Leansei immediately looked down, his eyes locked onto the steel counter as he forced his voice to remain steady. "I'll order the omelette instead."
Tael sharply snapped out of his daze, his chest rising and falling as he carefully placed the fresh omelette onto the tray. "E-eat well," Tael said, forcing a gentle, reassuring smile onto his face that didn't quite reach his eyes.
Corshe's brow furrowed with deep concern as he looked at Leansei's pale face. Sensing the heavy, suffocating tension, Leansei quickly lifted the two trays, and together with Corshe, he walked away from the serving line and navigated the crowded aisles toward their table.
When they arrived, Xeilin and Revin seemed to be getting along remarkably well, leaning in close and quietly discussing something private. They snapped their heads up, glancing first at Corshe, who wore a completely unexplainable expression, and then at Leansei, who was still entirely dazed, his thoughts spinning in absolute chaos.
' Why on earth is he here? ' Leansei thought, staring blankly ahead. ' The owner valued his restaurant more than anything else in the world. He would never just pack up and leave it behind. '
"Leansei!" Lean flinched violently, snapping back to reality. He hadn't realized he was in such a deep, suffocating train of thought that he completely missed what they were saying or why they were calling his name.
"W-what is it?" Leansei asked, his voice shaking slightly as he glanced at the three boys, who were all staring at him with deeply concerned faces.
"Are you completely okay?" Revin asked, his tone laced with immediate worry.
Leansei offered a stiff nod, quickly scooping a portion of rice onto his spoon to look busy.
"Do you happen to know him by any chance?" Xeilin asked quietly.
Leansei stopped mid-movement, forcing himself to shake his head. "No. I think I might have just mistaken him for someone else," he lied, giving them a disciplined, assured look to ease their anxiety. "Let's just eat before the food gets entirely cold."
The three of them exchanged a lingering, doubtful glance before looking back down at their plates and beginning to eat.
It took only a few minutes for them to finish their lunch trays. Needing to shake off the heavy mood, they spent the rest of the break walking around the long campus halls, talking and laughing a lot as the tension slowly melted away.
But their peaceful pace came to a grinding halt when someone abruptly stepped into the center of the corridor, blocking their path.
The smiles vanished from their faces in an instant. The group glanced at the stranger, and then their eyes collectively shifted toward Leansei. Lean stared directly ahead, his stomach dropping as he looked at Tyvan standing before them.
"Tyvan? What are you even doing here?" Leansei asked, his voice tight. Tyvan's department building was located far across campus, nowhere near this science hall.
"I absolutely have to talk to you," Tyvan said, his face frozen in a dead-serious expression.
Leansei turned to his friends, offering them a quiet, reassuring nod. "I'll see you guys later."
Corshe and Xeilin traded a tense look, glancing between Leansei and Tyvan for a brief second before slowly walking away down the hall. Revin, however, didn't budge. He stood his ground, his posture rigid and his face completely serious.
"Didn't you hear exactly what he just said?" Tyvan hissed, his eyes narrowing as he glared directly at Revin.
"I don't trust you," Revin fired back, his voice dropping into a cold, unyielding register.
Tyvan's jaw clenched in sheer annoyance, thoroughly displeased by the protective way this guy was acting toward Leansei. "We were close friends long before you ever even met him," Tyvan said, his tone turning sharp and serious. "That's exactly what you need to understand."
Leansei let out a deep, heavy sigh, turning his head to look at Revin with an assured, calm face. "I'll be perfectly fine, Revin. I'll catch up with you guys in a little bit," Leansei said, letting a slight, gentle smile touch his lips. Revin desperately wanted to defy the order, his eyes flashing with hesitation, but he found himself utterly unable to disobey or disappoint the kind smile Lean was offering him.
Giving Tyvan one final, warnings-filled glare, Revin turned on his heel and walked away to join the others.
Before Leansei could even utter a single word, Tyvan reached out, grabbed his arm, and forcefully pulled him down the corridor, exiting out through a side door to the quiet area right at the back of the building. The frantic noise of the campus vanished, replaced entirely by the rhythmic swaying of the giant branches overhead and the dry scraping of rusty autumn leaves blowing across the grass.
The midday sunlight was completely blocked out by the massive canopy of the tree, casting them into deep, cool shadows. The rich scent of damp green grass and falling leaves swirled around them, making Leansei feel profoundly discomfited.
"Why exactly are you avoiding me?" Tyvan asked suddenly.
Leansei looked at him, catching the heavy, dismal mood darkling Tyvan's features. The wind whirled through Tyvan's hair, catching the sharp angles of his face. His broad, athletic build and handsome looks were undeniable; Leansei found himself realizing that even after parting ways for years, Tyvan hadn't changed at all but his baritone voice had grown even deeper, and his sense of fashion remained exceptionally sharp.
"Am I avoiding you?" Leansei countered dryly, shifting his weight as he looked around the empty courtyard. He kept his eyes carefully detached, letting his dissatisfaction show. "I've just been incredibly busy these past few days. Why did you call me out here for anyway?"
"You've changed so much... you act exactly like someone... someone I used to know," Tyvan murmured softly. He took a slow step forward, lifting his right hand toward Leansei's face, his fingers extending as if he desperately wanted to cradle Lean's cheek—the exact way Tyvan used to hold Leansei years ago before everything shattered.
Leansei's eyes widened, and he immediately took a sharp step backward.
The rejection made Tyvan freeze mid-motion, his expression fracturing as he slowly dropped his hand back to his side. "We never used to be like this," Tyvan whispered, his voice cracking with a mix of hurt and frustration. "What on earth made you change so completely?"
"I've always been exactly like this," Leansei stated coldly. He glanced down at his watch, noting that the lunch break was rapidly drawing to a close. "We should probably head back to class."
He turned on his heel to leave, but before he could take a single step, Tyvan's hand snapped out, firmly locking around Leansei's wrist to halt his retreat.
Leansei froze, his heart hammering violently against his ribs. Standing trapped in the shadow of the giant tree, he honestly didn't know how to act around Tyvan anymore; his mind was a chaotic mess, unable to figure out if he was still deeply mad at the boy for the way he had brutally shut him off, turned his back, and abandoned him on that freezing, cold day when he had needed him the most.
' I can't just cut my connection with him since this body doesn't belong to me at all, ' Leansei reminded himself fiercely, his mind racing to find a compromise. ' I don't want to ruin the relationship between Kean and Tyvan since it seems like it was too special. '
"You're not fond of me anymore? What exactly made you change?" Tyvan asked, his voice saturated with deep confusion and a thoroughly displeased look clouding his handsome face.
Leansei stood entirely frozen, utterly unable to say a single word. He couldn't just explain that he was deeply uncomfortable with the proximity because he wasn't actually Kean—he was Leansei, the very boy Tyvan had brutally abandoned on a freezing, rain-slicked pavement a few years back.
"Don't tell me it's because of him?" Tyvan said suddenly. The confusion in his voice withered away, replaced instantly by the defensive, disbelieving tone of a jerk.
Leansei's breath hitched as a sickening wave of familiarity washed over him. It was the exact same treatment from back then. The moment he had tried to confront Tyvan in their past life, the boy had instantly flipped a switch, changing his attitude and turning cold. Leansei clenched his hands into tight fists, feeling a phantom pin pierce straight through his heart. The brutal truth settled over him: he wasn't fully healed from the agonizing pain he had suffered before, nor had he ever truly moved on. He was still haunted by the fact that he never got to know the real reason why Tyvan had shut him off with just a snap of the fingers.
"So it's really because of that bastard?" Leansei glanced up at Tyvan, his forehead knotting into a hard, defensive frown. He couldn't figure out why Tyvan was behaving in such a haughty, possessive manner over a body that wasn't even his to claim.
"I don't have a single clue what you're talking about. Let me go," Leansei demanded, his voice tight as he desperately tried to mask away the terrible, intrusive memories creeping up from the back of his head.
But Tyvan refused to budge. He held on tightly to Leansei's wrist, using his strength to aggressively pull Lean closer to his chest. "Tell me, is it because of him?!"
Leansei flinched violently as Tyvan's tremendous, suffocating aura flared up, entirely pinning him down. Driven by pure panic, Leansei channeled every ounce of strength he possessed into his arm, forcefully shoving Tyvan's hand aside and scrambling backward to create a safe distance. Lean glared at Tyvan with absolute defiance, his breathing ragged as he reached down to gently crease his own reddening wrist.
Seeing the raw, physical mark of his grip, Tyvan's aggressive facade crumbled into a deeply apologetic, fractured expression. "I—I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have done that with you... especially when you can't remember me at all or what we've gone through together." Leansei sharply looked away toward the brick wall, unable to stomach the genuine, rueful look on Tyvan's face.
"I don't ever want you to treat me like that again," Leansei stated, his voice flat and unyielding. "I'll let it go for this one time, but the exact second you try something like this again, I won't let it pass."
He turned around to march away, but before he took a single step, he paused, tossing a final, cold remark over his shoulder. "And if you're talking about Xerchin... he has a fiancée. So it's absolutely nothing like whatever it is you're thinking."
Leansei hurried around the corner of the brick building, but his feet came to a sudden halt.
Tael was standing right there in the shadow of the giant tree, his own footsteps freezing the exact microsecond their eyes locked. The man was still wearing his crisp white chef's apron, holding a few heavy black plastic trash bags in his large hands.
Panicking, Leansei instinctively hid his bruised hand behind his back and tried to quickly walk past him to avoid another interaction.
"Hey..." The quiet, familiar call made Leansei stop dead in his tracks. He slowly turned his head to glance at him. "Are you okay?" Tael asked softly, his light brown eyes scanning Leansei's pale face with intense scrutiny.
Leansei looked down at the grass, a sudden lump forming in his throat. It was completely overwhelming; the protective, gentle way the restaurant owner treated him hadn't changed a single bit, despite the fact that he was trapped in an entirely different body.
Forcing a stiff nod, Leansei swallowed hard. "I... I should probably go back to class now. Thank you so much for the concern." He walked away as fast as his legs could carry him, his fingers mindlessly creasing his throbbing, reddening wrist to soothe the dull ache. His mind was entirely preoccupied by the chaotic events of the lunch break, his eyes glued to his bruised skin, leaving him completely blind to the hallway ahead.
Oof!
Leansei collided hard against a solid chest, his balance fracturing as he stumbled back. "I-I'm so sorry—"
The apology died in his throat. The exact microsecond he looked up, a familiar, high-end perfume, the distinct aura of an elite athlete, and a massive, suffocating presence flooded his senses.
' Damn it. I was planning to avoid him all week, ' Leansei wailed silently in his mind, absolute dread locking his joints. ' What a thoroughly unfortunate situation. No... today is just an entirely unfortunate day. '
Desperate to escape, Leansei tried to sidestep the towering figure and walk away, but Xerchin's hand immediately moved to intercept him. Xerchin was about to firmly grasp his hand to pull him back, but the moment his eyes dropped to Leansei's exposed arm, he froze.
Sitting stark against the pale skin of Leansei's wrist was a dark, distinct, and unusually angry red mark left by Tyvan's tight grip. Xerchin's unbothered poker face shattered, his jaw clenching as a dangerous, freezing aura instantly rolled off his shoulders.
Xerchin knotted his forehead, a sharp crease cutting between his brows as he abruptly withdrew his hand. Before Leansei could capitalize on the sudden space and run, Xerchin stepped sideways, hurriedly shifting his large frame to completely block the corridor.
Leansei marched right forward, his forehead slamming squarely into Xerchin's solid chest for the second time in less than a minute. Lean glared upward, aggressively rubbing his redden brow, but the moment his vision cleared, he sharply diverted his eyes toward the linoleum floor.
"Are you ok— What on earth is with you, Mooncalf?" Xerchin asked, his deep baritone dropping into a quiet, intense register.
Leansei utterly couldn't bring himself to look into those piercing eyes. His heart was throbbing unnaturally against his ribs, a frantic, chaotic rhythm that spiked the exact microsecond he heard the boy's voice or felt his overwhelming physical presence.
"Wh-what do you want from me?" Leansei demanded, desperately forcing a layer of artificial confidence into his voice to mask the deafening hammer behind his chest.
"May I hold your other hand?" Xerchin asked suddenly. Leansei's breath caught, and he snapped his head back up, his eyes widening as a breathless, dark crimson flush stained his cheeks a heavy crimson. He stood completely stunned and profoundly confused.
' H-how bold is he to just look at someone and ask a question like that?! ' Leansei's mind spiraled into a defensive panic. ' And what exactly does he plan to do with my hand anyway?! '
Yet, despite the loud warnings screaming in his head, Leansei didn't hesitate. He slowly reached out, offering his uninjured hand toward the towering athlete. Xerchin looked down at the pale fingers, reaching out to grasp them with utmost delicacy. He held Leansei's hand gently, wrapping his large, calloused fingers around it as if it were a fragile piece of porcelain that was entirely too precious to hold.
The physical contact shattered Leansei's remaining focus. His heart began beating so violently he genuinely feared it might bounce right out of his chest cavity. Looking down at their joined hands, the sheer intensity of the touch caused his face to blush like a smashed tomato. Paralyzed by the overwhelming sensation, he simply let Xerchin drag him down the hallway, completely abandoning any attempt to resist as he was led toward an unknown destination.
Xerchin reached the end of the hall, swinging open a heavy door. Inside, Doctor Lin looked up from her medical desk, her eyes widening slightly as she took in the sight of the two boys.
Leansei blinked, finally registering his surroundings. Confusion washed over him as he realized they were standing in the center of the campus clinic. He glanced down at his side, his eyes locking onto his exposed, reddening wrist.
' Did he notice my wrist out there in the hall? ' Leansei thought, a sudden realization hit his mind. ' Is that the entire reason he brought me here? '
"What seems to be the problem?" Doctor Lin asked kindly, stepping out from behind her desk and walking directly toward them.
"His wrist is swollen," Xerchin stated flatly, his hand shifting to guide Leansei toward the plush sofa against the wall, gently forcing him to sit.
"N-no, I'm completely alright! This is absolutely nothing," Leansei protested, his voice raising a pitch as he aggressively waved his free hand to signal that they were overreacting.
Xerchin merely stood over him, staring down with a heavy, unyielding look that clearly broadcasted he wasn't buying a single word of the excuse. Doctor Lin hummed softly, kneeling beside the sofa to carefully examine the bruised, swollen skin where Tyvan's grip had left an angry mark. She began to gently treat the red wrist.
"It isn't overly severe," Doctor Lin diagnosed softly, glancing between the two boys. "But it is certainly much better to treat a mark like this immediately rather than leaving it to worsen."
Leansei cast a dry, thoroughly annoyed glance toward Xerchin.
' He is completely overacting over a little thing, ' he grumbled internally.
Doctor Lin grabbed a fresh ice pack from the medical freezer and walked back over. She was just about to press it against Leansei's skin when Xerchin abruptly stepped forward, extending his large hand. He offered to be the one to do it instead. Doctor Lin paused, her gaze shifting back and forth between Leansei's flushed face and Xerchin's unyielding posture. A knowing look crossed her features as she recalled the last time she had seen the pair together under similar, highly charged circumstances in this very clinic.
Nodding in quiet agreement, Doctor Lin handed the ice pack over. Xerchin took the cold compress, dropped down onto the cushion directly beside Leansei, and gently, methodically tapped it against the boy's throbbing wrist.
Leansei sharply diverted his eyes toward the wall. Realizing that he had spent the past few days executing a desperate strategy to avoid this man at all costs, this sudden, suffocating proximity made it feel like this was their first real meeting in an entire year.
Doctor Lin glanced down at her wrist watch, smoothing out her white coat. "I have an urgent errand to attend to across the main building," she announced with a kind, perceptive smile. "It seems like Mr. Vcheroi is more than capable of taking care of you for now. You two are free to go out anytime you want." With a soft nod, she turned on her heel and walked out of the clinic, the heavy door clicking shut behind her.
Instantly, a heavy, absolute silence slammed down over the room. The faint, rhythmic hum of the air conditioner, the soft tapping sound of the ice pack against his skin, and the distant, sterile tick of the wall clock were the only sounds remaining within the four walls.
Leansei swallowed hard, his throat dry as the realization that he and Xerchin were left completely alone again settled over his chest.
"It's fine. Really, I'm completely fine now," Leansei muttered, trying to break the suffocating tension. "It's barely even swollen anymore."
Xerchin didn't say a single word. He remained entirely focused, his eyes fixed on the bruised skin of Leansei's arm as he maintained the steady pressure of the ice pack. Yet, despite his silence, Leansei could practically feel the cold wave of displeasure vibrating off the athlete's shoulders. Xerchin was thoroughly unhappy with what had happened.
' Is he mad at me? ' Leansei's mind began to spin into a defensive spiral. ' Is it because I spent the last few days ignoring him? Or is he angry because I somehow managed to bother him again? '
Lean peered subtly up at Xerchin's face. The guy's handsome features were locked in his usual, unbothered expression, but a tiny, distinct shadow of worrisome care was written across his eyes.
' Why isn't he asking me about it? ' Leansei thought, frustration mixing with his rapid heartbeat. ' Why isn't he demanding to know who did this? '
"Are you... mad at me?" Leansei blurted out, unable to stand the quiet any longer.
Xerchin paused, his hand going still against the ice pack. "For what?"
"For..." Leansei's voice died in his throat. He couldn't utter another syllable. He simply didn't possess the courage to bring up his sudden avoidance, let alone ask about the wild campus rumors regarding Seleigh. Lean knew he was being entirely unreasonable, acting weird and erratic for no valid reason.
Desperate to escape the trap, he aggressively tried to change the subject. "You're... you're not even going to ask me what happened out there?" Xerchin slowly glanced up, his piercing, light blue eyes locking directly onto Leansei's face. The sheer intensity of the stare made Leansei instantly avert his gaze, pressing his lips together in a tight, nervous line.
"If you wanted to tell me, you already would have," Xerchin said, his baritone voice incredibly soft yet grounding. He shifted the ice pack gently against the red skin. "I'll wait for you to tell me what happened whenever you're ready."