The morning sun beat down on the university asphalt as Xerchin and Leansei arrived on campus together. Leansei unbuckled his seatbelt and was about to reach for the passenger door handle when Xerchin gently caught his elbow. He turned his face back toward the driver's seat, his gray eyes showing clear confusion.
"I'll fetch you later after your last class," Xerchin said smoothly, his deep baritone leaving zero room for argument. His gaze dropped briefly to Leansei's neck, tracking the flesh-colored bandaid patch meticulously placed to hide the dark, blooming marks he had left behind last night. It was a good thing they didn't have any physical education activities or laboratory shifts scheduled on the roster today, or Leansei would be completely doomed.
"You don't have to go through the trouble—" Leansei started to protest, his fingers automatically rising to rub the edge of the patch on his neck.
"I wanted to. Just get used to it, Mooncalf." Leansei felt a familiar warmth soften his chest, a genuine smile breaking across his lips. "Okay," he murmured, turning his torso to finally exit the cabin, but Xerchin's fingers remained firmly locked around his elbow. Lean snapped his head back a second time, raising his eyebrows through his lenses.
"No, kiss?" Xerchin asked, his light blue eyes locked onto his profile with an incredibly sincere, grounding frequency.
Leansei rolled his eyes playfully, though a beautiful curve formed onto his treated lips. This man was obviously not going to permit his body to leave the sports car without securing his compliance first. He leaned across the central console, pressing a swift, sweet peck of a kiss straight against Xerchin's reddish lips.
"See you later," Leansei whispered, before quickly climbing out of the car onto the gravel driveway.
The exact microsecond his boots hit the concrete pavement, he abruptly halted his movements as his lower body twitched with a sharp spike of soreness. He could still vividly feel the deep-tissue back pain and tension from the midnight hours, silently cursing the athlete behind his teeth—Xerchin was an absolute, unyielding bastard with zero restraint. They had been on the dangerous verge of arriving late to campus simply because the athlete refused to let his frame off the mattress sheets this morning, ruthlessly dragging him down to execute another passionate round before showering. ( It's not like he's utterly against it? >__>)
' That completely unrestrained and over-vigor bastard, ' Leansei scolded him mentally, his face burning a bright shade of crimson as his fingers gripped the heavy leather strap of his carry bag tightly.
They had explicitly planned to keep their new relationship entirely lowkey, and Leansei had firmly instructed him to maintain a low-profile strategy to protect Kean's identity. But the low profile scattered into thin air the exact second he closed the car door.
But the low profile scatters immediately when standing a few feet apart near the edge of the parking space was a small cluster of fan girls. The female students were aggressively trading glances, clutching custom gifts and packed catering boxes inside their hands as they stared in absolute, pure shock.
"Why on earth did he just climb out of Xerchin's private car?" one whispered loudly.
"No shit... did they seriously came together to campus first thing in the morning?"
"Didn't Xerchin notoriously hate his absolute guts? Especially after—" She cut her own sentence short midway the exact microsecond she spotted Leansei looking directly back at their row.
Leansei let out a heavy sigh, marching straight past their whispers. His first plan to maintain a quiet profile had completely failed within the very first hour of the morning block. He hurried inside the main university building, his steps slowing down when his gray eyes spotted Corshe and Revin waiting near the central corridor intersection.
The moment Corshe spotted him, he waved his hand enthusiastically across the space. "Gawin! Over here!" Leansei walked toward their station, and Revin offered him a genuine, beautifully sweet smile. Both boys immediately darted their eyes down to inspect the prominent band-aid patch plastered over his bare neck, but they smoothly executed a protective strategy, deciding not to ask a single prying question about the patch to spare his shyness.
"How's your weekened, guys?" Leansei asked, fall into step beside them as they ambled down the hall toward their lectures.
"Incredibly good!" Corshe cheered in a lively, hyper tone.
"Surprisingly good," Revin stated flatly, his fingers rapidly typing a text log onto his smartphone.
"How about your own weekend, Kean?"
"Mmm..." Leansei's breath locked in his throat as his brain automatically rewinded the past forty-eight hours inside the isolated luxury villa. Every single memory asset that resurfaced was saturated with the heat of Xerchin's lips, their intimate bare bodies, sweet moments and those intensely erotic scenes on the bed. His cheeks began to redden fiercely under the hallway lights. "Good, I guess..."
Bzzzt.
His smartphone vibrated violently inside his trousers pocket, indicating an incoming text data packet. He pulled the device out, sliding the lock screen open to read the message
___
From: FELEAN
Stop texting my private line. Keep your disgusting, fake worries to your own self. Attempt to text my phone again and I will block your number entirely this time around.
(Sent 1 min ago)
___
Leansei let out a long, deeply troubled sigh through his teeth, the sibling malice tightening his throat as he shoved the device back inside his pockets. He adjusted his glasses, scanning the passing crowds as he noticed a critical vacancy in their circle. "Where is Xei?"
"We've been continuously calling his private line all morning, but his phone is completely dead, not answering a single ring," Corshe explained, waving his screen to display a massive log of unanswered dialed calls to the president.
Leansei glanced sideways at Revin, who merely mirrored the action, showing his own interface of unresponsive messages to Xeilin. "Mine too."
"That is remarkably new for his character..." Leansei murmured, his forehead knotting into a hard scowl of confusion. Xeilin was notoriously hyper-responsible regarding his council timeline metrics.
"Nothing happened to him right?" he murmured to himself.
Reaching the end of the central hallway, Corshe offered a quick wave of his hand to bid his goodbye, since his designated classroom wing was different from theirs. Revin and Leansei continued their route into their own lecture hall, but they came to a sudden halt near the back row. Revin's personal desk was completely smothered under a mountain of expensive imported drinks, custom snack boxes, and love letters left behind by various students.
Revin didn't change his expression for a single second, methodically sweeping the entire pile straight under his desk to clear the wood.
"They never get tired of executing these useless things," Revin muttered dryly, dropping onto his chair.
Leansei let out a soft, amused smile, having almost entirely forgotten the factual reality that Revin was also ranked as one of the single most popular, sought-after elites on the campus register. But Revin possessed absolutely zero care about high-society adoration, refusing to ever consume a single thing given to him by complete strangers.
The heavy entrance doors swung open, and the professor marched into the room, setting his books down to officially start the lesson blocks.
.
Several long hours of lectures passed by, the ticking clock bridging the gap toward the midday. The professor systematically gathered his arranged notebooks, checking the room before clearing his throat to address the students in a firm, commanding frequency.
"Alright, settle down, everyone," the instructor ordered, his voice echoing off the whiteboards. "I know for a fact that most of you probably already know this news or have been anxiously expecting the announcement. The administrative board has officially finalized our annual School Year Camp. Take one of these formal letters, ensure they are explicitly signed by your respective parents, and submit the paperwork back to my desk next meeting."
He distributed the thick stacks of papers to the front rows, the sheets rapidly passing back until a letter landed on Leansei's desk.
"Yes!!"
"Omg, I honestly cannot wait for the trip!"
"I know, right?? The cabins are supposed to be flawless!"
"I'm so incredibly excited for the outdoor event activities this term!"
The professor aggressively pounded his fist against the wooden podium twice to violently shatter their cheering and capture everyone's absolute attention. "Okay, listen. Enjoy your school camp milestones to the fullest, but ensure your minds stay ready to study for the mandatory final terms immediately after the camp wraps up. That is all the instructions for the afternoon. You are all dismissed." Without waiting for a single student reaction or complaint, the professor slung his bag over his shoulder and exited the room.
"ARGHH!"
"Nooooo, why did he have to mention the finals?!"
The entire classroom descended into a loud wave of complaints and groans. The students loudly began arranging their binders, some locking into clusters to gossip near their desks, while others marched out of the room toward the cafeteria. Leansei and Revin remained perfectly calm, quietly packing their notebooks into their bags.
"Are you guys on the student council going to be the ones handling the full logistics for the school camp this year?" Revin asked softly as they stood up from their chairs to head toward the corridor.
Leansei shook his head, slinging the leather strap over his shoulder. "The faculty board members explicitly want to handle the core personally this time around. Xeilin and the rest of our council officers are merely assigned to assist their stations." Revin offered a calm, compliant nod of understanding, choosing not to press for any further details as they stepped out into the busy hallway.
They reached the crowded cafeteria and immediately spotted Corshe waiting at their usual table, a massive spread of prepared lunch dishes already meticulously laid out across the surface. Leansei and Revin looked at him thoroughly confused, their eyes scanning the sheer volume and quality of the home-cooked food.
"Woah, did you seriously make all of this yourself?" Revin asked, impressed as he broke apart his chopsticks to eagerly taste one of the side dishes.
"I actually went back to my hometown over the weekend, and my grandma explicitly prepared that entire feast for him."
"Him?" Revin asked, tilting his head as his brow furrowed at the specific pronoun.
Corshe's face violently flushed a bright shade of crimson, and he frantically scrambled to retreat his words before his cover was blown. "I—I mean me! For me! Obviously."
Leansei let out a quiet chuckle, adjusting his glasses. "Well, please extend our gratitude to your grandmother. Thank you so much for the meal—" Before Leansei could even finish his sentence, the heavy scuffle of nearby footsteps cut him short as two people unceremoniously pulled out the empty chairs directly beside Leansei and beside Revin.
It was the Vcheroi brothers, their tall frames completely filling the space around the table. Xerchin took a seat beside Leansei and Beidhen did the same beside Revin.
"Wow, look at this absolute feast," Beidhen said smoothly, his eyes lighting up as his hand immediately snapped across the table to snatch a piece of the rolled omelet.
Smack!
Corshe immediately spanked the back of Beidhen's hand with absolute force, but the delinquent merely laughed, ruthlessly yanking his hand away anyway to pop the food straight into his mouth to chew.
"This food is absolutely not for you!—Don't you dare use your filthy bare hands on my grandma's cooking! Don't you even know the basic mechanics of how to use utensils??" Corshe ranted loudly, his posture turning rigid as he initiated his customary bickering all over again.
Sitting flush across from him, Revin merely curved his lips into a quiet, beautiful smile, peacefully eating his food while ignoring the chaos.
"Hey! My hands are perfectly, structurally clean!" Beidhen countered defensively, talking with his mouth full.
"He literally just walked straight over here from the bathroom," Xerchin added flatly, his deep baritone voice deadpan.
Hearing the confirmation, Corshe fumed in pure, unadulterated madness, his cheeks puffing out, while Revin burst into a clear laugh at the sight of the two idiots aggressively bickering with each other first thing in the afternoon.
' How ironic that before its Revin and Corshe were the only one bickering in the circle now Beidhen were doing all that work. '
Leansei's attention was violently drifted away from the argument when a large hand extended across his peripheral vision, gently placing a small, sealed tub of premium ice cream directly beside his plate.
"Is this... explicitly for me?" Lean asked softly, pointing his index finger to his own chest. Xerchin offered a slow, compliant nod of agreement, his light blue eyes locked onto his face with absolute warmth.
Leansei took the cold tub into his hands, his gray pupils widening behind his lenses when he read the label. It was his absolute favorite ice cream flavor profile. "How on earth did you manage to figure out that I liked this specific brand?"
"I just know," Xerchin murmured, his blue-tinted eyes flashing with a private, teasing glint that sent a sudden blush across Leansei's jawline. "Just ensure you eat it before it melt entirely."
"By the way, where exactly are our two local lovebirds hiding today?" Beidhen asked mid-bite, his eyes darting around the crowded cafeteria aisles.
Corshe let out an irritated pout, his anger redirecting. "Xeilin's line is still completely unreachable. His phone has been dead all morning." Revin nodded his head in silent agreement, his expression darkling.
' This is the absolute first time in our history that Xeilin has gone completely unreachable on a school day, ' Leansei's thoughts spun into a frantic, chaotic circle, his chest tightening as a sudden layer of anxiety suffocated his mind. The terrifying memories of his previous life's encounters with Master M black organization came roaring back to haunt his brain. ' What if those underground syndicates targeted his family? What if he's not... '
With his hands trembling violently under the table, Leansei frantically pulled out his smartphone and dialed Rell's private contact number. Xerchin instantly noticed his physical panic, his large, warm hand snapping beneath the table to firmly, gently squeeze Leansei's hand to stabilize his posture, while casting him a deeply worried look.
Several agonizing rings buzzed through the speaker before the connection was finally accepted.
[ Yeah? ] A heavy, deeply drowsy baritone voice mumbled through the line, the background completely quiet.
"R—Rell? Are you asleep right now?" Leansei asked rapidly.
[ Yeah...what is it? ]
"Are you... are you currently staying with Xeilin right now?? His phone is dead and he hasn't shown his face to a single lecture today. The entire council and us is deeply worried about his safety." The line went completely, heavily silent for a few long, agonizing seconds before Rell finally spoke again, his voice dropping into a calmer frequency.
[ He's with me. He probably can't make it to class today. ] Rell explained, his tone carrying a subtle, knowing depth that made Leansei let out a long, ragged sigh of profound relief.
"Is he... is he completely okay??"
[ Yeah, kean. Sorry for making you guys worry. He's safe and sound here. ]
Leansei nodded smoothly against the receiver, his racing heart rate finally stabilizing under the warmth of Xerchin's thumb rubbing his hand beneath the table. "Alright. I understand. I won't keep you awake any longer. Take proper care."
He slid the icon to end the voice call, lowering the device. The exact second the screen went dark, the rest of the table looked at him with curious, intensely concerned expressions, waiting for the update.
"They are currently staying together at his estate," Leansei announced to the group, his voice calm.
"The President is officially skipping his classes today."
"Wow, that is remarkably unlikely for a strict person like our President," Corshe noted, his jaw dropping in pure surprise.
"That's a relief. I thought something happened to him," Revin added, letting out a long breath as his shoulders dropped. "I genuinely thought something completely terrible had happened to him. "
The day went on as usual as they returned to their classes. By the end of the day, Xerchin waited for him and drove him back to his condo.
Xerchin rolled down the window. "I'll be going now," Leansei said as he leaned down toward the driver's seat window.
"Wait," Xerchin said. He climb out the driver seat and reach into the back seat, and Leansei's eyes widened when he pulled out a bouquet of flowers—a cute, sprinkling array of fresh tulips. His mouth fell open as he stared at the bouquet in his arms, then glanced back up at Xerchin, who was intently watching his expression.
"Wh—what's with the flowers? And how did you know I love tulips? How did you even get this? Tulips are a rare flower to see around here," Leansei said, showering him with simultaneous questions.
Xerchin laughed, affectionately messing up Leansei's hair before pulling him close to gently press a kiss against his forehead, leaving Lean completely startled.
"I told you, I'll give you flowers. I made a deal with a friend who owns a plantation. I'm glad you like them, Mooncalf," he said as he reached to close the car door. But before Xerchin could get inside the driver seat, Leansei impulsively pulled him back, stood on his tiptoes, and pressed a swift, sweet kiss on his lips before shyly shoving him back inside the car.
Xerchin chuckled as he buckled up. "I'll get going now," he said. Leansei nodded, cradling the bouquet in his arms as he waved his hand.
"Take care on the road." Leansei watched Xerchin drive away, his taillights flashing thrice in the distance. A beautiful smile curved onto Leansei's lips as he walked toward the condo lobby, deeply glowing while sniffing the fresh scent of the flowers.
' I never knew he could be this incredibly sweet. I genuinely thought he was entirely cold and distant. I guess you truly can't judge a book by its cover, ' his thoughts ran as he unlocked his condo door. Stepping across the threshold, he suddenly halted when his eyes spotted two pairs of heels sitting by the entryway.
"Perial is home? Did she bring a friend over?" Leansei muttered aloud. He placed the bouquet down on the counter, reached for a clean glass, and poured himself a measure of water.
He drank it down, but the exact second he turned around, he immediately choked and coughed hard in his throat. Standing in the center of his living room was the most unexpected, beautiful face he could ever imagine seeing.
"Uhh... a—are you okay??" a worried voice called out. Leansei coughed hard a few more times before staring at her with pure, wide-eyed confusion. It was Seleigh, dressed elegantly in her high-fashion luxury clothes.
"What exactly are you doing here?? No, more importantly, how did you even get inside—" He didn't manage to finish his sentence before the door to Perial's bedroom swung open. Perial herself walked out into the open space, holding a designer paper bag in her hand.
Perial instantly froze in her tracks when her eyes locked onto Leansei standing by the counter. Leansei's gaze darted back and forth between Seleigh and Perial with an absolute, indescribable expression.
"Kean?" Perial called out.
"Why is she... why are you two..." Perial uncomfortably rubbed the back of her neck, while Seleigh sat shyly and silently on the edge of the velvet sofa.
"She definitely did not sleep over here, okay??" Perial stated defensively, marching straight toward the living room table to place the paper bag down on the glass surface.
"That is... absolutely not what I am asking you about," Leansei countered flatly. "Do you two actually know each other??"
They answered at the exact same fraction of a second.
"No," Perial said in an ice-cold tone.
"Yes," Seleigh said at the same time, her eyes snapping over to look at Perial.
' What on earth is the exact truth here? And what is this intense tension between them? It looks exactly like they just had a massive fight, ' Leansei reasoned silently.
"Erm... I also didn't know that you two were close friends. It's a remarkably small world," Seleigh murmured with a fake, awkward chuckle as she stood up from the sofa. "Just like she said... I'm merely here to retrieve this." She reached down and snatched the paper bag from the table. "I'll leave now. Thank you... Perial. Kean, thank you as well, it was incredibly nice seeing your face again." She spoke in a low, heavy tone with sad eyes, before turning on her heel and walking out of the condo without waiting for a single response from either of them.
The entire room fell stone-quiet. Perial slowly sat back down on the sofa, closing her eyes tightly as she leaned her head against the cushions. She didn't look like her usual lively self at all; her features were visibly stressed and highly problematic.
"Are you okay?" Leansei asked gently, breaking the silence.
"Mm. Yeah, I am," Perial muttered, opening her eyes. She stood up and walked toward the kitchen island, her eyes catching the bright colors of the bouquet sitting on the counter. "Wow, look at those flowers—wait, you notoriously don't like tulips, right?"
' The real Kean definitely doesn't, but my soul absolutely does. How on earth did Xerchin even manage to figure that out? ' Leansei thought. He pulled the tulips out of their decorative wrapper, reaching into the lower cabinet drawer to retrieve a glass vase.
"I do now," Leansei replied smoothly.
"I see," she answered, her tone completely devoid of its usual emotion. She stood up to leave, but her boots halted midway across the floorboards.
"Do you... do you harbor any deep-seated hatred or resentment toward Seleigh? Like... the mere thought of her being officially bound as his fiancée?" Perial asked, her voice dropping into a curious, unusually firm register.
Leansei gathered the tulips-filled vase in his arms and shook his head. "She already explained the situation to my face, and Xerchin explicitly did the same before she could even get the chance." He walked past her shoulder, stopping right at the door frame of Kean's bedroom.
"But nothing changes the factual reality that they are still legally tied together by their families and are slated to be wed," Perial countered.
Leansei paused, turning his head back to look at her. "I have never once doubted Xerchin's genuine feelings for my soul not until his confession... Though it doesn't change the current reality that they are engaged, at least he is actively trying to fix it. Didn't Seleigh tell you anything about it?"
Perial looked at him, completely confused. "Tell me what?"
Leansei let out a quiet sigh. "She's going to personally talk to her father to convince him to end the corporate engagement contract entirely." Perial's jaw dropped, her eyes widening in pure shock. "Anyway, I'll head inside my room first. I have to travel out shortly; I'm going back to the Ferech estate for just a single day." He stepped across the threshold, leaving Perial completely speechless, her words dying cleanly in her throat.
Leansei carefully arranged the tulips inside the glass vase, positioning the flowers neatly near the window pane. He packed a few academic files into his carry bag and walked back out into the main living room area—but the entire condo was completely vacant. Perial's figure was nowhere to be found, and even her private bedroom door was left wide open and empty.
.
When Leansei arrived back at the Ferech estate, the expansive halls were seemingly quiet, heavy with an unsettling stillness. Felean was also completely nowhere to be found around the wing. He walked slowly along the corridor, his footsteps muffled by the thick rugs, but he abruptly stopped his pace when a familiar set of voices drifted straight from the cracked door of the study room. Moving on pure, silent instinct, he approached the threshold quietly, refusing to announce his presence as he peered through the narrow gap.
"Hon, don't you think we should try to arrange a family trip together soon?" Mrs. Ferech's voice murmured softly, laced with a gentle longing. "It has been an absolute eternity since we've last gone out to such an event."
Through the crack, Leansei could see Kean's father sitting rigidly at his heavy mahogany desk, his reading eyeglasses pushed up his nose as his eyes systematically scanned through a stack of corporate files. Mrs. Ferech stood directly behind his leather chair, her fingers methodically massaging his tense shoulders to ease the daily pressure.
"It is entirely too busy down at the company operations these days, honey," Mr. Ferech replied flatly, his baritone voice devoid of emotion. "I simply cannot afford to make time for a random trip right now. But summer break is rapidly drawing near; I suppose we can spend some dedicated time together then, since the schedule dictates we will be visiting your mother-in-law anyway, correct?"
Mrs. Ferech's features softened into a deeply sorrowful look, her hands slowing against his shoulders. "I'm just... I feel like we have been so profoundly neglectful with our own children, Kevan. We aren't giving them a single shred of the attention or care they desperately need that from us."
Mr. Ferech pulled off his eyeglasses, raising his hand to tiredly massage the bridge in between his eyes as a heavy sigh escaped his lips. He turned his chair around, placing his hands firmly over hers to face her directly. "They are currently in the exact right age bracket to be completely independent and learn to take care of themselves, hon. If we constantly baby their actions, how on earth do you expect them to grow on their own terms?"
Mrs. Ferech looked down at him with an expression of pure, unadulterated displeasure, pulling her hands away. "Don't you even get of what I am talking about?? We have been entirely neglectful to our sons ever since they were young children, Kevan! We were permanently busy, constantly flying out of the country, buried under endless business trips and executive meetings, to the point that..." Her voice cracked with an intense, raw wave of emotion. "...to the point that we don't even know a single fact about what is actually going on inside our own children's lives." She whirled her torso away, completely overcome by tears as she turned toward the dark corners of the study.
Mr. Ferech stood up from his chair, stepping closer to wrap his arms around her frame from behind to ground her posture. "Hey... okay, look, I get it, alright? But we explicitly executed those grueling hours to secure their financial future, and I am completely certain they recognize that fact." He murmured, trying his best to soothe her crying.
"Then explain to me why you have completely shut off Kean from your life," Mrs. Ferech demanded, her voice cutting through his comfort. Mr. Ferech halted his words instantly, his body locking up as his movements froze. Mrs. Ferech whirled back around to face him, her eyes bright and tearing heavily. "He is your biological child, Kevan! He is still so young and vulnerable, and he desperately needs his father to guide his steps."
"Don't you dare think I am not actively trying to—"
"You can't even bring yourself to talk to him normally, nor can you bond with his presence like you used to before!" She paused mid-sentence, a heavy, suffocating secret hanging in the air for a split second, before the words burst past her teeth. "Are you embarrassed of your own child, Kevan?? Do you despise his very soul??"
"Yelena, cease this line of questioning..."
"Do you hate his existence?? Do you genuinely think he is an absolute failure?? Are you completely disappointed in him—"
"Yelena!" Mr. Ferech yelled fiercely, the sudden roar violently shattering the silence of the room, making Mrs. Ferech halt her words in pure shock. "Yes! In terms of factual record, I absolutely do!" he confessed loudly, his breathing ragged as he whirled his body away to stare out the wide window glass with a complex, completely indescribable expression. "He completely ruined our entire family's corporate image because of what he maliciously did to Mr. Xin's son! I think that action was an unforgivable mistake, and it is a total failure—"
Leansei absolutely did not want to hear a single syllable more of the venomous verdict. He whirled on his heel, passing through the quiet hallway corridors as fast as his legs could carry him until he reached Kean's private quarters. He slammed the heavy bedroom door shut, leaning his back flat against the vertical wood panels to catch his breath.
He was not the real Kean, and Mr. Kevin Ferech was not his biological father, but Leansei could still feel the raw, devastating hurt of hearing those cutting labels from a parent.
To hear the words "mistake" and "failure" weaponized against a son who had nearly lost his life was an absolute boundary of high-society cruelty that made his blood run cold. He stared blankly into the dark, empty space of his bedroom, his fingers tightening like a vice around his chest.
"How on earth do I even begin to fix a ruin like this?" he whispered to the silence.
Leansei put down his leather carry bag and quickly changed out of his rigid uniform into comfortable indoor clothes. The exact microsecond he finished doing so, a soft, deliberate knock rattled against the wooden panel of his door. He walked smoothly towards it, and when he swung it open, he found Mrs. Ferech standing under the dim hallway lights, holding a glass of warm milk in her hand.
"M—Mom?" Leansei murmured, his voice laced with quiet confusion.
"The head maiden mentioned that you arrived back at the estate quite late and entirely unannounced, sweetheart," she said gently, stepping across the threshold. "You should have at least greeted me and your father before retreating to your quarters." She walked over to the nightstand, carefully setting the glass down on the polished wood.
Leansei sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck, keeping his gaze detached. "Uh... I simply assumed the two of you were entirely too busy or already fast asleep. I really didn't want to bother anyone tonight."
Mrs. Ferech looked at him with an absolute, profound softness. She reached out, tenderly taking both of his hands within her own warm palms as she guided him to sit beside her on the edge of the mattress. "Darling, you are never a bother to this family."
Leansei lowered his head, his gray pupils staring blankly at the floor panels as the cutting words of their father's earlier conversation echoed painfully behind his lenses. Mrs. Ferech tightly squeezed his hands, comforting his posture. "Look... I know for a fact that you think your father is treating your presence with an ice-cold indifference right now—" She paused for a brief second, delicately caressing his fingers. "He just... he merely has his own complex, rigid ways of executing parenting. And the truth is, parents make massive mistakes sometimes too." She reached up, her thumb softly rubbing against his cheekbone.
"Your father grew up inside an exceptionally stringent, old-fashioned family structure, Kean. Please try your absolute best to understand his background, and just grant him a little more time to adjust his own deep-seated beliefs and traditional principles," she requested in a calm, soothing tone.
Leansei looked down entirely, utterly out of words, completely unable to gather a single syllable to respond to her plea.
"Darling, please look directly at me," she crooned beautifully. Leansei slowly, carefully lifted his face to meet her gaze. She gently cradled his cheeks with an unshielded, fiercely protective motherly stance. "Whatever you choose to be in this life, and whatever path you will follow... whoever your heart likes or whoever it is you choose to love... you will permanently, always be our precious son. You will always be fiercely loved by us, and we will happily accept your truth no matter what happens down the road. Because you are our son, and absolutely nothing in this entire world could ever change that."
Leansei stared back at her, a sudden, powerful wave of emotion making his gray eyes well up with tears. He felt a deep, piercing ache strike his ribs—because he recognized that these exact, beautiful words were everything his real soul had desperately wanted to hear from his own biological family back home, yet never received.
He couldn't help but feel a poignant, breathtaking warmth touch his heart, bringing him to the dangerous verge of crying. Mrs. Ferech immediately pulled his frame forward into a tight, secure, and incredibly warm hug, her palm rhythmically rubbing his back to ground his trembling posture. Overwhelmed by the raw affection of the moment, Leansei couldn't help but lock his arms around her shoulder, hugging her back tightly.
Through the slightly creaked-open gap of the bedroom door, Mr. Ferech stood solitary in the shadows of the hallway, quietly witnessing the entire scene. His light brown eyes softened with an unreadable, heavy expression before he slowly lowered his head, turning on his heel to walk silently back down the corridor.
"I know, sweetheart... I know," Mrs. Ferech cried softly against his shoulder, her voice shaking. "We are both so incredibly, deeply sorry for being so neglectful with your well-being and your brother's life for all these years." Leansei couldn't find the strength to execute a defense, silently weeping into her shoulder as the parental guilt washed over them.
When they both eventually calmed down, Mrs. Ferech broke the tight embrace, raising her hands to delicate wipe the remaining tears from her own cheeks. "The clock is getting remarkably late, and you still have mandatory classes to attend tomorrow morning. I manually made this warm milk for your system; make sure you drink the entire glass down before going to bed." She offered a sweet smile, turning her body to walk toward the exit threshold.
"Yes, M—Mom," Leansei answered softly. But before her feet could cross past the frame, he checked his movements, calling out to her one final time. "Mom? Thank you for everything. But... I desperately want you to know that I am still profoundly grateful that you and Father are my parents."
Mrs. Ferech halted her steps, turning her head back around with her eyes immediately welling up with a fresh layer of tears. "Oh, look at you... you are stubbornly trying to make me cry all over again, aren't you?!"
Leansei let out a quiet, genuine chuckle through his lenses, his shyness easing. "I just really wanted the two of you to know how lucky we truly are to have you and Father in our lives."
Mrs. Ferech smiled at his face sweetly, her expression full of absolute peace. "Your father and I are just as much incredibly lucky to have your presence and your brother as our sons. Now, go straight to sleep, darling. Your body needs the rest. Goodnight, sweetheart."
Leansei smiled warmly, offering a final, respectful nod. "Goodnight, M—Mom."
The exact second the door clicked shut and she left the perimeter, Leansei turned his body toward the nightstand. He looked down at the glass of warm milk, his fingers wrapping around the glass. Even though his biological system notoriously didn't enjoy drinking milk at night, he raised the glass to his lips and drank every single drop until it was completely empty.
' The real Kean was truly, profoundly lucky to have these kinds of parents... alive, present, and actively owning up to their past mistakes, ' his thoughts ran in a quiet, analytical circle as he wiped his mouth.
But as the emotional warmth of the embrace slowly began to recede, his sharp mind went straight back to Felean's crisis. He recalled the frantic, trembling panic written across his twin's face during that dark confrontation near the acquaintance party back exit, the terrifying puzzle pieces of the beginning to realign against his thoughts.
He stood up on his feet, guided by a restless intuition, and walked down the quiet corridor to Felean's room. He knocked once, but only silence answered. He knocked twice, yet there was still absolutely zero response from the other side. His fingers reached down and turned the metallic handle, surprised to find the mechanism entirely unlocked. He slowly pushed the heavy door open, and the dim, suffocating darkness was the very first thing that met his gaze. The room was an absolute disaster; personal belongings, clothes, and loose papers were frantically scattered across the entire expanse of the floor.
His forehead knotted into a hard scowl of confusion as he stepped fully inside the threshold. His eyes quickly spotted the silhouette of a figure lying perfectly still across the mattress. Leansei walked towards the bed, reaching out to retrieve a thick quilt to cover his Kean brother's frame, but his movement froze mid-air when his gaze involuntarily wandered over the surface of the bedside desk. His breath locked sharply in his throat.
There was a massive, terrifying arrangement of prescription medical bottles left wide open, with chemical pills and capsules scattered across the desk and spilling straight onto the floorboards.
Leansei's chest tightened violently, a sudden wave of pure panic making his hands tremble as he looked back down at Felean's unmoving, unconscious body. He immediately rushed to his side, his hands clamping around his brother's shoulders to aggressively shake him, desperately hoping his twin was merely trapped in a deep sleep.
He immediately yanked the quilt away, a move him to his side. "Fe—Felean... wake up right now—" But there was no movement. Trembling with fear, Leansei sought any sign of life, checking for respiration and a pulse. Both were faint and weak. "N—no... please, Felean, no!" Leansei cried out, his voice cracking with terror. He frantically searched the surrounding area for a phone to call for an emergency ambulance, but found nothing within reach. In complete panic, so he called out as loudly on top of his lungs as he could for help.
"HELP!!! MOM!! FATHER!! ANYONE, HELP!!!" The bedroom door was opened a moment later. Mr. and Mrs. Ferech entered immediately, their features instantly showing deep concern and worry. Mrs. Ferech hurried to the bedside, visibly shaken.
"W—what happened?! KEVAN! CALL AN AMBULANCE IMMEDIATELY!!!" Mrs. Ferech said urgently to her husband, trying desperately to rouse her son. She tremblingly look for sign of life. "Felean, sweetheart... please, wake up." Her voice cracked and tears flowing down. She rapidly goes on top of Felean to start the CPR.
Mr. Ferech immediately contacted emergency services. Meanwhile, Leansei stood completely frozen, paralyzed as if the entire world had slowed down around him. He watched the frantic efforts to help his brother, his father speaking urgently into the phone, and members of the household gathering near the doorway in distress.
Leansei's own breathing became restricted, and his chest felt incredibly tight. His vision blurred, and he took his eyeglasses off, gasping for air as a severe panic attack overtook him.
It was the exact, tragic scenario he had tried so hard to bury in his past—the one event he never wanted to witness again.