章節 22: Unusual Bonds
Outside of their training sessions, Keiran would occasionally take Aren to different parts of the city. At first, Aren felt quite uncomfortable in crowds and social situations. The noise, people, and chaos were too overwhelming for him. However, with Keiran's constant joking and sarcastic attitude, he gradually became a little more tolerant of these environments. Still, every time they went out, the first thing that always drew attention was the spider on Aren's shoulder, Victoria. People either looked at her with fear or whispered in curiosity.
One day, Keiran took Aren to a street festival near the park. The scene was filled with various stalls, street performers, and colorful lights. As usual, Aren felt slightly uneasy. He wasn't too fond of being in the middle of such noise, crowds, and confusion. But there was the familiar gleam of excitement in Keiran's eyes. He turned to Aren with a broad smile and pointed to the festival.
"Come on, let's have some fun here. We're always training. Let's take a day for ourselves."
Aren looked around at the festival area, trying to suppress his unease. His expression was as stoic as ever, but the crowd around them stirred a faint discomfort within him. He took a deep breath and nodded slightly. "Alright. But let's not stay too long," he said, his voice somewhat reluctant, but he chose to give in rather than resist Keiran.
Keiran chuckled at that and gave Aren a friendly pat on the shoulder. "Don't worry, I won't bore you. We'll just try a few things," he said. He also cast a sideways glance at Victoria, who was still motionless on Aren's shoulder, as if checking to see if she was ready to join in on the adventure.
Throughout the day, they watched street performers, tasted different snacks, and Keiran took great pleasure in observing how Aren reacted to these new experiences. Aren, though he seemed cold and expressionless, secretly found some of these experiences intriguing. The street performers in particular caught his attention, though he tried not to let Keiran notice his interest.
Every time they went out, it wasn't just Victoria that drew attention—Aren and Keiran themselves were natural attention magnets. Both of them were strikingly handsome and hard to ignore. Women shot them admiring glances, and some even boldly tried to approach.
One day, while they were walking through the streets, a young girl gathered her courage and walked up to Aren. Her cheeks were slightly flushed, her eyes fixed on him. She spoke in a shy but determined voice. "Hi," she said, her voice trembling a little, but she continued, "I've seen you around before… and I thought maybe I'd like to get to know you. What's your name?"
Aren looked at the girl in surprise. Social interactions weren't his strong suit, especially not when faced with such direct interest. He glanced at Keiran, unsure of what to do. Keiran, meanwhile, was clearly enjoying Aren's awkwardness in this situation. He winked and watched Aren with a mischievous grin. After a moment of silence, Aren gave a simple answer. "Aren," he said, short and to the point, with a hint of confusion in his eyes.
Just then, Victoria moved on his shoulder. Her black legs twitched slightly, and she stepped forward as if to defend Aren. Her tiny, shiny eyes locked onto the girl's face, and she raised one of her legs, pointing it at the girl in what seemed like a warning. The girl jumped back, her eyes widening with fear. "Ah! Is it… is it alive?" she stammered, then quickly turned and fled in terror.
Keiran couldn't hold back his laughter at the scene. The way Victoria had frightened the girl with just a simple move amused him to no end. "Hahaha! Did you see that, Aren?" he said, laughing as he leaned toward Aren. "I think your wife just scared off the competition!"
Aren stared blankly at Keiran, clearly not understanding. He frowned slightly and asked in his flat voice, "What do you mean?"
Keiran continued laughing, unable to contain his amusement. "Look at Victoria!" he said, winking at Aren. "She's acting like your wife, protecting you! If she keeps scaring people away like that, how are you ever going to meet anyone?"
Aren still seemed to have no grasp of the joke. He slowly looked at Victoria on his shoulder, then turned back to Keiran. "Victoria isn't my wife," he said in a completely serious tone.
That only made Keiran laugh even harder. The fact that Aren had responded so seriously to the joke was hilarious to him. As he wiped the tears from his eyes, he noticed Aren's unwavering seriousness and decided to let it go with a shrug. "Alright, alright, don't be so serious," he said, smiling. "But you've got to admit, Victoria does seem pretty protective of you."
Aren said nothing in response. He looked at Victoria, who sat calmly on his shoulder as always. There was indeed something about Victoria's loyalty to him that made him think.
Keiran often dragged Aren into new experiences. One of these was trying out new places to eat. Aren usually settled for simple foods, but thanks to Keiran's insistence, he began to taste many dishes he had never tried before.
One evening, Keiran took them to a fancy restaurant. One of the dishes they brought was served on a massive platter. Keiran pointed to the dish with great excitement. "What about this? Have you ever tried anything like it? It's one of the restaurant's most famous dishes!"
Aren looked at the food with indifference. He took a bite, chewed in silence, and then, as usual, replied with a blank expression. "It's not bad," he said simply.
A broad smile spread across Keiran's face. "Not bad? This is one of the chef's best creations! They spent weeks perfecting this recipe, and that's all you have to say?"
Aren didn't react to his enthusiastic response. He continued eating slowly, aware that Keiran was watching him. Keiran's energetic demeanor was becoming more familiar to him. The time they spent together was gradually feeling more natural, even if Aren's serious expression never changed despite Keiran's relentless energy.
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