004 - Secret Unveiled

Leithe walks to the kitchen, where he washes his hands at the sink after disposing of the plastic bag in the trash can next to the refrigerator.

After drying his hands with a hand towel that was hung on a hook near the shelves, he went upstairs and was ready to go to his bed when all of a sudden he heard his brother, Kairo, saying, "Playing." Kairo's voice was the most mellow that he had ever heard his brother speak.

He was planning to ignore him regardless of his suspicions, but then he heard his brother say, "Sure, babe," in the same tone.

It is no longer possible for Leithe to ignore it as he storms into Kairo's room, which is located directly across from his room and has a door that is only partially closed. He was already standing by the door frame, looking at Kairo, who was making a horribly shocked face while still on his phone.

“I gotta go. Love you.” he whispered and stashed his phone in his sweatpant pocket.

“Who’s that?” Leithe asks, inquiring with one of his eyebrows raised.

“No one.” Kairo responded while fiddling with his computer.

“Bro, obviously it’s SOMEONE if I hear ‘love’.” As the latter made his way to Kairo's bed, he crashed into it, lying on his stomach and gleefully watching his brother. He usually cunning so Leithe finds immense joy in his brother's fidgeting.

“I said no one, Leithe.” He turned his chair around to face his brother. “So, do you mind leaving my room?” Grinning, he expressed his hope that it would work on his brother to leave him alone.

Leithe merely chuckled and flopped his head down to fully lay on the bed, then rolled over onto his back. He observed Kairo's room in his head, mentally judging.

Posters covered the walls of the room. The game posters on his brother's wall are evidence of his passion for video games. The room was then adorned with multi-colored lights that were affixed to the ceiling. The grey shade of his room curtain complements his bed sheet.

On his bedside table, he found only a lamp; however, he did notice a keychain attached to an unknown key. He extended his hand for it and noticed the name "Gail" engraved on it.

Kairo, who was smiling and texting, failed to notice that Leithe had his locker key in his hand.

"Gail?" he asked, turning to face his brother. Upon seeing what Leithe was holding, Kairo paled as he casually glanced away from his phone.

“Give me that!” He snatched the key and tucked it in his hoodie pocket. Leithe was not expecting such a big response and was taken aback by his brother's abrupt behavior. He could not say a word for a moment.

Rising from his seat, he scooted over to face his brother. “I didn’t know yo-”

Kairo cut his words. “Yeah.” Despite the fact that he was gazing down at the floor, he expressed his disappointment. “I didn’t want you guys to know.”

In order to hide his face from his older brother, who had not yet recovered from his shock, he put his hoodie on with the intention of concealing the awkwardness that he could feel in the air between them.

“I know. I’m sorry. I can’t help it.” The fact that Leithe was able to make out his mutterings through the thick fabric masking his face was a blessing.

“H-Hey. It’s okay, Kai.” He said, peeling off his hood to get a better look at his face. “I don’t give a damn about it. I still love you. You’re my brother. Even if you love our kind and you-”

“Wait, what?” He halted Leithe. As a result of his confusion, he retreated a little bit. “What did you say?”

Leithe’s eyes flicker in bewilderment. “What?”

“What did you say just now?”

“I don’t give a damn?” He essentially asked.

“No, before that.” He gestured backward with his finger.

“Hm. You’re my brother?”

“No, I know that. Leithe, the last one.” he exclaimed with annoyance.

“Even if I know you love our kind?” Kairo immediately burst into laughter after hearing that statement. His laughter was so intense that it nearly brought him to tears. The latter’s action was observed by Leithe, who was still perplexed.

"What?" the elder asked as Kairo began to calm down a bit.

“I’m not gay, bro.” he said, wiping his tears off.

“What do you mean? Your key bears the name ‘Gail.’ You are not Gail or anything similar to it.” Leithe explains.

"This..." Taking the key out of his pocket, Kairo holds it up to Leithe and says, "Name of 'Gail' is a short name for.."

“Gail. A dude.” Leithe interrupts but was then told to hold tight till the younger man explained everything.

“Abigail. A gorgeous blondie with a beautiful smile.”

A dissatisfied expression is displayed by Leithe to his brother. “Why would you choose to refer to a young lady by the name of 'Gail'? “ His tone was mocking.

“Why not ‘Abe’ from the Abi with the E letter at the end?” He asked. “You can also refer to her as A and B letter and call her Abby like normal people would or you can just call her Abigail because she is an Abigail. I mean, you could call her any other feminine name but you ultimately decided to go with the most unpredictable universal name in the history of the world. You might as well call her ‘Iga’ if you want something different.” he complained.

When Kairo sees his brother's attitude, he cannot help but giggle. Someone should seriously befriend his brother. "I don’t know, bro. That’s the name her parents gave her," he said with a laugh.

“That’s why I prefer to call her ‘babe’.” He whispers, intentionally adding more to the fire to tease his brother more.

Despite his outward expression of contempt, Leithe secretly feels glad for his younger brother. Being in a relationship is not really shocking, especially considering his sociable nature, so it should not come as a shock to anyone. If it is Leithe, then there should be a party with thousands of dollars worth of celebration.

There is a world of difference in personality between Leithe and Kairo, despite the fact that they are biological brothers separated by six years. Leithe is more of a recluse who does not socialize much and only has close friends, whereas Kairo is more of an extrovert who loves to party and is as crazy as his age would suggest, but who is incredibly caring to their small family.

The younger one found his sibling's reaction hilarious, and Leithe decided to ignore it, joining him in laughter

"But hey, at least there is someone who can help you out," he muttered as he slammed his body back into the bed with his feet hanging over the edge.

“Well, I guess so. She certainly helped me very well.” Leithe swore he could hear him smirking as he said that.

He sprang up and faced him again. “What did you mean by that?”

Evil laughter escapes Kairo's lips. "I don’t know. Didn’t you scan me already, Brother?" he asked in a casual tone.

Leithe was taken aback once more. "Tell me, Kai.” He spoke in an effort to contain his emotions as he tried not to lose it in front of his brother.

“Bro, don’t act innocent. I told you my secret. Isn’t it fair for me to know yours?”

The younger has long noticed that Leithe had trust issues even with his own family. “I knew it already.” To encourage Leithe to open up to him.

“I don’t understand yo-”Before Leithe can finish his line, Kairo grabs his brother’s head and brings it close to his face. This allowed Leithe to see his eyes clearly even without his glasses.

“You will, Leithe.”

From Kairo's perspective, the screen displays a conversation between his brother and his girlfriend, Abigail.

[Sorry, babe]

[My brother barge into my room so i had to end our call]

[It’s okaay]

[ I understand but u have to repay for it *wink*]

[Don’t worry, baby]

[I’ll make it up to u tomorrow]

[with a ( ˘ ³˘)]

With a shake of his head, Leithe frees himself from his brother's hold. Once he fully regained his composure, he stared in contempt at Kairo, who sat back and relaxed in his chair, clearly content.

“What the fuck was that, Kai?” he asked while trying to wipe his eyes in the hopes of burning them all together.

“Just admit it, Leithe. You can’t hide it anymore.” he said, smirking.

Leithe sighed. “What gave it away?”

With a smirk on his face, Kairo finally reveals himself. “When you lost it at the cafe on your sixteenth birthday, I sensed something was amiss. Maybe you are simply overly emotional, I thought to myself at the time. Your actions prompted me to closely observe your every move since it made me suspicious of you.” He pauses “and realizes there is something strange about you.”

“Looking into other people's eyes made yours turn yellow, at least in my experience. Isn't that the case?" He elaborates. "After the yellow thingy, you went completely nuts, and you usually never get furious without a good reason."

His cold sweat is trickling down his neck as he listens to his brother. The intention was to make it known. Though he does not anticipate having to tell him this soon, he does consider it.

“It is,” he remarked before letting out a sigh.

“What you have been through in your life must have been traumatic enough for you to struggle with trust. I completely understand how serious it is that it affects your demeanor around people.”

As he observed Leithe’s expression, Kairo could not help but feel guilty. He is not going to approach his brother about it just now since he does not think he is ready, but he wondered if there will be another opportunity. With that, he proceeded.

Leithe smiled. “Kai, I had seen that much. I've witnessed the most vile aspects of human nature. People let me down so many times that I didn’t want it to happen to me or the people around me again, so I have decided to ditch some toxic people.”

“I’m guessing that’s why you insisted on cutting ties with Evan.” It was one of their big fights when Kairo was just 12 years old, and it left quite a significant scar for him, but knowing the reason now, he felt rather sad for his brother for having to endure his hatred up till eight months after the fight.

Evan was a close friend of Kairo's who often gave him presents. Despite Kairo's animosity against Leithe, he obeyed his brother's order since he loved his brother more than Evan.

“I’m sorry.”

“No, I know you wouldn’t ask me for fun. My goodness, Leithe, you must be struggling with that much information in hand.”

“Really, it is wearing me down. I didn’t want to witness it, but I’m powerless over it.” the older added.

“Is it eyes in general, or?”

“As long as I see any kind of iris and pupil for at least five seconds.”

“Even animals?” He asks curiously, and Leithe nodded. “Wow, that’s cool.”

“Not until you’re in my shoes.”

Kairo smiled. “Yeah.” His voice trailed off as he paused in his response. “But how come you never told me? At least tell your brother if you don’t wanna tell mom. I have been waiting for you to tell me, but it seems like you would rather bury the secret with you. So, I’ll take the honor of spilling the beans myself. It was worth it to see your reaction. It was a bit anticlimactic, but whatever.” he said, laughing.

Leithe punched his arm and made him stop his laughter. “And that is for the many years of making a fool of me.” He said when the younger shot him a glare.

Leithe was taken aback by Kairo's abrupt shift in tone as he enquired, "How come you never scan me?" in response to his brother's statement.

“This kid is really something.”

“You never know. I might have, but you were entirely unaware of it," he remarked.

“No, you didn’t and I’m absolutely certain about it.” the latter said.

"I would rather not let myself down," Leithe explained after a brief pause. “I believe my worries are just nothing, but I prefer to play it safe. No one in our family was someone I wanted to abandon. All I have is you guys. Your privacy is my top priority. Except Snow," the elder added.

“Fair enough.” he replied, satisfied with his brother’s answer.

As a brother, he sympathizes with Leithe's suffering, yet he is also grateful that individuals like him possess this ability. Who knows what they might do with that gift if it ever fell to the wrong person?

In that moment, a realization dawns on Kairo. “You entered my virgin mind for the first time, then. Oh, gosh!” He exclaimed in awe.

Leithe simply grinned. “Aight, later.”

"Leithe, there’s something I wanna show you while you are at it," Kairo remarked as his brother was about to walk out of his room. It appears that the older is oblivious to his words.

At once, Kairo grabbed Leithe’s head and let him do the rest.

Sitting on the bed with a backdrop that looked much like theirs was a blonde girl. Based on Kairo's recent description, it is reasonable to assume that this is the girl—Kairo's girlfriend. She possesses emerald eyes and, as Kairo mentioned, a beautiful smile.

It is presented from Kairo's perspective, and she is currently gazing at him with awe and admiration. While they remained silent, she nibbled the bottom of her lip, and her fingers were twitching in a nervous manner.

Leithe has no clue what they discussed earlier, but even a virgin person like Leithe could tell something is about to happen from the palpable tension.

“Oh, no, you don’t, Kai.” The boy in question only chuckled.

“I’m sorry. For the record, I’ve never been in a committed relationship before.” She muttered shyly as she continued to look down at her fumbling fingers.

“It’s okay. Hey,” Kairo placed his fingers on the girl’s chin and raised her head to meet Kairo’s gaze once more. He smiled.

“Fuuuuuck.” Leithe cannot help as he felt the goosebumps from the overwhelming cringeness.

But at least he cannot read people through another person’s mind. It would be really exhausting.

“If you’re sorry, then,” He tapped his lips. “Kiss me. Maybe then I’ll feel better.”

Despite her reddening cheeks, the girl cannot tear her eyes away from Kairo, shifting her gaze from his eyes to his lips.

“Okay…” Just after she declared, their faces started to inch dangerously close to each other and eventually—

Since Kairo refused to let him go, this time, Leithe hit his head on his brother’s to get out of Kairo’s sight. Their voices soaked with pain as they groaned, and both rubbed their foreheads.

“Suits you, you brat. I can’t believe you kissed in this room.” Then it hits him: he needs to get out of bed right now.

As in, "In this bed!" he exclaimed, repulsed by the thought of having rolled around the bed and likely ingested a multitude of germs from their embarrassing antics and... Nope!

He yelled out, "I’m leaving!" and bolted out of the room, leaving Kairo, who was already laughing frantically, behind.