Neo searched his memory, trying to recall where he had heard that name before. He couldn't. He was certain he didn't know who Helios was.
Why then was his contact info saved on the terminal?
Neo left the room and strolled outside to ask Bryce. The latter had been sitting in the living room with a glum expression on his face. When he saw Neo coming towards him, a glimmer appeared in his eyes.
"Who is Helios Callum?" Neo was straightforward in his inquiry.
A puzzled expression rested on Bryce's features for a couple of seconds before he blinked and gave out an answer.
"He's your third sync partner."
Third.
Third sync partner.
There was still another one?!
Neo didn't even know how to react.
All this while, he had been dealing with Bryce and Armin, believing that they were rather too much to handle, now he was finding out that there was another sync partner to be added among the ranks!
How utterly unfortunate was this situation?
"Senior, since you woke up that guy hasn't even come to see you or ask about you," Bryce spoke in hushed whispers like he was about to reveal a secret.
He stood up from the chair and leaned forward.
"That guy doesn't care about you. He's very stubborn and reckless, not the type of person that Senior should associate himself with. I suggest Senior doesn't bother about him." Bryce said.
"Focus on me alone. I'm the only one among your sync partners who truly cares about you." He added.
Neo was sure that Bryce was trying to make the others look bad while polishing himself as the best. Bryce was really just a kid, his immaturity couldn't be hidden by his odd personality.
"I see…" Neo said, resisting the urge to say anything else.
And like that wasn't enough, Bryce continued to badmouth Helios. "Senior doesn't know this, but that guy was forced into becoming a hunter. His real talent lies in being a street thug."
Neo's face was tinged with confusion. What did being forced to be a hunter mean?
There was definitely a story behind those words but Bryce wasn't going to tell it. After dropping such a bomb, he decided to zip his mouth shut about the matter.
"Senior, are you hungry? Should I make something for you to eat? Would you like cookies?"
That was how Bryce's glum mood vanished as he returned to his usual self.
"Or do you want ice cream? I've always liked ice cream, especially strawberry-flavored ones. Though I don't even like strawberries. What's your favorite fruit, Senior?"
Neo had some regret in his heart for taking the initiative to talk to Bryce and bring him out of his dull state. But he had no choice but to endure it.
Neo comforted himself with the fact that once it was time for the academy to resume, he would finally get some breathing space away from Bryce.
•••
Neo was wrong.
The past few days, Bryce didn't leave his side. And today, he stuck even closer to his side.
In the morning, they both left the house with their things to move into the academy dorm that was prearranged for them.
There were separate dormitories for female/male omegas and female/male alphas. There was also a joint dorm for bonded sync partners.
Neo agreed to stay in the male omega dorm because it would be away from Bryce. However, after settling into his dorm room when Bryce came looking for him, he discovered they had exactly the same schedule and shared every single class.
"I didn't want you to feel lonely so I asked the president to put us in the same classes. This way, I can also protect you, can't I?" Bryce said with pink cheeks.
Neo inhaled air for the longest time before exhaling. It was all to compose and restrain himself from doing anything harmful to Bryce.
"Why is Senior so quiet? Don't you like your room? Do you want to move in with me? Do you miss me? I missed you. My room feels empty without you…"
Bryce continued to drone on and on, so Neo had to shut off his ears from listening.
On cue, his terminal buzzed. Neo received a text message from his nephew, Tyrese.
Ever since he started using his terminal, he had been keeping a decent line of communication with his family, especially Tyrese. Now that they were both attending the same academy, it was his duty to protect and guide his omega nephew.
[Where are you, uncle? I just settled in. I want to see you! 〜(꒪꒳꒪)〜] - Tyrese.
Neo was not very fond of Tyrese's communication skills and was never able to understand the emojis and emotions he sent. So there was a small frown on his face as he responded to the text with his current location.
"... Senior, you aren't paying attention to me. Who are you texting? Let me see." Bryce poked his head into Neo's personal space to look at the screen of the terminal.
"Give me some space." Neo tried to push Bryce away, but was unable to.
It was only when Bryce had read the full exchange of messages that he relaxed a little and said breezily, "Oh. It's my future nephew-in-law."
Neo scowled. "Who's your future in-law?"
"The family of my future wife, of course." Bryce blushed with raised shoulders. Neo's scowling deepened. "Then the family of my future husband? I'll be the wife." Bryce suggested.
Neo's facial muscles relaxed as he let out a sigh of resignation, sick of Bryce's behavior.
"Just don't say nonsense like this in front of Tyrese. I don't want him to be influenced by you." Neo said to Bryce with a serious tone.
Bryce only nodded, whether he understood or not, Neo didn't know.
While they waited for Tyrese outside the male omega dorm, several people blatantly stared and whispered about the two of them.
They all did this from afar, never coming close.
Neo was used to being revered by people, but he didn't pick up reverence in their eyes. It was more along the line of fear. And when Neo observed more, he realized that the fear was not drawn from his existence.
Suddenly, a coquettish male voice called out his name, disrupting his thoughts.
"Uncle Neo!!"
Neo turned around to see a youth rushing towards him. Before he could assess the features of the boy, he was engulfed in a tight hug.