laugh, thoroughly enjoying the way he could scramble the boy's sanity, before running a large hand through his messy hair.
"I am just kidding, Mooncalf," Xerchin smiled beautifully, his blue eyes intense as he stepped back toward the master bath door. "Go ahead and take your time to wash up. Your spare casual clothes are already neatly laid out on top of the mattress sheets. You can utilize the private guest shower room located directly across the hallway from this suite."
Leansei slowly pulled his hand away from his eyes, preparing to launch a fierce verbal counter-strike—but the words died squarely in his throat. His gray pupils locked onto Xerchin's broad, lean, and beautifully sculpted bare back as the athlete turned to walk into the bathroom. Leansei swallowed hard, his throat going completely dry at the vision.
The bathroom door shut with a soft click, and the sound of the shower water began to flash against the tiles.
Leansei stood entirely paralyzed for a lingering second, before aggressively shaking his head to banish the sinful thoughts. He lunged toward the bed, snatched the spare clothes from the sheets, and bolted out of the suite to sprint straight into the guest shower room across the hall.
He threw the door shut, locking the bolt, and walked over to stand directly in front of the wide mirror above the sink. Looking up, his jaw dropped in absolute, pure disbelief. His entire face was completely, utterly flushed a burning shade of deep tomato red. He leaned his hands against the marble, cast his gaze downward to track the lines of his trousers—and froze dead in his tracks.
A clear, undeniable, and highly prominent little bulge had formed against the fabric of his underwear, his member completely hardened from the sheer proximity of the athlete. Leansei immediately slammed both of his palms flat over his face in extreme, suffocating embarrassment and absolute disbelief at his own body's treachery.