Vol 3 Ch 11

The boy put the book he was reading on his lap and took a sandwich out of the paper bag. He was about to take a bite when a hand reached out from behind and snatched the sandwich.

 

“… … !”

 

“Thank you for the food.”

 

It was Phillip. He casually took the sandwich and ate it. After finishing the sandwich cleanly in just a few bites, he sat down on the bench and looked at the boy.

 

“He….llo”

 

The boy said hello without making eye contact.

 

“I guess you were busy? It’s hard to see your face.”

 

“… No, I… .”

 

‘Okay. What time are you coming?’

 

When Phillip turned around with a smile showing his sharp teeth, the boy had already disappeared.

 

‘Ha ha ha ha ha.’

 

Phillip stood there and laughed for a while. It was so absurd that he was almost angry. Later, when he visited him at the end of class, the boy disappeared as if he was running away. He waited on the bench during lunch, but the boy didn’t show up. It was the same the next day and the day after that.

 

In the end, it was only today, long after lunch time, that Phillip was able to spot a boy walking while looking around.

 

“Don’t you have class at this time?”

 

“… yes.”

 

“I have one.”

 

“Yes?”

 

The boy was shocked and asked back. Phillip smiled, rolled his eyes, and added that he was joking. The boy breathed a sigh of relief.

 

It was a blatant lie. Phillip was here because he had skipped physics class. He had no good reason to wait for the boy here, other than Mr. Mason’s class, where attendance was always checked. He was just really fucking angry.

 

“Do you still need time to think?”

 

Phillip asked, smiling. The boy’s wide eyes rolled to the side and he stammered, “Uh, yeah.”

 

It was unexpected. He didn’t want to see the boy smiling so innocently and wondering what was good about the country where the parents who abandoned him lived, but he wasn’t going to say something like that.

 

He didn’t expect him to show tears, he didn’t expect him to be so bizarrely intrusive, and he didn’t expect himself to invite him to a party. All were unexpected. But what was most unexpected was the boy’s reaction to the invitation.

 

He didn’t attach much significance to the party invitation itself. All he had to do was just get excited and laugh like an idiot at the mere fact that he was invited. However, as soon as the boy received the invitation, he had a pale face and was busy averting his eyes, as if he had been given a dead dog as a gift.

 

“Well, I, I mean… .”

 

The boy trailed off, still looking not the least bit happy.

 

F**k, he’s such a d**k.

 

Phillip suppressed the growing irritation and closed his eyes.

 

Even Fred, the stupid pig who couldn’t figure out why he was wearing a headpiece, was so happy to be invited to the party, but who the h**l is this guy to react like this? He doesn’t even make eye contact when talking to him, but when Fred appears, he raises his head with a sparkle in his eye.

 

“Yeah. Tell me.”

 

“I don’t think someone like me should go to a place like that… .”

 

“What kind of place is that?”

 

“… … .”

 

The boy closed his mouth shut.

 

Even though no one openly spoke of racism, there was an invisible hierarchy within the school. Whites with whites, Asians with Asians, Latinos with Latinos. It was rare for people of different races to form groups.

 

There was a rare person who crossed that line without any hesitation, and Phillip Levin was that type. He was a popular person on campus, and everyone wanted to be in his group. In contrast, the boy was a stranger who did not belong anywhere. It was clear that even if he came to the party this time, he wouldn’t fit in properly. There was no way that neither of them knew that fact.

 

“Very well, then.”

 

When Phillip answered calmly, the boy openly showed signs of relief.

 

“I can’t help it if you need time to think.”

 

Phillip lay down on his bench. He laid down on the boy’s knees. He felt the boy’s body stiffen.

 

“… uh… .”

 

“I’ll take a nap and wake up.”

 

He was grumpy and arrogant.

 

This way, he thought, the boy would be at a loss and of course he would say he would go. But the boy only grunted and did not reply that he would come to the party.

 

Phillip opened one eye and said, “Wake me when you’re done thinking,” then closed it again. He heard a whimper from above. It sounded like the whimpering of a young puppy, and Phillip burst out laughing.

 

He had taken it to heart that he shouldn’t bully the young and weak. But even knowing this, he couldn’t bring himself to stop.

 

“…Are you sleeping?”

 

After a while, the boy asked in a very quiet voice. Of course Phillip was awake, but he didn’t react at all, pretending to be asleep.

 

“You shouldn’t sleep… . ha… .”

 

The restless self-talk soon gave way to sighing. The boy, who was quietly sighing, picked up the book he had placed next to him and heard the rustling sound of paper turning.

 

It was ridiculous. The boy sometimes behaved like this, in ways he never expected. He couldn’t tell if he was scared or if he was wreckless.

 

Phillip closed his eyes and smiled inwardly.

 

The boy’s faint scent mingled with the smell of trees damp from yesterday’s rain. Unlike the sweaty jocks, the boy smelled soft and delicate.

 

Young and weak things instinctively smelled like they wanted to be loved. Phillip had never been captivated by such a smell. All he had to do was hold something weak in his hands and suppress his cruel desires so as not to break it to pieces. But now he doesn’t even have that desire.

 

The wind picked up, rattling the leaves in unison, and shards of sunlight streamed through my deeply closed eyes. He felt his consciousness slip away, and his whole body relaxed. It was the first time he’s felt peaceful in a while.

 

How much time has passed?

 

When he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was the boy’s reddened cheek. They were ripe, like peaches that would ooze juice if he bit into them.

 

Phillip closed his eyes for a long moment and then opened them. This time, the boy’s palm was seen covering his face.

 

“Are you awake?”

 

The boy asked, removing his palm when he felt him stir. The sunlight that the leaves hadn’t blocked hit Phillip’s face.

 

“Oh, sorry for putting it away so suddenly.”

 

When Phillip, who was half asleep, frowned, the boy hurriedly raised his palm again.

 

Only then did Phillip realize why the boy was holding his palm in such a ridiculous position as if he were punishing him. The boy was holding his palm up to keep the sun out of his face while he slept.

 

Until his face turned red.

 

It happened every time. The boy had willingly treated Phillip as if he deserved protection, and while the clumsy care had been laughably absurd at first, it didn’t make him feel bad now.

 

No, rather than feeling bad… .

 

“… … .”

 

“… … .”

 

Their eyes met.

 

They both stared at each other, unable to blink. It seemed that only a dirty joke would break the awkward air. Despite his knowledge, Phillip said nothing.

 

A tight gaze held the boy.

 

Cheeks flushed in the early summer sun, long eyelashes, hair sparkling in the sunlight, and small lips slightly parted.

 

A strong emotion of unknown origin filled the inside of his throat.

 

“If you’re awake, over there… .”

 

The boy’s knees buckled and his shoulders threw back, as if he wanted to get up. The wind blew the beads of sweat from the boy’s forehead down his cheeks and onto Phillip’s lips.

 

The faint smell of sweat made Phillip’s vision suddenly go blank. It was only then that he realized that what had welled up in his throat was an intense thirst. When he came to his senses, he had grabbed the boy’s wrist.

 

“… … .”

 

Panic and anxiety flashed in the boy’s big eyes. He was trembling like a young animal that had just been born and hadn’t developed even minimal defenses.

 

Uncontrolled urges began to run amok. The hand that gripped the boy’s wrist tightened. Unable to resist Phillip’s strength, the boy’s body leaned forward. Their faces were close enough to feel each other’s breath.

 

It was then.

 

“Phillip!”

 

A loud voice was heard from below. The boy was so startled as if he had been burned, he shook off Phillip’s hand and stood up. As a result, the boy’s book lying on the bench spilled onto the floor.

 

“Phillip, I’ve been looking for you for a while. What the h**l were you doing here?”

 

Phillip slowly got up from the bench.

 

“Why on earth did you turn off your phone? I kept sending you messages, but you didn’t even check.”

 

Jaina hit Phillip without even taking a breath. Phillip ran his hand through his disheveled hair and sighed.

 

“Why is Mr. Mason’s class… .”

 

As she spoke, her eyes caught sight of a boy bending down to pick up a book from the floor.

 

“Why is he here?”

 

The boy flinched and lowered his head at the tone as if he had seen something hideous that should not have been here.

 

“Haha.”

 

Phillip smiled lightly and closed his eyes. It felt like his d**k was grabbed right before he could e**culate.

 

“And how the h**l did you end up here, anyway?”

 

His narrow, smiling eyes shone faintly.

 

“Luke said he’s seen you up here a few times. By the way, Chloe said she’s going to be your partner at the party this weekend, is that true?”

 

“Did you come all the way here to ask that?”

 

Phillip asked, tilting his head.

 

“You said you were done with Chloe. You really didn’t lie to me just to sleep with me, right?”

 

She couldn’t overcome her anger and screamed.

 

“Answer me. Don’t play with people!”

 

Phillip got up and took a step in front of Jaina. Perhaps because of his unusually wide shoulders, the feeling of intimidation doubled as the distance narrowed. Jaina unconsciously swallowed her breath and lifted her head to look up at him.

 

“Jaina.”

 

Phillip continued, tucking her hair behind her ear.

 

“There’s no way I would lie like that to sleep with you.”

 

It was a soft and sweet voice, like the scent of lilac carried in the breeze that awakens spring. But for some reason, Jaina felt as if her whole body was being hit by the freezing cold North Wind, down to the tips of her hair. She hastily lowered her head.

 

“… Did you really break up with Chloe?”

 

“Yes.”

 

It was a lie. They’d never been together in the first place, so they couldn’t have broken up, and that went for Jaina as well.

 

“Then this weekend… .”

 

Jaina’s head snapped up and she made eye contact with the boy, who was staring at her blankly.

 

“What. What are you doing there?”

 

When she frowned, he shuffled over and slung his bag over his shoulder. The books he had barely managed to squeeze through the gap in the bag he hadn’t closed spilled out again.

 

“Sorry. I’ll go soon… .”

 

With an unintelligible apology to no one in particular, the boy began to pick up his books and notes again. A pen rolled to Phillip’s feet. Phillip knew it, but he deliberately didn’t pick it up. It suddenly occurred to him that he wanted to see the boy’s round head move at his feet.

 

The boy didn’t dare step in front of them, only grabbing at the strap. Phillip looked down at the boy’s slender wrists, which looked like they could easily be snapped if he squeezed them hard enough.

 

“Do you know where my house is?”

 

“… Roughly.”

 

Phillip held out his cell phone.

 

“Take my number, I’ll send you the address.”

 

The boy hesitated, then took his cell phone and started punching in his number.

 

Jaina’s pride was hurt.

 

No one in the neighborhood knew where the Levin family mansion was. If it had been a woman, his behavior would have been seen as nothing more than a ploy to get her number, nothing less.

 

It was unlikely that Philip Levin, who seemed to have heterosexuality written all over him from head to toe, would be attracted to a man, but the fact that he was paying so much attention to someone else, even a scruffy nerd, with her right next to him, irritated her.

 

“I’ve seen you around, you’re Aaron’s brother, right?”

 

Jaina narrowed her eyes and spoke as if something had occurred to her.

 

“… he’s my brother.”

 

The boy answered in a low voice.

 

“You still don’t look like Aaron at all.”

 

“… yes.”

 

The boy’s voice as he answered like that was strained, like a person who had committed a sin. It was a completely different reaction from that night when he said, ‘unlike me, my younger brother is good at studying, good at sports, and really cool’, with his eyes shining.

 

“Oh, right. You’re the one.”

 

She nodded her head as if she were regretting something, and then she whispered to Phillip as if she was telling a great secret.

 

“He said he was the only one adopted.”

 

It was a voice that could be heard not only by Phillip but also by the boy standing right in front of him.

 

The boy’s face suddenly heated up. It was pitiful to see a face that showed even the slightest emotional change due to the white skin. It wasn’t just the face that turned red. Tears quickly formed in his eyes. The tears that flowed down his cheeks w** his collar.

 

The boy’s crying face was strangely pretty.  His eyes were slightly distorted, the tip of his nose was rounded, and the tears fell cleanly.

 

It’s natural to get irritated when you see a baby boy crying, but far from being irritated, he never gets tired of seeing it no matter how many times.

 

“… I’ll go first.”

 

Fearing that he would be seen crying, he quickly gathered up his bag and hurried down the hill. When the two were finally left alone, Jaina smiled with satisfaction.

 

“Phillip.”

 

When Phillip turned his head to her with an expressionless face, she continued her words.

 

“Please pick me up in front of my house by 7 o’clock this weekend. My father said he would like to see you in person.”

 

Jaina was the precious and only daughter of real estate tycoon Wang Jain. She seemed to believe that Phillip Levin was a man of her level and could proudly show off to her father.

 

Phillip did not answer, but bent down and picked up the pen that was rolling at his feet. Because of his long limbs, even though it was an insignificant movement, it caught her eye. She looked blankly at Phillip Levin.

 

“By the way, Jaina.”

 

When Phillip called her name, she brightened her expression and said yes.

 

“How do you know his younger brother?”

 

“Chloe has a younger sister, Ellie. She has been dating his brother for a while, and when they heard that his brother was going to the same school, everyone was excited and went to see him. Well, as you can see, he looks like that, so everyone laughed and wondered if maybe he was adopted. When Aaron heard that, he got angry and broke up with Ellie. Who would have thought he was actually adopted?”

 

When the topic of his younger brother came up, it was easy to guess why the boy looked so scared. Phillip continued speaking with a smile.

 

“But should you talk about such things in front of the person involved?”

 

“What are you talking about? Ah, that.”

 

She shrugged her shoulders and continued.

 

“No one knows that he was adopted.”

 

After Phillip glanced in the direction the boy had disappeared into, he brushed the dust off his pen.

 

“I had no idea.”

 

Philip lied casually, with the most honest eyes in the world.

 

“Oh, well. It’s a big secret.”

 

It wasn’t a big secret. Infact, the boy had brought it up in the first place. Nor was the boy’s tearfulness a shocking event; he was a crybaby, after all.

 

It was just,

 

“Anyway, what Chloe said was true.”

 

“What are you talking about?”

 

Phillip’s eyes folded extremely softly. It was an elegant smile that gave him the name Prince of woodson.

 

“That you’re a fucking b**ch.”

 

It wasn’t a good feeling to see the boy crying because of someone else.