LC 04

Clover didn’t have to turn around to know who called him. He wasn’t even expecting that the person was still in there. It has been more than 2 hours since he bid his goodbye.

Unmoved, Clover asked, “What do you want?”

Instead of getting a response from the person, Clover felt the presence move closer to him. He remained steady. The person stopped a step or two away from him.

“If you have nothing to say, I’m leaving now.” Clover tightened his hold on the door handle. He pulled it, making a small opening as he heard the person lightly and softly laugh.

Just hearing the sound of the person’s voice irritated Clover. It never failed to instantly get on his nerves. Clover controlled himself and kept his composure. He did not show any annoyance in his actions and expressions, contrary to what he already felt inside.

Half a minute passed, and the person still did not utter a word. Clover finally decided to fully open the door. He wasted time giving the person a chance to speak as he waited for a reply. It was a considerate move for Clover, but the person chose to misspend it.

Clover shook his head lightly. He realized he looked like a fool for a moment. He shouldn’t have even talked to the person. It was no use if it was between the two of them. The person was there to piss him off with his personality, his mere presence.

Without throwing a glance behind, Clover exited the building. He expected to hear the door closing, but it did not come. He could tell the person followed him outside.

Clover decided not to care about the person. He then fished the case of the wireless earphones from one of his pockets. He plugged the earphones into his ears as he started to walk away. It was way better for him to leave than to be in the same place with the person who remained silent after he asked.

A relaxing classical music dominated Clover’s hearing. It’s the only thing he could hear. The mood of the music spread through Clover’s system, making his mood return to normal. Clover eased up quickly.

Although Clover could not hear a thing around him, he could still feel that someone was following him. And he did not have to guess who it was. That’s why he doesn’t know what he needs from him. The guy kept following him without speaking. Given the situation, Clover thought he could not just go straight to his penthouse. He won’t let this person know where he lives.

Clover continued walking as if he didn’t know the guy was still behind him a few steps away from him. He walked around the busy streets of the city, speeding his pace bit by bit, thinking he could lose the guy. He was two blocks away from the penthouse when he turned to a small alley when the people on the sidewalk became congested.

Leaning his back on the concrete wall, Clover hid himself. There, he waited for the guy to pass through the alley. After just less than a minute, he saw the guy moving his head in every direction as he walked. A small smirk formed on Clover’s lips. It seemed like he had successfully lost him.

For more than 5 minutes after the guy was out of his sight, Clover stayed still in the alley before he stepped out. He breathed deeply and exhaled heavily through his mouth. And he continued to walk towards the sidewalk with fewer people.

Just as Clover thought the way was clear, a hand suddenly grabbed him by his shoulder, pulling him to another alley before the end of the block. Clover quickly gripped the hand in response and twisted it without hesitations, sensing danger. In no time, Clover flipped the situation in an instant. He was already facing the back of the guy, restraining one of his hands as he pushed the guy to the wall.

“Clover,” the guy moaned hoarsely. It was a bit loud that Clover heard it. “My hand. . . It hurts.”

Clover then raised his eyes and focused his sight on the face of the guy, recognizing the voice. He immediately loosened his grip on the guy’s hand. He took a step back. Clover’s eyes became serious while he poker faced.

“Why are you following me? What do you want, Aster?”

The guy did not reply for a moment. Aster turned around to face Clover. He rubbed his hand with the other. And Clover’s sight went down to Aster’s hand. Clover saw how red the hand was. But Clover acted like he did not see it.

Aster smiled as he hid his hand on his side. “Nothing. I just wanted to know what a Clover King was doing in his daily life other than playing musical instruments and performing on stage.”

Clover stared at Aster’s face. It was very evident from his facial expressions that he was just enduring the pain from his hand. Clover could notice it without a sweat. He knew he gripped the hand strongly. And it hit him how important the hands were for musicians. Without their hands, they could do nothing. And being injured is not an option.

“Does your hand still hurt?” Clover asked unmindfully. It was too late for him to take his words back.

Aster smiled widely. “Are you concerned with me?”

“Don’t think of yourself too highly. You are not my concern. I just don’t want to be the reason for you not being able to play,” Clover deadpanned. “And in the first place, it was your fault that you got your hand hurt.”

Aster replied to Clover with a playful laugh, shrugging his shoulders and slowly moving his head from side to side. “You don’t have to worry about me.” Aster looked down. He checked his hand. The redness was still there and it looked like Clover’s fingers were printed on it. “I am okay. You will not be the reason for me not to play. In fact, you will be the reason for me to play.”

Clover’s eyebrows knitted upon hearing Aster’s last sentence. He didn’t know what it meant. It was too hazy for Clover to know what Aster meant. But at the back of Clover’s mind, it’s not his problem to deal with, brushing the thought away. And he followed Aster’s movements. He watched as the guy grabbed the violin case from the ground on one side using his unhurt hand.

Before Clover could even react, Aster faced him. Their faces were close to each other, with Aster slightly looking upwards. Clover was taller than Aster, something that he just realized with such a small personal space separating them.

“I know you will be watching the finals live. See you there, Clover.”

Clover pressed his free hand against Aster’s chest. He pushed him away from him. With a stern look, Clover stared at Aster before his eyes landed on his hand again. He was having an internal debate about whether to help Aster ease the pain in his hand or not. Clover may not like the idea of someone getting close to his level, but he also does not like the idea of putting someone at a disadvantage by pulling dirty tricks and not playing fair and square. It’s an absurd thing for Clover. It will not measure someone’s true skill and talent, especially when they are not equally footed.

“I guess I will not discover today what other things a Clover King does. I’m leaving you alone now. I know you were trying to get me lost anyway,” Aster said. He turned around and was ready to leave when, suddenly, Clover stopped him.

“You,” Clover called. “Come with me.” He walked through Aster’s side. Clover did not know what got into his head. He just invited Aster to follow him in a split of a second as he was staring at Aster’s hand.

“Why?” Aster asked, coping with Clover’s pace.

Clover did not give an answer. Unlike a while ago, Clover went straight to the penthouse with Aster next to him. The guy kept asking him where he would take him. But Clover also kept his lips glued until they were in front of the door of his penthouse.

Placing the key card on the sensor and putting his thumb on the scanner right after, Clover opened the door. The wide living area welcomed them as they entered. And Clover went to a corner in the living area. He placed the violin case on top of a long divider.

“Have a seat. And do not touch anything nor go anywhere,” Clover instructed, facing Aster. He saw the amazement on Aster’s face, which made Clover frown. Aster looked like it was his first time being in a place like this, in a penthouse specifically.

For him, it’s impossible to believe. Violinists like them mostly came from wealthy families to have the financial support a violinist needed to improve and enhance their skills and harness their talent. And if not, they still have the means to at least cover the costs of training and practice. And spacious and beautiful places like his penthouse are not new to the eyes of a violinist.

“Sit,” Clover commanded strictly when Aster remained standing near the closed door. “You should be sitting there when I come back.”

Clover left Aster in the living room. He entered a door that contained supplies. He picked the rectangular box made of transparent plastic that was just as big as the standard size of a notebook. Before he left, Clover stared at the box. He contemplated why he brought Aster to his place. He wanted to smack himself. What did he just think? But an image of Aster’s reddening hand appeared in his mind.

Yes. It was because of his hand. Nothing more, nothing less.

He closed his eyes and took a deep sigh. He scolded himself that this would be the first and last time he'd bring someone, an outsider, into his penthouse. If only he was not the one who injured Aster’s hand, there’s no chance he would have brought the guy with him.

After a moment of recalling and justifying his actions, Clover went back to the living area. And to his surprise, he saw Aster sitting properly on one end of the couch, the opposite of what he expected. He expected that Aster would walk around and be nosy about his things, checking them. Yet, Aster still wondered, his eyes roving around as his head turned. Clover rolled his eyes together with a heavy sigh.

Aster seemed not to notice Clover approaching him. He slightly jumped to the side when he saw Clover sat next to him, placing the health on the table an arm's length away from them. Then Clover threw his gaze on Aster. His eyebrows were raised a bit and he tilted his head slightly as if asking what Aster’s problem was.

Clover did not wait for Aster to speak. Aster won’t answer him anyway. He opened the health kit, and he grabbed Aster’s injured hand. He took an ointment from the box and rubbed some of it on Aster’s hand, gently massaging the hand to soothe the redness and pain. He then wrapped Aster’s hand with a thin plaster. But he did not wrap his fingers into one. Clover individually put plasters on Aster’s fingers so he could still use them.

“Next time, don’t you just suddenly hold me if you still want your hand to be useful. I won’t guarantee you won’t get a severe injury when you do that again,” Clover mumbled. He was not looking at Aster. His focus was on Aster’s hand, which he was still giving first-aid medication.

Averting his eyes from the health kit, Clover said. “Relax this hand for a day. It should be okay the day after tomorrow. You may now leave.” And Clover fixed the things he used back in the box.

Even though Clover wasn’t giving an eye to Aster, he knew that the guy was staring at him. He can feel it. And Clover did not like it because it looked like Aster was amused by him helping him with his hand. And it was confirmed in just less than a minute.

“If you still treat me like this, then I won’t mind getting my hand hurt once again by the one and only Clover King.”

“There will be no next time.” Clover took the kit and stood up. He darted his eyes at Aster. Just what he expected, Aster was happily smiling at him like he had succeeded in getting what he was aiming for, his main goal for the day.

There was no change in Clover’s face. He had the same emotionless expression painted over his face. “I’m done with you. Leave now before I’ll call the security.”

Aster chuckled. He covered his hand over his mouth, shaking his head. “No need to do that. I’ll leave now.”

Clover watched as Aster walked towards the door. And before Aster opened the door, he glanced back at Clover with a genuine smile.

For a second, Clover had to squint his eyes to see if he saw it correctly. The smile Aster just beamed was pure without any tint of malicious intent.

“Thank you for treating my hand.” Aster showed his left hand. “And thanks for bringing me to your place, Clover. I now know where you live and can find you.” The smile on his lips changed into a mischievous one before he left Clover alone in the penthouse.

Clover hissed in annoyance. He was about to take the kit back to the room where he got it when he heard the door open again.

“What do you want this time?” His voice was raised in a controlled manner. He darted a sharp look at the door, thinking it was Aster.

“What’s the matter with you, Clover? I don’t want anything, and I just arrived now.” Lizter asked.

“Oh. . . It’s just you, Lizter. Forget it.” Exhaling a huge amount of breath, Clover sighed in relief. Bringing Aster to his penthouse was really not a good idea. He should have brought Aster to the nearest hospital or clinic. “Bring this back to the supply room.”

Lizter took the kit Clover gave him. His eyes were frequently moving from the kit to Clover. “Was it about Aster? I saw him in the hallway and his left hand was plastered."

Instead of answering Lizter, Clover uttered, “Ban him from entering the building.”