Chapter 6
Tangled in the Villain's Trap
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Adrian's pulse spiked significantly when the call connected, and a man's voice slipped through the other end of the line.
"...so, you finally called."
The young man instantly froze while still holding the phone in his hand.
Holy shit! What the hell did I just do?!
His throat went dry as the reality of what he did sank in. He wanted to apologize, set himself free from guilt, and clear things up. He couldn't stand the thought that this person, Ivan Ross, might still believe that the man he met once at the bar was some shameless guy who'd tumble into bed with any stranger without a second thought.
But now, he regrets that decision.
He shouldn't have made this call. It would have been better if he had just let things be as they were and tried to forget what had happened between him and that stranger.
Adrian nearly slammed the phone against his forehead, realizing how stupid he was for doing this.
You're so damn stupid, Adrian!
He was about to hang up the call to save himself for the last moment when that deep, dangerously calm voice spoke again in the line and said...
"I was beginning to wonder if I should go and find you myself."
Adrian's mouth parted slightly as if he wanted to respond, but nothing came out. He tried to say something, but what was he supposed to say?
Until he heard the man on the other end of the line let out a soft, teasing chuckle and said. "I was just kidding."
Adrian felt his throat tighten while trying to scramble for a better response.
"Oh! Y-yeah! Of course, you were kidding-I totally get that, haha..." He cringed the moment his nervous laugh left his lips to the point that he could practically hear himself wince. A huge part of him wanted to hang up the phone, toss it to the floor, and bury his face in a pillow to hide his embarrassment.
But it was too late. Adrian was already in it, so it would be better to tell him the real reason for his call and get over it as soon as possible.
Of course, nothing about this situation felt like it would be that easy.
"Well, ugh...I don't know if you could still remember me, but I'm the one who...you...uhm..."
But before Adrian could finish his words, Ivan immediately cut in smoothly and said, "Yes, of course. How could I forget?"
Ivan was standing before his huge office window overlooking the entire Galahad city. He was wearing a stylish black suit with a gray tie. His hand was tucked casually into his pocket, while his eyes pinned to a small photograph of Adrian lying on his table with some folders and papers in it, taken just recently at a local comic book shop.
"I honestly thought you wouldn't dare to call me back," Ivan smoothly added. His words obviously meant something that made Adrian's stomach feel uncomfortable. "But of course, I totally understand. What happened that night was just a product of booze clouding your judgment."
Adrian swallowed hard. He could feel the heat rushing into his cheeks. He tightened his grip on the phone while forcing the words out of his lips despite how clumsy and strained they sounded.
"W-well...about that," Adrian stammered as he tried to hide his embarrassment. His grip on the phone was slick with his nervous sweat. "That's...actually the reason why I called. I'd like to apologize for what happened, even though it took me three months to finally..." he winced at his own words, "...to actually say it. I didn't mean for that thing to happen, and I can't imagine how uncomfortable you were that time, so...yeah, I'm really, really sorry."
The man on the other end of the line didn't speak immediately. However, his lips curved slightly in amusement as he listened to the young man's stumbling apology.
Meanwhile, Adrian's brain was in overdrive while waiting for the man's response. He couldn't help but feel restless as he waited for his answer with the phone still pressed anxiously to his ear.
Why isn't he saying anything? Did he not accept my apology? Did I accidentally offend him? Should I hang up? No, that would make it worse! Ugh, Adrian, you shithead!
But after a few moments of pause, Ivan finally spoke and asked...
"Are you free this week?"
Adrian froze. WHAT?!
Of all the things he expected to hear from the man on the line, that definitely wasn't one of them. The question knocked him like a sudden blow, leaving him wide-eyed and speechless.
"Wait, what do you mean?" he asked carefully instead of giving his answer right away because he didn't want to assume anything. On the other end of the line, Ivan quickly glanced through the planner on his phone and checked his availability before he spoke again on the phone.
"I'm free on Sunday, 8 o'clock in the evening." Then he gave his waiting assistant a smooth but quick gesture to take notes, "I'll have my personal assistant make reservations for two at Noble Seas. So, where should my driver pick you up?"
"Wait, h-hold on a second, Mr. Ross, I--"
"Ivan," the man corrected him, "Just call me Ivan."
Adrian swallowed hard as beads of sweat rolled slowly down his forehead. He wanted to tell Ivan not to go through all that trouble, that none of it was necessary anymore. But Adrian couldn't, as if the things he wanted to say were stuck somewhere between his chest and his throat. He was probably too embarrassed to say it because it might make him seem ungrateful.
But still, why was everything between them moving so fast?
This isn't the direction the young man wants them both to go. Because Adrian's plan was simple: call this man, apologize for what happened between them that night at the bar, and end it properly as if nothing had happened. That was it.
But now? Dinner reservations at Noble Seas? A freaking five-star hotel?
"Why?"
Of all the things Adrian wanted to say, this was the only one that escaped his lips.
Why.
A low hum of amusement could be heard on the other end of the line before Ivan finally responded in an almost playful way.
"It's not every day I get the chance to have dinner with someone I met once at a bar and spent a night with." He let that hang in the air before adding, "And since you dared to call me after all this time just to apologize, then why not say it in person? Perhaps over a dinner with a glass of...red wine?"
Adrian's brain short-circuited for a moment.
"U-uh-well, you see..." Adrian desperately recovered from the shock and tried to make an excuse to escape the situation. "The thing is...I only really meant to, you know...just apologize. I don't think we need to go to dinner at a five-star restaurant and...drink wine, haha!"
His laugh came out so awkward and strangled, he wanted to crawl into a hole, hide there, and never come out again.
"But please, Mr. Ro--I mean--Ivan..." Adrian quickly corrected himself, "...don't take this the wrong way! It's not that I'm rejecting you or anything, but dinner is a bit... a bit much for me, I think?"
Ivan could hear the nervous hesitations in Adrian's voice on the phone. How desperately he wanted to avoid falling into that temptation trap Ivan was trying to set out.
Despite that fact, Ivan still pressed on without mercy.
"Alright, let's put it this way," Ivan said. At the same time, the edge of his smirk curled silently into his tone, "If you're truly sincere about apologizing for what happened that night, then surely it isn't too much for me to ask you to share a simple dinner with me, is it?"
Adrian's stomach flipped hard. Ivan's words landed at the wrong side of his rationality like a gentle trap, leaving the young man with no easy choice or escape but to give in and say yes to the invitation.
"O--okay..." Adrian bit his lip hard as he slipped out his forced answer before he could even stop himself from doing so. "If...if you still insist..."
"Then, it's settled. Sunday. Eight o'clock," Ivan said firmly and with finality. "I'll send someone to pick you up at the city's main plaza beside the city hall."
Then the line immediately went dead before Adrian could even gather his thoughts or before he could even say goodbye.
Adrian took a deep, anxious breath as he lowered the phone from his ear. Then, he slowly sat on the couch to reflect on what had happened while staring blankly at the screen where Ivan's number still flashed.
He didn't try to save Ivan's number in his phonebook.
Adrian ran a hand over his face, along with a long and heavier sigh, as he tried his best to release the tension coiling more tightly in his chest. All he wanted to do was apologize, and now he agreed to have dinner at a five-star hotel with the man he had only seen once.
His throat tightened as he realized the situation he had gotten himself into.
What have you gotten yourself into this time, Adrian?
Meanwhile, inside his sleek, high-rise office that overlooks the city's shimmering lights, Ivan placed his phone down carefully on the polished black desk. The glass window before him caught his reflection in its dark surface, capturing his sharp features mingling with the glow of the city lights beyond it.
A slow, satisfied smirk curved across his lips as he called upon his assistant.
"Cancel all my appointments for Sunday," Ivan said. His voice carries that air of effortless authority. He didn't need to glance at his assistant, who was waiting silently on the side.
"All of them, sir?"
"Yes, all of them." He confirmed while unbuttoning his black suit, "Even the ones in the Black Market. If they ask why, tell them I have somewhere more important to be on that day."
"That will be noted, Mr. Ross." The assistant bowed slightly and turned to leave.
"Ah, one more thing..." Ivan's voice lifted with casual authority as he turned slightly toward his assistant. "Inform Noble Seas that I'll need a private suite for that night, and make sure they stock it with extra rubbers. XXL, not XL. Last time they gave me the wrong size, I barely used it. So you emphasize that to them, is that clear?"
The assistant hesitated for a second before nodding and responding, "Understood, sir."
After the assistant left, Ivan reached for the folder resting neatly on his desk. Inside it was Adrian's confidential information and a photo capturing the young man's mid-smile, looking disarmingly happy and carefree as a normal citizen. Ivan's lips curled faintly as he slid open a drawer and retrieved a red pen.
Then, with slow, deliberate strokes, he traced over the curve of Adrian's mouth, staining it with a bright smile with his crimson ink, turning it into a grotesque where the red lines bled like fresh cuts across the photo.
"I can't wait to see you smile like this," Ivan murmured devilishly under his breath, his eyes gleaming with excitement, and he stared at the lines that bled across Adrian's image. "I can't wait to remove those heroic smiles of yours and replace them with better curves while you're begging for me in bed."