Chapter 8 -

The day before Jaehwa's deal. Hope he forgot. Actually I hope he and Daehyun move out of the country so I'm safe.

Nearly a week has passed insanely quickly, and I was gonna go crazy. How the hell did it come to this? 

Eliam crawled on top of me, seemingly drunken. All the lights were turned off.

"E-Eliam..? What are you doing..? I t-told you not to drink too much..!"

I stuttered, as he grasped on my shirt, trying to unbutton my uniform slowly.

"Come on Leon... I'll show you.. That I'm better than that Jaehwa.."

Ok. Let's pause.

It was a beautiful Friday evening, and I was so relieved that school was finally over. As I lay on the bed, letting the comfort of it swallow me up, I debated whether to tackle the pile of homework that awaited me on the desk. 

"Ugh... It's so damn hard," I muttered to myself, glancing at the stack of papers. I was three grades behind, and the challenge felt almost insurmountable. Time travel to the past is one thing, but traveling to the future is a whole different beast.

I slumped over to the desk, feeling demotivated, when I heard Eliam call for me. "Leon..! Want to go out to eat something? We ran out of ingredients anyway."

I looked at the homework and then at Eliam, who stood in the doorway looking excited. I decided the homework could wait.

"Uh... Yeah, sure..! Coming!" I called back, hurrying out the door.

Eliam was waiting at the front door, wearing the butterfly clip I had given him. I couldn't help but stare at him for a moment. Everything he did made him look so pretty. I was glad he wore the clip; I'd half-expected him to forget about it. My heart skipped a beat. I couldn't believe I was basically best friends with the most attractive guy I had ever met. It felt like I didn't even belong in his presence.

Eliam tilted his head, puzzled. "Hm? Is there something wrong?"

"N-no. I'll be there in a moment." I smiled awkwardly, feeling like I'd been caught staring.

Whatever. I've always felt a bit awkward around really attractive people. It's not Eliam's fault he was born gorgeous.

As we walked down the street, Eliam held onto my hand. Did we really need to do this? Was Eliam comfortable with it? 

"Eliam... Uh, is it okay if I let go for a moment? My hands are a bit sweaty."

He tightened his grip. "Nope. I'm fine with it."

"Oh... right..." I replied awkwardly.

Ugh... We probably looked like a couple to everyone around! I was nervous about running into someone we knew. I'd probably be roasted by those guys. Speaking of them, Jaehwa hadn't mentioned 'our deal' this past week, so I assumed he'd forgotten. But if he saw me and Eliam together, he'd definitely remember. I needed to be cautious and just get to the restaurant.

"Hold up, Leon." Eliam stopped us in our tracks.

"I forgot my wallet..." he said, looking down in disappointment.

"Oh, it's fine. I can pay."

"No. I don't want you to pay. You already do enough for me," Eliam insisted, gazing into me.

He placed both hands on my shoulders. "Stay here, I'll quickly run back. Okay? Don't go anywhere dangerous."

"Okay... I'll just sit here," I said, settling onto a nearby bench. It wasn't like I was going to get run over or kidnapped if I wandered off for a bit...

I watched as Eliam walked back, his figure slowly disappearing along the path towards the dorms. I sighed. Without my phone, I had nothing to do but watch... the birds flutter around in the trees? No, I'd get up and stretch my legs. No harm in exploring a little. The park was so green and alive, something that was rare to see in my world. Global warming really sucked over there. Not here, though.

I wandered around the park and decided to check out some of the shops nearby. Maybe I could grab a dessert for Eliam.

I roamed the area but didn't stay out too long. I didn't want to be gone when Eliam got back. A quick look around wouldn't hurt. I always made a point of trying new food when I moved somewhere new.

I turned into a narrow alleyway that led to some shops on the other side. It seemed like a shortcut. The alley was a bit dark and creepy, but that was par for the course in a new place.

As I walked, I heard soft rustling sounds coming from a corner of the alleyway, obscured by an old, tattered curtain. It didn't seem like there should be anyone there, so I assumed it was just a stray cat rummaging for food. Stray cats were everywhere in this area.

But the rustling grew louder. Was the cat in trouble? I hurried over, concerned by the increasing noise.

I pulled the curtain aside, expecting to find a hungry cat. Well, there was a hungry animal, but not the cute kind. My luck never fails to be awful.

"Oh. Hi."

Daehyun said, as he came on top of a girl, probably his girlfriend, her mouth covered by Daehyun's hand, muffling her moans.

So this is what all the commotion was. ANOTHER fucking scene like this. Getting deja vu here from this. 

What an interesting cat! 

As she panted, catching her breath when Daehyun let go, she adjusted her loose clothes again.

"Daehyun, you damn.. You told me there was gonna be no one..!"

She scolded, leaving immediately, giving him the middle finger as she passed by me, leaving him alone.

Honestly, she should've smacked this guy. Who decides they want to fuck in public? Is the adrenaline worth it?

"Now.. what the hell is this..?"

I asked Daehyun,, pissed off at how many more times I have to witness people doing the deed.

He wore his pants again, but couldn't find his shirt, leaving him shirtless, exposing his muscles to the damn world.

Daehyun smirked, hearing my pissed off response.

"What, are you jealous? Is that why you sound upset?"

"W-What..? No! Ew! I was just.. Thinking! It has nothing to do with you?"

"Really? After that confession?"

"Could you please not bring that up? Sure it may have been only 2 weeks since then, but I'm telling you I am not jealous of anyone!"

"But.. I'm pretty sure.. It's harder to fall out of love than fall in love.."

Daehyun stated, his tone deepening with every word.

"Whatever. I'm leaving!"

I said, quickly realizing Eliam might be back by now. Darn it, I was distracted. This world truly hates me.

"Wait."

He said, stopping me from leaving.

"What? I'm in a hurry!"

"Your number. Give it to me."

He asked coldly, unlike the previous days where he was nicer.

"I.. forgot it."

"Then just give me your phone. I'll type it in."

"Damn why are you so persistent??"

I collapsed on the bench after running as fast as I could. Thank goodness Eliam was just coming back. After all that had happened in just a few minutes, I was relieved.

I waved and smiled happily as he approached. Thank goodness nothing too bad had happened.

We sat in the restaurant and ordered some food. Eliam didn't order much for himself, leaving most of the dishes for me. Honestly, he seemed almost like a saint to me.

"Really?? You're letting me have all this??" I asked, my eyes lighting up with appreciation.

Eliam laughed softly. "Sure, haha! To be honest, I saved this day just to spend it with you."

That sentence filled me with a warm feeling I hadn't felt in a while. What was that feeling called? I wasn't sure, but it made me want to kiss him right then and there. Though that might be weird for him.

Maybe it was just gratitude.

As I enjoyed eating and talking with Eliam, my phone started ringing on the table. It was Daehyun. Why the heck?

Eliam glanced at the phone, his smile fading slightly upon seeing the name. Had they interacted before?

I picked up the phone and swiped the answer button. "Hi…?"

"Leon, are you with Eliam?"

"Uh… Yeah. How do you know that?" I asked, looking around.

"Just asking. Tomorrow, why don't we meet up?"

I muted the call for a moment and turned to Eliam. "Eliam, do we have plans tomorrow?"

Eliam, his friendly expression fading, answered, "No?"

I unmuted the call. "U-um… So I have to go to the mall tomorrow. Sorry."

"Well, perfect! I was about to ask you to come to the mall with me."

"Uh… I'll call you back! Bye!" I ended the call quickly.

I stared at Eliam, who seemed down. Was he involved with Daehyun? Was I getting in their way?

"Why do you have his number saved?" he asked, his light green cat-like eyes staring directly into mine.

I avoided his gaze, feeling guilty. "He just asked me… That's all. I won't get in the way…"

Eliam sighed and then patted my head gently. "That's not what I meant. I'm worried he'll… hurt you. You know how much of a playboy he is."

"Hm? Oh… right! Don't worry, I'm way too unattractive to get hurt in the heart, so I'll probably get hurt in the face, but don't worry about that!" I commented self-consciously.

"Leon.. Don't say that.. You are beautiful enough in my eyes."

Eliam spoke calmly, without breaking contact.

"Uh Okay. I really don't.."

I looked away, quickly brushing off the compliment, fading as I spoke in embarrassment.

But I was glad he wasn't mad..

"One more thing, Leon. Is it… true that you confessed to Daehyun?" he asked, looking down, his eyes darkening.

"Uh… yeah… I guess?" Maybe I shouldn't have said that. It wasn't even me, for goodness' sake.

"Okay," Eliam said flatly, visibly distressed.

Shoot. I always mess everything up. I should have considered if Eliam was interested in Daehyun. I shouldn't have even answered that call. In the manhwa, he was upset when anyone interacted with the person he was in love with. This made more sense now. Because I had called with the person he was in love with?

He raised his hand, calling for a waiter. "A drink of soju, please."

"You're going to drink…?"

"I… just want to. I'm 19 now."

"Uh… sure." I didn't want to anger him any more. But wasn't he a lightweight?

Yeah. I was correct about that. One drink became two, then three. I had to watch him slowly get drunk while I drank my sugar-free soda. It's so much better than soju. The only reason Eliam would want alcohol was probably to take his mind off things. What on earth was he thinking?

I obviously had to carry him back to the dorm. Luckily, he wasn't too heavy. Anyway, he remembers whatever he did when he was drunk. I was sure he'd tell me about it the next morning. I knew that because when Eliam was drunk once in the story, he ended up doing it with Daehyun, and the next day he was so embarrassed and shy and blah blah blah whatever, even though most people forget what happened when they were drunk.

I tried to gently lay him on the bed. Eliam was whimpering about things I couldn't understand. I heard my name, but that was about it.

I figured I should leave him to sleep. I was about to walk out when Eliam pulled me into the bed with him. My heart started racing. I wasn't certain what the purpose was.

Eliam crawled on top of me, seemingly drunken. All the lights were turned off.

"E-Eliam..? What are you doing..? I t-told you not to drink too much..!"

I stuttered, as he grasped on my shirt, trying to unbutton my uniform slowly.

"Come on Leon... I'll show you.. That I'm better than that Jaehwa.."