Xerchin stepped out of his vehicle the moment he parked it in the executive bay. Assistant Leo dashed forward to catch up, his short legs scrambling to match Xerchin's long, disciplined strides as they walked inside the corporate headquarters.
Throughout the grand lobby, the staff and stationed bodyguards immediately bowed, greeting Xerchin with absolute reverence. None of them possessed the courage to look him directly in the eyes.
"What is the issue?" Xerchin demanded coldly. Assistant Leo trembled with visible nervousness, his eyes darting frantically to his clipboard. He was a small, nerdy-looking, and notoriously clumsy young man.
"Th-the pre-president wants to speak with you, urg-urgently, sir," he stuttered out. They came to a halt in front of the executive elevators. The moment the gold-trimmed doors glid open, the employees already inside immediately dropped their heads, stepping out of the elevator in a hurried rush to clear the space.
Xerchin strode into the empty elevator with Leo following close behind. "What of my brother? Where is he?" Xerchin questioned, his face entirely expressionless.
"H-he has not arrived yet, sir."
The elevator ascended rapidly, eventually chiming as the doors opened onto the 100th floor. The atmosphere up here was entirely different from the sterile corporate levels below. The soaring hallway walls were painted in rich crimson and beige, the floors were blanketed in plush red carpeting, and the architectural designs were the epitome of extravagance.
"Sir, you have finally arrived. Sir. Xin is waiting for you inside," the primary executive secretary said, bowing deeply before leading the way toward the double mahogany doors. He knocked softly. "Sir, Master Xerchin has arrived."
"Come in."
Secretary Leo threw the doors open. Xerchin walked smoothly into the vast office, adjusting the lapels of his blazer before coming to a halt several meters away from the man seated behind the desk. The gentleman appeared to be in his mid-fifties, with distinguished silver-grey hair and a suffocating, highly intimidating aura. The striking physical resemblance between the two instantly made their father-son dynamic undeniable.
"You have finally arrived," Mr. Xin stated, his profound voice echoing off the glass walls.
"What was the purpose of demanding my presence so suddenly?" Xerchin inquired, his expression remaining cold and entirely unbothered.
"You are my son, after all. Do I require a grand purpose to see you?"
"I am not the only son you possess."
Mr. Xin paused, a dangerous glint appearing in his eyes. "It seems you have finally found the confidence to speak back to me." Xerchin remained perfectly silent, refusing to take the bait. "I see. You are still obedient at your core. We will be holding a grand dinner meeting with the elite families in exactly two weeks. Do not disappoint me." Xerchin coldly diverted his gaze down to the polished floorboards.
"You did not force me to drive all the way here simply to remind me of a schedule, did you?"
Mr. Xin burst into a merry, echoing laugh. He leaned back comfortably into his heavy leather swivel chair, casually spinning an expensive fountain pen between his fingers. "You are indeed my son. You read me entirely too well."
Xerchin snapped his eyes back up, his blue gaze freezing into ice.
"I want you to convince your brother to absent himself from that dinner meeting," Mr. Xin ordered smoothly.
Xerchin's hands instantly clenched into tight fists at his sides. A wave of profound disbelief and disgust washed over him. He knew his father was ruthless, but he could never fully comprehend how a man could be so entirely heartless toward his own blood. It sickened him how Mr. Xin was willing to sacrifice his own flesh and family just to maintain his absolute grip on power and status.
Turning his back on the desk, Xerchin began to walk away.
"I believe manipulating my brother's attendance is entirely out of my league."
"Do not test me, Xerchin. Do not force me to utilize the methods I am fully capable of executing," Mr. Xin's voice dropped into a chilling warning. "Ensuring his absence will be highly beneficial for you... and for the safety of your beloved one."
Xerchin snapped his head back, his eyes blazing with sudden, unbridled fury. The thinly veiled threat hung heavily in the air. He desperately wanted to lash out, but he forced his jaw tight, suppressing the blinding anger. Revealing his vulnerability right now would only give his father the exact leverage he wanted.
Spinning back around, Xerchin dashed out of the office in pure irritation, slamming the door behind him. But his rapid pace ground to a sudden halt when a very familiar face caught his attention. He immediately tried to divert his two blue eyes, intending to simply walk right past her without a word.
"What an exceptionally ill-mannered young man," the woman remarked, her voice dripping with haughty disdain. "You cannot even bring yourself to greet your own mother?"
Xerchin stopped directly beside her. He tightly closed his eyes for a brief second, taking a slow, controlled breath to force the residual anger out of his system.
he opened his eyes, "you have done absolutely nothing to deserve my respect," Xerchin stated, his baritone voice dangerously calm. "Let alone my greetings."
"W-what?"
He stopped a few paces ahead of her, his back still turned, but his voice cut through the silent corridor like ice. "Never let that filthy mouth of yours run, and never dare to call yourself my mother. You have never been one to begin with." Without waiting for her response, he walked straight toward the elevators. Behind him, the woman whipped around, a deeply contorted, furious expression marring her beautiful, wealthy features as she watched his retreating figure fade into the shadows.
.
Xerchin slammed his car door shut, the explosive echo reflecting the raw fury coursing through his veins. He gripped the leather steering wheel so tightly his knuckles turned a stark, bloodless white.
The outside world constantly looked at the Vcheroi family with absolute envy. Society painted them as the ultimate epitome of perfection—a flawless dynasty blessed with infinite wealth, effortless prestige, and unconditional love. But it was all a beautifully curated lie. Behind the grand architecture and the pristine public relations, their lives were nothing more than a toxic, fragmented piece of crap. They had been trapped in a twisted psychological war since the very day he and his brother were born.
Exhaling a ragged breath, Xerchin lowered his head until his forehead rested against the cool leather of the steering wheel. He automatically reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, intending to send a message to Kean. He scrolled through his address book, only for reality to hit him like a cold wave. He didn't have the contact number anymore. He used to have it, but he had aggressively deleted it from his device months ago because of the bitter history that had transpired between them.
He let out a deeply irritated sigh. His thumb hovered uselessly over the screen, his eyes locking onto the bright display until the backlight timed out, leaving a dark, black screen that reflected his own conflicted expression back at him.
Xerchin raised his hand, pressing his index finger against his lips. He rubbed the contour of his mouth unintentionally, his thoughts instantly drifting back to the breathless scene inside the school clinic, and then to the intoxicating proximity in the apartment kitchen.
He had never imagined he would ever cross these boundaries with Kean, especially considering the sheer magnitude of the things that had happened between them in the past. It was completely baffling. It felt as though the Kean occupying that condominium right now was fundamentally not the same Kean he had known back then.
But as Xerchin stared out at the quiet parking lot, he realized one undeniable truth: whoever this person was, he infinitely preferred the Kean of the present over the one from his memories.
A slow, genuine smile curved Xerchin's lips in sheer amusement as he tossed the phone onto the empty passenger seat.
.
Another day passed, and the quiet rhythm of the school week resumed. Leansei sat at his desk, completely concentrated on the professor's lecture regarding the miracles of biology and life. Beside him, Revin was completely dead to the world, peacefully napping with his head buried in his jacket.
"That will be all for today's session," the professor announced, snapping her textbook shut. "Please review this chapter thoroughly. We will be having a graded quiz during our next meeting."
The moment she began packing away her materials, Leansei hurriedly stuffed his notebooks into his bag. He stood up, eager to leave the classroom, but a sudden, weak grip clamped around his wrist. He jolted, turning his head to look down. Revin was still resting his head heavily on his arms against the desk, but his fingers were tightly anchoring Leansei in place.
Leansei flinched the exact second he felt the heat radiating from Revin's skin. It was entirely out of the ordinary. Revin was sweltering, his palm completely slick with a cold sweat. Reaching out instinctively, Leansei pressed the back of his hand against the side of Revin's neck and gasped at the alarmingly high temperature.
"You have a fever!" Leansei exclaimed, his voice laced with genuine concern. "Come on, let me help you get to the school clinic."
Revin didn't let go of Leansei's wrist, using the grip to hoist his heavy, exhausted body upward. Leansei securely wrapped an arm around his torso, carefully assisting his staggering classmate down the long corridors until they finally reached the clinic.
When they burst through the door, the school doctor was nowhere to be found. Not wanting to waste any time, Leansei immediately guided Revin over to one of the bed cranks and helped him lie down. He hurried over to the medical cabinets, rummaging through the drawers until he located a fresh cooling fever patch and the proper fever reduction medicine.
Revin lay trembling on the mattress, his eyes tightly shut as chills racked his frame. Leansei gently pressed the cold patch onto his burning forehead and carefully managed to get him to swallow the medicine, which the boy did with a weak, grateful groan.
Leansei pulled the heavy quilt over Revin's shoulders, watching his breathing slowly stabilize. He let out a soft sigh, glancing at the wall clock.
' I was fully planning on tracking down Xerchin to treat him to that thank-you meal today, ' Leansei thought, a wave of conflict washing over him. ' I guess that will just have to wait for next time. I absolutely cannot leave Revin alone in this empty clinic without anyone by his side.'
.
Unbeknownst to Leansei, the adjacent hospital bed crank—shrouded by a tightly drawn privacy curtain—was currently occupied. Beidhen had been reclining there, lazily flipping through the pages of a book, when the sudden commotion on the other side caught his attention. He perked up, tilting his head in the direction of the voice. It sounded incredibly familiar.
"Hey, I really should go out and look for a doctor," Leansei murmured anxiously from the opposite side of the divider.
Hearing that voice, Beidhen instantly sat up with an excited grin. Without a second thought, he reached out and aggressively yanked the privacy curtain completely open to reveal himself. He beamed a wide smile at Leansei, who jumped slightly, completely surprised to see him hiding there. However, Beidhen's cheerful expression evaporated in a split second the moment his eyes drifted lower, landing squarely on Revin's pale, vulnerable, fever-flushed face.
"Since when exactly have you been laying there?!" Leansei demanded in a frantic, high-pitched whisper, desperately trying not to wake the sick boy.
Beidhen promptly crossed his arms, his posture shifting into an annoyingly conceited, dramatic stance. "I happened to get aggressively targeted and hit by a stray ball during our PE class," he grumbled, raising a finger to point defensively at the distinct, reddening bruise marking his left cheek.
"Ouch. That must have hurt terribly," Leansei noted, his natural empathy overriding his annoyance as he examined the swelling.
"Nope, not at all. I've had worse," Beidhen scoffed, dismissively waving it off before his piercing gaze snapped back down toward the mattress. "More importantly... why are you in here with him?"
"Oh, he came down with a sudden, massive fever," Leansei explained softly, adjusting the blanket. "I couldn't just abandon him in an empty classroom all by himself."
Beidhen didn't reply. Instead, his eyes locked onto Revin's limp hand, noting how the boy's fingers were still tightly, sub-consciously anchoring Leansei by the wrist. A sudden, wicked smirk curved Beidhen's lips as a brilliant, mischievous idea popped into his chaotic brain. He casually whipped out his smartphone, raised the camera lens, and captured a crystal-clear photo of the intimate scene.
Leansei stood completely befuddled, staring at him in utter disbelief as he watched Beidhen plunge right back into his usual foolish, childish antics. But Beidhen merely widened his grin, typing rapidly on his screen to message his brother.
.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the campus, the final lecture had concluded. Xerchin swung his heavy school bag over his shoulder, preparing to exit the classroom, but his path was immediately obstructed by a small crowd of lingering students.
"H-hi, Xerchin! I've actually admired you from afar for a very long time," a short-haired girl stammered nervously, stepping forward to present a neatly wrapped bakery box. "So... here is some mamon. I baked it entirely from scratch myself."
"H-hi! I've been practicing making gourmet cinnamon rolls lately," a red-haired classmate chimed in eagerly, elbowing her way to the front. "Here is one I specially made while we were working in the cooking labs for the HRM department." Xerchin's icy gaze drifted down to the colorful boxes before rising to level a devastatingly cold, empty stare at the two girls.
"I don't eat sweets," he stated flatly, his deep baritone cutting through their high expectations as he stepped sideways to walk past them. He paused for a fraction of a second, his voice dropping an octave. "But... if any of you happen to know how to cook authentic fried rice, fried noodles and quesadillas, I might actually consider accepting it." Leaving them completely stunned, Xerchin strode out into the bustling corridor.
"Oh my god! Did you see that? It's Xerchin!""He is so incredibly handsome, it's criminal!""Don't look at him like that! He's practically my husband already!""Wait, where is his older brother today?""Who knows? Probably skipping class again.""Hey, have you heard the latest rumor?""Huh? What rumor?""Apparently, he's actually on bizarrely good terms with that guy from the lower batch.""Wait, you mean Kean? Ugh, even hearing that name makes me disgusted."
Xerchin aggressively ignored the ambient gossip floating through the hallway, but his progress was halted yet again when the classroom treasurer blocked his path. Perio stood there sweating, his arms completely overloaded with expensive paper gift bags, luxury food items, premium drinks, and courier packages.
"Hey, Xerchin, look—this entire mountain is from your fan club," Perio complained, struggling to balance the shifting bundles. "What on earth am I supposed to do with all of this?"
"Eat it yourself, throw it away, or do whatever you want. I couldn't care less," Xerchin snapped, his tone dropping into a dangerously sharp, cold register. "Just make sure you never block my path again." The sheer intensity of the rejection caused Perio to instantly swallow hard, quickly diverting his eyes and stepping backward out of striking distance.
Xerchin resumed his rapid pace down the corridor, but his stride was disrupted when a continuous, aggressive string of text notifications began violently vibrating inside his blazer pocket. He pulled the device out, fully intending to clear the alerts, when he realized the incoming spam was directly from his foolish older brother, Beidhen.
He initially wasn't going to waste his time reading the nonsense, but a sudden image preview popped up on the lock screen, forcing him to a complete, rigid halt in the middle of the hallway.
He tapped the chat thread.
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
FROM: HEN FOOL
Hey Brother!! From exactly where I am sitting right now, I have just witnessed an absolutely intriguing scene!
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
FROM: HEN FOOL
Hey Brother!! Answer me!!
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
FROM: HEN FOOL
Okay, I know your arrogant ass is completely ignoring my messages. So I'll just drop the evidence right here.
[ATTACHMENT: 1 PHOTO DELIVERED]
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Xerchin clicked on the thumbnail to expand the image. It was a shot taken inside the dimly lit school clinic, capturing Leansei hovering closely over a bed crank.
Xerchin's fingers gripped the edges of his phone so violently the plastic casing creaked under the pressure. His blue eyes locked entirely onto the specific detail of Revin's sweltering hand tightly clamped around Leansei's petite wrist.
A fresh notification popped up at the bottom of the screen.
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
FROM: HEN FOOL
Do you want to guess exactly which room I'm sitting in right now? 😉
[Sent a silly, highly annoying smirk GIF]
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
.
Leansei shifted on his feet, thoroughly uneasy as he watched Beidhen, who was clearly having the time of his life tapping away on his screen. Lean turned his attention back to the neighboring bed crank, checking on Revin; the boy was still radiating a dangerous, sweltering heat.
"Beidhen, where exactly is the school doctor?" Leansei asked, trying to anchor the conversation.
Beidhen glanced up, clicking his phone screen black. "They had an emergency staff meeting, so I was left here to rot all by myself. Just like last time." Leansei froze, his brain violently stalling as he processed the implications of those words.
' I wish I didn't know exactly what he was implying by 'last time'—No! I will literally dig my own grave and jump into it if he actually saw what happened between us! ' Leansei buried his face in his hands to mask the intense wave of mortification.
Beidhen's smirk only widened, his eyes dancing with mischief. "Whatever you're panic-thinking right now is one hundred percent correct." Leansei's head snapped up in sheer horror.
' H-he means he s-saw u-us?! No w-way!! '
Beidhen let out a marvelous, echoing laugh. "Oh, absolutely. I saw you two hovering right there, about to ki—"Panicking, Leansei lunged forward to physically clap his other hand over the idiot's mouth to silence him, but the clinic door was thrown open with a resounding slam.
Beidhen choked back his words just in time. "Oops. Here comes the main attraction," Beidhen whispered. It was barely a breath, but Leansei heard it with absolute clarity.
' Wh-why on earth is he here right now?! What spectacular timing! Wait... did Beidhen have something to do with this?! ' Leansei whipped his head around, glaring death threats at Beidhen, but the older brother merely smiled and nodded like an innocent, proud child.
"You absolute—" Leansei started, but the heavy, deliberate footsteps of Xerchin approaching him cut his words off entirely.
The air instantly filled with that familiar, sophisticated cologne. Leansei sneaked a glance up, noting that Xerchin's styled hair was completely messy and he was attractively gasping for air.
' He looks like he sprinted across the entire campus... But god, he looks like a drop-dead gorgeous deity who fell straight from heaven onto the earth—wait! What am I thinking?! '
Xerchin ran a frustrated hand through his messy locks, his piercing gaze dropping onto Revin with a flatly lethal expression. Even while radiating irritation, he looked infuriatingly dashing. He marched directly over to Leansei, who immediately dropped his head, his cheeks burning like an innocent tomato.
' Is he blushing because of that ass—because that person is touching him? ' Xerchin raged silently. His blue eyes locked entirely onto Revin's limp fingers, which were still stubbornly anchored around Leansei's petite wrist.
' W—why does he look so incredibly irritated? ' Leansei swallowed hard, thoroughly confused. ' I thought we were finally on good terms after yesterday? '
The tension in the quiet clinic rose to a suffocating level. Breaking the silence, Beidhen burst into another idiotic laugh. Xerchin leveled his older brother with a chilling, dangerous stare, while Leansei glared daggers at him from the side. Realizing he was entirely outnumbered, Beidhen immediately choked on his own saliva and cut the laughter short.
"What exactly were you doing with that bas—with him?" Xerchin demanded, his deep baritone cutting through the room. Leansei flinched, physically incapable of looking Xerchin in the eye because the setting brought back every embarrassing memory of their almost-kiss.
"He is incredibly sick—wait, why do I even have to answer your questions?" Leansei countered defensively.
"Just because," Xerchin snapped. Without a shred of gentleness, Xerchin reached down and rudely pried Revin's burning fingers off Leansei's wrist.
"Don't be so mean!" Leansei scolded, his eyes locking onto Xerchin's face. "He is not in a good condition right now."
Xerchin's blue eyes flicked over to meet Leansei's gaze, but the intensity was too much, and the heir immediately diverted his face away.
Beidhen, meanwhile, stood by with his arms crossed, sporting a silly, highly amused smile, completely acting as if he weren't the one who caused this entire disaster.
' Good condition or not, who gives a damn? ' Xerchin fumed internally.
' Why is he in such an atrocious mood today? ' Leansei sighed, glancing back down at the unconscious Revin.
Before Leansei could react, Xerchin reached out, firmly but gently grasping Leansei's hand, and began pulling him decisively toward the clinic exit.
"Wait—where are we even going—"
"You explicitly told me last night that you would treat me to a meal today," Xerchin reminded him, his voice unyielding. "Don't tell me your amnesia made you forget that promise already."
"But we can't just leave him here completely unattended!" Leansei protested, gesturing to the to Revin.
"Who said he is unattended?" Xerchin countered, turning his cold gaze slowly toward his older brother. Beidhen's amusing smirk instantly evaporated as the horrific realization of Xerchin's words crashed down on him.
"No—wait—I am absolutely—"
Before Beidhen could finish his frantic protest, Xerchin pulled Leansei out into the hallway and firmly clicked the clinic door shut behind them.
Left alone in the quiet room, Beidhen puffed his lips out in pure annoyance, glaring fiercely at the adjacent bed crank. On the mattress, Revin rolled over uncomfortably, his body quivering violently from the chills of the fever.
"As if. There is absolutely no way I am staying behind to babysit this arrogant jerk," Beidhen grumbled aloud, spinning on his heel to leave. He took one step toward the door but flinched violently when a weak, burning hand suddenly clamped tightly around his wrist. He jolted, looking down, and instinctively tried to pull his hand away from the grip.
"D-don't leave me... please," Revin whispered.
His voice was entirely stripped of its usual sharp, sarcastic edge, sounding unusually soft, husky, and deeply vulnerable. Aside from being a massive jackass and an annoying rival on a daily basis, Beidhen had never heard him sound so utterly broken.
Beidhen stared down at the sick boy, a massive wave of sudden guilt washing over his chest. Unlike his heartless Younger brother who could abandon anyone without a second thought, Beidhen actually possessed a conscience. He let out a long, deep sigh, already knowing he was going to deeply regret this decision. But taking one look at the boy's innocent, fever-reddened cheeks, he realized he couldn't just walk away.
' Just this once, ' Beidhen reasoned silently, reluctantly settling back onto the edge of the clinic bed. ' I am strictly only doing this one time. '