There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL)-Chapter 760: Side Story 4. Endless Journey - 43

"Oh, you’re back? How’s the vacation?"

Han Shin welcomed the children with open arms, but his daughter ducked past his arms to get inside, prompting him to pout sadly. Fortunately, he still had a sweet son who took his hug instead.

"I only have you, my Byul!" Shin embraced his son tightly, promising to himself that he would stop teasing Bassena about the children growing up too fast.

"We ate so much seafood on board," Nari made a report still. "I’m going to tell Mari I don’t want to have any seafood for the next two weeks."

"She acts like it was made for her," Han Shin rolled his eyes. "There’s a lot of seafood because Kar likes them--right?"

"That’s right!" Lucy giggled and gave her uncle a hug. "But I have also gotten tired of them, now..."

"As for me, I’m just tired all over," Asa yawned.

They reached Lucre just after sunset and immediately drove to the lakehouse to return Nari and Byul home. With all the playing they had done for three days straight, the fatigue was starting to catch up--especially for Asa, who played as if he was an esper when he was not one.

"Just stay the night here and go home tomorrow," Reina patted Lucy’s head, who actually did not look tired at all.

"Then our dad will throw a tantrum," Asa raised his arms and crossed them, shaking his head. "I’ll just bear the two hours and sleep until I’m satisfied."

Reina laughed imagining a tantrum Bassena, but then she realized the esper would probably come to their house if his children did not return that night, so she immediately nodded. "Now that I think about it, you should do that."

"Bye-bye, Auntie!" Lucy hugged Reina and waved at Nari before skipping to the car with the tired Asa.

"Well, congrats again for your graduation, Kar!" Reina hugged the older twin and petted his back. "Ugh--why are you so tall...so perfect to be my model--how about it?"

She might not get Zein to be SavAsh’s brand ambassador, but what about his son? freёnovelkiss.com

Kar laughed at Reina’s sparkling eyes. "I’ll think about it," he said and turned toward Byul while Reina whined about his unclear answer. "Good night, Byul."

The younger boy flinched slightly and lowered his reddened face. "G-good night, Hyung..."

Kar was about to ruffle the boy’s hair as usual, but he paused when his esper eyes caught the red cheek and slightly trembling lips in the dark. He clenched his hand and slipped it inside his pocket before returning to the car.

"Hmm? Why is your face like that?" Lucy whispered when he saw the slight frown on Kar’s face.

"Nothing," the older twin crossed his arms and turned to the window, wordlessly looking outside.

He could see the small figure of the teenage boy watching the car driving out of the estate until it turned at the gate and disappeared from sight. Like always.

It was something that always happened for as long as they remember, like habit. Like waving goodbye and brushing their teeth. Like ruffling the fluffy black hair.

Mindless habits he always did without thinking much about it. But that night, Kar couldn’t bring himself to do it.

* * *

When did it start, Kar wondered.

For him, Byul had always been a cute little brother. A small baby that looked like a doll who grew up to be a cute boy who followed him everywhere. He had once wondered if that was how Uncle Joon saw him when he followed the man everywhere in his childhood.

Byul did always called him cool, which was how he always saw Han Joon. The sparkling eyes and strong attachment were something he thought he had always done to Joon. And so, he never thought more about it.

If he had to be honest, however, he was closer to Byul more than anyone. Not because the others, aside from his twin, were girls, but because Byul was calm and quiet. The boy loved being around people, but preffered to quietly enjoy the company rather than being loud and chaotic like the other three. It was comfortable hanging out with the boy, and...well, Byul was cute.

But it seemed like, without Kar realizing it, there was something more inside that sparkling gaze. The flustered reaction and reddened face...Kar had thought it was just the boy being easily embarrassed by any situation. To be fair, Byul had always been a shy boy.

"Is this...because I rarely interacted with other people?" Kar contemplated hard in his bedroom, staring at the ceiling as the dreamland had a hard time claiming him.

Again and again, he was reminded of what happened in the Solarium. He was awakened when Byul opened the door and had a mischievous plan of startling the boy, which was why he kept his eyes closed, pretending to be asleep. If it was Asa or the girls, they would know from the difference in his breathing, but Byul wouldn’t be able to tell.

That was his plan, anyway. But then, the boy only stood beside the sunbed, staring at him, and suddenly crouching.

Hyung...is it true that you have no thought about...love...or something like that?

A quiet mutter could be heard, and Kar couldn’t open his eyes. Not only because he didn’t want to embarrass the boy, but also because he was frozen by the sudden realization.

Was Byul...had a crush on him?

This thought, which was only a conjecture at first, received confirmation just a few minutes later. It did not happen in the end, but...

Kar rubbed his lips. "That was...he was about to kiss me, didn’t he?"

Haa...it was fortunate that Byul decided against it in the last second, although...well, Kar would have stopped it anyway. But if he did that, it would be very awkward between them afterward.

He couldn’t even bring himself to ruffle the boy’s hair anymore. He couldn’t help but mind himself about the way he touched the boy, knowing that it was no longer a mere admiration that the boy felt.

And most importantly, it was fortunate that he no longer shared a room with Asa because his twin would a hundred percent interrogate him the moment those amber eyes laid sight on his troubled expression.

* * *

"Father, can I ask something?"

Zein looked up from his documents. "How rare," he smirked. "You rarely consult me about anything these days."

Kar scratched his cheek awkwardly. "Uhh...well, it’s nothing important, but..."

Zein wanted to chuckle because it didn’t look unimportant at all from the boy’s expression. But of course, he’d listen to his children even if it was only concern about what they should eat for lunch--like what Asa usually did.

And it was a perfect excuse to escape from the clan’s documents he needed to peruse before the end of the week.

Zein got rid of all the screens and papers in front of him, turning toward his almost adult son. "What is it?"

Awkwardly, Kar took a seat across from Zein in their mini drink bar. It took him two minutes to finally open his mouth. "Uh...when did you start going out with Dad?"

"Huh?" Zein arched his brow. That was an unexpected question coming from his oldest. "Hmm...the night before his twenty-sixth birthday, if I recall correctly. Why?"

"Have you known Dad for long before then?"

"Not really," Zein chuckled, recalling their past. Oh, it was quite nostalgic, that chaotic meeting. "We met for the first time when I was twenty-three, but we didn’t see each other again until four years later."

"Four years..." Kar muttered and narrowed his eyes. "Before then, did you go out with anyone?"

Again, Zein arched his brow. Was this son of him finally having an interest in human relationships instead of dungeon and dungeon and dungeon?

"Bassena is technically my first boyfriend," Zein replied with a fond smile. It had been a long time since he reminisced his story with Bassena--perhaps because their relationship had been so stable.

But his son was confused. "Technically?"

"Well..." Zein paused, feeling awkward at the prospect of talking about his rather wild past. But then again, Kar would be a legal adult in a few months. "Let’s just say my past relationships were nothing but...physical."

Kar blinked at his father’s wry smile. It took him a while to understand what strictly physical meant. "...ah."

Zein grabbed an apple cider from the fridge--how nice that this rather awkward conversation happened in their drink bar. Kar rubbed the back of his neck, for some reason feeling embarrassed even though it wasn’t his story.

He wasn’t exactly a prude who knew nothing about sex, but as someone who never had any interest in that regard, it felt awkward talking about such a thing. His siblings were probably able to talk about it casually with their fathers, but not him.

Still, he became curious.

Leaning forward slightly, he asked in a quieter voice. "Then...can I ask about...your first time?"

Ugh--since it was out anyway, Zein decided to just answer it honestly. "Hmm...I was fourteen, I think?"

"Fourteen?!" Kar almost spit out the ginger ale he had just drank. "Like...like Byul?!

"Oh, right--Byul is fourteen this year," Zein nodded.

Now, that was awkward. Of course, the fourteen-year-old Byul, who was sheltered and delicate, shouldn’t be equalized with the fourteen-year-old Zein, who already had to work in a harsh world while raising two kids.

"Ah, please don’t think it’s normal, okay?" Zein quickly added. Well, if he had to be honest, a lot of teenagers were having sex regularly, including the twins’ godfathers in the past. But as a parent, he didn’t want to normalize that. "I’m not against exploring your desire or sexuality, but I always thought it would be better if I experienced it once I became an adult."

Kar was totally serious. "Why?"

"Because I’d know better then," Zein sighed before smiling wryly. "I didn’t know much at that time, but even if it was physical, feelings could grow from that kind of relationship--and people ended up getting hurt."

Kar lowered his head, chewing the inside of his cheek. He grabbed the can and gulped the ginger ale to wet his suddenly dry throat.

"At least, when you’re an adult, you know the risks and can prepare for some responsibility following it," Zein added.

"I see..."

"Why?" Zein leaned forward, staring down at his son curiously. "Do you have a relationship with someone?"