Chapter 31 - Converge

Jumping on one foot in order to get his legs into his pants as quickly as possible definitely didn't belong to the beta's usual morning routine. He cursed as he started stumbling, almost falling down flat on his buŧŧ.

The morning had been one big disaster and it didn't seem to get better as time went by. A sudden heavy snowfall had made him curled tightly into the comforter, causing Jian Yu to oversleep.

Fortunately, one of the maids came knocking on his door, reminding him to hurry as Lady Clement had been asking for his presence.

He would have had the chance to actually arrive on time, if it hadn't been for Dr. Liam blocking his way. 

Dr. Liam had just stepped out of his car, a british automobile. Malakhi's personal butler, Zion, was standing in the entrance, waiting for his arrival. 

Was Lord Zero not feeling well? He had hastily bowed his head in respect and fled but Dr. Liam caught his wrist. 

His eyes flew open and he made a startled gasp. Jian Yu turned around and saw Dr. Liam holding his wrist. 

The doctor didn't say anything yet and just observed him for a while. His light brown eyes raked from his foot until the top of his head. Jian Yu felt like he was being inspected under a huge magnifying glass. 

Man, those eyes were intense. 

"How did it taste?" 

"How did… What… Taste?" Jian Yu wondered. 

"Did you not try them out?" Dr. Liam heaved a sigh. His tone was laced with disappointment, maybe with a little hint of hurt. 

'Oh no, oh no! What is he talking about-- oh candy!' 

"It is sweet!" Panicked, he blurted out whatever was in his mind. Nothing felt worse than the feeling of letting someone down. 

"Really?" As if the previous act was thrown over the window, the doctor turned skeptiful. "Are you sure?" 

"Yes, it was really delicious!" 

The doctor furrowed his brows as his eyes scanned Jian Yu once again. The beta fidgeted under his scrutinizing eyes. It was starting to poke his self-consciousness. 

Finally, the doctor took his eyes away and Jian Yu almost sighed in relief. Looking left and right, he waved Jian Yu over as he leaned to whisper something in his ear. 

"I plan to open a small confiserie downtown," He said in a hushed tone before backing away, grinning. 

Jian Yu opened his mouth to speak but the doctor shushed him, telling him that it was a secret and Jian Yu understood. 

Dr. Liam gave him those sweets just to observe and gather the public's opinions before launching the sweets in the newly opened shop. 

Now, Jian Yu felt bad for giving away those sweets. 

"Sir, Lord Zero has been awaiting your arrival," Zion, the butler, informed the doctor. 

"Right away!" He called out. 

Smiling, the doctor excused himself. Zion opened the huge mahogany door wider for Dr. Liam. The butler and Jian Yu made eye contact briefly and time seemed to stop for a second before the butler pulled his gaze away and trailed behind Dr. Liam. 

Probably yes. 

He also had this expressionless face intacted all the time, making him unreadable. 

Jian Yu shivered. It was better not to crosspath with him that often which was kinda hard to do when they were living in the same area. 

The beta had stood frozen until the gaze was pulled away. Shrugging off the imaginary daggers sent by those glares, Jian Yu rushed into the Mansion to ȧssist Lady Clement and started his boring day. 

XXX

Zeke came to slowly. He blinked his eyes rapidly and ġrȯȧnėd in pain as he shifted uncomfortably on his bed. 

Adjusting his sight at the sudden blinding sunlight that shone through the aperture of his room, he pushed himself up only to wince at the sudden sting from his abdomen. 

He hissed in pain as horrible nightmares came flooding into his mind like a tsunami. His body shuddered in extreme disgust. 

Everything had been flowery at first before they went plummeting down into something that could scar his fragile little life for eternity. 

A soft knock sounded and it didn't take long for the door to be pushed open. 

"Thank goodness, you are awake, young master," Lynn sighed in relief as he pushed the door wider. 

"Uncle Lynn…" Zeke breathed out. "Dad didn't really wear a nurse outfit, did he?" 

The need to make sure was heavy. 

"What, son? You wanna see your old man in a nurse outfit that bad?" Derek grumbled as he trailed behind Lynn. 

Bile immediately rose to the back of Zeke's throat as the vulgar image flashed through his mind. 

"Since you have awakened at such a good time, I would like to introduce you to someone," Derek said. 

Just then, did Zeke finally notice another man standing behind his dad and uncle. He had gray hair, but unlike Lynn's lighter one, this man had darker shades. 

A clean-shaven face and Zeke ȧssumed he was the same age as his dad. 

The man in a long dark coat initially took a step forward and offered his hand for a shake. 

"So, this is the rumored son?" 

***

Extra: 

A loud familiar ringtone startled Han In Sik from his deep slumber, sitting straight up with a sheet of paper stuck to his face. 

He ġrȯȧnėd, stretching his arms up and yawned. 

Inspector Han slapped his palm against his neck to ease the tension from sleeping in such an awkward position. 

That annoying ringtone kept on ringing and it was starting to get on his nerves. He squinted his already half-asleep eyes and reached for the vibrating nokia phone. 

[Stupid Brother Hwak] 

Blared across the green screen. 

"Ignore it, just ignore it and it will go away," Inspector Han grumbled to himself as he turned the phone away, making it face down. 

Just as he was about to lean against the desk and resume his travel to dreamy land, the phone rang again. 

Han huffed out angrily. He was about to throw a tantrum but decided against it. This time with furrowed eyebrows, he picked the phone up. 

"Sik-ah! This is your beloved hyung!" A loud and deep voice shouted excitedly from the other end. 

"Ah… Yes… This is a property company--" Han mumbled tiredly as he rubbed his eyes. 

"Yah! Why did you not pick your phone?!"

"Ah.. Then, you have called the wrong number--" 

"Yah! You, right now, seriously…" The caller exploded. "What are you doing right now?" 

"...That's not funny, hyung?" 

"Yes, it's not funny." 

"Then… I purposely let the phone ring." 

"And you think I don't know?!" 

Han rolled his eyes and nodded along. He was moving his hands as if trying to give this stupid brother of his a signal to speed up what he wanted to say, forgeting that they were actually not seeing each other and were miles apart. 

"You see, your dear hyung here is--"

"Kzzzzzz Hello? Kzzzz--" 

Han imitated the sound of a buzzing phone, hoping to replicate the situation of bad connections. 

"Kzzz Sorry, hyung kzzzz the connection kzzzz is kinda bad here kzzzz!" Han tried his best to drag his ȧss out of this situation. "I will call you later!" 

He immediately hung up and sighed. He felt like he could melt into the floor at the moment to show how sleepy he was. 

Meanwhile, the man on the other end had a large tick on his head. 

"Let's see how you can avoid me once I send you a samsung!"