บท 8: The Quiet Dawn II
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On with the chapter!
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Time didn't stop for anyone. Not for the Gods, nor for Leandro. The clock ticked away, and so did the countdown until the 'integration'.
〔250 days until the 'integration'.〕
Almost ten years had gone by. Reliving his childhood all over again wasn't as bad as he initially thought, but he was antsy to get back on the battlefield.
He had done all the preparation he could possibly have with the limited resources at his disposal. His body—now all grown-up—had been trained to the limits it was bound to.
His Aura had been amplified; it had not reached the goal he had set for himself, but considering how thinly spread the chaos photons were, there was nothing else he could do. He wished he could summon his data sheet to put a number to his progress.
Unfortunately, that had to wait until the Monolith appeared.
'Barely less than a year left…'
But this time, everything would be different.
Leandro's churning thoughts drew to a halt when a soft tapping on the door sounded out. His eyes fluttered open. "Hari Noona?" There was no one else but her in the apartment.
Technically, he lived alone; his monthly allowance was enough for him to survive off of it. However, Hari would often drop by to cook and clean. He tried to talk her out of it, but his protests fell on deaf ears.
"Leandro~" Hari's angelic voice trickled in. And despite the closed door, Leandro could vividly picture the serene smile on her face. "Dinner is ready, don't stay in there too long or the food will get cold~"
A smile came over his face. Just hearing the soft, feathery lilt of her voice was capable of healing his soul. "It's fine. I'm done anyway."
With a firm grip on the rims of the tub, he slowly pushed himself up. The ice cubes and cold water cascaded down his body. He stepped out, flexing his neck and shoulders. The inflammation on his muscles had been mostly alleviated.
He grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his waist.
"Oh…"
When the door swung open, Leandro's sharp, glistening upper-body caught Hari off-guard.
Like a deer caught in headlights, Hari's big, sparkly eyes went wide open as she stared at him, her breath coming out in a rattling squeak. She blinked, hunching her shoulders together. "Y-You should get clothed, Leandro. You're still wet as well…"
He ran a hand through his wet, brown hair, slicking it back. Then he flicked his fingers in her direction, splattering a light drizzle on her face.
Hari lightly giggled. "Meanie." She reached into the pockets of her apron for a handkerchief, her gaze shifting up to Leandro as she started patting it against her face. Her eyes quickly got lost somewhere else though.
Down the defined 'V' line on Leandro's abdomen that ended in…
Hari instantly closed her eyes. Leandro watched amusedly as she scrunched her cheeks, blushing red, as if trying to free herself of any unholy thoughts.
"That's your punishment for staring."
"I-I didn't stare." Hari denied in a sweaty fluster.
Leandro tilted his head, his impossibly green eyes drilling into hers.
She shrunk a little, her meekness showing in the face his intoxicating presence. "Well, you're free to stare if you want. I'll concede this privilege—only for you."
"But I was not staring…" Hari whined, sticking her bottom lip out. If she had rabbit ears, they'd lay flat on her head at the moment.
"Staring what?"
The new voice was not as surprising as it was unexpected. Leandro raised an eyebrow when he caught Nari's gaze, who was leaning one shoulder against the threshold that led into the dining room. She tilted her head, and her long ponytail swayed as she did so.
Nari's eyes were unique. Leandro had seen all kinds of exotic shapes and colors, but on a human, that particular gradient was intriguing. They were a smoky cocktail of black and gray, with a hint of purple—like charcoal, ashes, and purple lillies mixed together.
Nature could be quite biased with the beauty of its dwellers.
Nari was such a case. As was Hari, and Leandro himself.
"Hari was being a pervert." Leandro stated.
Hari gaped. "I-I was not…"
"Hmm." Nari narrowed her eyes, arms crossed. "Ajeossi, you're bullying Unnie again, aren't you?"
Leandro blinked, an amused smile hanging on his lips. "I would never."
Nari's eyes continued to glare daggers at him. The blades, however, were dull. It lacked sharpness. And the moment they made the mistake to dip down and roam over Leandro's exposed and well-muscled chest, a blush developed on her face.
"Don't walk around like that!" Nari hissed. Hari, on the other hand, was uncharacteristically silent.
"Why not?"
"It's… it's inappropriate."
"I live here. I can do whatever I want." Leandro said evenly, pleased to see the way the corner of her lips twitched. "At this point you should just admit it. My impeccable physique brightens up your day."
Nari rolled her eyes but couldn't suppress a small smile. "Your ego brightens up the entire apartment, that's for sure."
Hari blinked, a little lost.
"Eh, I don't know about that. Might not be that bright since it certainly doesn't stop you from checking me out when I'm not looking. Right, Hari Noona?"
"H-Huh?" Hari averted her gaze, caught yet again sneaking glimpses at his defined frame. "R-R-Right…" She said, quite absent-mindedly.
Nari sputtered, a huge blush on her face. She turned around with a sharp swish of her ponytail before stalking off towards the tastefully-decorated table, where she sat down, chin propped on one hand, and looked away.
Hah, honestly. A cat with its tail stepped on couldn't have bolted away any faster.
He made a quick deviation to his bedroom to get 'appropriately' dressed.
Ever since he started working his body out, he hardly saw the need to wear shirts around the apartment. For starters, it was wasteful. Why wear something that was bound to be soaked in sweat?
And considering the sheer duration and repetition of his workouts throughout the day, he'd have a long trail of dirty clothes in his room.
Most importantly, he was used to being shirtless. His 'Aura' made it so that not even the weather could change that about him. And despite Nari's wandering eyes and poorly-veiled attempts at checking him out, she would always berate him for that.
Hari was more innocent with her 'curiosity'. She never stopped to think how ambiguous her stares could be, or the double meaning behind them. Of course, Leandro knew that she didn't mean anything more than a platonic appreciation for his aesthetics.
However, a third party could easily misunderstand that and jump to conclusions.
After putting on a slim, beige shirt with a deep 'v' and shorts, he made his way to the dining room. He sat down on his usual spot on the floor, a white cushion underneath him. Nari was across from him, digging holes into his head with her eyes.
He smiled slightly at her.
"....." Nari averted her gaze.
Their usual banter ensued—light-hearted at best. Hari chiming in every once in a while to add her piece into the conversation.
This kind of thing had become the norm. Whenever Nari was free, which was more often than not due to her busy schedule—a side effect of joining one of the most popular talent agencies in South Korea, she would make sure to drop by.
Hari hummed a sweet tune as she began to fill up their plates.
"Bulgogi?" Leandro split his chopsticks, eyeing the plateful of meat hungrily.
"Yes, it's your favorite!" Hari chirped, a self-pleased expression on her face. She proceeded to sit down next to him, legs tucked under her weight.
"You always make his favorite…" Nari mumbled under her breath, chopsticks already picking the tender slabs of meat apart.
Leandro tapped the table as he stared at her with kind eyes. "If you want, next time I can take you out to a fancy dinner. You'll be free to choose anything on the menu."
Nari stopped chewing for a moment. She stared back at him with wide eyes.
Hari was likewise surprised. She alternated her gaze between the two of them, blinking.
"Wait… what?" Nari forced the unchewed lump of meat down her throat—almost choking in the process—and leaned forward on the table. "Are you for real?"
"Why wouldn't I be?" Leandro tilted his head.
She stuck out her index finger in a half-assed reprimand. Her excitement was hard to hide though. The way her eyes sparkled betrayed what was truly going inside her head. "W-Wait. Is this another one of your cheap tricks to mess with me or something… you promised last time to treat me, but you had passed out from all that training…"
"My bad... but it won't happen again, I promise." Leandro smiled reassuringly, shaking his head. 'I've already reached peak performance. Now I just have to keep up a steady rhythm not to lose all the progress.'
Nari pursed her lips. A non-verbal expression of contemplation. Then a very dramatic sigh was let out. "W-Well…" Her perpetual haughty mask cracked. An eager smile played out on her face. "I guess there's no harm in allowing you to take me out." She said with an upturn of her eyes.
"So spoiled…" Leandro chuckled.
Hari stared at him, a little flustered.
Sensing her gaze, Leandro turned to her. "Hari Noona, what's wrong?"
She pursed her lips, shrinking a little. "N-Nothing." She waved a hand, chuckling innocently, though it came off as awkward.
Landro, however, didn't take his eyes off of her. "Would you like to come with us?" His question hit the nail on the head.
Hari was taken aback. "Can I?"
He turned to Nari, who had an unreadable frown on her face. "You don't mind, do you?"
Nari visibly bit her lips, though the smile somehow stayed fixed in place. The prospect of a candle-light, fancy meal with Leandro shattered in front of her eyes. "Not at all." She said, sweetly.
Leandro's eyes were keen, and he could perfectly see the way her fingers tightened around the chopsticks, or the way all forms of emotions were completely wiped off her face when he looked away.
'What am I getting myself into?'
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