Feelings

The Chinese hot pot restaurant was already packed with people when they got there. Thankfully, there were still some places left. They were guided to a table, and the waiter handed them the menu.

Aurora ordered what she wanted to eat excitedly. It has been a long time since she has eaten outside because of the exam season. She used to come here to this restaurant with her friends before.

It was Seojin's first time eating in a hot pot restaurant. Even before his parents' deaths, he rarely ate outside; they didn't have the money to. It was a relief that the judge had given him a credit card, or else he wouldn't have known how to tell Aurora that he didn't have enough money with him.

"Hey, isn't that Seojin?" Ivan peeked at Seojin's table.

Valentin turned his head and noticed Seojin accompanied by a cute girl. "Yeah," he replied.

Ivan had invited him to eat outside. His friend knew that he liked to eat hot pot. It has been a long time since they last saw each other. Ivan was extremely worried when he heard that Valentin had gone missing in the ocean.

"Why don't we go say hi to him?" Ivan suggested. It has been a long time since he didn't saw the kid. He was curious to know if Valentin was treating the kid right.

"You'll be ruining their date."

"Aren't they too young to be dating? They should focus on their studies," Ivan joked.

Valentin rolled his eyes. It was normal for kids their age to date earlier. Besides, he wasn't worried about Seojin. His grades have always been good, even after his parents' deaths.

"Did you hear about the increasing number of missing cases these days?" Ivan asked, all mysteriously. He knew a lot of insider news because he had a lot of police friends.

"What is it about?"

Ivan approached the judge and whispered, "They are kidnapping kids. A lot of kids had been missing, and the police couldn't find any leads. The parents are worried crazy."

Valentin frowned. Why did it sound so familiar in his ears?

"What do you mean they couldn't find any evidence?" Valentin asked.

"They don't know how the kids were kidnapped. It's like they disappeared in thin air."

"That's weird." It sounded like the kidnapper used superpowers to abduct them.

"Anyway, it has been chaotic at the police station lately. The parents have been stuck in the police station," Ivan continued. His police friends hadn't been sleeping for days.

"The police would surely find them," Valentin reassured him. It was time he visited Winter and Nikolai again. He had a feeling that the missing cases were related to the assassin's village.

When they finished eating, they passed by Seojin's table and smiled at the kid. Both of them looked so cute together.

"Hyung, what are you doing here?" Seojin asked, surprised to see the judge. The person who had been on his mind all afternoon was right in front of him.

"Ivan and I just finished eating," Valentin replied.

Ivan grabbed Seojin's shoulder and exclaimed, "It's been a long time since I last saw you! Already having a girlfriend, I see."

'Wait, no, that's not what it looks like,' Seojin thought. He glanced at Valentin, hoping that the judge wouldn't misunderstand. Seojin's heart sank when he saw Valentin looking at him proudly. As if saying that he and Aurora were a good match together.

Noticing Seojin's sad gaze, Aurora quickly explained, "We are not a couple. We are just friends."

"Oh, my bad. Sorry, I misunderstood," Ivan apologized.

"It's nice to meet you. We are sorry for interrupting your meal," Valentin said to the girl. Then, he grabbed Ivan's arm and dragged him outside.

Seojin stared at Valentin's hand on Ivan's arm. There was a sour smell in his mouth. Was that what they called jealousy? He noticed that he was overly sensitive when people were too close to Valentin. He wanted to be the only one touching him.

"Is that your big brother?" Aurora asked. They didn't look alike at all. Seojin was on the pretty side, and the man who had just greeted them was handsome and manly. She wouldn't mind if they talked to them a bit longer. That man was a piece of art. It was rare for people to have red eyes; only the Vronsky family had them.

Aurora gasped, finally noticing that she had just met one of the richest people in the world.

"Was that Valentin Vronsky?" she added.

Seojin nodded and said, "He's my guardian. I'm living with him right now."

"Omg, that's awesome. He seems like a nice person."

"Yes, he is." Seojin smiled. The judge was the nicest person he had met.

They finished their date happily, and Seojin took Aurora home. When they arrived in front of her house, the sky was already full of stars. The girl was truly pretty under the moonlight. If Seojin were straight, he would've accepted her confession.

"What did you think about today?" Aurora asked, waiting for her confession reply.

"I'm sorry, I should've told you sooner, but I already have feelings for someone. I wasn't sure before, but now I'm sure of it," Seojin replied guiltily.

"No worries, I already knew that you won't accept. I had a great time today! Let's stay friends, what do you think?" Aurora smiled. She had a feeling that her classmate had something for Valentin. A girl's intuition was never wrong. It would be fun to ship the two handsome guys together. She had to come up with excuses to see them together.

"Of course!" Seojin exclaimed. He didn't expect Aurora to be so cool about it.

"Let's hang out soon!" Aurora said and entered her house.

"You are back," Valentin said as he heard Seojin's footsteps coming to the living room.

"Hyung, I'm back," Seojin said, still keeping his distance.

"Why do you keep avoiding me these days? Did something happen?" Valentin asked. He was worried about the kid.

Seojin's face reddened when he thought again about the embarrassing morning.

"Don't worry, Huyng, there's nothing," Seojin explained.

Seeing Seojin's red face, Valentin got up from the sofa and touched the kid's forehead.

"Why's your face so red? Are you sick?"

Feeling the judge's breath and his body heat, Seojin retreated backward.

"It must be because of the hot pot I ate," Seojin lied.

Valentin touched Seojin's cheeks and stared at his face closely. He still hadn't gotten used to the kid's glow-up. He felt proud that the male lead had become handsome because of his feeding.

'Don't come any closer!' Seojin yelled in his mind. It would make him think about the judge's pink nipples again. He was scared that he might appear in his dreams again tonight.

"I won't force you to say anything. Just know that I will always be there for you," Valentin said.

"Yes, hyung," Seojin said after managing to get away from Valentin's grasp.

"Have you ever been with a man before?" Seojin asked courageously. He was curious about the judge's relationships. It felt like Valentin knew everything about him, but he knew little about the judge.

"No, I haven't. Why are you asking that? Do you like boys?" Valentin asked. There was a possibility that the male lead liked boys. In the novel, there wasn't any kind of romance going on, so Valentin just thought that Seojin was too busy with his revenge plan to date. Now that the judge had taken care of the dangers, there was a possibility that the male lead could develop feelings for someone.

Seojin shook his head violently, afraid that the judge might catch on to his feelings. Valentin ruffled his hair softly and laughed. "Don't look so scared. Even if you like boys, I'll still be there for you. You can like anyone you want."

'But, I like you. What should I do?' Seojin thought.