Chapter 30
The tension that had been crackling in the VIP room followed them out into the night air, cold and biting against Haru's exposed skin. The silence of the parking lot was a sharp contrast to the hedonistic roar they had just left behind.
Raiven watched the man in front of him with a mix of frustration and a new, unsettling fascination. Inside, he had seen a side of Haru he hadn't expected,a streak of darkness, a willingness to play the "game" himself. He had watched Haru straddle Juno, watched him offer his neck to a stranger's mouth, all while holding Raiven's gaze with a look that said I know you're watching. It was a power move, and it had worked. There was a jagged darkness in Haru, too,a capability for provocation that Raiven hadn't expected. It was intoxicating.
The timer on the table let out a sharp ring just as Juno hand began to wander dangerously low, gripping Haru's waist with a desperate, white-knuckled hunger. Juno was clearly far from finished, but Haru's hand clamped over his wrist with surprising strength, stopping him dead.
As Haru stood up, Juno looked as though the very oxygen had been sucked out of the room. He stared up at Haru, his eyes filled with a sudden, sharp possession. Raiven saw it--the predatory flash in Juno's gaze as Haru sat back down and reached for another drink. A strange, tight knot formed in Raiven's chest.
Hae-rin, who had stepped out to take a call, slipped back into the room looking uneasy. She leaned over to Raiven. "My girlfriend is spiraling. I have to go home."
"Go," Raiven said simply.
"What about Haru?" she asked, her eyes darting to where Haru was swaying slightly. She had stayed sober specifically to drive him, but the situation had changed.
"I'm not drinking tonight," Raiven told her, his voice steady.
Hae-rin's eyebrows shot up. Raiven, the king of blackout venting, was staying sober? "There's a first time for everything, I guess," she muttered. Her phone buzzed again, a frantic vibration. She let out a sigh, gave Raiven a quick peck on the cheek, and gestured toward Haru. "Take care of him. Please."
Raiven watched her disappear through the heavy doors. He wanted to say something he bit his tongue and held back.
The final round of the Viper's Path began. The room held its breath as Haru reached out and tipped over the glass. Viper.
A heavy silence fell. The question came from Ravi, his smile twisting into something sinister. "Would you like to join us at the Aquarium?"
Haru furrowed his brow, the alcohol making the words lag in his brain. The Aquarium? It sounded like a simple invitation.
The "Aquarium" invitation from Ravi had been the final straw. It wasn't a simple outing; it was an invitation to the deeper, darker underbelly of their social circle—a place where boundaries didn't exist. Raiven had snatched the drink and downed it not to save the game, but to end it. He slammed the glass back onto the table. He let out a slow, sharp breath and glared at Ravi, whose smirk didn't waver.
Juno sneered at the intrusion, his jaw tight, but nobody dared challenge Raiven openly.
"Why did you -" Haru started, his voice thick, but Raiven didn't let him finish.
"It's time to go home," Raiven said, his fingers locking around Haru's arm. He hauled him up onto his wobbly feet.
"But the game…" Haru slurred, his head spinning.
"Is over."
Raiven dragged him through the VIP lounge and down the stairs, ignoring the whispers of the elite crowd. He didn't stop until they reached the gravel parking lot. The night air was biting, and Raiven's anger was palpable in every stride.
Now, standing by the car, the adrenaline was fading, leaving only the raw, jagged edges of their unresolved fight.
"Do I look like some k-drama female lead?" Haru snapped, his voice slurred but sharp. He swayed slightly on his feet, his hand gripping the car door for balance. "Why are you dragging me around?"
Raiven let out a weary sigh, the anger leaving him as he looked at Haru's flushed face. "I'm taking you home."
"I'll take an Uber," Haru countered, spinning around with a stubbornness that would have been comical if he weren't so clearly upset. He began marching toward the main gate, his boots against the asphalt.
"Don't be an idiot, Haru. We're in the middle of nowhere," Raiven called out, leaning against the car with his arms crossed.
Haru stopped and whipped out his phone, his thumb stabbing at the screen. "Se-hee said I could call one from an app," he muttered, his frustration mounting as the bars on his signal remained at zero. He let out a low growl, shaking the phone as if that would force a connection.
"The reception is jammed here," Raiven said calmly, watching the younger man's shoulders slump.
Haru stomped back toward the car, his anger fueled by the alcohol still swirling in his system. "You couldn't have told me that before I walked half a mile?"
"I did ask you to get in the car."
"I won't. Where's Hae-rin?"
"She left. Her girlfriend called."
Haru let out a long, shaky breath, looking away toward the dark treeline. The embarrassment of what he had done inside was finally catching up to him. He had kissed a man,initiated it, even,and he had done it specifically to provoke the man standing three feet away from him. He felt exposed, not just because of the crop top, but because his own complicated desires.
"I won't get in a car with someone who doesn't trust me," Haru said, his voice dropping to a whisper, thick with a hurt that went deeper than just their argument.
The air shifted. Raiven straightened up, the cold mask of the idol finally slipping. He looked at Haru,really looked at him ,and saw the tremor in his hands and the slight quiver of his lip.
"I do trust you," Raiven admitted, his voice so low it was almost swallowed by the wind.
"Then why?" Haru's eyes snapped to his, glassier than before. "How could you think I would use you? Do I really look that untrustworthy to you?"
The questions were a barrage of the insecurities Haru had been bottling up since he woke up in this era. He had taken every change, every technology, and every loss of his former life as a "challenge," but tonight, the dam was breaking. He felt untethered, drifting in a century that didn't belong to him, clinging to something that felt like it was made of glass.
Suddenly, the cold was gone.
Raiven stepped forward and pulled Haru into a firm, grounding embrace. He wrapped his arms around Haru's frame, his warmth seeping through the thin fabric of the black shirt. Haru froze for a second before his eyes fluttered shut, his forehead coming to rest on Raiven's shoulder. He breathed in the familiar scent of Raiven's cologne,cedar, and something sharp, but sweet
"I'm sorry," Raiven whispered into his ear, his voice raw and genuine.
He realized now that his outburst at the apartment hadn't been about the viral photos. It had been about fear. He had been terrified by how quickly Haru had become essential to him, so he had manufactured a lie to push him away before the fall could hurt, before he got too attached. But Haru hadn't stayed away. He was too stubborn to let go.
Raiven tightened his grip, feeling Haru finally relax against him. He wondered why this man, who could have anyone in that room, was standing here in the cold with him.
Why won't you just let me go? Raiven thought, but as he felt Haru's steady heartbeat against his own, he knew he didn't actually want to know the answer. He just wanted to hold onto this moment longer.