Chapter 53: It's HALLOWEEN!
"Halloween…why does that make me feel so old? It's nostalgic, thinking about the idea of wearing a costume, collecting candy from strangers…and parading across the school. Haha, such cute times, when I knew nothing. My mom never took me out to trick or treat. Instead, she entrusted me to her friend with her daughters and would take me with them. Now that I'm 24 years old, I can't seem to remember anything about Halloween. Hmm, I do remember my dad often getting angry at my brother for wanting a costume…but how come he never said anything to me? That reminds me, my dad never welcomed children into A Star when it was Halloween. I mean, I don't allow it now because just the thought of candy mixing with children in a large mall does not sit well with me. But I am curious, now that Everest has dressed up A Star, will children show up now?"
Her thoughts are interrupted when Everest announces, "Be-I mean, Madam, was here!" he opens the door when she finishes her last thought with a cold expression, "ugh, I hope not!"
But Everest misunderstood her cold glare, thinking if perhaps she has a problem with something, but oddly enough, throughout the first half of the inspection Belen has been quiet.
Until they reached the VIP floors, Belen recognizes the difference between the lower and upper divisions in the distance.
Everest was given the freedom yet strictly limited the VIP employees from wearing any Halloween related things on their professional uniforms. The only thing Belen approved of was allowing the employees from the lower division to wear Halloween related stuff on their uniforms, hair, jewelry, and even make-up. But that was not the case for the employees working in the upper-division. At most, she only allowed them to wear earrings and nothing else that would be too distracting because Belen knows first-hand the sensitivity of most VIP customers.
During her inspection of the VIP floor, something catches her attention, making Belen walk even faster to an employee. The employees all noticed, and their hearts froze instantly out of nervousness of being shouted or fired.
Everest saw this and immediately followed after her, but Noah put his hand out to stop him and only nodded, reassuring Everest that nothing would happen.
The female employee, on the other hand, was shaking internally from fear the closer Belen came. At that moment, Belen's cold eyes sparkled, she lightly grazed the employee's unique earrings and uttered, "your earrings…"
The female employee lightly opened her eyes to peek at Belen when a soft smile formed on her face. The female employee couldn't help but blush from her presence. Especially hearing Belen admiringly say, "…they're cute, Valeria," she says with a sincere smile.
Valeria, the employee's name, came out of Belen's mouth. She had no idea what else to say and only thanked her wholeheartedly for the compliment, but when she met Belen's eyes. The employee couldn't help but feel a bit confused by her reaction when Noah interrupts them, "Shall we continue, Madam?"
Belen continues the inspection after turning from Valeria, leaving the floor, as soon as she was out of sight. The employees all heavily sighed in relief, and at the same time rush over to Valeria frantically asking, "what did she do to you?"
"Did she hit you?"
"your cheeks are super red!"
"You can sue her. You know that right!"
"what happened? Are you okay?"
They all continued to bombard her with questions, jumping to conclusions. She finally reveals, "that's not it! none of those things happened!...The Madam, she-she" hesitates to state, "liked my earrings!" she says, feeling a bit flustered remembering the whole scene.
The employees suddenly start murmuring amongst themselves in disbelief, asking where she got the earrings and more. Still, Valeria couldn't forget Belen's eyes before she left and whispers to herself, "she was smiling, but then why were her eyes sad? No…they seemed envious." She touches her hanafuda earrings when a ridiculous thought crosses her mind, "It can't be! Is she into…anime?" she gasps in shock.
***
It's afternoon, and the sun is already setting. Belen notices the time while staring out the window of her office when Everest enters, "Madam," he pauses, "what are you doing?"
She calmly answers while staring off into the sky, "it's only 4 pm, and the sun is already setting…" she sighs annoyingly, looking back at Everest, "I hate this time of the year," she says coldly, returning to her desk.
Everest awkwardly pauses to say, "ahem, I've collected all of the reports on today's sales from the leaders of the departments," he carefully lays them beside her desk.
She quickly glances at them with a deep sigh, leaning back against her chair, "surprisingly enough, A Star's benefitting from your ideas. The sales have exceeded compared to last year for October."
Everest hides his blushed cheeks, "t-thanks you."
Belen looks up at him with a surprised expression, "but since it's Halloween, there aren't many consumers at A Star. The real test starts tomorrow," she groans.
"Are you tired, Madam?" he asks carefully.
"I'm…just bored," she says bluntly, laying her head against the desk, "I can never do anything I want," she cutely mutters, "you can leave early today," she gestures to him.
Though as Everest left her office, he took out his phone from his pocket and murmured, "Should I try?" he carefully clicks his phone with hesitant eyes and finally slips it back into his pocket.
Minutes later, Everest receives a reply from Belen, "Okay!"
He stares at it in disbelief, "did she really just say 'okay!'" he checks again to make sure his eyes weren't fooling him, "but she does know its not any ordinary-oh whatever! I'm sure by the flyer she should know at least what kind of party it is right?" he doubts himself.
"Well, now that's sorted out, I have to go home and work on my-Oh! Shit! My package!" he hurriedly clocks out.
***
Noah got off work simultaneously as Everest, but they didn't cross paths since they were heading in the opposite directions, so they missed each other.
He arrived at the hospital, but before entering Emma's room, he overhears Mabel's voice, but before his face brightened up, he overhears a male's voice, making him anxious to hide.
The closer they came to Emma's room, he recognizes the hoarse male's voice, "it can't be!" Noah utters to himself, trying to sneak a peek to see Mabel and Oscar walking next to her.
They immediately enter Emma's room. Noah carefully walks out of the corner from hiding and sighs, catching a glimpse of Oscar and Mabel near the unconscious Emma.
"…I shouldn't be here" he sadly looks down while exiting the hospital when he stares at the dark sky, "I am tired, maybe I should go home…Belen is probably waiting for me" a faint smile forms while looking at the children dressed up in their costumes crossing the street while holding their parent's hand.
"I don't think I have ever worn a costume, hmm, in Korea. There is no such thing as Halloween. Even so, I still never dressed up, but those kids sure look excited," an envious look forms on his face.
***
Everest is at home rummaging through his costume or, instead, cosplay and hurriedly putting it on. His tight white jeans, knee-high black leather boots, a plain white t-shirt, and a beige leather jacket. Last but not least, black leather belts around his legs and chest. As he checked himself in his bedroom mirror, he put on the final finishing touches to his costume, blue teal contact lenses. Just as he was about to walk out the door, he makes sure to check his black wig.
He checks his phone one last time, "'come over'" he read Belen's text aloud, "she's ready? Hmm, I wonder what she chose. I feel bad, what if she doesn't like it?" he shakes his head while heading to her house.
"She's waiting for you in the garage," claims security.
Everest surprisingly turns to him, "hmm? Y-you recognized me?" he points to himself while glancing around.
Security stares up and down at him and faintly grins, "Of course, you came out of secretary Noah's house."
Everest awkwardly chuckles, "hahaha, yeah, that's totally obvious," he says, scratching the back of his head, "then, have a great night, guys!"
Once Everest stepped foot into the garage full of cars, his favorite place out of Belen's estate. He inhales everything, that is, the distinct smell of branded vehicles and their leathery seats.
BBBRRROOOOOOOOMMMM!!!! BROOM!
His fantasy is quickly interrupted once he heard the loud car engine. He glanced at the garage's farther corner, immediately surprised to see a black convertible Porsche.
"What is this the batmobile?" he jests when the car stops in front of him.
Because of the pitch-black windshield, he can't make out whose inside when the doors open upright.
Everest can't believe his eyes as he saw Belen step out wearing a long pink wig, an upside-down, black lunar moon on her forehead, red contacts, crimson lipstick, a chocker locked with diamonds all around, and loose black earrings. The closer she came walking to Everest, his eyes couldn't help but shake, staring at her transparent red sleeves. But what has his eyes shaking from temptation is her spaghetti strap black velvet dress with a slit up to her hip that can expose her underneath with just an exhale.
His face reddened as his eyes trailed the slit from her dress down towards her red stiletto heels. Fortunately, he thinks, "she has a scarf," but as Belen wrapped the scarf around her shoulders, Everest embarrassingly blinks, feeling dumbfounded to realize that it's transparent too.
He snaps out of his trance, turning to his right, hiding his flushed expression. Belen lowers her gaze, "do…I not look good?" she asks unsurely, making Everests heart pound loudly when he turns to meet her cute bright eyes, "N-No! I mean y-you l-look good!" he says shyly, "umm, but it might be cold, are you sure you don't want to wear something comfortable?"
Belen only chuckles, noticing his reaction, and takes a moment to see his costume, "OOH! You're E*ren from A*attack on T*tan!!" she excitedly shouts, clapping her hands.
Everest hurriedly turns to her with excitement in his eyes like a little kid, "You know who I am?!" he grabs her hands.
She nods, "Of course I do! I love that anime!"
Everest becomes flabbergasted, "y-y-you watch anime?!"
Belen simply nods, "Come on! Let's go!" they get in the car.
Everest couldn't believe his eyes or, rather, his ears. His whole existence felt like a lie right now, like a dream.
He never would've thought Belen Astares to be into anime. Sure, S*ailor M*on may seem basic, but it's rather impressive she even knows who he is cosplayed as. He recalls that morning encounter she had with the female employee and shockingly gasps, "the earrings!"
Belen turns to him, "what?"
"During the morning inspections, those earrings. That you pointed out from the employee, they're from D*mon S*ayer!"
She chuckles, "you just figured that out now?" she scoffs.
"But something isn't adding up," Everest quietly utters, "Belen, if you're into anime…why are you hiding it? are you afraid it'll affect your image?"
"Do I seem that shallow? I've always wanted to attend those conventions they have each year, but I can't…"
"Why? Are you embarrassed your fans will dislike you for liking anime?"
She profoundly sighs, "you really can't put the puzzle together?"
He confusedly cocks his head, "puzzle?"
Belen softly smiles, "I want to go, but the fact of the matter is I can't."
After a while, they've arrived at the block Anime Halloween party.
All you can hear are anime songs playing in the background by a DJ and party lights gliding the whole floor and sky as if it were a concert. Once Belen and Everest entered the party, they couldn't help but continuously bump into one another.
"EXCUSE ME!" a random person shouts when Everest turns to look. Belen immediately pulls him to her side, "THANKS! WOOOOOHOOOO!!!" the stranger calls, running past them.
"Careful!" Belen shouts, unable to hear clearly because the closer they got to the center of the block party, the louder and intense the music got, making nearly everyone go crazy.
Belen, on the other hand, couldn't believe her sight! She felt overwhelmed by the number of people and their cosplays. She touches her pink wig, somehow feeling reassured that no one should be able to see who she really is, or else it will prove troublesome.
As Belen is glancing around at all the different cosplays, she unknowingly holds Everests hand pulling him to the side when she sees him waving to someone from afar.
She follows his gaze to see a tall Asian cosplayed as "L*vi?" she whispers.
"I've been looking for you! What's up! How long has it been since we last saw each other!" Everest lets go of Belen to give his friend a manly hug.
"Ooh~ who is this beautiful Wicked Lady!!" his friend comments adoring Belen's cosplay.
"Ah! Shut up, Hiro!" Everest playfully jokes around with him, "this is my…uhhh," he panics, staring at Belen for an answer when Hiro looks back and forth between them.
"I'm his friend, Anna, nice to meet you!" Belen strikes a genuine smile while shaking Hiro's hand.
"Nice to meet you too!" Hiro lean in to whisper in Everest's ear, "a different girl?"
Everest sighs, pulling Belen to his side, "she's my good friend! We met at work, and I invited her to come with me," he smiles at her, "Right! B-Anna!"
Belen shuts her mouth tightly and simply nods at Hiro, who is staring at them weirdly but doesn't care to ask any further.
"Follow me. My house is near" Hiro guides them to his 2-story house that is within the block party outside, but his home is a lot quieter and open. Many cosplayers are continually going in and out of the house. And some are even chilling there and talking to others and taking pictures. It's almost like a convention if Belen really wanted to believe this is how they look.
Interestingly enough, once they entered the house, it was full of cosplayers, but it was a lot less noisy and crowded than being outside where they can get rammed over by a single person.
Hiro shows them to the drinks. Belen cautiously serves herself when Everest leans over and whispers into her ear, "just have fun, don't worry about driving" he sweetly smiles, making her fill up her whole cup.
Everest nervously gulps, thinking to himself, "I said you could drink without a worry, but that doesn't signify, get drunk!"
"Aye! Everest! Long time no see!" another one of his friends shows up, catching his attention, but as soon as he looked over to check on Belen, he realizes she's gone. Just as panic crept into his heart, Everest notices her talking with a group of cosplayers. And they happen to be females, so this eases his mind a bit when he decides to hang out and catch up with his friends.
Belen is slowly taking a sip of her drink. A girl approaches from beside her with twinkling eyes, "OH MY GOD! I SOOOOO LOVE YOUR COSPLAY!!"
Belen flinches at her exaggerated excitement and tries her best to remain poker-faced but instead thinks, "wait a minute, I'm not at A Star. This girl does not know who I am. There is no need to be on edge. I can relax…right?"
After a moment of pause, Belen smiles, "thank you, it was something I put together last-minute," she says shyly, grazing her soft black velvet dress.
More girls from afar notice her cosplay and immediately approach Belen complimenting her from head to toe. Belen couldn't help but drop her guard around them and casually converse with them without feeling the need to watch her words.
***
Noah is at home, watching Cinderella in his bedroom, recalling his conversation with Belen's security earlier.
"Her house is dark. Could she be sleeping already?" he wonders aloud near the security when he answers, "Secretary Noah, the Madam, and Everest are not home at the moment."
Noah's eyes coldly shift, "…Everest? What about him?"
"He and the Madam left just an hour ago-"
"Where?" he asks coldly, glaring holes into Belen's gate.
Security confidently answers, "I do not know. But everything should be fine since she is with Sir Everest-"
"Hah!" Noah scowls, "so what? Now that he lives here, you think he's someone to be trusted with Belen? Honestly," Noah glaringly distresses his hair, "you call yourselves security for nothing," he walks away in the direction of his house.
"No matter how many times I call, they both don't answer" Noah nervously bites his lower lip while glancing at the movie on his screen. "Tch! I thought I'd see Belen tonight and have her watch the Disney movies, but that Everest…guess he got to her first, damn!"
He annoyingly turns off the TV while wrapping himself into his blanket, slowly falling asleep.
"Be good and stay here," a soft female speaks to the little 5-year-old Noah, who is covered with a huge winter jacket.
"…Eomma…eomma!" little Noah reaches out his hand to catch his mother leaving him behind in the snow.
But his vision soon became blurred by his tears, blocking out his mother's figure. Suddenly he quietly yet bitterly utters, "Eomma…A-Appa," he thinks to himself while silently crying, "no one wants me, not even…" he finally says aloud, "…hyeong!"
In that instant, Noah's eyelids frantically open, waking him from the dream, gasping for air, his pupils shaking, and his body trembling as if he were able to feel the cold snow from the dream.
He panics, glancing around his darkroom when finally he presses a button on a control which turns on all the lights to his house as the light shone in his dark hollow eyes that seemed in the brick of fear. The light tranquil his whole body, bring life back into him. He finally calmed down when he wipes his forehead and notices that he's sweating.
Noah slowly made his way to the bathroom to splash his face with cold water, feeling in a daze, like a soulless zombie. He didn't try to dry his face or care about the fact that his clothes were drenched in water.
He scarcely walks to the corner of his bed and falls to his knees while shedding silent tears, muffling his wails not to be heard.
As he buried his head into his knees, he somehow remembers, "hyeong…hyeong? B-Brother?" his eyebrows furrow, "…who is brother?"
***
"I soooo love your cosplay, Anna!" says a girl from the group Belen so happened to get entangled into.
"I love Bl*ack L*dy!" another girl compliments Belen when she smiles in return, "thanks, I wasn't so sure about coming because it was such short notice…" she says shyly.
"Oh my god, how old are you, Anna?" asks another girl.
Belen happily answers, "I-I'm 21" she timidly clasps her hands, twisting and turning, making the girls in the group awe.
"Ooooh~ you're a baby!"
"No wonder! You feel so innocent. Is this your first cosplay party?"
"You're so cute~! My little sister is also 21!"
Belen shockingly asks, "how old are you guys?"
They all answer one by one embarrassingly yet with a smile on their faces, "I'm 24~"
"28~!"
"25…"
"I just turned 23 last month, boohoo~!"
Belen couldn't help but laugh at their reactions to their ages, "but you all look so young, how is that possible?"
But as they all continued laughing and going about with their conversation, a man approaches shouting, "W*cked L*ady isn't brown! She's white!!" he quickly runs on like a crazy man.
Everyone close to them turned to see the man who said that was directing it to Belen, making her feel somewhat awkward with all of the attention when the girls in the group shout back at the man who was running away, "AND ANIME IS JAPANESE, YOU F*CKER!"
"F*CK OFF!!"
"Seriously, how can disgustingly lame nerds like him crash this party!" they all argue, fuming mad as the attention dissipates.
The group of girls all check on Belen's blank expression, "are you okay? He didn't touch you, did he?"
"if he did just say so! I'd kill him with my Katana!" a girl takes out her fake metal katana around her waist.
Seeing as how worried they are about her touches Belen's heart and unknowingly raised a hand to her neck, feeling the fast beat of her heart pounding into her eardrums.
Her cheeks flush, thanks to the thick make-up, its unnoticeable, a pure-hearted smile forms on her face, "thank you, but I'm okay."
The girls are awed by her cute smile because, in their perspective, Belen, who they believe is Anna, is like a little sister they wish to protect.
"enough about that Jacka*s! have you all heard the convention for next year is already accepting requests for booths~!"
"GET OUT! NO WAY!"
"I've been trying to find out the deadline so that I can apply…"
"You have a booth?"
As they continued to talk, Belen couldn't follow their topic of conversation, making her extremely quiet and observant until they stare at her, "Anna?"
Belen turns in surprise, "yes…Yes?"
"We lost you for a second there," they all laugh.
She timidly replies, "a-actually I've never been to a convention b-before," she shyly stares at their shocked blank expressions.
They all teasingly grin, "do you live in a cave or something?"
"it's okay, Anna. Not a lot of us are experienced. Many of us have to prioritize our work…sadly."
"Ooh! Shoot! Speaking of work, sorry girls, but I gotta go. I have to get up early tomorrow," one of the girls whines, excusing herself from the whole group. Still, when it came to Belen, she stopped for a second, "I had a lot of fun. Gosh Anna, I wish you came earlier. That way we could've continued talking" she chuckles, "can I get your phone number? We're all going to the convention next year, would you like to join our group?"
Belen astonishingly glances at the group of girls all surrounding her with happy, excited smiles slapped on their faces, almost urging her to say yes.
Belen quietly answers, "I-I'm not supposed to be here…"
"Don't tell me! Anna, do you live with your parents?"
"-huh?" Belen confusedly stares at their big puppy-like eyes, "uhh, erm…" she strikes a bitter smile, "…Yes."
They all gasp, surprising her to flinch, "no wonder you're so quiet."
"I'm 24, and I still live with my parents," a girl comments, wincing, "Mexican parents are the worst, right Anna!"
Belen dumbfoundedly stares at them with a blank expression but immediately nods, "yes, it is."
"Do you work?" they ask.
Belen unknowingly nods, "I-I umm, work at A Star," she nervously chuckles. Well, it's not exactly a lie.
Once she mentioned "A Star," she curiously notices their grim expression, "w-what's wrong?" she asks, alarmed.
"It's just, we've heard lots of stories."
They gulp.
"You're a smarty pants!"
"I'm smart?" Belen whispers to herself.
"Ignore them, Anna. I think what Julia meant is that A Star is very strict with their hiring."
"Yeaaah! I heard you gotta speak like ten different languages!" a girl shivers.
"Hahaha! I thought you were supposed to have a degree just to be a cashier!"
"I bet the pay is great! right, Anna?"
"Hmm? Ah! Yes, it is, but I work on the first floor, so it's different compared to the VIP employees."
"My little sister works on the VIP floor. I hear all kinds of stories from her. It turns out today they allowed the employees to dress up for Halloween. Is that right, Anna?"
"mm," Belen merely nods with a cold sweat running on the side of her face.
"I don't like shopping there, but because of the Halloween decorations and ads, I went to check it out, and it was pretty cool."
"You get to see Belen Astares every morning, don't you, Anna?"
Belen swallows her saliva, "-uh, umm, not really. I have the afternoon shifts," she notices the disappointments in their eyes, "BUT! I have heard that she is scary?"
"Not what my little sister told me. It turns out Belen Astares is actually into anime, can you believe that?"
They all gasp and laugh, "come on, don't lie."
"So what if she is?"
***
"So you got the memo, aye Everth."
"The old squad is back!"
Everest couldn't help but laugh, "what have you all been up to the past couple of years?"
"Dude, it's been forever since we last saw you!"
"The real question is what have you been up to, eh!" a guy side-eyes him.
"Just working," he answers casually.
"Bet! I couldn't believe the stories you got yourself a shorty~!!" another guy hollers.
"Aye, don't make it sound like that," but Everest brushes it off.
"Freaking Everest here is living the rich life, ain't that right?" they buddy him.
"It's not as great as you think it is. I'm just waiting for my dad to give in. You all know him as much as I do."
"Yo! What about that hot mom of yours!"
"Yooo! Don't say that!"
"You know how he gets!" they whisper.
Everest hides his annoyed face behind a smile, "it's all good. Since you're interested, I wouldn't mind you taking her, hahaha!" He jokingly says, sipping his drink.
"So are you all up to date," asks Hiro.
"Huh?"
"They mean if you've read the latest chapter on A*T."
Everest nervously chuckles, "actually. I haven't had the chance to, you know, work!" he shrugs.
"How is it working for Belen Astares?" they ask.
"And she's your fiance. Must be weird."
"No shit! But I mean, if Everest made it there, I think we can work there too, hahaha," they joke around.
"Put in a good word for me, man!" one of them nudges him on the shoulder.
He awkwardly nods, "it's not an easy job..."
"So does that mean the job is hard and Belen is easy? Ah hah!"
Everest cringes at them being loud when he notices people's gazes on them. He gets scared for some unknown reason thinking, "nerd, weirdos, pervs... that's probably what they're thinking right now. But is it strange that even I can see it? Back in high school, they were never like this... or were they?"
"Everth!" one shouts.
He snaps out of his trance, "...hu?...yea... yes!?"
"You high or something?" They all laugh except him.
"Haha," he awkwardly laughs when someone comments, "tell us the truth, are you really not dating that chick you came with earlier?"
"...who?" Everest tilts his head in confusion.
His eyes trail to Belen, surrounded by a group of women in cosplay. But what's mesmerizing is seeing her shy yet cute facial expressions. "I've never..." he says underneath his breath.
"She's pretty cute!"
"Forget cute, have you seen her body?! She's hot!"
Hiro notices Everests firm grip on his pants when he breaks their conversation, "now now, guys, about the manga!"
But the guys ignore him when they continue peeking at Belen now and then, "man, I wonder if she's wearing anything underneath that dress."
"Aye, Everest, you ain't dating her too, right?"
Everest offendedly responds in an angry tone, "what!?"
"Chill! I meant, you know, you haven't called dibs on her yet?"
"Hey hey, let's get back to the update-" Hiro tries to intercept.
"She's just a friend.." Everest annoyingly looks away.
Another guy comments, "oh dude! You better shoot your shot before Roy gets to her!"
They all turn in her direction to see a man cosplayed as R*y M*stang from FM*B
They click their tongues, "Damn! That pretty boy Roy is always one step ahead!"
"His name is actually Roy?" Everest asks, dumbfounded.
At that same moment, Roy surprised the girls' group with his charming smile when he looked up to see across. His gaze matched Belen's. His eyes suddenly widened, enchanted to see her not paying any attention to him. Instead, she looked somewhat confused while peeking at the girl's drinks and checking hers out as well. He couldn't believe his eyes, seeing an Angel dressed in demon's clothes. Her innocence spread through the air, making him uncontrollably curious.
"Roy Hunchinston the second! He's a pretty Asian boy who supposedly used to be a pop trainee and was on the verge of debuting, but something happened, and he came back home."
"Back home?" Everest asks.
"Well, he's a rich boy, but he is pretty famous too as an influencer and cosplayer. He's able to pull off anything, which is sickening. Because he's always able to pull the girl's attention into his fantasy."
Everest slightly scoffs at this ridiculously claim, "yeah, okay, sure" he looks away.
"Look! He's getting close to your friend Everth!" Hiro urgently points out.
In that instant, Everest stopped what he was doing and turned in Belen's direction, almost breaking his neck. That is until his eyes lit up, noticing Belen going back to serve herself more drinks and the pretty boy Roy following behind.
The two look beautiful from afar, but Everest can tell Belen has no interest in his company since her facial expression seemed cold.
The more he observed them from afar, the angrier he unknowingly got when seeing Roy trying to put his hand on her shoulder.
***
"You're a new beautiful face~ I've never seen in the anime community before. Hi! I'm Roy! Nice to meet you!" He charmingly smiles at Belen with his flower boy aura.
She casually looks up at him, striking a fake smile, "Hello, can I help you?"
Roy takes a step back, flustered by her blunt expression. Did his pretty charm not work? He decides to try again, "A-Ah, I wanted to know who you are-umm- I mean, I really love your cosplay!" he pretends to be shy while rubbing his head.
Belen already knows his motive and coldly says, "I'm not interested," turning away, making Roy blush from embarrassment.
Before he could lay a hand on Belen's shoulder, he freezes at the touch of a firm grip on his shoulder.
"Anna!" A man from behind him shouts.
Belen reacts to this voice, knowing that it's Everest, when she turns to see him walk past Roy.
As the two got together, Roy had no choice but to disappear, "ah, so she has a boyfriend? That's a shame." He sighs disappointedly.
Belen and Everest quickly disappeared because as soon as he appeared, Belen's fatigue became transparent that she felt extremely safe to lean on him.
Everest internally began panicking once he felt her lightweight against his chest. He looked down to see her sullen eyes begging, "b-bath...room," she huffs into his ear, making him blush. After asking Hiro, they find their way to the bathroom. Everest noticed that people kept trying to walk into his friend's room, so he locked it with only himself inside while Belen was in the bathroom.
"What is this? Why is everything suddenly so quiet?" He nervously bites his lower lip, cringing his face to listen if something perhaps happened to Belen.
Then out of nowhere, a loud thud came from the bathroom as if she fell inside the bathtub.
But what creeps Everest the most was Belen's hysterical laughter. He couldn't keep his curiosity and softly knocked on the bathroom door, "Belen?...BELEN~ uhhh, are you okay?"
He overhears her movements when the door suddenly unlocks. He takes three steps back, feeling a bit anxious as to what will happen next. "Why do I feel like I'm in some horror movie? Am I going to get killed?"
He cringes at the sound of the bathroom door opening, "B-Belen?" He asks worriedly, tilting his head to the side.
Before he can react, Belen runs with opened arms, throwing herself onto Everest.
He frighteningly yelps, making his voice sound like a crow's screech.
"Oww..." he grunts, sitting up halfway, shocked to see Belen brazenly embracing him and rubbing her head on his chest like a kitten.
"mmmm," she moans seductively with brimming eyes, "E, Everest," their eyes interlock, making her giggle like a teenage girl.
Unbeknownst to Everest, he did not know how to react. Instead, he kept wearing his shocked expression until his eyebrows furrowed into a knot, trying to figure out "what's going on?"
Just as he's trying to get up from the carpet floor, Belen continues to push him down by force as she lays on top, sweetly nuzzling her face into his neck.
"Mmmmmm," she continues to moan with a bright smile on her face. But at that moment, they hear a knock on the door, "hey Everth! Did you lock my door?" Hiro asks, trying to open the door but gives up once Everest responds, "oh, uh, yeah, actually something happened, umm, I'll catch up with you later!" He shouts, trying to silence Belen frantically, but as he continued to hush her mouth. Belen clumsily repeated after him, "sssshhhhhh!" Loudly until she couldn't take it anymore and began to giggle uncontrollably.
"A-Okay man! Take all the time you need!" His friend said, leaving.
He stares at Belen annoyingly, "can you shut up for a second!"
But she, on the other hand, couldn't keep herself together and continued to lean on top of his body, eventually arching her leg from the slit of her dressmaking Everest nervous as he saw her smooth, seductive caramel skin.
"F*CK" he cusses out loud until Belen sits up staring at him with angry droopy eyes, "Don't say that!" She cutely shouts, "bad words! No bad words! Okay!" She lets out a pure smile easing the muscles in Everests face.
"You really are..." he huffs, turning away from her unbelievably cute angry gaze, "something," he muffles.
As he sat up, Belen didn't try to force him down anymore. Instead, she childishly wrapped her arms around his chest, giggling like an idiot, "Water... my throat is dry..."
He quietly chuckles, carefully patting her back, "who told you to drink? Now you're drunk, huh?" he lightly scolds, feeling a bit brave since Belen is not in her right mind.
She tiredly sighs, making Everest breathe in the stench of alcohol.
"Damn, you really drank a lot!" he winces, smelling the putrid alcohol seeping from her mouth.
She groans irritably, laying her head on his shoulder, "I...I only wanted to fit in."
Sensing her low sincere tone only makes him sad when he asks, "why do you care about fitting in? I bet you never had a problem making friends at school."
Belen profoundly sighs, "that's not true," she pauses, "I was never popular. My friends were never my friends...they were only after my name. I..." her eyes become gentle, "I was never able to be myself."
After hearing those last words, Everest grazed her pink flushed tired face making him realize her true self. Belen slowly fell asleep on his chest. Everest swept her pink hair away from her face, "I see, so even you had to hide your interests because if others found out. Then they'd also call you those names..." He recalls when he was in high school with his group of friends and was often bullied by the girls who'd usually call them "dorks, nerds, perverted sh*ts" and many more.
"Yes... I was bullied for liking anime, and I also had to hide that from Sun-Young. Fortunately, I don't have to hide it from you, Belen" he gently smiles at Belen asleep in the passenger seat next to him.
"Is this how she gets when she's drunk? Will she remember everything that happened...tomorrow?" He recalls her arching leg making him blush as he stepped harder on the pedal.
That night Belen slept peacefully, feeling very warm and fluffy while pressing her hand to her heart with a soft smile on the corner of her lips. "Today...I had fun," she admits in her conscience.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
An_Rome
An_Rome Here is a little late treat for you all. Hope you all enjoy it!
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Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone