The hooded shape of Xerchin's eyes, along with his piercing, mercurial blue gaze that felt as though it could slice directly into a person's inner soul, left Leansei completely paralyzed. Looking at the sharp, attractive curve of Xerchin's reddish lips and the flawless, sculpted line of his jaw, Leansei felt a sudden, intense heat rush to his face, blushing furiously at just how overwhelmingly appealing and dashing the guy was.
Leansei sharply snapped his gaze away, staring intensely at the floor tiles as a frantic, defensive train of thought raced behind his eyes. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to force his mind to stop overthinking the dangerous trajectory of the moment.
' I absolutely need to stop everything right here and now, or I'll be the one left completely broken and alone again, ' Leansei scolded himself fiercely. ' Leansei, you cannot let yourself think that way! For pete's sake, the man has a fiancée! Don't you at least feel a single shred of guilt for her? '
He looked down at his lap, a cold wave of reality settling over his chest. A logical, bitter explanation anchored itself in his mind: Xerchin was likely only showing this level of protective care out of pure sympathy for Kean's fragile state.
"You have to stop," Leansei gasped. The words cut through the quiet room before he could catch them; he hadn't realized his lips had moved until the sentence was already out in the open. Panic flaring, he stole a glance across the sofa. Xerchin was still leaning forward, his head dropped slightly as his large hand gently, methodically tapped the ice compress against Leansei's swollen, reddening wrist.
' Shit... I actually said it right out loud, ' Leansei's mind reeled. ' But... that's exactly what I needed to tell him anyway. What am I chickening out for? '
"What exactly do you mean by 'stop'?" Xerchin asked quietly. He slowly raised his head, his piercing blue eyes locking onto Leansei's face, exposing a raw, heavy layer of distress that Leansei had never witnessed in him before.
Leansei immediately turned his head away, a sudden, physical pang stabbing deep inside his chest.
' Have I genuinely grown fond of him? ' he thought, his throat tightening. ' To the point where I desperately want to swallow my own words and take them back? But I have to leave him—no, I have to leave all of them eventually. This isn't my life. This belongs to Kean. '
Before Leansei could slide further down the couch to escape, Xerchin extended his bare fingers, his touch incredibly gentle yet unyielding as he caught Leansei by the chin, slowly forcing him to turn back and meet his gaze. The warmth of the skin against his face made Leansei's blush deepen, a heavy weight of guilt settling over his ribs. He tried to look away, terrified that if he lingered on those features for a single second longer, his resolve would crumble completely.
"Look at me, Mooncalf," Xerchin whispered, his baritone voice dropping into a soft, grounding register. It was only the second time Leansei had heard him use that specific tone. Leansei found himself trapped, staring directly into the mercurial, despairing blue eyes looking down at him. "W-what exactly do you want me to stop with?"
"I—I just need you to please stop all of this," Leansei stammered out, forcing his chin away from the touch as he shifted his weight to stand up from the sofa. "I don't want to cause any harm or hurt someone else. It's not like we have anything real between us to begin with." He tried to step toward the door, but Xerchin's hand snapped out, firmly locking around his uninjured fingers to halt his escape.
"Do you... like someone else?" Xerchin asked suddenly.
The abrupt question made Leansei freeze dead in his tracks, his mouth parting slightly as he found himself utterly unable to utter a single word.
' W-what on earth does he mean, like someone else? I-I don't like anyone— '
The denial died in his mind the exact microsecond he placed his free hand flat against his sternum. Beneath his palm, his heart was pumping frantically, beating with a violent, deafening rhythm that felt entirely too loud for the quiet room.
' T-that's completely impossible! I wouldn't... I wouldn't ever let myself like another guy—'
Leansei sharply snapped his gaze back to the athlete, but the words withered in his throat. A tremendous, suffocatingly dark aura had suddenly flared up around Xerchin's shoulders, heavy and crushing. The sheer intensity of the dark energy rolling off the older boy was enough to instantly weaken and felt by Leansei.
Sensing the boy's distress, Xerchin slowly, deliberately let go of Leansei's wrist. He closed his eyes, taking a long, controlled breath to reel his crushing aura back in and calm himself before rising to his full height.
The heavy pressure in the room vanished. Leansei slumped heavily back down onto the plush cushions of the sofa, his chest heaving as his breathing and racing pulse slowly began to stabilize back to normal. He glanced up at the towering figure, thoroughly befuddled and shaken.
"I'm suddenly not in the most pleasant mood. I'm sorry for reacting like that," Xerchin said, his voice laced with a pained, fractured tone that mirrored the silent hurt in his eyes.
Leansei shook his head frantically, his fingers twisting into his uniform fabric. "I didn't mean it in a bad way... I was actually supposed to tell you—"
"It doesn't truly matter in what way you choose to phrase it," Xerchin interrupted flatly, looking down at the medical supplies. "The meaning remains exactly the same." Leansei dropped his gaze back to his shoes, unable to find a single word to disagree. Xerchin was entirely right. There was no point in trying to sugarcoat the rejection when the core message couldn't be altered.
"You're still going tomorrow, correct?" Xerchin asked suddenly, the shift in topic making Leansei glance up with deeply confused eyes.
' What on earth is happening tomorrow? ' Leansei's mind scrambled, a sudden panic hitting him. ' Did I completely forget a major event? Is it his birthday? Wait... come to think of it, I don't actually know a single thing about his personal life, or what he likes and dislikes. '
Before the confusion could spiral, Leansei's phone vibrated violently against his thigh with an incoming text notification. He quickly pulled the device from his pocket, his eyes locking onto a message from Kean's mother.
__________
FROM: MRS. FERECH
My dear son, I truly hope you haven't forgotten about tomorrow. It is the annual dinner meeting of the elite conglomerate families. The family driver is already waiting directly in front of your high-rise condo, so please pack a bag with enough clothes since you'll be staying here at the main estate with us for the next few days. You absolutely cannot say no to this! I love you so much, son!(Sent just now)
___________
Leansei let out a quiet breath, closing his eyes as the puzzle pieces finally clicked. He had completely forgotten such a massive, high-society commitment. Looking back up at Xerchin, he offered a small, compliant nod. "Yes. I'll be going."
BANG!
The heavy wooden door of the clinic was suddenly thrown open with a violent, echoing crash, drawing both Leansei and Xerchin's attention sharply toward the entryway.
Leansei gasped, his eyes widening in shock as his gaze landed on Beidhen. The boy looked like an entirely different person compared to his usual charismatic self. The attractive, hooded warmth of his brown eyes had darkened into a cold, dangerous storm, his eyebrows knotted into a hard line while his pinkish lips were tightly gritted in sheer, unbridled frustration. His handsome face was a total disaster—marred by a dark, weeping bruise right at the side of his lips, raw skin across his knuckles, and fresh purple bruising blooming across both of his cheeks.
Xerchin's forehead knotted in immediate annoyance as his older brother stumbled into the room, looking as though he had just fought an entire group of guys single-handedly.
Before Beidhen could collapse onto an examination table, a stressed, thoroughly frustrated teacher stepped into the clinic right behind him, smoothing down her blazer. "You stay right here in this room, Mr. Beidhen," she commanded sharply, her voice shaking with authority. "I am going to do absolutely whatever it takes to ensure those other students are severely punished for this. I need to go—"
The teacher cut her own sentence short, her eyes wide as she finally noticed Xerchin standing flush beside Leansei near the sofa. "Oh, Mr. Xerchin," she breathed out, adjusting her stance. "Are you feeling sick today as well? Please, make sure you take proper care of your older brother for a moment. I have to head out immediately to report this entire incident directly to the dean's office." Without waiting for a response, she turned on her heel, hurried out into the corridor, and snapped the door shut behind her.
Xerchin and Leansei walked toward the examination bed where Beidhen was sitting with a thoroughly frustrated face. It was the first time Leansei had ever seen him look this way. The boy's usually annoying laugh had vanished, replaced by the quiet, dangerous stillness of a delinquent. The bright smile and jovial warmth in his eyes had turned completely into the cold, terrifying gaze of a man pushed to his absolute limit.
"What exactly happened?" Xerchin asked, stepping forward to stand directly in front of Beidhen. But Beidhen only stared down at the white sheets of the bed, his breathing gradually slowing down as he forced his anger into submission.
"I am asking you a question, brother," Xerchin repeated, his baritone voice dropping into an demanding register. Leansei awkwardly scratched his temple as he watched the interaction. Xerchin's tone of speaking wasn't comforting at all; it sounded more like an interrogation than an younger brother checking on his sibling. Deciding to intervene before a full-scale family argument broke out, Leansei grabbed a nearby medical kit, walked over to the side of the bed, and quietly began treating the raw, bleeding knuckles on Beidhen's right fist.
Leansei scratched his temple while looking at Xerchin when his tone of speaking wasn't comforting at all. Leansei walked towards Beidhen with a medicine kit in his hand and started treating Beidhen's wounds in his fist.
"You don't exactly have the time to pry into my personal life, brother," Beidhen muttered, a sharp, bitter edge coating his words. "You haven't even solved your own ongoing quarrel with your wife—"
SMACK!
Beidhen was cut violently short as Xerchin's hand snapped forward, smacking him squarely across the head the exact way he always did when his older brother pushed his luck.
Leansei stared at Xerchin in absolute, pure disbelief. Instead of comforting his heavily bruised sibling, Xerchin had just smacked Beidhen's head as if it were a perfectly normal Tuesday afternoon.
"Just tell me what happened," Xerchin commanded flatly.
Beidhen winced, dropping his gaze back down toward his lap. A heavy, genuine shadow of trouble settled over his features—a serious, dark expression that Leansei found hard to bear, simply because he was so completely unaccustomed to seeing the boy without his usual playful mask.
"I accidentally overheard a group of guys talking about someone," Beidhen confessed quietly, his jaw clenching. "I absolutely didn't like the way their mouths were running with such nasty, disgusting words about him. So... I simply punched them until their faces were plumped."
Leansei's fingers paused over the gauze. He minced his lips, a sudden thought striking him: ' These two are definitely biological brothers. They possess the exact same reckless, violent way of solving their problems. '
"Anyway," Beidhen grumbled, lifting his head to glare at the towering athlete. "What are you even doing in the clinic for anyway? You don't look like a sick person at all. Are you actively skipping your afternoon classes just to sneak a hidden peek into your beloved one—OWWWW!"
Beidhen was unable to finish the teasing sentence. Leansei, startled by the sudden direction of the conversation, had accidentally pressed hard a Betadine-soaked cotton ball directly into the rawest part of Beidhen's open wound.
Beidhen whirled around, a flash of pure frustration darkling his eyes, but the anger evaporated into thin air the exact microsecond he took in Leansei's flushed, panicked face.
"Kean?" Beidhen blinked in complete, utter bewilderment, his voice cracking slightly. "Since when on earth have you been sitting right there?!" It was as if Leansei had been an invisible ghost in the room until this very second.
' I've been sitting right here treating your wounds since the beginning, you complete idiot, ' Leansei grumbled silently.
"So..." Beidhen's gaze darted back and forth, analyzing the heavy atmosphere between his younger brother and the boy beside him. A slow, knowing look entered his eyes. "Does this mean you two are finally okay now?"
In an instant, both Leansei and Xerchin sharply averted their gazes, looking at opposite walls of the clinic. Beidhen let out a long, dramatic sigh, shaking his head in absolute pity. He could tell with zero effort that the two were still nowhere near being on good terms.
"Man, that literally just proves that my brother is an incredibly leaden, dense person who doesn't know how to—"
SMACK!
Beidhen was silenced yet again as Xerchin's hand connected with the back of his head for the second time in five minutes.
"Stop talking absolute nonsense before I decide to throw a few actual punches at you myself," Xerchin threatened coldly. He then shifted his weight, his piercing eyes locking onto Leansei, who was keeping his head firmly down.
Silently, Leansei packed the used cotton and ointment back into the plastic tray, closing the medical kit with a definitive click. He stood up from the stool, his chest tight.
"I'll be going now. I'm already incredibly late for my next subject period," Leansei announced quietly, his voice flat.
' At the very least, Beidhen is already shifting back to his normal, incredibly annoying self, ' Leansei reasoned with a mental sigh of relief. ' There's absolutely nothing left for me to worry about here, I guess. '
He turned on his heel, walked across the linoleum, and came to a sudden, rigid halt right at the threshold of the clinic door. His hand gripped the heavy metal handle tightly, his knuckles turning white as he prepared to step out into the hallway and face the reality of his looming high-society obligations.
Leansei stood at the threshold of the clinic, his chest tightening as a sudden wave of regret crashed over him. He thought that what he had said to Xerchin earlier was far too cold and final. Couldn't they at least just be friends, or see each other around campus?
He was still entirely unable to figure out the nature of his feelings toward Xerchin, but he knew with absolute certainty that he was treating the older boy with far more emotional weight than he should have. It was becoming too much to handle; he was already catching himself reconsidering his strict boundaries, secretly wishing he could spend more time with Xerchin before the day came when he would inevitably have to return to his own life and body.
"Hey," Leansei called out softly, turning around to see both Beidhen and Xerchin staring directly at him from the center of the clinic. "I'll... see you tomorrow."
The parting promise left his lips before he could stop it. Without waiting for a response, he slipped out of the clinic and began running down the corridor toward his department building, his sneakers squeaking aggressively as he raced against the clock.
As he ran, his mind spun into an absolute frenzy. He knew this intense emotion wasn't just a simple reaction to how well Xerchin treated him. He had never imagined that someone would enter his life again and treat him like a precious, flawless diamond that had accidentally fallen down to earth. He desperately wanted to confirm exactly what he was feeling before jumping to any conclusions. But a massive, frustrating question still loomed over him: why did Xerchin act so protective and affectionate when he already had a perfect, high-society fiancée waiting for him? Leansei simply couldn't figure out the athlete's true intentions.
.
The final bell of the day rang, and Leansei let out a long, heavy yawn as the afternoon classes finally concluded. He gathered his textbooks, glancing sideways when he noticed Revin staring intensely down at his phone screen. Revin looked completely frozen, as if he were deeply doubting whether he should call a certain number or not.
"What happened?" Leansei asked quietly.
Revin sharply snapped back to reality, his shoulders jumping as he quickly locked his phone and looked over at Leansei, who was neatly packing his bag.
"I-I just had a bit of a major conflict earlier today. That's all," Revin said, forcing a high-pitched, fake laugh as he began frantically shoving his own things into his pack.
Leansei paused, his hands slowing down as he analyzed his friend's strained profile with deep concern. "Hey, if you ever need someone to talk to about it, I'm all ears." Revin checked his movements, looking up to meet Leansei's gaze before offering a genuine smile and a tight nod.
"Someone... someone actually just saved me from a group of guys earlier today. But I'm terrified he might get a severe punishment from the school administration for stepping in to help me," Revin confessed, his voice dropping as he looked down at his desk.
Leansei slowly stared at him, the pieces of a puzzle suddenly colliding behind his eyes as a vivid memory from the lunch hour flashed through his mind.
_________
(FLASHBACK)
"Just tell me what happened," Xerchin commanded flatly.
Beidhen winced, dropping his gaze back down toward his lap. A heavy, genuine shadow of trouble settled over his features—a serious, dark expression that Leansei found hard to bear, simply because he was so completely unaccustomed to seeing the boy without his usual playful mask.
"I accidentally overheard a group of guys talking about someone," Beidhen confessed quietly, his jaw clenching. "I absolutely didn't like the way their mouths were running with such nasty, disgusting words about him. So... I simply punched them until their faces were plumped."
_________
' Are the two of them actually connected? ' Leansei thought, his mind reeling in pure shock. ' No way... there's absolutely no way. They don't appear to be on good terms at all. Why on earth would Beidhen risk getting suspended just to save someone he seemingly dislikes? '
Leansei vigorously shook his head, desperately trying to remove the confusing thought from his brain. He hoisted his bag over his shoulder. "Should we go?" Revin nodded, pulling the straps of his heavy pack over his shoulders as they walked out of the classroom together, navigating the wide stairwells.
Reaching the exit doors of the building, they spotted Corshe and Xeilin waiting out on the pavement. The two boys immediately waved their hands enthusiastically at Leansei. Falling into a single group, the four of them began walking together across the sprawling campus. They kept the mood light, talking and complaining about the boring lectures and the brutal upcoming quizzes scheduled for next week as they approached the main university gates.
The moment the taxi pulled into his high-rise condo parking lot, Leansei spotted Kean's official family driver waiting by the curb, leaning casually against the polished chassis of a luxury vehicle. Seeing him approach, the driver offered a respectful bow and quietly walked behind Leansei to assist him.
Leansei hurried up to his penthouse apartment, quickly stripping off his rigid school uniform and changing into casual clothes before tossing a few essential outfits into a travel bag. The driver took the luggage, securing it safely within the car's trunk before pulling smoothly out of the complex.
Leansei leaned his head against the window, watching the city buildings blur past as the sky began to bleed into a breathtaking, vibrant sunset. The golden light instantly reminded him of the very first time he had watched the sunset peacefully beside Xerchin. A quiet, involuntary smile curved onto Leansei's lips at the thought of that precious memory.
.
The luxury vehicle eventually glided to a halt in front of the massive, imposing gates of the Ferech family mansion. Standing right in front of the grand double doors of the estate were Kean's mother and, standing right beside her, the deeply frowning face of Felean.
The moment Leansei climbed out of the backseat, Mrs. Ferech rushed forward, wrapping her arms around him in a tight, suffocating hug filled with pure motherly warmth. Over her shoulder, Leansei could see Felean glaring at him with an intensely annoyed expression.
"Welcome back, my dear son," Mrs. Ferech crooned, her sweet tone echoing across the driveway. She sharply glanced sideways at her other son, and under her scrutiny, Felean's face altered in a fraction of a second, transforming his bitter scowl into the expression of a caring, loving brother.
"Brother!" Felean cheered loudly, stepping forward with an entirely two-faced display of affection as he pulled Leansei into a tight embrace. The exact microsecond their chests met and his mother was out of earshot, Felean's jovial tone withered into a low, frustrated hiss. "You absolutely shouldn't have come back here."
Leansei let out a deep, internal sigh, the familiar toxicity washing over him.
' Honestly, what did I even expect? If surviving this family drama is one of the mandatory conditions for me to finally get back into my own body, I shouldn't overreact to his petty threats, or it will only frustrate me further. '
Maintaining his absolute composure, Leansei wrapped his arms back around his brother, tightening his grip with an amused, provocative smirk.
"Well, that sounds like a massive piece of unfortunate news for you, then," Leansei whispered directly into his ear, deliberately teasing him back.