163. It Tastes Bitter

"Give them to me son." Yeon's father extended his hand impatiently towards Niel, ecstatic to finally have them arrive. They'd been waiting in anticipation for both Luca and Lusha to arrive. Such a shame no one payed attention to them as soon as the twins were taken away.

"How many months is Haesol now?" Elric had heard dad Robin speaking and glancing from where his voice came from. What was even more surprising was the sight of Hajin, sitting comfortably next to Stan's parents. They were so engrossed in their chattering as he handed a feeding bottle to dad Robin, was carrying Haesol her on his lap.

"She'll be approaching six months in a few days."

"How time flies. She is three months apart from Lusha and Luca."

"Elric's mother couldn't stop celebrating, boasting of having another girl in the family, I pity her though, Lusha resembles Niel and very pretty at that." Glancing at both Elric and Niel still standing by the door, Yeon's dad asked, "Who did her ponytail? Was it you Elric?"

"Nope. Nelnel is incharge of hair duty. See my ponytail here?" Elric tapped onto his long hair that had already grown to the length of his shoulders.

"He is doing a fine job, I'd say. I have some pretty hairbands I over purchased for Haesol. I'll leave them with you before we leave."

"That'd be nice. Thank you."

A low burping sound from Haesol made them burst out into laughter and they went on about, ignoring both Elric nd Niel once more.

Just then, Stan appeared from the stairs and came downstairs, complaining that they'd been causing a lot of noise that Yeon was unable to rest.

"Is he going to come down?" Yeon's mom had asked.

"He said he wanted to sleep after lunch."

"Such a shame. He's reverted back to his old ways yet again, shutting everyone out just like the first time he'd arrived here."

"I'm not surprised." Yeon's dad concurred. "He prefers to hibernate and get through things by himself. I've warned him of that habit but I don't think it will ever change. His sister used to be the one who knew how to get him out of that hibernation and now that she is no longer with us, I'm afraid we'll have to rely heavily on you Stannie."

"Perhaps Nelnel could shed some light on the tactics Mijin used before. They used to live together with Yeon when him and Mijin were in a relationship."

"That's an excellent suggestion Elric. What say you Niel? Any tips for Stannie here?" Dad Robin asked.

'I can't believe you'd go this far to involve others in our fight.' Niel threw Elric a suggestive look then walked towards Stan. "Actually, he texted me to bring him some caramel ice cream."

"That's right! Why didn't we think of that before?" Dad Robin exclaimed, his eyes on his pair. "Remember how Yeon would binge away to that same flavor for months?"

"Yea. We used to have half of the kitchen freezer filled with it."

"It appears he hasn't outgrown that habit of his." Yeon's mother said. "A good workout would have been preferable to have his endorphins levels up a notch but he detests working out."

"We'll be going for a walk later on." Looking at Niel, Stan suggested he procced upstairs to check on Yeon. "I hate to admit it but your company does put him in a good mood therefore don't upset him."

"How could he Stannie when he practically lived with him for more than two years." Elric whispered.

"What's up with you two?" Stan asked once they were outside, walking towards Elric's car to retrieve the ice cream.

"He pisses me off." Elric grunted.

"I know you Elric so what did you do?"

"How can you take his side without question?"

"Then forget I asked. Where is the ice cream?"

"He tricked me, constantly patronizing me as if I were a child!"

Seeing how restless his best friend appeared, Stan opted out on diving further into their problems for he already had enough of his own. Additionally, he could roughly predict the cause of the problem. 'Nothing would piss him off this much if it didnt involve sex.'

Scanning Elric from head to toe, he decided to change the subject. "Your hair sure has grown. Must be hard maintaining it." Tapping onto Elric's chubby cheeks, he further teased, "You still haven't lost your pregnancy fat either. If you look this adorable, I wonder how Yeon will look like with some more weight on him... Probably better."

Elric frowned. "You are beginning to get on my nerves."

Laughing away, Stan enjoyed the rare sight of an upset Elric. "Seriously, what really happened between you two?"

"It's embarrassing"

"Can I have the car keys then?"

"You are shamelessly heartless."

Stan laughed once more. "Your mom calls you teddy for this reason. I see it now..."

"Will you stop making fun of me? I gained weight so what?"

"I'm not making fun of you Elric, you simply look like something I'd want to hug whenever I'm depressed..."

"You are incorrigible."

"I'd pay you for it."

"That's it! I'm taking the twins and we are leaving..."

Grabbing onto Elric's hand, Stan muzzled a laughter and insisted on finding out what had had his bestfriend's mood up in a twist. "I'm sorry. I won't laugh in your face. Tell me, what happened."

"I asked him for a threesome."

"Oh..." Stan's smile disappeared, his hand dropping from his friend's arm. "I don't think I want to know more..."

"I tied him up as he ordered me to, riled him up good and forgot about the other guy for a moment. He watched him leave but didn't alert me. I felt extremely ashamed..."

"Your bedroom escapades are none of my business..."

"He never got hard no matter my dedication efforts which was the reason why he took my attention from the other guy whom I was going to top. He was playing me from the beginning, watching me embarrass myself!"

"...TMI..."

"I was excited all by myself thinking he was going to go through with it... I planned everything like a fool, tying him down as he watched me like some show when he'd shut his entire system down. Why would he agree to it when he didn't want it in the first place?"

"I'm not interested to know and I don't care..."

"He should have refused like he did in the beginning. He agreed only to make a fool out of me that even now, I can't face him just thinking about it!"

"He didn't want to do it but then agreed to do it? How inconsiderate." Stan pretended to be upset then pointed at the car. "Yeon's ice cream is melting..."

"I know, right?"

"The audacity for him to not get hard because he is fated to you. The audacity to respond to your scent and only your scent alone. The audacity of him to put in effort into doing something he doesn't agree with. The audacity...the nerve he has to be probably jealous that you might have liked someone else, or liked him less. The audacity to play along to your whims..."

"You've made your point."

"Can I have the ice cream now?"

"I only did it for us."

"You did it for you. If he'd have told you that you two being fated meant what you were asking was already impossible, you'd have given him a hard time than you already are."

"I'm not that clueless..."

"If you waren't, you would know I'm trying to not have this conversation with you." Stan asked seeming frustrated.

"Even if he didn't get hard, I did. I was sexually attracted to the other guy. Your point is invalid. We could have still gone along with it."

"I'm guessing if he were attracted to someone else and became intimate with them in your presence you'd really enjoy it right? Better yet, Mijin came back and he came to you on a sunny day like today and asked, 'Hey, love of my life, how about we spin the sheets just the three of us. You, me and Mijin because despite you being my one and only soulmate, I'm still sexually attracted to her since I did date her much longer than you, you understand Nelnel right? I still like you though...'"

"That's a terrible example..."

"No example is fitting dummy! Just because you find someone attractive doesn't mean you should sleep with them, expecialy not while you're fated! That's the point of it all, you already met your fated mate! He has the right to be upset with you and here you are, playing offended. If he'd been your pair, maybe it would have been possible if both of you were into that sort of thing but he is your fated smart ass! You're trapped with him forever. Welcome to having a serious relationship."

"Then what do I do? I hate it whenever he's upset with me. He's been sleeping in the twins room for the past one week."

"Serves you right, though he is practically being very lenient with you if you ask me."

"Ssince you are the romantic genius, why don't you tell me how to fix it?"

"The only thing I want to get involved in right now is how to get an unmelted ice cream to Yeon."

"You are no help at all." Elric sulked. Opening the boot, he picked up two sealed jars and and handed them over to Stan.

"Thank you." Stan seemed relieved to finally have gotten what he'd come for and after taking a few steps, he noticed that Elric hadn't been following him.

"What now? I thought you were in a hurry to your fated?"

"You are no one to sulk, though you still look adorable like that."

"Shut up."

Stan laughed. "Stop trying to look for what you already have. He is fated to you as you are to him. That means against all odds, someone is actually compatible to you, and loves you as you are so stop looking for trouble before trouble troubles you. Niel is a good guy."

"I know, now go away."

"I'd never do something like that to Yeon."

"Come on, I already said I'm regretting my actions. What do you want from me?"

"You two are married, you have Luca and Lusha, a family. No psychotic killer is chasing after you or him neither are they obsessing over either of you. The both of you experienced a normal imprint and marking. Do you not realize how lucky you are? Or are you blind to the responsibility I carry being Yeon's marker, and what Yeon has to live with for the rest of his life? The reason he stays upstairs cooped up more than before isn't because he is avoiding everyone. The truth is he is nervous. He doesn't want pity and when he senses it from anyone, his eyes keep switching from deep red to luminous. Then he has to deal with everyone gazing at them in mesmerism. Elric, I envy you. All you are supposed to do is the bare minimum yet you still keep failing purposely. "

"Now I feel like shit."

"Yea. Remember that feeling the next time you think of taking things for granted."

"Agh! Shut up!" Elric threw his hands up in the air as if to surrender. "You've made your point so what do you want for your wedding? I can't come up with a proper gift since that's your thing."

"Your mom is practically paying for everything to compensate for your simple wedding."

"She is going to have everyone barging in on your honeymoon. You know she hasn't gone on holiday in forever. I doubt that image is likeable having everyone hogging your privacy considering how possessive you are of Yeon."

"Yeap. I don't like it at all. My dads will keep bothering me about the deed too and baby this baby that. They can be so callous sometimes."

Elric chuckled. "I can help you escape from them. Like a secret getaway and when they notice you two are missing, I'll come up with an excuse."

"They'll think I was behind it no matter what you'll say."

"Should it matter what they think? The point is to have alone time with your Yeon is it not?"

Stan grinned while nodded. "Then get on with the plan, and make sure it's a place your mom doesn't know about."

"I got your back."

"I bet you do threesome."

Elric laughed. "Fuck you."

"Yeon will, soon as a matter of fact." Stan added, walking towards the main door.

"I used to eye him so that statement doesn't affect me!"

"Then be jealous asshole! Be extremely jealous of me!"