To sit together in the car with his brother and also an unknown person he had never met before, this kind of situation was too awkward for him. He didn't know where to place his eyes and hands.
Julien didn't know what to say, not that he didn't want to talk. He couldn't help but sigh with emotion in his heart.
Ioan was the first to speak: "Do you still hate me?" He looked at him with hints of nervousness in his expression.
Julien's eyes widened and he immediately answered: "No!" He didn't even know him.
[System: The original Julien somehow blamed him for the death of their parents. They had a car accident and Ioan was driving at that time.]
That was a very similar situation, in the previous world his parents died in the same way, he was sitting on the back seat and was the one who survived.
After hearing the system explanation Julien's eyes were looking far away, and with his mind taking on a very different perspective, he shook his head: "I don't hate you. I will forgive you for being alive."
He had also forgiven himself for surviving: "You have to live well and be happy."
Ioan held him in his arms as he kept repeating: "I'm sorry Little One, I'm so sorry."
He allowed Ioan to hug him and patted his back over and over.
If he didn't speak up, he didn't know how long Ioan would continue hugging him: "Big Brother."
Ioan let go of Julien upon hearing him. After all, he just saw his little brother after 3 years and they had a successful reunion. Now that his emotions had more or less been vented, he recovered his calmness and rationality: "Tell me, what happened to you? When did you come back? And why did you appear at 'White Rose' in such a manner?"
Ioan carefully listened to the story of the young man sitting next to him occasionally nodding.
After Julien finished telling him what he did for the past few days Ioan said lightly to him: "Don't stay at the hotel anymore. I'll send someone for your things. We're going home."
Of course, Julien didn't refuse him.
For him, he hadn't felt this sort of pure love that simply came from the bottom of someone's heart, for a very long time.
He swore on the soul of their parents that he will cherish and protect this person.
Sitting in the passenger seat, Julien finally remembered to call Etienne to tell him he was safe. Almost instantly after the phone connected, emotions of anxiety, concern and so on interwoven together in Etienne inquiry, transmitted from the receiver. Julien listened to the questions coming from the receiver and was unconsciously touched.
Although Julien lived in the hotel due to Etienne's request, he would always have dinner at his place. He also had no other friends.
However, this time someone dragged him out and he didn't show up after that. Etienne knew his friend and there was no way he would go to the hotel without saying a word, so he judged that something had happened to him. But he couldn't even file a missing person report before 24 hours had passed. Etienne's panic could be well imagined.
Hence, it was no exaggeration to say, this phone call was salvation to him.
Julien turned his body to the side and answered in a loud volume: "I'm alright. I'm on my way home. Don't worry about me."
Ioan noticed from the corner of his eye, Julien's posture of puffing up his chest and being smug with a phone call. He blared the horn and when Julien reflexively shrank himself from the abrupt sound, he slightly jealous said to him: "You shouldn't be this close to another man."
Julien suddenly cracked up for a brief moment when he said that. Actually, saying that really wasn't good. Hadn't he just hugged him? No matter what the reason was, the result couldn't be changed.
Despite the angry and childish tone the man had used while speaking, the atmosphere between the two before they reached their destination remained peaceful.
The car finally stopped in front of a medium-sized villa.
Ioan jumped out of the car, then ran to the back to open the door for Julien so he could get off easily: "We're here."
Getting out of the car Julien's expression appeared natural. One wouldn't be able to tell he had never seen this place before and was a little startled.
Ioan hung a smile on his face and entered the house with his brother.
The villa had two floors. It wasn't overly large or luxurious and gave a warm and inviting feeling.
Ioan walked ahead, showing him the way, and led him to a door on the second floor. He pushed the door open, then looked at Julien with a bit of uneasiness: "Come in and have a look, nothing had been changed. Tell me if there's something you don't like now."
Julien entered and raised his eyes to take it in. The main color of the room was sky blue and the interior was clean and tidy. A bed, a wardrobe, a desk, a bookcase and a computer were all there, placed in very reasonable positions. The room appeared extremely spacious and comfortable.
It was a pleasant surprise for Julien: "I don't want to change anything."
He was somewhat shy, yet also somewhat happy. Though it was so faint that people who weren't paying attention wouldn't be able to tell, it was truly there.
Ioan who had been holding his breath the whole time, suddenly let out a huge sigh of relief, his face covered with a smile so wide that it looked a little ridiculous. However, Julien could see his feelings from that look, and his expression couldn't help but soften a lot more as well.
After Ioan left his room he hummed a song as he went to take a bath. The comfortable feeling of warm water flowing over him made him heave a long breath.
[System: You can take off the isolator when you are at home. People with the same blood won't be affected by their family members' pheromones. Even though your brother is alpha, you will be safe with him if the first heat arrives here.]
Once his fatigue was relieved, he wiped his body dry, removed his isolator and threw himself onto his bed ready to go to sleep. The big, soft bed was very much to his preference and in just a short while, he dazedly fell asleep.
In the following days when Julien woke up, his brother was always at work, but they spent a lot of time chatting, eating and drinking together every evening.
Julien was very happy that he got along with Ioan.
One day while he was walking down the stairs, he noticed the man sitting in the living room, flipping over a newspaper. He was rather puzzled as to why his brother didn't go to the company today.
Perceiving someone staring at him, Ioan looked up and his gaze clashed with Julien. Julien wasn't shy at all, even deliberately throwing a curious look at him.
Ioan's mouth raised in a convivial smile, his voice was also gentle: "Did you just wake up before coming here?"
Julien leaned on the couch and replied carelessly: "No. I wasn't sleeping. I was mining coal."
Ioan's lips hooked up in a smile. He put his newspaper aside and said: "Oh. No wonder. You should go get ready because we are going to the company together."
Julien rolled his eyes: "Why do I have to go with you?"
Ioan was very patient with this younger brother who had a different personality from what he remembered: "The company is also yours, you have 20% shares. You should show your face once at least. We will have breakfast on the way."
Julien wasn't enthusiastic, but despite this, he followed Ioan.