There was a sudden silence in the room from both of the newlyweds, but Sebastian was different. He kept a poker face all through, as he had already inferred it from the tattoo that Dylan had on his neck, so he was pretty chill when he heard it, eating his food as quietly as he could.
And Dylan, he just stared at the three of them, watching intently for their reaction to what he had said.
Just then, Fred finally broke the cold silence that had been seeping into Dylan's head. "I'm not sure why she had to announce that to me, but cool."
Dylan's brows knitted in confusion, as he had been expecting irritation or disgust from him, but he had nothing of such. He looked at his mom and wondered how she managed to get such a cool guy with how wicked she could be.
He laughed a bit before saying, "You are cool. I like you, Fred."
"Hmm…" Fred muttered. He finally picked back his cutlery and cut into the meat. As it popped into his mouth, he asked, "So, apart from being gay, what else are you?"
Dylan couldn't help but laugh again at his hysteric and sassy question. It was quite funny, and it actually made Dylan realize how cool Fred could be.
He coughed lightly, as it was a sensitive topic, and he said,
"Well, initially, I didn't plan to go for tertiary education, but I was forced by my mother. That's why I'm in America to study at UCLA. By the way, I'm a dancer and a DJ."
"In Korea, I play music at a gay bar, and sometimes I pole dance, but most of it is DJing and performing as a dancer."
"You're actually quite interesting," Fred said with a small nod. "It shows you're being proactive and trying to be independent. It's reassuring that you're not trying to pressure your mother."
"Oh… trust me," Dylan replied with a soft scoff, "what I would love to do most is pressure her. I'm actually annoyed that I'm doing well as it benefits her too. But I can't really afford to mess up, because I'd hate myself for it. So I just have to find other ways to torment her."
The room fell silent again at Dylan's words.
As Sebastian observed him, he couldn't help but notice how bold and unfiltered he was. At times, he even wondered if Dylan thought before speaking.
Fred, trying to ease the tension, spoke again.
"What about school? What exactly will you be studying at UCLA?"
"I'll be studying architecture."
"That sounds good," Fred said.
"Yeah…"
"I hope you find America interesting. I'm sure you'll find nice clubs to go to, places to party and have fun. And Sebastian should be happy to show you around."
Fred didn't even bother looking at Sebastian for his opinion.
Sebastian found that slightly confusing. Was it because he had always presented himself as the responsible son? Or did his father simply assume he wouldn't object? Either way, Sebastian didn't bother to respond.
The meal ended on a calmer note.
Dylan stood up from the chair as the maids cleared the table, and Sebastian was already beside him.
"If you're interested now, I don't mind helping you load your things into the wardrobe and also explain how things work for you."
Dylan looked at Sebastian, who finally took the initiative to talk to him for the first time, and it was to assist him. He was confused and stared at him, having to crane his neck as Sebastian was quite an imposing, tall 6'7 figure while Dylan was a shorter 5'7 boy.
He chuckled as he found what he was doing cute, but he made sure to rein in the other thoughts he was having.
"And what made you, who is hell-bent on denying me, suddenly interested in assisting me?"
"I want to sleep early, so I need to assist you. Else, I wouldn't care."
"Dylan frowned slightly. "And how exactly am I stopping you from sleeping? Just go to sleep."
Sebastian exhaled slowly. "We'll be sharing a room."
Inside the room, as they began sorting out his clothes, Dylan spoke again.
"I thought your family was rich. I'm not against us sleeping together, though."
The last line was said deliberately.
Sebastian paused, looking up from the shirt he was folding. He sighed before responding, choosing to interpret the statement at face value.
"This isn't their main residence. Because of what happened earlier, they had to come here instead of going somewhere else. That's why we're staying in this house."
Dylan looked around.
"A place like this is just a secondary residence? Then how big is the real one?"
Sebastian didn't respond. He carefully chose what to answer and what to ignore, filtering his responses.
It irritated Dylan, but he didn't stop trying.
As he folded another piece of clothing, he suddenly paused.
"Wait… we don't even need to unpack everything if they're not staying here long."
"We do," Sebastian replied. "They said they'll be here for at least a week, and you're staying with them. So you need to settle in."
Dylan sighed but continued.
They finished unpacking in silence.
Sebastian was already lying on the bed, scrolling through his phone, when Dylan suddenly asked,
"Are you going to sleep like that?"
"What do you mean?" Sebastian asked, genuinely confused.
"I mean… aren't you going to bathe before sleeping?"
"I will," Sebastian replied.
Dylan nodded slowly.
Then, a grin spread across his face.
"Let's bathe together, then. I'll wash your back."