Dearil's POV:
Five years have passed since my last death.
Now, I'm just a five-year-old introverted boy.
Well, that's what everyone thinks.
From the moment I decided to live alone, I stopped talking to anyone unless it was really urgent.
I don't have friends, and I barely leave my room. I just sit there and read.
It was the perfect life.
But one day, my parents decided to invite their friends over for dinner at our house.
And of course, they brought their child with them.
That day, my parents dressed me up nicely—probably because their friends were rich, and they didn't want to look bad in front of them.
Around 19:00, we waited for them to arrive, and right on time, they came.
Not even a second late.
"Hi! What's up? We haven't seen each other in a long time," my father said.
"Yeah, that's right. Long time no see," the other man replied.
While the parents were busy talking, I looked forward and noticed the kid was staring at me with a cold expression.
"My name is—" he started to say, but I didn't even let him finish. I just stared at him and went straight to my room.
"Dearil! What's with this behavior? Come back now!" my mother yelled at me.
I didn't even look back. I walked to my room and closed the door behind me.
"I'm really sorry about my son, he's just very shy…" my mother apologized to their guests.
"That's okay, we understand," said the other mother kindly.
Then the father of the boy looked at his son. "Geez, Aiden, I've never seen you this angry before. Are you upset because Dearil ignored you? Haha."
Aiden was indeed angry. No one had ever treated him like that—never.
Especially not kids younger than him.
When I closed my door, I walked to my bed, laid down, and shut my eyes.
I was so tired. My mother had spent the whole day trying to make me look "good" for our guests.
Without noticing, I fell asleep.
Aiden's POV:
How dare that kid ignore me like that?
I'll teach him a lesson!
"Can I go to Dearil's room so we can play together?" I asked politely.
"Of course, go ahead. And sorry for his behavior," Dearil's mother said.
I walked to Dearil's room and opened the door.
After entering, I quietly closed it behind me—no one would hear me teach this kid some manners.
I looked around the room, but I didn't see him at first.
Then I noticed something moving on the bed.
I came closer and saw Dearil sleeping.
He was so small that I hadn't noticed him at first glance.
Yeah, even for kids his age, he's really tiny…
I sat next to him, moving slowly so I wouldn't wake him up.
When I looked at his face again, I realized how cute he was.
He had soft, black hair and pale skin.
His skin made me want to touch him, and his hair made me want to sniff his head.
Wait—what am I thinking?! This kid ignored me! How dare he!?
Well… maybe he really is just shy and went to his room because he was nervous.
Yeah, of course! He got shy because I'm so handsome!
There's no need to punish him now.
I'll just lie down next to him, and when we wake up, I'll become his friend.
I convinced myself it was fine because, honestly…
I felt an unusual interest in him the very moment I first saw him.
Even when we first met at the door, I tried to introduce myself first, which is unusual for me.
Normally, I don't care about introducing myself to other kids.
But this time, I wanted Dearil to know my name.
I lay down beside him and gently took his small hand in mine as I closed my eyes.
After a few minutes, I fell asleep too.
We slept together, holding hands until the next day.
—————————————
A man in a soldier's uniform entered a high-tech room filled with monitors and futuristic equipment.
"Sir, we found him," the soldier said, handing over some papers to a man standing in the center of the room.
"Finally." The man removed his glasses and placed them on a nearby table.
"Finally, I've found you, my darling time traveler…"
The man smiled with excitement as he stared at the photo with intense passion.
"Ah, Dearil… dear, dear Dearil…"
He placed the papers on the table, put his glasses back on, and walked toward the door.
Two soldiers quickly opened the door for him.
"Soon, we will meet, my dear Dearil…"
…